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Government
Fort
Sam Houston: Timesaving Communications
Military history buffs
know San Antonio as the home of the Alamo, but the city also boasts one
of the most important military posts in the Army – Fort Sam Houston.
Fort Sam is currently
the command headquarters for the U.S. Army North (formerly the Fifth
U.S. Army), U.S. Army South,
Fifth
Recruiting Brigade, 12th ROTC Brigade, the San Antonio Military Entrance
and Processing Station, the U.S. Naval School of Health Sciences,
Bethesda Detachment, and houses the Army’s principal medical training
facility – the Army Medical Department Center & School (AMEDDC&S).
The AMEDD
Center and School is the largest military medical training facility in
the world, with more than 25,000 students annually attending 170
different courses in 14 medical specialties, including over 7,000 combat
medical technicians. Additional training takes the form of distance
learning courses and mobile digital training facilities. AMEDD C&S
purchased AxisTV to interface with their students more effectively. We
spoke with Florence P. Emery, Chief of the Training Program Management
Office in the
Department of Academic Support and Quality Assurance at
the facility, to see how AxisTV is helping them to communicate with the
large student body.
“After 9/11, better
communication became a priority,” says Emery, an educator turned
civil servant for the past 25 years. “We were in the process of
upgrading our training materials and classrooms to be more modern, more
visual,“ when she and Tim Gregory, Chief of Classroom Technology
Support, participated in an AxisTV demonstration. They immediately saw
the advantages of Visix digital signage solutions and began the process
to have the system approved and championed by command leadership. “It’s
an easy system, user-friendly, and the ability to post emergency alerts
across the bottom of the screens was a major selling point. Our students
are so busy, their time is so compressed – we wanted to make them more
self-sufficient in getting the information they need.”
 AMEDD
C&S is currently running AxisTV Professional on six Visix Channel
Players sending content to large plasma screens and LCD displays in entryways, near
elevators, in the student processing area and in the dining facility.
The system is also delivering content as screen savers for staff as well
as in the classrooms. “The screens are all up high where people can’t
help but see them,” Emery tells us. “It sure saves a lot of scampering
around in the mornings by providing
immediate class location information, which saves a lot of time for
students and civilian visitors.” The system commonly broadcasts training
class information, weather forecasts, welcome messages and motivational
quotes. “We use an automated database for upcoming events so everything
is as current as possible,“ Emery continues. Content, however, can come
from any department.
“I am constantly getting new customers who
see our digital signs and want to participate.” Departments usually
generate their own communications and then send them to the
Training Program Management Office via email. Emery’s department makes
sure the content meets current approval guidelines and publishes it to
the system. The visual communications can be virtually anything:
information on classes, activities, and events; graduation times and
locations; emergency notices; candidate solicitation for research
projects and studies; information on the blood donor program;
announcements from the Moral & Welfare Department; updates on base
facilities; an ad for an upcoming golf tournament; even the occasional
distinguished visitor welcome notice. “Visiting civilians, politicians
and so on, enjoy seeing our signs welcoming them to the base.” From time
to time, they also run video from the Pentagon, “such as when the ‘Army
of One’ films were being screened on the Internet.”
Prioritizing such a range of communications may seem daunting,
but Emery thinks it is worthwhile. “We try to get it all out there, though
training, since we are a training facility, trumps a social event if we
have to make a choice.”
Emery describes their content as “graphic
heavy” and creators utilize an array of creation tools – Photoshop®,
PowerPoint®, Flash®, Tool Book®, and various authoring software. “While
email is probably still our primary communications tool, the plasma
screens are gaining ground,” says Emery. “I’m happy with AxisTV’s
performance. It’s a very good information management and emergency
notification tool and a quick way to get the info out there. It improves
participation in events and reinforces information from other sources,
such as post newspapers. Most importantly, it saves time for staff and
students.”
AMEDD’s biggest challenge is yet to come.
Due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) rules, various military
facilities around the country are being consolidated. Starting in 2009,
AMEDD will begin training personnel from the Navy and Air Force in
addition to the Army. They anticipate their student load, which is
around 4,400 students a day, will double or more. Seven new buildings
are being constructed and AxisTV will be a part of these new, expanded
facilities. Emery tells us, “Things will change drastically. We’ll have
to expand the system into new quarters, study areas, etc. We’ll put
plasmas into student and staff areas and the community center.” The
number of communications will also increase. “Even standard events will
probably triple,” she says. Communication needs will change to meet the
varied requirements, but there is no question of whether Visix systems
will be used for dynamic visual messaging to the expanded student body
and staff. “We’ve been using it long enough that it’s now a common
expectation.”
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