ADL origins

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) established the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative in 1997 to develop a strategy for using learning and information technologies to modernize education and training and to promote cooperation between government, industry and academia to develop
e-learning standardization.

The United States military serves the educational needs of 2.5 million military personnel, DoD civilians, and their dependents.

With an annual expenditure of over $17 billion to provide military training and professional military education, improvements and efficiencies have substantial bottom line implications.