United States Army Test and Evaluation Command

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]

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
Garrison/HQ	Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Motto(s)	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

As a direct reporting unit (DRU) to the Chief of Staff of the Army, ATEC informs Army senior leaders of testing and evaluation activities. These activities help Army leadership make acquisition and fielding decisions.^[2][3][4]

ATEC has locations throughout the continental United States and Hawaii. ATEC headquarters is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.^[5]

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).^[6][7]

The Operational Test and Evaluation Command (OPTEC) was redesignated as the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) on 1 October 1999.^[6][7]

All major subordinate commands of OPTEC were similarly redesignated:^[5]

• 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.^[5]

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:^[8]

• 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.^[9]

ATEC subordinate, Operational Test Command (OTC) locations:^[10]

• 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