Social networking, through such web sites as Facebook, has become something of a phenomena, if not a way of life, for some folks. But who would have thought such a trend would impact the US Army. But, in fact, through a new professional networking tool called MilBook, the Army's technology community can now share ideas via a firewalled network. MilBook, which is part of a suite of tools for the Army, has reached 18,000 users since its inception in October 2009. According to Justin Filler, Deputy Director of the MilTech Solutions Office, an Army organization, "The MilSuite application allows the professional DoD community to share information amongst themselves that is only intended for the internal community."
MilBook helps create discussion threads for the exchange of sensitive ideas, such as Army policies. Information can be restricted to a specific individual, or shared within the entire MilBook community, but it always remains secure behind the firewall. The tool can also be used to locate personnel who might have switched locations due to reassignment. MilSuite is assigned to the MilTech Solutions Office, a government organization of the Army's Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) working in partnership with Product Manager, Acquisition Business.