- Reaction score
- 66
- Points
- 530
Ran across a story this week in the Army Times about the US Army Center for Army Lessons Learned - CALL Request for Information program. A Major general in Iraq had a classified question about the insurgency. Rather than divert his staff from on going projects he emailed CALL Request for Information.
The response took 7 hours with 10 staffer's digging for information.
"Before the Iraq war, a couple of CALL staffers answered a few questions a week as a secondary duty, Kinsey said.
“I can remember when we toasted each other with a cola because we had 20 in a week,” Kinsey said.
Now, providing upward of 120 answers a week, they don’t have time for cola.
“Some have had more than 150 documents attached to them,” Hayes said. “In January, we answered 500. That’s a lot of people.”
"Any soldier — or Marine, airman or sailor — may file an RFI, but those deployed or about to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan have priority. The staff tries to answer those questions within eight hours.
“Recently, we got one that said, ‘I’ve got two Soviet mine rollers and no clue how to use them,’” said Albert Fehlauer, lead RFI research analyst. The soldier was trying to train Iraqi troops on their own weapons. “That’s the rewarding aspect. You feel that you’re really helping people.”
The CALL staffers try to answer all other requests within 48 hours."
CALL stays abreast of the needs of the troops by deploying CALL analysts in Iraq and Afghanistan. CALL responds to requests from anyone — civilian government representatives included — who may need information, as long as they can serve soldiers first.
The response took 7 hours with 10 staffer's digging for information.
"Before the Iraq war, a couple of CALL staffers answered a few questions a week as a secondary duty, Kinsey said.
“I can remember when we toasted each other with a cola because we had 20 in a week,” Kinsey said.
Now, providing upward of 120 answers a week, they don’t have time for cola.
“Some have had more than 150 documents attached to them,” Hayes said. “In January, we answered 500. That’s a lot of people.”
"Any soldier — or Marine, airman or sailor — may file an RFI, but those deployed or about to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan have priority. The staff tries to answer those questions within eight hours.
“Recently, we got one that said, ‘I’ve got two Soviet mine rollers and no clue how to use them,’” said Albert Fehlauer, lead RFI research analyst. The soldier was trying to train Iraqi troops on their own weapons. “That’s the rewarding aspect. You feel that you’re really helping people.”
The CALL staffers try to answer all other requests within 48 hours."
CALL stays abreast of the needs of the troops by deploying CALL analysts in Iraq and Afghanistan. CALL responds to requests from anyone — civilian government representatives included — who may need information, as long as they can serve soldiers first.
