Army Reserve trains to develop a more data centric culture
Lt. Col. Brian Harris, left, Operations Research and Systems Analysis, Office of the Chief, Army Reserve, receives a command coin from Brig. Gen. Richard Corner, Commanding General, 85th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command, after conducting a U.S. Army Reserve Data Literacy and Excel training event at the 85th USARSC headquarters, January 9, 2023. Harris provided the training for 40 staff members from the 85th USARSC, one of the Army Reserve’s major subordinate commands. The purpose of the training was to support the Secretary of the Army’s effort to become more data centric and develop a culture that enhances decision making. The long-term goal was to elevate data analytics capabilities and increase productivity across the Army Reserve. The training was successful in supporting one of Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels’, Chief of the Army Reserve, goals of building foundational knowledge around data and identifying Soldiers with an interest and aptitude for data. In expanding beyond the training to develop the force on data literacy, commanders need to ask SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action Oriented, Relevant and Time Bound) questions. Staff members need to move from descriptive analysis (what happened) to prescriptive analysis (considering all possible factors in a scenario) and suggest actionable takeaways. According to Col. William Wilkerson, Chief Data Integration Officer, OCAR, understanding data and making predictive real-time informed decisions is key to achieving decision dominance which will help commanders sense, understand, decide, act, and assess faster and more effectively than the adversary. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Anthony L. Taylor)