Director, Operational Test and Evaluation

Last updated September 11, 2025

Director, Operational Test & Evaluation Official Seal Dotelogo.png — Director, Operational Test & Evaluation Official Seal

The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) is the principal staff assistant and adviser to the US Secretary of Defense on operational and live fire test and evaluation activities involving U.S. Department of Defense weapons systems.^[1]

Responsibilities

The director reports directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, with the following responsibilities:

Development and dissemination of Department of Defense operational test and evaluation policy and procedures
Review and analysis of operational test and evaluation results for Department of Defense acquisition programs
Independent assessments of operational test and evaluation activities as it pertains to budgetary and financial issues for the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense, and the United States Congress
Oversight to ensure the adequacy of operational test and evaluation for major Department of Defense acquisition programs and to confirm the operational effectiveness and suitability of the defense systems in combat use

History

The director's position was established September 24, 1983, by the Department of Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1984 (P.L. 98–94), and by Defense Directive 5141.2 of April 2, 1984.

Organization

The Operational Test and Evaluation Directorate of the Office of the Secretary of Defense is organized as follows:

Air Warfare Joint Test and Evaluation
Land and Expeditionary Warfare / Integrated Resource Analysis Team/Test and Evaluation Threat Resource Activity (IRAT/TETRA)
Live Fire Test and Evaluation
Naval Warfare
Net Centric and Space Systems

The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation also maintains liaison with the Joint Chiefs of Staff J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team.^[2]

Directors

Director, Operational Test and Evaluation^[3]^[4]
Name	Tenure	SecDef(s) Served Under	President(s) Served Under
John E. Krings	April 18, 1985 - June 30, 1989	Caspar W. Weinberger Frank C. Carlucci III William H. Taft IV (Acting) Richard B. Cheney	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
Robert C. Duncan	November 22, 1989 - January 20, 1993	Richard B. Cheney	George H. W. Bush
Lee Frame (Acting)	January 21, 1993 - September 30, 1994	Leslie Aspin, Jr. William J. Perry	William Clinton
Philip E. Coyle III	October 3, 1994 - January 19, 2001	William J. Perry William S. Cohen	William Clinton
Thomas P. Christie	July 17, 2001 - January 31, 2005	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
David W. Duma (Acting)	February 1, 2005 - July 26, 2006	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
Dr. Charles E. McQueary	July 27, 2006 - May 31, 2009	Donald H. Rumsfeld Robert M. Gates	George W. Bush Barack Obama
David W. Duma (Acting)	June 1, 2009 - September 22, 2009	Robert M. Gates	Barack Obama
Dr. J. Michael Gilmore	September 23, 2009 - January 19, 2017	Robert M. Gates Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Ash Carter	Barack Obama
David W. Duma (Acting)	January 20, 2017 - December 10, 2017	James Mattis	Donald Trump
Robert Behler	December 11, 2017 – January 20, 2021	James Mattis Patrick Shanahan (Acting) Mark Esper Christopher C. Miller (Acting)	Donald Trump
Dr. Raymond D. O'Toole, Jr. (Acting)	January 20, 2021 – December 20, 2021	David Norquist (Acting) Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
Nickolas Guertin	December 20, 2021 – December 20, 2023	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
Dr. Raymond D. O'Toole, Jr. (Acting)	December 20, 2023 – April 8, 2024	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
Dr. Douglas C. Schmidt	April 8, 2024 – January 20, 2025	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
Dr. Raymond D. O'Toole, Jr. (Acting)	January 20, 2025 – May 30, 2025	Pete Hegseth	Donald Trump
Carroll P. (Rick) Quade (Acting)	May 30, 2025 – Present	Pete Hegseth	Donald Trump

References

↑ "About DOT&E - Director Bio", http://www.dote.osd.mil/about/gilmorebio.html
↑ "Factsheets : Joint Deployable Analysis Team". Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
↑ "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
↑ "DOT&E > About".

External links

Official website
Statement by The Honorable Philip E. Coyle, Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E), before the AirLand Subcommittee of the United States Senate Armed Services Committee – Russell Senate Office Building, Room 232A – March 25, 1998

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[1] "About DOT&E - Director Bio", http://www.dote.osd.mil/about/gilmorebio.html

[2] "Factsheets : Joint Deployable Analysis Team". Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.

[3] "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.

[4] "DOT&E > About".

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