The Influence Of Digital Media On The United States Army

The Influence of Digital Media on the United States Army Digital media has integrated itself into nearly every facet of the modern United States Army. For many years, the Army has increased its dependency on the use of digital media in day to day operations, training, communications, public relations, and administrative tasks. Some people claim that we are too dependent on these technologies for our own good. However, it has helped keep us the most powerful fighting force on the face of the planet. This case study will look at five functional areas that digital media has improved the Army: Administration, Training, Communication, Public Relations, and Warfighting Capabilities. In each of these functional areas, we will explore how†¦show more content†¦This meant the signed copy then had to be scanned back into the computer and then emailed or uploaded into a database. Of course, the original paper copy still existed, so the Army had not met the goal of being paperless y et. Finally, around 2012 the Army acquired the technology that included the digital signature that would allow them to truly go paperless. The technology had existed for five years, but the Army’s slow procurement and distribution process was one of the many lessons learned: in the digital age, the Army had to move faster and be more flexible to change. This paperless platform would allow the Army to overhaul all administrative systems. The Publication Directorate stopped printing paper copies of manuals and regulations, and posted the digital copies to an online library, where changes could easily be updated. Evaluations could be completed online, signed online, and submitted online. Leave forms and award recommendations could go from one user to approver with the click of a button across the world if needed. And promotion boards no longer needed to flip through endless reams of paper to select candidates-just click through digital copies of a file for a potential prom otion candidate. The Army is positioning itself for the future by reducing the number of people it needs to do the administrative work of the past and train the future administrators in computer applications for the future. A company 20 years ago traditionally had two