| America Armed Forces has never been as accessible | | | | although there were not plenty personnel available. |
| as it is these days in terms of info. Prior to the internet | | | | Often, members who had obtained computer training |
| era, computer training was more of a luxury than the | | | | while in the military were leaving for higher paying jobs |
| accepted norm. Manuals and directives were kept in | | | | in the civilian sector. |
| paper form and was contingent upon timely submission | | | | The first step the military took to move forward with |
| of changes and modifications. Service records were | | | | technology was to establish a military occupational |
| kept in similar manner. This system of record keeping | | | | specialty (MOS) for computer programmers. The |
| was often tedious and even counter-productive. The | | | | military actively recruited from technical colleges, often |
| military recognized this as an issue, but weren't | | | | offering monetary incentives to prospects. Incentives |
| advanced adequate to resolve this problem. Eventually, | | | | included: traditional tuition assistance and bonuses. |
| force reductions and other factors made an even | | | | These members were provided with computer training; |
| bigger problem: records management without trained | | | | hardware, software, networking and more. As well as |
| personnel. | | | | programming, members with that MOS were charged |
| An additional problem began to surface as it denotes | | | | with maintaining computer networks. Personal |
| educating personnel. As anyone who served in the US | | | | commands created their own private Details Services |
| Armed Forces, pre-internet era, is aware can be very | | | | Management Offices (ISMO) derived from computer |
| hard to acquire a formal college education. | | | | trained members. Through ISMO's local commands |
| Considerations had to be made for duty schedules, | | | | were connected via local field networks (LAN) and |
| missions, deployments and other things. The normal | | | | wide region networks (WAN). This proved to be a |
| method of obtaining non-traditional education was | | | | very intelligent deal with it the part of the military. |
| through correspondence courses. While this was | | | | Once established, members holding this MOS were |
| relatively inexpensive to the student, it was also very | | | | extended incentives to stop in the military service; |
| dependent upon the United States Mail. Lost | | | | bonuses, guaranteed duty station assignments, among |
| certificates, or course materials was a major problem. | | | | others. |
| All of this often cost members points toward | | | | Having computer trained personnel in the military has |
| promotions. Eventually, top military leaders established | | | | provided the military with the ability to look after pace |
| that online computer training was the way to go. | | | | with technology. With the coming of the internet, and |
| Online computer training might be another step | | | | the subsequent technology explosion came several |
| towards taking the military training program from the | | | | more advances. These advances have allowed the |
| 20th Century right into the 21st Century. Taking the | | | | military to create online environments. Through these |
| military online would not just ease this problem, but | | | | online endeavors, the military has stream-lined record |
| would help prepare the military for other advances in | | | | keeping practices and made online computer training |
| technology. | | | | for sale to it's members around the world. |
| In to accomplish this task, the military had to know | | | | With all of these advances, the USA Armed Forces |
| shortfalls and make steps towards alleviating them. | | | | has in a very short space of time become a military |
| Realizing that the military had members who were | | | | force of the forthcoming. |
| computer savvy, and trainable aided in the transition, | | | | |