The Army Knowledge Online (AKO), a primary constituent of The Army Knowledge Management (AKM) strategy is the entry into a strong and scalable knowledge management system. By making greater knowledge sharing among Army communities possible, AKM promotes improved decision-making by commanders and business stewards in the battle field, and Army’s mission processes.  AKO is available to Active Army soldiers, Army National Guard, Reserve Army, Department of The Army Civilians, Retired Army, and Army sponsored Guest Accounts.

AKO users worldwide can share information instantly in a fully encrypted environment. AKO strategically transforms the way Army does its business with the outside world. The Channels in AKO are based on various classifications such as functional, (containing weather, travel, reference), Army category (branches, installations, and schools), Army community (Acquisition, Intelligence, Operations, Logistics). The single stop for information, AKO provides a lifetime email address, adaptable portal, and online transaction processing, accessible to its customers throughout the world. The AKO has enabled web processes that were time and labor intensive before. The Defense Financing and Accounting Service is a system that has information about the status of travel vouchers of army personnel. Personnel Command’s Career Field Designator allows soldiers to access career information and suggestions from mentors all over the world. How many days a soldier has been deployed can be found on PERSTEMPO. A 128-bit encryption ensures army personnel a high level of security on par with the online banking systems.

      AKO is vital in changing the Army into a knowledge-based organization. Major commands and functional areas streamline business processes and “webify” their applications to make this possible. To face future challenges, AKO continuously should improve its capacities as technology is developed.