United States Army Test and Evaluation Command

Last updated

U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command
ATEC.png
ATEC logo
Active1 Oct 1999 – present
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Garrison/HQ Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Motto(s)Truth in Testing
Website www.atec.army.mil/index.html
Commanders
Current
commander
Major General Patrick L. Gaydon
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
United States Army Test and Evaluation Command DUI.png
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia United States Army Test and Evaluation Command SSI.png United States Army Test and Evaluation Command SSI with ABN Tab.png
Beret flashes worn
by the Airborne and
Special Operations
Test Directorate (left)
and Airborne Test
Force (right)
OTC beret flash.gif US Army Airborne Test Force flash.png

The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, or ATEC, is a direct reporting unit of the United States Army responsible for developmental testing, independent operational testing, independent evaluations, assessments, and experiments of Army equipment. [1]

Contents

ATEC is located throughout the continental United States and Hawaii. Command headquarters is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. [2]

History

Consolidation of all Army developmental and operational testing commands was approved by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army on 18 Nov. 1998. The decision led to the redesignation of the Operational Test and Evaluation Command to ATEC on 1 Oct. 1999. All major subordinate commands of OPTEC were redesignated as well with the Test and Evaluation command redesignated as the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground; the Test and Experimentation Command was redesignated the U.S. Army Operational Test Command, Fort Hood, Texas; and the Operational Evaluation Command and the Evaluation Analysis Center were combined to form the new U.S. Army Evaluation Center located at Aberdeen Proving Ground. [2]

Operations

ATEC conducts testing for all branches of the military and maintains a large customer base that includes the National Security Agency, Joint Chiefs of Staff, allied foreign countries, and Congress. ATEC employs approximately 9,000 military, civilian and contract employees that are highly skilled test officers, engineers, scientists, technicians, researchers, and evaluators. ATEC is involved in more than 1,100 tests daily that encompass everything from individual weapons to National Missile Defense systems. The annual budget for the command is in excess of half a billion dollars. [1] [3]

Test centers

Army Test and Evaluation Command facilities and locations in the United States U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command Organization locations map.jpg
Army Test and Evaluation Command facilities and locations in the United States
OTC beret flash.gif The Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate test-drop a LAV-25A2 for suitability as an armor platform for airborne units
US Army Airdrop Test of LAV-25A2-Deploy.jpg
A U.S. Air Force C-17 delivers a U.S. Marine Corps LAV-25A2 at 1,500 ft (457 m) over Fort Bragg...
US Army Airdrop Test of LAV-25A2-Drop.jpg
and airdropped onto Sicily Drop Zone...
US Army Airdrop Test of LAV-25A2-Recovery.jpg
where U.S. Army paratroopers prepare the LAV and its weapons for action...
US Army Airdrop Test of LAV-25A2-Fire.jpg
then test-fire its weapons as part of OTC's airdrop certification. [4]

Operational Test Command (OTC) locations:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command Official Homepage, U.S. Army, last accessed 1 February 2018
  2. 1 2 U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, History, U.S. Army, last accessed 1 February 2018
  3. U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, Organization, U.S. Army, last accessed 1 February 2018
  4. 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team airdrop tests Light Armor Vehicle; Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command Public Affairs; by Mr. Rod Manke, dated 25 January 2018, last accessed 27 November 2020

Further reading