I’ve been a member of the professional forum companycommand.mil (CC) since it was founded in 2000. Majors Nate Allen and Tony Burgess created it a way to share their company command experiences with their peers across the growing internet. Over the years, CC (a restricted access site) became the shining example of how the Army can be as a learning organization, spinning off sub-sites on platoon leadership and family readiness groups. The Army’s Battle Command Knowledge System took its cue from CC’s success, expanding to other disciplines. An entire generation of officers have become better commanders and platoon leaders through the frank discussions on its forums, which cover everything on how to handle discipline issues to training tips for combat. For a great background article on the impact of CC, check out this 2005 New Yorker article.

With potential cuts looming for Training and Doctrine command in personnel and budget, Starbuck over at Wings over Iraq released the following memo sent out to members of the CC forum yesterday.

Fellow member of the CC professional forum:

We need your help!

Budgets & personnel are on the chopping block. One colonel told us this month that his plan to meet the cuts was to get rid of us and asked, "What does a website have to do with the mission?"

This isn’t just a website or another Army organization. This is a grass-roots movement of leaders who are sold out to the cause of leading and loving Soldiers and growing combat-effective teams. Thousands of Company Commanders and Platoon Leaders (past, present, and future) are already engaged in a vibrant, ongoing conversation–sharing our hard-earned knowledge and experiences with each other, becoming more effective, and advancing our profession.

Take a moment and consider the MilSpace Platform. MilSpace provides the foundation of CompanyCommand and PlatoonLeader and also hosts your personal area (dog tag) and the Pro-Reading Forum. Soon, we will launch LeaderCast, which is a place for video clips of leaders like you talking about their experiences (we already have hundreds of clips set to post). The team also takes responsibility for monthly articles in ARMY Magazine and other projects such as the MCCC Yearbook, the Iraq Cdr AAR Book, and the Afghan Cdr AAR Book–all possible because of a groundswell of leaders like you who are on a mission to share their knowledge and to learn from others.

Later today, members of the team that keep the site running posted this update on SWJ to the email that was rapidly spreading:

The chain of command, from the Army Chief of Staff (three in a row) on down, have been hugely supportive of professional forums like Company Command. They get it and want to maintain the grass-roots, voluntary, by-and-for-the-profession nature that has made the forums so effective.

Right now, the Army is seeking to expand the operating force, drawing from the generating force to make it happen. It is to be expected, and I think a good thing that every program is looked at—to include the structure that supports professional forums like BCKS and MilSpace (read CC and PL forums). If these forums are really valuable and making a difference then this is the perfect catalyst for us—the profession—to step up and communicate that value, like Rob, Ryan, and Scott have done here.

The email that went out to forum members, quoted here in SWJ by “Starbuck,” was a call for that kind of feedback.

If you have benefited from the forums, books, etc., the MilSpace team would like to invite you to share your story. Post here in SWJ or send it via email to cocmd.team@us.army.mil with "Flash Traffic" in the subject line.

So far they’ve gotten over 100 responses detailing how CC and PL have improved leaders and saved lives. If I can get permission I’ll post some here. I’m certainly going to be contributing my own. I was a much better company commander because of the lessons learned there and some of the tactical advice I received may have saved some of my soldiers’ lives downrange. Because CC is restricted to those who are or about to become commanders, senior officers don’t get to eavesdrop on the discussions so the captains can vent without worrying about it getting to their boss. An unintentional side effect of this crucial policy is that senior leaders can’t see the good that is accomplished. In any case, the amount of money it takes to run a professional development and sharing site supporting thousands of officers worldwide wouldn’t even pay for half of an MRAP.

Finally, on another forum I frequent there was wide lament by a group of mostly retired officers about the demise of the old o-club system, where some of this discussion happened over beers in generations past. CC and it’s sub-sites represent the modern o-club for these officers, a place to share experiences, stories, and become better at their profession. We shouldn’t take that away.

(Full disclosure: I will be taking the lead of CC’s professional reading program next year)