AFMC Community of Practice aids special operations forces during hurricane season Published June 8, 2006 By John Scaggs Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- When calendars flip to June, thoughts typically focus on the end of the school year, warmer weather and summer vacations. Many people in the Gulf Coast region, including military forces, add ‘hurricanes’ to that thought-provoking list. Among those is the Air Force Special Operations Command. Headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Fla., these special operations forces are relying on Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command’s Air Force Knowledge Now to update names for AFSOC’s emergency operations Community of Practice, or CoP. This online, collaborative information exchange tool gives AFSOC’s work force a current source to help them determine a course of action during natural disasters, such as hurricanes. AFSOC’s latest personnel roster was submitted to Air Force Knowledge Now in late May so that AFMC could update registration information. CoPs stem from a collaborative Web system known as Air Force Knowledge Now. Responsibility for this Internet-based system falls upon the Air Force Center of Excellence for Knowledge Management, Air Force Knowledge Now. Air Force Knowledge Now provides users with a way to find and access time-critical knowledge and performance support resources. It connects people so they may share organizational lessons learned, community wisdom and advice, and knowledge and educational resources. Much of Air Force Knowledge Now is divided into functional or subject matter areas that include databases and joint work spaces called CoPs. AFSOC first approached AFMC in the spring of 2005 about creating an online emergency operations site. “Hurlburt was a model base for the Air Force portal and we were looking for initiatives to improve our information flow during emergencies,” said Luis Araujo, a systems analyst with AFSOC’s Communications and Information Directorate. “We had found out during the 2004 hurricane season that one toll-free phone number couldn’t accommodate Hurlburt’s work force of approximately 12,500 active-duty, Reserve, Air National Guard and civilians. So we were looking for an alternative.” Having 24/7 access to the CoP proved invaluable to the Hurlburt community during the 2005 hurricane season, which set records for the most named storms and the most Category 5 storms in a season. “The CoP made an immense difference,” said Mr. Araujo. “Senior leaders used it to post evacuation procedures and to tell the work force when to return to Hurlburt. Meanwhile, people accessing the CoP began posting power outages, what routes were open and closed, and where people could obtain provisions.” AFMC officials say they hope the CoP’s success during the 2005 hurricane season will inspire other Air Force major commands as well as other military branches to consider CoPs for similar emergency situations. Representatives from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., contacted Air Force Knowledge Now in May to develop a CoP, but there are still more than 20 military installations located along coastal areas susceptible to hurricanes that might benefit from the online tool. “The potential is there for us to build numerous CoPs, whether it’s for hurricane regions, areas in the Pacific where earthquakes might be an issue, or regions within the United States where tornadoes and floods are prominent,” said Randy Adkins, director of the Air Force Center of Excellence for Knowledge Management. “We typically can build a CoP in one day,” Mr. Adkins continued. “The time variable depends upon the volume of names that comprises a base’s work force that we need to register for a given CoP. Once we complete that phase, users need only have access to a computer – it doesn’t have to be a government computer – call up the Air Force Portal home page, input their login and password information and find their respective CoP.” For now, AFSOC’s senior leaders say they’re happy to have one of Air Force Knowledge Now’s 4,000 CoPs. People interested in learning more can contact the Air Force Knowledge Now Help Desk at DSN 986-2356 or visit online at: https://afkm.wpafb.af.mil.