The U.S. Army's deployment tempo has put pressure on the Army's available training time to prepare for deployments. To better support units' training and preparations for and conduct of counterinsurgency and stability operations, the Army created the Stryker Warfighting Forum (SWfF), a network-centric, knowledge repository designed to increase Stryker Brigade soldier knowledge and unit performance. This dissertation reports the results of two studies to determine how best to increase soldier knowledge and unit performance using the SWfF. In the first study, statistically significant individual-level knowledge gains occurred as a result of soldiers' participation in an existing SWfF facilitator-led, multimedia virtual training event called the Hundredth House. In the second study, statistically significant gains in unit-level performance at the Army's combat training centers were associated with units using the Iraq Common Event Approaches Handbook, which was developed from combat-returnee feedback on ten events commonly faced by soldiers in Iraq.

"This document was submitted as a dissertation in June 2009 in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the doctoral degree in public policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. The faculty committee that supervised and approved the dissertation consisted of Bryan W. Hallmark (Chair), James T. Quinlivan, and Matthew W. Lewis"--T.p.

Specific aims and research questions. Introduction -- Broad policy issue and policy questions -- SWfF policy issue, policy questions and research questions -- Specific aims and desired outcomes of KMS research / Background, significance, motivation, and literature review. Army's success with major combat operations -- Counterinsurgency and stability operations become the norm -- The Army transitions to a new vehicle-Stryker-and establishes SWfF -- SWfF history, mission, and supporting tasks -- SWfF oversight, direction, and a desire for assessment/validation -- The Army needs a better method to capture untapped experience -- Literature review: knowledge management systems -- Literature review: learning theory -- Summary / Research design and methods. Research design overview -- Research hypothesis -- Study I: relationship of push KT methods to Individual-level knowledge acquisition -- Study II: unit level performance assessment, control/treatment quasi-experiment -- Study IIa: Iraq Common Events Handbook development -- Study IIb: contrasting differences in collective-level performance among units that did and did not receive the Iraq Common Events Approaches Handbook / Analysis and results. Overall findings and results -- Study I: Individual-level learning associated with "push" knowledge delivery tool -- Study II: Iraq common events handbook - Collective-level learning associated with "adaptive-push" delivery tool / Conclusions, policy implications, and recommendations for future research. Results summary -- Policy implications -- Recommendations for future research -- Conclusion / Appendix A: Hundredth House Assessment pre- and post-training questions -- Appendix B: Hundredth House Assessment instrument scoring rubric -- Appendix C: Hundredth House Assessment scale construction -- Appendix D: Hundredth House data variable list -- Appendix E: Tactical Vignette Survey respondent survey -- Appendix F: Tactical Vignette Survey code book -- Appendix G: Tactical Vignette Survey frequency responses by event -- Appendix H: Iraq Common Events Handbook -- Appendix I: Iraq Common Events Approaches Handbook: questionnaire instructions -- Appendix J: Iraq Common Events Approaches Handbook: questionnaire response sheets -- Appendix K: Iraq Common Events Approaches Handbook variable list -- Appendix L: Hundredth House tools usage data analysis -- Appendix M: Hundredth House regression influential point and other threats to statistical validity analyses -- Appendix N: Iraq Common Events Approaches Handbook regression influential point and other threats to statistical validity analyses.