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Show HILLTOP TIMES TIMES Septembers, 2007 'Knowledge Now' program streamlines flow of information someone with just about any problem or information request imaginable," Air Force News Agency Adkins said. AN ANTONIO — The Air Force With nearly 200,000 users and now has a "virtual community" more than 9,000 COPs, the list of subjects covered in Knowledge Now where individuals can go includes everything from space anytime to share information with tactics to special weapons to system their peers anywhere in the world. management to B-2 Spirit radar Called "Knowledge Now," this modification, Adkins said. community is a collaborative Web Because the system is more secure system that is accessible through the than a military e-mail account, users Air Force Portal and is designed to allow airmen of all ranks, specialties can even use Knowledge Now to send and skill levels to communicate with operations manuals, training guides and enlisted performance reports each other on a variety of topics. to all corners of the globe. There is "The objective is to create an even a secure version of the system environment of people from across available to units and users who use the Air Force where they can Secure Internet Protocol Router, or collaborate and share their expertise SIPR, to communicate. on a variety of subjects/' said Randy Adkins, director of the Air Force Initially created in 2002, Knowledge Center of Excellence for Knowledge Now is continually growing and Management. evolving. The system is seeing approximately 8,000 new users and These subjects are divided into dozens of new communities being databases and joint work spaces started every month. called Communities of Practice, or And it's not just for Air Force COPs. This capability has proven to be one of the system's more popular people. The system is open to activefeatures, Adkins said. duty, Guard and Reserve people from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps as These "communities" serve as well. a resource for airmen who need information to accomplish a mission. So, growth is exactly what the One example, said Adkins, was in system's developers want to see. 2003 when a junior airman was "Ideally, we'd like to see everybody deployed to Baghdad and told to set in the Air Force and the military as up an armory- The airman had never a whole using this system," said Bill performed this task and was unsure, Miles, Air Force Knowledge Now how to accomplish it. So, he logged program manager. into Knowledge Now, went into the This program is also in line with the security forces COP and sent out chief of staff's directives regarding a request for help. He received an information sharing and knowledge answer from a senior master sergeant enhancement within the Air Force. in the United States who detailed "We have all heard the phrase exactly how to set up an armory and "Flexibility is the key to airpower," provided instruction manuals. The said Gen. T. Michael Moseley. "I airman's armory was up and running would like to add that knowledgein no time. enabled airmen are the key to flexibility." "This system can be used to help BY STAFF SGT. MATTHEW BATES S G.A. VOLB/U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Annette Prato, a broadcast weather technician at the American Forces Network Weather Center at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., uses the center's new production system to create visuals for their Pacific weather forecast. Air Force updates weather system BY G. A. VOLB Air Force Weather Agency Public Affairs O FFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. — The American Forces Network Weather Center here received computer upgrades recently ensuring its worldwide products equal or surpass those of its civilian counterparts. The center received two major forecast production units, known as Weather Services International systems, in early August. The first forecasts using the new equipment, which totaled approximately $50,000, were delivered by the eight-member AFNWC team Aug. 10. "They're the same systems used by local weather stations and The Weather Channel," said Tech. Sgt. David Olds, NCO in charge of AFNWC. "They decrease the amount of time needed to create a show and significantly improve production capability such as graphics, speed and overall creativity." Olds said the finished products sent daily to the American Forces Radio and Television Service Broadcast Center at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., have improved dramatically. "The speed of the systems enables us to digitize shows at a higher quality for a crisper, cleaner look with better animation," he said. The weather center produces 10 shows a day, each disseminated worldwide via satellite. Customers include the Department of Defense, Department of State and other users such as the Pentagon Channel, though not for operational purposes. All told, about 14 million viewers tune in to the center's forecasts at some point to use them in their daily activities. Seven of the shows include local weather for the current and following day, and three shows include an extended three-day forecast with all the weather-related extras viewers are used to seeing. For Airnian Joe Newlon, however, it's all about the ease of use. "They make things run a lot smoother, reducing stress," the broadcast weather technician from Keokuk, Iowa, said. Buy one, get one ON ALL EYEGLASSES' *\ Optical Center "Boundless" Plane! Earih. 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