Defense transformation : Army Test Command ensures equipment meets standards

Defense AT&L, May-June, 2005 by Brent A. Hunt

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Before U.S. soldiers around the world take a new piece of gear to the field, either wearing it, driving it, or firing it, the Operational Test Command at Fort Hood tests it to make sure it meets Army standards and can be used in the field functionally by the everyday soldier.

"We test everything from clothes to chemical, biological [equipment] to masks," said Lt. Col. Greg Netardus, test management division chief. "Almost everything that comes into the Army is tested by the [command]."

Operational Test Command's task is to conduct realistic operational testing in the areas of equipment, doctrine, force design, and training. The tests conducted are required by public law and provide significant data to Army decision makers on key systems and concepts around the world.

Located on west Fort Hood are the Test and Evaluation Support Activity and five of Operational Test Command's test directorates: the Aviation Test Directorate; the Command, Control, Communications and Computers Test Directorate; the Close Combat Test Directorate; the Engineer and Combat Support Test Directorate; and the Future Force Test Directorate.

"The Operational Test Command was established 34 years ago at Fort Hood, and I am proud to have been a part of it for the whole ride," said Arthur Woods, the longest employed tester at Fort Hood's Operational Test Command and currently director of resource management. "The mission has remained the same--to make sure that equipment issued to soldiers has been tested under operational conditions by functional experts. It is a team of noncommissioned officers, warrant officers, officers and civilians backed up by support contractors," Woods added. "We use noncommissioned officers as test officers, because they bring experience with them. [They] have been the back bone of testing, because they put their hands on the equipment daily." Recently, the command conducted a study on a piece of equipment in every conceivable situation around all parts of the world.

"We just finished extensive tests on a Joint Services mask," said Phillip Riley, military test plans analyst. "We had all the Services test them in every type of environment around the world while they were doing their job. Afterwards, we collected data and made our recommendations on how to improve it."

Not only does the command test masks and clothes, they are the main testers for the Stryker Brigades and the Apache Longbow helicopters.

"When we did the Stryker test, we brought outside units [field artillery, air defense, etc.] to [Fort Knox, Ky.] and they tried it out in a field environment," Riley said. "We tested [Stryker Brigade] for three months at Fort Knox because that was the best place to do it with units that actually use that specific equipment."

With a $100 million annual budget, the biggest test Operational Test Command is currently conducting is the Army Battle Command System.

Before 4th Infantry Division went into Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 4th Inf. Div., or now known by many as the Army's high-tech division, was the test bed for digitations on the digital battlefield.

"Digitations on the digital battlefield give the commander information on where friendly and enemy forces are in real time," Netardus said. "In fact, some guys weren't real comfortable with it when it first came out until they realized it really worked."

4th Infantry Division is still the main unit being tested with this new system, and they will use it when they redeploy back to the front.

"Not only do we ensure equipment is compatible when units and soldiers first start to use it, we look at the whole system and if it breaks, determine what can be done to fix it and if it can be fixed," Netardus said. "We no longer wait for equipment to be tested. We send out rapid testing teams to see how equipment is doing," he added. "We have people here that will do whatever it takes to get the job done."

From operational testing of shovels to the Stryker Brigade on to the Apache Longbow helicopter, the underlying philosophy that guides the Operational Test Command is its motto, "Truth in Testing."

Staff Sgt. Brent A. Hunt, USA

Hunt is on the staff of the Fort Hood Sentinel, published at Fort Hood, Texas.