Study of Information Exchange Between United States Air Force Bases and Their Surrounding Communities

Data, information, and knowledge are exchanged daily from United States Air Force (USAF) bases to surrounding communities. The purpose of this research is to aid managers and commanders in gaining a better understanding of their information flow and bettering their information management practices. The research specifically seeks answers to the questions of where information is exchanged, why information is exchanged, and to whom information is exchanged with. To accomplish the research, a survey was developed and sent via e-mail link to the Company Grade Officers (CGOs) at two USAF installations. 118 CGOs responded to the survey providing an approximate response rate of 8.9%. Of the 118 CGO respondents, 55 were found to exchange some form of information with the community. These CGOs indicated that 43 of their co-workers also exchange information. Of the 55 CGOs found to exchange information, 61.82% did so using e-mail, but only 38.18% of them had to record the exchange in some fashion. Of the 44 CGO co-workers, 74.42% used e-mail to exchange information, while 48.84% did not have to record the exchange. Telephone interviews were conducted with 18 of the survey respondents in order to gain clarification of initial survey responses as well as gain more detail behind each information exchange. The interviews revealed that information exchanges occur for the purpose of accomplishing some aspect of the subject's mission. A range of results are provided, including summaries of interviews, examples of exchanged information, and summaries of types of information exchanged. Finally, 10 abbreviated organizational charts are provided depicting organizations that exchange information.