U.S. First Army partners with the Army Reserve and National Guard to help them prepare for their missions. Melissa Sayers, the director of First Army’s operational data team, discusses the mission of an operational research systems analyst (ORSA) and the importance of creating a data-centric military. She joins host Tom Spahr in the virtual studio to explain how her team uses a cloud-based platform called Vantage to provide leaders with a “single pane of glass” view of friendly forces, including data on equipment, personnel, and finances. She emphasizes the importance of leadership empowerment and building trust to drive collaboration and cultural change within a large organization.
Here are the links to some of the resources Melissa mentions and recommends:
KM Data Immersion Course: https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/TR-CAC-MCCoE-KMQC/SitePages/Knowledge-Manager%27s-Data-Immersion-Course.aspx
Blue Pane: https://vantage.army.mil/workspace/module/view/latest/ri.workshop.main.module.59f9417a-cfaa-482b-b0d0-460f83a74724 (NIPR Only)
The videos walking you through Blue Pane are on the “About” tab of Blue Pane.
If you do what they ask, then do what they need, then you can start to build that trust.
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Melissa Sayers is an operations research systems analyst, or ORSA, and the director of First Army’s Operational Data Team with over 25 years of service in the U.S. Army. She began her career as a mechanic, then as a Black Hawk pilot, and for the last ten years as an ORSA focused on solving data problems in large organizations to include the Center for Army Analysis, Army Sustainment Command, and now First Army.
Thomas W. Spahr is the DeSerio Chair of Theater and Strategic Intelligence at the U.S. Army War College. He is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and holds a Ph.D. in History from The Ohio State University. He teaches courses at the Army War College on Military Campaigning and Intelligence.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Credit: Created by Gemini
Given the seeming growing importance and, more critically, the seeming growing usefulness and dependence on “data” and ORSAs; given these such matters, this old soldier would like to know how many, and indeed if enough, ORSAs (a) have been determined and (b) are being trained and assigned to appropriate units; this, so as to allow for (c) various forms of “normal” and/or “abnormal” losses/attrition, for example, as are routinely encountered in times of peace — but more importantly — in times of war.
In this regard, it would seem to be rather short-sighted — and indeed rather non-military/rather non-combat and/or “war” savvy — this, to (a) know one was so amazingly dependent upon “data” and the ORSAs but (b) only have one or two such ORSAs assigned to appropriate commands?
Also, given our seeming move to and growing dependence upon what might be called “data-centric warfare” (and ORSAs?) — and our seeming discarding and abandonment of what has been called “population-centric warfare” (and warriors?) — given these such matters, if they are true, then are our opponents not now hiring, training and employing various and sundry personnel, whose primary job, and indeed raison d’etre, will be to determine how much they can exploit — and make us pay dearly — for our moves? (A data model, thus and accordingly, needing to be developed; this, so to track our opponents’ strategy, techniques and levels of success re: their such moves?)