7/31/2019 Operational Test Command NCOs

1/242 JULY 2012

INA

CTION

BY JENNIFER MATTSON NCO Journal

When Soldiers sign or and receive equipment,many dont realize the extent to which thatequipment has been tested to meet the Armys

stringent standards.I didnt know anything about how the Army got

equipment, said Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Carbon, anAvenger Air Deense System crewmember with the U.S.Army Operational est Command. I thought they justwent out and bought stu. But its this huge testing arena

that ensures we get the best piece o equipment or ourSoldiers.

Carbon said he is a subject-matter expert during teststhe Army uses to decide whether a piece o air deenseartillery equipment is ready or the battleeld.

Te process to decide whether any item is ready orneeds updating is overseen by the U.S. Army est andEvaluation Command.

Command Sgt. Maj. Allen Fritzsching, the commandsergeant major o AEC, to which OC reports, said theprocess o testing equipment is extensive. It starts as AECreceives equipment and tests it within controlled environ-

ments, then tests it in combat-like scenarios.

Aer its been tested at our test ranges and by ourengineers and by all our great olks, we transer that pieceo equipment to Operational est Command, Fritzschingsaid. Tey put it in the hands o Soldiers using variousscenarios that replicate how that piece o equipment willbe used by units in our Army. Tey get the eedback romthe Soldiers, they combine that inormation with the inomation rom our test centers and developmental testing,and that inormation goes to the Army Evaluation Centerwhich writes the nal report or our senior leaders anddecision-makers to make a decision on the elding o tha

equipment.Operational est Command is where NCOs give the

equipment to Soldiers to use it as they would on the battleld. OCs unique mission has NCOs conduct a varietyo tests and sends them downrange to listen to Soldiersissues with the equipment. OC is one o the last stopsa new or upgraded piece o equipment will go throughbeore being passed to Soldiers in-theater.

NCOs who work at OC are responsible or the naltests these systems undergo, said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Bobb, the ormer command sergeant major or OC

Once it gets to an operational test, its almost ready to

be elded, Bobb said. Once we get that piece o equip-ment, well go out and break it. Well takit out to the environment that replicateswhat the piece o equipment is goingto be elded into. Well take it throughthe bumps and bruises, and treat it thesame way as its designed to work. Wellgive it to an actual unit that has probabldeployed, and theyll take it out and useit. Well then collect data rom them andsee how it operates.

Finding NCOs to ll slots at OC isoen a challenge, Bobb said. OC need

Soldiers who have deployed and areprocient in their military occupationalspecialty.

NCOs test the latestArmy equipmentOperational Test Command NCOs ensure Soldiers get the bes

Sgt. 1st Class George Parrott (let), a

research, development, test and evalua-

tion NCO with the Maneuver Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Comman

brings body armor to a Soldier on the fre

direction control team. The mortar platoo

was participating in an operational test othe Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiativ

cartridge at Fort Bliss, Texas. PHOTO

COURTESY OF OPERATIONAL TEST COMMAND

7/31/2019 Operational Test Command NCOs

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When we recruit our noncommissioned ofcers, wemake sure that they have a combat background experi-ence, Bobb said. Teir background experience is very

important to the testing o that piece o equipment. TatNCO has more knowledge and experience to provide thebest input.

NCOs are the subject-matter experts, depending ontheir backgrounds, on how the equipment might be useddownrange. Tey are also responsible or running gun-nery tables and or ensuring the ranges arent aectingthe results o the test, Bobb said.

What we do is make sure the Army sets down astandard, and the product needs to meet that standard,Carbon said. We conduct the test and record it as ac-curately as possible. We then provide that inormation tothe individuals who make the choices.

Master Sgt. Jay High, a satellite microwave systems chiewith OC, said NCOs act as unbiased observers to ensurethe Soldiers on the ground are getting the best equipment.

We are the independent testers o the Army, Highsaid. When the Army est and Evaluation Command hassomething, we dont care i its good or bad we donthave stock in any company.

We just want the best product in the hands o mybattle buddies who are out there who will be using thatequipment when it matters the most.

Network Integration Exercises are a series o semi-annual tests, in which three Army commands, including

AEC and OC, place emergingsystems in the hands o Soldiersand conduct combat-like scenarios.NIEs allow the Army to save moneyby deploying multiple systems andobserving how they work togetherearly on in the acquisition process.Where ve separate tests could costthe Army more, the Army stream-lines the process by integratingthe systems to save on resources,manpower and costs, Bobb said.

OC also conducts limited-user

tests, which are designed or systems and equipment thatare particular to one unction or MOS.

Tese short scenarios allow or a simple test mostlyused or systems that are already elded but require a so-ware update, Bobb said.

In addition, customer tests allow units to request cer-tain equipment or upgrades rom the Army. OC NCOswill then conduct the necessary tests to ensure that equip-ment is up to the Armys standard.

Master Sgt. ravis Wheat, a research, development andtest NCO or the U.S. Army Evaluation Command, whichalls under AEC, said AEC conducts rapid elding initia-

tives, which works to put the latest equipment into the

warghters hands as ast as possible.Te expertise that the NCO Corps provides to AEC

provides a better product to our Soldiers, Wheat said.Everything we do on a daily basis is seen on the battleeldimmediately. Te improvements we make save lives. Everyday were doing something thats helping the warrior.

OC, as part o AECs mission, deploys NCOs over-seas to ensure that the equipment that was rapidly eldedis working the way it was designed to.

High recently deployed to Aghanistan with this mis-sion and was the NCO in charge at AECs orward oper-ating site. With 14 people NCOs, ofcers and a civilian

High assisted in evaluating 35systems over a six-month pe-riod. Te team members attach todeployed units and collect assess-ments on the equipment in-theater.Tey then write the test report,which is looked at by one-, two-and three-star generals who decidewhether a piece o equipment isneeded or requires an upgrade.

We take the voice o the indi-vidual Soldier all the way to thehighest levels o the Army to the

decision-makers, High said. I we have an assessmentthat only needs 10 or 12 peoples input, it makes that indi-

vidual Soldiers input and voice very important.Tough the process o testing equipment is complex

and oen takes about a year to learn, NCOs at AEC andOC say they will see their eorts when they go back tothe operational Army.

I have deployed, and Ive seen this process work,Carbon said. I work to provide Soldiers or years to comewith reliable and proven equipment.

Ill see these products again; my Soldiers will use theseproducts later in their career.

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Carbon (let) conducts an

interview with a 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored

Division, Soldier who was participating in the operational

test o the Handheld Manpack Small Form Fit radio systemduring a network integration exercise at Fort Bliss. PHOTO BY

DENNIS MCELVEEN

We just want the bestproduct in the hands o mybattle buddies who are out

there who will be using

that equipment when it

matters the most. MASTER SGT. JAY HIGH