The Radio: A Study in Information Technology Implementation
Abstract
Commanders across branches and services will always do whatever they can to gain and share information with their formations, because information is capital in the economy of war. As technology continues to evolve inside the Army, across the Joint Force, and in the commercial sector, a clear network architecture facilitates efficient integration with other networks and avoids disjointed communication efforts. This monograph studies the implementation of the radio in the US Army during World War I and separately during the Interwar Period through the lenses of organizations, training and doctrine, and equipment to evaluate how the US Army integrated a new information technology. To better understand the implementation of the radio during World War I and the Interwar Period, this monograph also draws on the works of two theorists, Daniel Kahneman and Hernando DeSoto. As information technology becomes more prevalent in civilian society, it is dangerous to presume familiarity with civilian systems translates to operators innately understanding how to integrate and operate military systems. The faster and more efficiently information is shared across the Joint Force, the more effective the military is at bringing all its resources to bear on the battlefield. In order to fully leverage evolving communication technology to enable efficient information sharing, the Department of Defense (DOD) should implement and maintain a deliberate process to standardize its network architecture, policies, and doctrine across the Joint Force that guides training of operators and informs system development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 20, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1161156
Entities
People
- Liberty F. Lobdell
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies