Arsofu: keeping the force connected.

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The John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, or SWCS, is harnessing Web-based technology to keep its Soldiers in the know, even if they are sitting on a hilltop halfway around the world.

ARSOFU is a Web portal designed specifically for Army special-operations Soldiers. Currently there are more than 15,000 members. The site is geared toward sustaining Soldiers whether they are deployed down range or training in garrison. It's a collaborative site that offers everything from current news to lessons learned to language sustainment and downloads to forums. By utilizing the site through their AKO sign-in, Soldiers can have a wealth of information in their hands.

The site has a myriad of features; however, the two most important features may be the forums and downloads. The forums allow Soldiers to share information either general to the special-operations community or specifically addressed to their military occupational specialty, or MOS. Each forum is moderated by a subject-matter expert who monitors the forums to ensure that security is not violated. The moderators are also available to answer questions and add content to the site when it becomes available.

As they do on the AKO site, members can choose to "subscribe" to a given topic or forum and receive an e-mail notification whenever a reply or new topic is addressed. All information posted on the site is unclassified. It is hoped that more Soldiers will also utilize the forums to interact with other special operators.

The other big draw for the site, the download section, may prove the most helpful to Soldiers in the field. Downloads available range from guides to many of the foreign countries to which Army special-operations forces deploy to anti-virus protection to language training. New to the site are podcasts, which feature lectures and classes given to students. These classes and lectures can be downloaded for later use.

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