Browse Ideas with tag 'training':

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  Cross Utilization of Meeting Facilities

  All federal agencies have meeting rooms. Sometimes one organization has a need of more meeting rooms than are available in their own building/facility on a given day. Sometimes organizations are specifically directed to have an off-site meeting as a "retreat" away from their regular worksite to ensure full engagement in a particular activity. I work in downtown Washington DC. Everytime we need to have an off-site ...more »

  All federal agencies have meeting rooms. Sometimes one organization has a need of more meeting rooms than are available in their own building/facility on a given day. Sometimes organizations are specifically directed to have an off-site meeting as a "retreat" away from their regular worksite to ensure full engagement in a particular activity. I work in downtown Washington DC. Everytime we need to have an off-site retreat we go through elaborate measures to find a suitable meeting location. Sometimes we meet 20 miles away at another facility within our own agency, and sometimes we rent a meeting room at a local hotel. I don't believe we have EVER just gone five blocks up the street to borrow a conference room from another federal agency. Why not???? We are SURROUNDED by other federal agencies with plenty of meeting rooms. All we need is a meeting room to seat 30 people, bathrooms nearby, and someplace to buy drinks and snacks. Why are we not just borrowing conference rooms from other agencies when we need extra meetiing rooms or off-site meeting rooms? I believe that there should be a method for coordinating use of meeting rooms between the different federal buildings. This is ESPECIALLY true in DC where there are so many of them near eachother, but would also be applicable nationwide. My own building has a centralized on-line booking system to reserve conference rooms, but only people who work in my building can access the system. I assume the situation is similar at other agencies/buildings. At a minimum, we could arrange a single person as a point of contact to book rooms on behalf of other federal agencies. Perhaps the training office in each federal building could do this. Most of the "off-sites" are training activities. Most of us have sufficient security clearances/background checks to grant us access to most other federal buildings.

  The benefits are: 1--We don't pay to rent hotel meeting rooms. 2--We don't waste valuable employee time travelling excessive distances to meeting locations when closer options exist. 3--Training office staff don't spend excessive amounts of time trying to identify a suitable location. 4--We have extra meeting space available nearby when our own facilities are overbooked and empty rooms get used. This reduces the need to build/rent more space.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  DoD Combat Support Agency's Training Center

  With the increase of government civilian employees deploying to overseas locations to provide forward support to operations, many Combat Support Agencies (CSAs) are creating various, expensive contracts to train their personnel in tactics and individual protective measures. To save money, create a dedicated DoD CSA Training Center for employees going overseas who must learn tactics and individual protective measures. ...more »

  With the increase of government civilian employees deploying to overseas locations to provide forward support to operations, many Combat Support Agencies (CSAs) are creating various, expensive contracts to train their personnel in tactics and individual protective measures. To save money, create a dedicated DoD CSA Training Center for employees going overseas who must learn tactics and individual protective measures. This would be very similiar to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers but dedicated to DoD entities and partnering agencies who must send employees overseas.

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  Reform begins like Charity - at Home.

  The entire government, from civil servants to elected officials needs to be overhauled. However, change must begin somewhere, and that "where" is within how human resources and personnel management are handled. Because Congress is supposed to be serving the American public, just as the rest of us civil employees, they should be subject to the same rules, laws, and regulations with which the Office of Personnel Management ...more »

  The entire government, from civil servants to elected officials needs to be overhauled. However, change must begin somewhere, and that "where" is within how human resources and personnel management are handled.

  Because Congress is supposed to be serving the American public, just as the rest of us civil employees, they should be subject to the same rules, laws, and regulations with which the Office of Personnel Management governs us, especially where it pertains to pay, allowances, background security verifications, and benefits.

  As a Defense Finance and Accounting Service employee for nearly eighteen years, my coworkers and I know that if we do not perform our jobs effectively, not only are the war fighters and their families adversely affected, but so are we. Unfortunately, we have been negatively impacted by negligible to nonexistent cost of living pay increases while Congress enjoys their self-implemented pay increases and paid vacations at the expense of the American taxpayers.

  Congress has been allowed to function, cooperate (or not), and be productive (or not) at their own discretion, while having their pay and benefits virtually uninterrupted and steadily increasing. The American people all suffer because of their procrastination and dereliction of duties. Yet no reforms have taken place there as they should. Congress not only needs to be more transparent, but more accountable for their actions and failures to act.

  Instead, the brunt of improving efficiency in government has fallen on the common employees who are “in the trenches” of conducting this great nation’s business. We are victims of spending cut-backs which affect the amount of cash and time-off awards and other quality incentives that are given to well-deserving employees – awards, which have been proven to be essential morale boosters and motivators.

  Position and Time studies were performed under the guise of attempting to ensure that the salaries for particular position classifications are indistinguishable from identical positions across DFAS. However, we still have an imbalance between duties and pay grade. As a result of some of these reassessments, some of our positions have been down-graded though the type of work we do has increased in technical difficulty and volume and may remain at a higher grade at a different work site.

  We have been subject to hiring freezes/ pauses though over 50% of the workforce is retirement eligible; so more work is being completed by fewer people. Congress elected to employ a program to ensure that our agency is not without leadership – the now defunct Leaders in Motion Program. However, that initiative was doomed to failure because what government needs is more people who actually do the work, not more supervisors and managers.

  Basically, in order to reform our nation’s competency, one, a fresher workforce needs to be employed to replace retirees as they depart instead of the following year or not at all. This will take some stress and strain off the remaining workforce, which will result in decreased Sick Leave usage and increased presence. Two, position classifications and rankings need to be completed and made uniform throughout government according to their series. This will also ensure that candidates have the proper skill sets for the same type of job no matter the location. Three, current employees need to feel valued, and the best way to do that is to say “well done” with a token that reflects that. Last, but not least, promote employees within agencies rather than hire from off the street. Veteran employees have more direct knowledge and have already formed working relationships with their coworkers and customers. This would reduce the amount spent on training fledglings that are unfamiliar with the internal workings of the government.

  These improvements will put country on the right track to success for all its citizens.

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  Centralize Mandatory Federal Training (Computer-Based/Web-Based

  Establish central training for mandatory online (CBT/WBT) federal training, tracking, and reporting. Allow agencies and Departments to upload mission specific training and define curriculum for its employees. Allow the sharing of completion statistics and proof of completion/reciprocity among agencies. Eliminate redundant information in provided or required training.

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  Certification requirements

  In the government, certification requirements represent an area where potential savings are high. Due to reductions over the past 20 years, agencies have relied more on broad commercial or government certifications to take the place of specified training taylored to a specific job function. Over time this has resulted in potential overly certified, but under qualified situations. Recommend developing a system for ensuring ...more »

  In the government, certification requirements represent an area where potential savings are high. Due to reductions over the past 20 years, agencies have relied more on broad commercial or government certifications to take the place of specified training taylored to a specific job function. Over time this has resulted in potential overly certified, but under qualified situations. Recommend developing a system for ensuring the Gov isn't paying for unnecessary certifications (commercial can be especially expensive), and this system shouldn't assume management is always competant enough to make the determination (so a team/group of experts should sample accross all agencies annually).

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  Universal Soldier

  While the Nation's military is steeped in tradition and change is lengthy and sometimes painful, the idea of a Universal Soldier (US) becomes more appealing as resources become scarcer. The idea? By unifying the armed services, you are able to reduce redundancies, standardize training, create more agile, adaptive teams deployable for specific missions. Within the Unified Command you have specialty areas where the best ...more »

  While the Nation's military is steeped in tradition and change is lengthy and sometimes painful, the idea of a Universal Soldier (US) becomes more appealing as resources become scarcer. The idea? By unifying the armed services, you are able to reduce redundancies, standardize training, create more agile, adaptive teams deployable for specific missions. Within the Unified Command you have specialty areas where the best of each branch are selected to perform specific missions (air, ground or naval support etc.). Best practices are taken from each branch and adopted as the standard of training – the disparity between whose method is more effective, dwindling resources, uniform changes, TTPs, manuals – everything would be consolidated into one, streamlined organization. Every US (Universal Soldier) would be issued a standard ‘smart suit’ adaptable to the environment; trained to a national standard so senior leaders have more levity to plug-and-play individuals for specific missions; and a core of basic equipment and artillery every US is trained to employ. The greatest innovations develop not from where we were or are right now in the fight, but what the battlefield will look like in the future.

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  Change mandatory PCS of non-deploying & shore jobs for military

  This one is simple. Why are we requiring that people move to a new command if they have the ability to grow and develop where they are at, while fulfilling local billet requirements? Some navy ratings require balancing "In" and "Out" ratios, when in reality both are Shore billets. The only difference is that one is out-conus and one is in-conus. Maintain rotation for those who wish to rotate, but why is it impossible ...more »

  This one is simple.

  Why are we requiring that people move to a new command if they have the ability to grow and develop where they are at, while fulfilling local billet requirements?

  Some navy ratings require balancing "In" and "Out" ratios, when in reality both are Shore billets. The only difference is that one is out-conus and one is in-conus.

  Maintain rotation for those who wish to rotate, but why is it impossible for some sailors to fulfill a billet in the same command or geographical area they are working? It's a massive waste of tax-payer money to MANDATE that a member pack up and move elsewhere.

  Worse still, you lose specialized workers that know how to operate stuff no one else does. Why would you mandate those people move? Why wouldn't you mandate they train a replacement before they would be ALLOWED to move?

  A change of mandatory PCS is needed. Allow for more Homesteading when operations support it, rather than mandating a new body show up when a fully qualified one already exists.

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  Certification Requirements for Higly Technical Military Jobs

  Unlike other portions of the DoD, the military tends to skim over requirements like DoD8570 and push them aside for "A" and "C" schools (in US Navy Terminology) that teach information that is extremely outdated, poorly taught, and often focusing on the quantity of passing students rather than the quality of those students. Example: DoD8570 requires an E-5 in the navy working as a Computer Network Defense Analyst to ...more »

  Unlike other portions of the DoD, the military tends to skim over requirements like DoD8570 and push them aside for "A" and "C" schools (in US Navy Terminology) that teach information that is extremely outdated, poorly taught, and often focusing on the quantity of passing students rather than the quality of those students.

  Example: DoD8570 requires an E-5 in the navy working as a Computer Network Defense Analyst to obtain at least IAT level II (Security+ Certification), and Global Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA).

  Why aren't we sending these people to schools that certify them for these specialty positions before they arrive?

  Why do we have to rely on command training budgets to provide that training when they should be able to expect their technicians to hit the ground running when they arrive?

  Why do they have to wait to arrive at a command and suddenly realize the training they received has little to nothing to do with what they'll be doing for the next 3 years? These people should be allotted for and trained for specific positions based on aptitude BEFORE REACHING THEIR FIRST COMMAND.

  Then the same person PCS's to another command, and is put into an entirely different job where the skills they've learned only partially translate.

  Teach and Maintain SPECIALTY TECHNICIANS, not JACK OF ALL TRADES.

  Countless hours are spent by under-qualified personnel struggling through PQS or JQR requirements that should be taught far before they arrive at their duty station.

  We expect our Civilian and Contracted employees to hit the ground running, so why are we wasting so much money on training when we should be getting solid work hours out of them.

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  Eliminate or improve Mandatory training for federal employees

  In our agency Federal employees spend 11 hours annually completing 9 mandatory courses (Diversity, Sexual Harassment Prevention, Cyber Security, etc.) for our 3,000 employees, this adds up to 33,000 a year. Additionally, our 2,000 contractors must complete 4 hours, or 8,000 billable hours. In addition to time spent completing these courses, we also have employees creating courses, reminding people to complete courses, ...more »

  In our agency Federal employees spend 11 hours annually completing 9 mandatory courses (Diversity, Sexual Harassment Prevention, Cyber Security, etc.) for our 3,000 employees, this adds up to 33,000 a year. Additionally, our 2,000 contractors must complete 4 hours, or 8,000 billable hours.

  In addition to time spent completing these courses, we also have employees creating courses, reminding people to complete courses, tracking completions, and reporting completions. This adds up to almost 3 fte annually.

  For the most part, these courses a web-based training which amount to little more than clicking through a series of PowerPoint slides followed by a simple quiz.

  As a workplace learning professional with a Masters Degree in Adult Learning, this type of "training" is not effective. The goals and objectives of the requirements should be revisited. If it is to protect from liability (Sexual Harassment Prevention), we would be better served providing a clearly written document with rules and guidelines and gathering a signature of acknowledgement. If it is awareness, frequent communication throughout the year is more effective. If we truly want to provide employees with knowledge, skills, or attitudes that they do not already have* these courses should be designed with techniques that are effective in accomplishing those goals. Keep in mind--if employees already have the knowledge, skills, or attitudes, training will not provide added value.

  Let's free up our training budgets and resources for providing employees with new skills that WILL make a difference in their performance and in accomplishing the government's goals.

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  A Trillion Dollar waste - WELFARE,section8 ,low income housing

  http://www.hud.gov/complaints/fraud_waste.cfm -section 8 and low income housing encourages dependency and complacent behavior. Why work when you can get a house for practically free and keep collecting entitlements. ILLLEGAL squatting and unauthrized people live with a legal tenet often and this is a criminal offense since changes in family size and income are required to be reported. the section 8 system and low income ...more »

  http://www.hud.gov/complaints/fraud_waste.cfm -section 8 and low income housing encourages dependency and complacent behavior. Why work when you can get a house for practically free and keep collecting entitlements. ILLLEGAL squatting and unauthrized people live with a legal tenet often and this is a criminal offense since changes in family size and income are required to be reported. the section 8 system and low income housing system is a complete failure which has drained the US economy of trillions of dollars and maintained tenets in social and financial bondage. there is no incentive to leave section 8 or low income housing. why work or attend college when you can get housing for free or low cost. This encouranges drug abuse and out of wedlock births and tenet abuse by housing squatters and unauthorized people living in the units. section 8 and low income housing also reduce local taxpayers home values and create blighted neighborhoods with loud music and cars with dark windows and dirty messy yards often with dirt as a yard.. SECTION 8 and LOW INCOME HOUSING TENETS NEED TIME LIMITS of 1 to 3 years then they must be evicted from the units since they are living on free enititlements and have no incentive to Raise themselves out of the free benefits. WAKE UP AMERICA! WE ARE TRILLIONS IN DEBT and giving away FREE BENEFITS . remember that all secion 8 and low income housing authoritys are TAX FREE and you pay the costs of educating the people and their rents are susidized and food and insurance are subsidized and paid for. its like the midlle and upper class is paying triple to live, we all have to pay for everyone else.. its not fair..http://www.hud.gov/complaints/fraud_waste.cfm

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  Funding Source Training

  There should be a mandatory training course for all government employees, be they military, civilian, contracted, elected, and political appointees. Title the training “Where does our funding come from?” Unless you are tax exempt or your office receives no funding from Congressional Appropriations then you need to be trained on how your government agency obtains its funding. Once the initial training is completed annual ...more »

  There should be a mandatory training course for all government employees, be they military, civilian, contracted, elected, and political appointees. Title the training “Where does our funding come from?” Unless you are tax exempt or your office receives no funding from Congressional Appropriations then you need to be trained on how your government agency obtains its funding. Once the initial training is completed annual refresher training shall be given.

  Tie this training with a reward system for employees identifying projects or processes that are wasting funding. Provide an alternative to the wasteful process that is faster, cheaper, and provides a quality product and be rewarded.

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  Provide promotion opportunities for people with disabilities

  People with disabilities are usually warehoused once hired -- not considered for promotional opportunities, not mentored, not considered real employees with talents, goals, and the ability to contribute. Create a management track for people with disabilities to overcome these barriers.

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  Discipline and Remove Bad Managers

  I can't tell you how many bad federal managers I've had who've skated through multiple grievances (which they lost), "gotcha" management styles, egregious incompetence and rampant employee abuse, and gone on to promotions and bonuses and a long federal career in management. Mandate management discipline, including loss of management position, bonuses and future employability as a manager until they can prove they've ...more »

  I can't tell you how many bad federal managers I've had who've skated through multiple grievances (which they lost), "gotcha" management styles, egregious incompetence and rampant employee abuse, and gone on to promotions and bonuses and a long federal career in management.

  Mandate management discipline, including loss of management position, bonuses and future employability as a manager until they can prove they've corrected all those bad traits. Mandate that every lost grievance be added to their OPF / performance record. Remove bad managers, the number one reason for waste, fraud and abuse in the federal system.

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  Give small offices larger training budgets

  Our small office of 24 people has about $5K/year for everybody's training. SES training alone for one person is $7K+ so nobody in our office ever gets training to advance in our careers. Mandate a pool of training money at every agency for the smaller offices, for which people can apply for fellowships, SES training and other professional advancement training. The offices with $6 bilion budgets have no problem training ...more »

  Our small office of 24 people has about $5K/year for everybody's training. SES training alone for one person is $7K+ so nobody in our office ever gets training to advance in our careers. Mandate a pool of training money at every agency for the smaller offices, for which people can apply for fellowships, SES training and other professional advancement training. The offices with $6 bilion budgets have no problem training their people, and the excellent people in the small offices are at a great professional disadvantage

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Take top 25 submissions and top 25 contributors for discussion

  I like most ideas on this website. I think that most ideas have come from somebody who is trying to do a great job at what they do. It has become so difficult to navigate through that, I have decided to take 15 minutes out of my day to dedicate to this at home on my own time. I believe that the top 25 contributors and top 25 idea submitters should be invited to bring their heads together and discuss what is really ...more »

  I like most ideas on this website. I think that most ideas have come from somebody who is trying to do a great job at what they do.

  It has become so difficult to navigate through that, I have decided to take 15 minutes out of my day to dedicate to this at home on my own time.

  I believe that the top 25 contributors and top 25 idea submitters should be invited to bring their heads together and discuss what is really important to their agency and to the federal government as a whole.

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  Add Recurring Function Skills Tests for Reserve Military

  I propose that members of the Reserve military forces (National Guard/Reserves) be subject to recurring job specialty proficiency tests. This could be done either on a set time basis, or as part of the re-enlistment process. On initial entry or re-classification, each military member receives specialized training specific to the career field that they have chosen. Army schools (for example) provide the majority of this ...more »

  I propose that members of the Reserve military forces (National Guard/Reserves) be subject to recurring job specialty proficiency tests. This could be done either on a set time basis, or as part of the re-enlistment process.

  On initial entry or re-classification, each military member receives specialized training specific to the career field that they have chosen. Army schools (for example) provide the majority of this training, but also require “on-the-job” training to round-out the trainee’s knowledge.

  Without leadership and other co-workers staying up to date and proficient in their trade, this “on-the-job” training cannot be accomplished for the incoming employee. I therefore propose that each service member be required to take recurring tests to ensure that skills have been retained.

  Tests for the specific Military Occupational Specialty (“MOS” in the Army) that each employee is assigned should be updated regularly to include recent changes and procedures. This will ensure that long-time soldiers and leaders are keeping up-to-date with current equipment, procedures, etc.

  This will help keep our force (especially the Reserve Component) relevant. If a member cannot show that they can do their job, perhaps it is time for them to leave and clear the way for someone who can.

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  Sabbatical opportunities

  Non-executive federal employees are not offered sabbatical opportunities. Widening the opportunities for sabbaticals to employees at a variety of levels in government could enable educational opportunities, skill growth, and new skill development-- increasing the value of the employee to the organization and enabling greater contributions from the employee.

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  Send the Training to the Trainees -- Not Vice Versa

  I will be part of a large group from the Midwest – many from the same physical location -- that will soon be traveling to CA for training. I am hoping that the idea to send training to the trainees is implemented pronto. Send the trainer, or the training manual on e-reader or DVD, or the video streaming, BUT don't send the masses of employees, please. From a safety standpoint, from a national debt standpoint, from removing ...more »

  I will be part of a large group from the Midwest – many from the same physical location -- that will soon be traveling to CA for training. I am hoping that the idea to send training to the trainees is implemented pronto. Send the trainer, or the training manual on e-reader or DVD, or the video streaming, BUT don't send the masses of employees, please. From a safety standpoint, from a national debt standpoint, from removing essential employees from their jobs for weeks at a time standpoint, from an environmental standpoint, to the public perception standpoint – do it now.

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  Use Federal Employees for Training Providers

  With all the talent in the federal government between advanced degrees and military veterans with training/instructional backgrounds it would seem that we could do much of our leadership and management training with federal employees as long as we didn't restrict them to their own agency. Of course, some managers might not like the idea of getting management training from a non-supervisor who holds a graduate degree, ...more »

  With all the talent in the federal government between advanced degrees and military veterans with training/instructional backgrounds it would seem that we could do much of our leadership and management training with federal employees as long as we didn't restrict them to their own agency. Of course, some managers might not like the idea of getting management training from a non-supervisor who holds a graduate degree, teaches part-time for a university and was a Master Training Specialist in the military before they became a Fed and have to wait their turn before they can move into management.

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  Use Wipeboard Paint in Training Rooms Instead of Using Papers

  If the walls in traing and conference rooms were painted with Wipeboard paint, the need for easels, easel paper, wipeboards (of all sizes), and the like, would be drastically diminished.

  http://www.ideapaint.com/work/products/

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  Consolidate Admin Functions

  All agencies have HR offices with payroll processing, staffing, benefits counseling, and training. All of these functions are very similar if not exactly the same across government. Small agencies with 7-100 FTE have their own individual HR people. Ten or twenty of these agencies could uses the same servicing with far fewer people.

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  Consolidate Training Offices

  In the FAA, every line of business (LOB) has a separate training development organization. The Instructional Systems Specialists (ISS) that develop training are not technical experts. There should be no difference in which LOB they design training for. Consolidating these offices in to one FAA training organization would streamline personnel positions and reduce overhead. This may even be possible government-wide.

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  Implement Use of Resources Already in Place

  There are many ways the government can rein in mounting costs by adjusting programs already in place. 1) Do away with Leave Without Pay. In the non-government sector this is not an option. Federal Employees earn vacation and sick leave. There are programs set up to donate hours to employees who have used all of their leave and are truly sick. The Leave Without Pay program costs the government in not only wages for the ...more »

  There are many ways the government can rein in mounting costs by adjusting programs already in place.

  1) Do away with Leave Without Pay. In the non-government sector this is not an option. Federal Employees earn vacation and sick leave. There are programs set up to donate hours to employees who have used all of their leave and are truly sick. The Leave Without Pay program costs the government in not only wages for the retention of employees who abuse it, but also lost wages for tracking non-pay for employees, increased workload and decreased morale of employees who are at work and loss in production. Implement a point system for hours taken that are not vacation or sick. After “x” (6?) amount of points are reached the employee is dismissed.

  2) Set up a third bracket for hiring. The bracket would be “Permanent”, “Current Employee, Not Permanent” and “Public”. The massive drive for Disabled Veteran Preference has overcast the possibility of highly qualified current “Temporary” individuals from even being selected for an interview. If an employee is not “Permanent” they have to apply through the “outside” for any permanent position that is posted. Too many excellent employees are “Qualifying” at 100%, but are not “Certifying” (no chance for interviewing) because they are not Disabled Veterans. This will save time and money for training individuals who have no Government work experience except their military time. Along with this the Preference Paperwork needs to be checked out more closely to make sure the Preference isn’t being given to spouses who do not deserve it. This will at the minimum increase the morale of current employees by at least giving them the chance to interview and ultimately save money through a reduction in training time.

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  1 comment for Idea: Implement Use of Resources Already in Place

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Adopt Agile Project management practices over PMP waterfall

  It's not just applicable to software! Use an iterative method of determining requirements (all products) and for delivering products in a highly flexible and interactive manner. The iterative life cycle products delivered by small teams in stages should be 'field-tested' prototypes with iterative complexity, which undergo regular status updates/customer reviews and lead to to strong functional requirements development ...more »

  It's not just applicable to software! Use an iterative method of determining requirements (all products) and for delivering products in a highly flexible and interactive manner. The iterative life cycle products delivered by small teams in stages should be 'field-tested' prototypes with iterative complexity, which undergo regular status updates/customer reviews and lead to to strong functional requirements development (don't write requirements documents first!) Cut management overhead (and redundant CM board reviews+) using these PMBOK agile PM methodologies. To succeed the Team Lead/PM must have strong leadership and innovation skills by which to empowered individuals (smaller team/project leaders) from the relevant business and supplier and customer input must be received. Watch the return of innovation, accountability, and personal employee investment & self-motivation while dramatically reducing the cost and schedule!

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  Add your comment for Idea: Adopt Agile Project management practices over PMP waterfall

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  Use E-readers instead printing books for basic academies

  If DHS/CBP would issue e-readers such as the Kindle or Sony e-reader to CBP basic trainees instead of constantly updating and reprinting materials it would. after the initial expenditure, greatly reduce the cost of training to the federal gov't. These can be items that the trainee has to sign for as any other piece of equipment and is responsible for such. This would also eliminate the need for those costly backpacks ...more »

  If DHS/CBP would issue e-readers such as the Kindle or Sony e-reader to CBP basic trainees instead of constantly updating and reprinting materials it would. after the initial expenditure, greatly reduce the cost of training to the federal gov't. These can be items that the trainee has to sign for as any other piece of equipment and is responsible for such. This would also eliminate the need for those costly backpacks that are issued to each new trainee. The technologies are in place to include the wireless networks at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

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