United States Army Test and Evaluation Command

U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command
ATEC's shoulder sleeve insignia
Active	1 October 1999 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Command
Role	Testing and evaluation
Part of	Transformation and Training Command
Garrison/HQ	Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Motto	Truth in Testing
Website	atec.army.mil army.mil/atec
Commanders
Commanding general	MG Patrick L. Gaydon
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
Beret flashes worn by the Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (left) and Airborne Test Force (right)
ATEC seal

The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, or ATEC, is a unit of the United States Army Transformation and Training Command responsible for developmental testing, independent operational testing, independent evaluations, assessments, and experiments of Army equipment. ^{[1] [2]}

ATEC informs Army senior leaders of testing and evaluation activities. These activities help Army leadership make acquisition and fielding decisions. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

ATEC has locations throughout the continental United States and Hawaii. ATEC headquarters is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. ^[6]

History

On 18 November 1998, consolidation of existing Army (developmental and operational) testing commands was approved by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (VCSA). ^{[7] [8]}

The Operational Test and Evaluation Command (OPTEC) was redesignated as the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) on 1 October 1999. ^{[7] [8]}

All major subordinate commands of OPTEC were similarly redesignated: ^[6]

• U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM) became the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command (DTC), Aberdeen Proving Ground.

• U.S. Army Test and Experimentation Command (TEXCOM) was redesignated U.S. Army Operational Test Command (OTC), at Fort Hood, Texas.

• The Operational Evaluation Command and the Evaluation Analysis Center combined, forming the U.S. Army Evaluation Center (AEC), located at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Operations

ATEC employs approximately 9,000 military, civilian, and contract employees. These employees consist of test officers, engineers, scientists, technicians, researchers, and evaluators. ATEC is involved in over 2,300 tests annually, encompassing anything from individual weapons to National Missile Defense systems. ^[6]

The annual budget for the command is in excess of half a billion dollars.^{[ citation needed ]}

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

Test centers and subordinate units

United States-based facilities and locations of the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC)

Related test centers and subordinate units: ^[9]

• Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG)
  • Army Evaluation Center (AEC)
  • Aberdeen Test Center (ATC)
  • Joint Test Element (JTE)
• Dugway Proving Ground (DPG)
  • West Desert Test Center (WDTC)
• Electronic Proving Ground (EPG)
• Redstone Test Center (RTC)
• White Sands Missile Range (WSMR)
  • White Sands Test Center (WSTC)
• Yuma Proving Ground (YPG)
  • Yuma Test Center (YTC)
  • Tropic Regions Test Center (TRTC)
  • Arctic Region Test Center (ARTC)

The Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate test-drop a LAV-25A2 for suitability as an armor platform for airborne units

At Fort Bragg, an LAV-25A2 is delivered by
a USAF C-17 at 1,500 ft (457 m)...

is airdropped onto Sicily Drop Zone...

and U.S. Army paratroopers prepare the LAV for action...

then test-fire its weapons, as part of OTC's airdrop certification. ^[10]

ATEC subordinate, Operational Test Command (OTC) locations: ^[11]

• Fort Hood:
  • OTC headquarters
  • Aviation Test Directorate (AVTD)
  • Test Technology Directorate (TTD)
  • Maneuver Test Directorate (MTD)
  • Maneuver Support and Sustainment Test Directorate (MS2TD)
  • Mission Command Test Directorate (MCTD)
• Fort Bragg – Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (ABNSOTD)
• Fort Bliss – Air and Missile Defense Test Directorate (AMDTD)
• Fort Sill – Fire Support Test Directorate (FSTD)
• Fort Huachuca – Intelligence Electronic Warfare Test Directorate (IEWTD)

See also

Similar organizations in the Navy and Marine Corps

• Marine Corps Test Unit (MCTU), defunct experimentation unit
• Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA), an independent U.S. Navy test organization
• Naval Air Warfare Center, research organization
• Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), submarine research organization
• Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR), operational testing and evaluation organization

Similar Air Force organizations

• Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), an independent U.S. Air Force test organization
• Air Force Test Center (AFTC), research and flight testing organization

Similar DoD organizations and roles

• Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), presidentially-appointed adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Defense on all DoD research
• Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC), DoD information technology testing organization

References

1. "Homepage | U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command". www.atec.army.mil. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
2. ARMY FUTURES COMMAND, *Who We Are,", Army.mil, last accessed 10 October 202&
3. "Organization | U.S. Army". army.mil. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025. U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) | Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (___enter___); ATEC is designated as a Direct Reporting Unit (DRU) by the Secretary of the Army and reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Army. The ATEC plans, integrates, and conducts: experiments, developmental testing, independent operational testing, and independent evaluations and assessments to provide essential information to acquisition decision makers and Commanders.
4. "Organization chart of Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA)" (PDF). api.army.mil. Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army (OAA). 12 February 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
5. "Air and Missile Defense | OTC". atec.army.mil/otc. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025. (...) ATEC and OTC maintain their congressional[ly] mandated position of independent test and evaluation leadership to provide senior Army and DoD leadership operational test assessments to enable leaders to make acquisition and fielding decisions.
6. "History | ATEC". www.atec.army.mil. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025. In 1998, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army approved the consolidation of developmental and operational testing. Central to the consolidation was ATEC assuming overall responsibility for all Army developmental and operational testing. The original U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM) became a major subordinate command of ATEC and was redesignated as the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command (DTC). In addition, the U.S. Army Test and Experimentation Command (TEXCOM) was redesignated the U.S. Army Operational Test Command (OTC). The third ATEC subordinate organization that was redesignated encompassed both the U.S. Army Operational Evaluation Command and the U.S. Army Evaluation Analysis Center, which were combined to form the U.S. Army Evaluation Center (AEC), completing the earlier decision to move developmental and operational evaluation into a single, integrated command. (___enter___); ATEC's 8,000+ military, civilian, and contractor personnel are highly skilled test officers, engineers, scientists, technicians, researchers, and evaluators who are involved in over 2,300 tests annually. (...) (___enter___); As a direct reporting unit (DRU) under the Vice Chief of Staff the Army, ATEC is dedicated to informing Army senior leaders and enabling the Army's continuous transformation(.) (...)
7. "History | OTC". atec.army.mil. Archived from the original on 5 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025. On November 18, 1998, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army approved consolidation of developmental and operational testing. That decision led to the re-designation of the Operational Test and Evaluation Command (OPTEC) to the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) on October 1, 1999.
8. "History of U.S. Army Operational Test Command (1999-Present)" (PDF). atec.army.mil. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025. On November 18, 1998, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army approved consolidation of developmental and operational testing. That decision led to the re-designation of the Operational Test and Evaluation Command (OPTEC) to the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) on October 1, 1999.
9. "Organization | ATEC". atec.army.mil. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
10. 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
11. "Organization | OTC". atec.army.mil/otc. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.

Further reading

• ATEC News
• ATEC Civilian Careers