Over the course of its history, the U.S. Army has been called many things, but “democractic” is certainly not one of them. That however, maybe be changing. The NY Times reported over the weekend about a radical new approach the Army is taking to the writting of its manuals, which serve as the the basis for all aspects of Army life.
What the Army has done is to change the nature in which these manuals are written. Instead of having them be the sole product of a group of theorists at any number of colleges and centers, the Army has adopted a “wki” approach, allowing any member, from the highest ranking general, to the lowest private, to log-in and edit the manuals.
This collabaritive effort represents a radical culture shift in a heierarchical institution such as the Army, but the hope is that by opening up Army doctrine to the rank-and-file, and having it be reflective of life “on the front lines” the Army could transform itself it a meaner, leaner, more efficient fighting machine.
