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][2]

U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command
ATEC's Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Active	1 October 1999 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Role	Testing and evaluation
Size	Command
Part of	Army Futures Command
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
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) under the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, ATEC informs Army senior leaders of testing and evaluation activities.^[3]

ATEC is located throughout the continental United States and Hawaii. Command headquarters is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.^[3]

History

Consolidation of all existing U.S. Army developmental and operational testing commands was approved by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army on 18 November 1998. This decision led to the redesignation of Operational Test and Evaluation Command (OPTEC) to the Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) on 1 October 1999.^[4][5]

All major subordinate commands of OPTEC were redesignated as well with the original U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM) redesignated as the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command (DTC), Aberdeen Proving Ground; the Test and Experimentation Command (TEXCOM) was redesignated the U.S. Army Operational Test Command (OTC), at Fort Hood, Texas; and the Operational Evaluation Command and the Evaluation Analysis Center were combined to form the new U.S. Army Evaluation Center (AEC) located at Aberdeen Proving Ground.^[3]

Operations

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 2,300 tests annually that encompass everything from individual weapons to National Missile Defense systems.^[1]

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

Army Test and Evaluation Command facilities and locations in the United States

• 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)^[6]
• 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

A U.S. Air Force C-17 delivers a U.S. Marine Corps LAV-25A2 at 1,500 ft (457 m) over Fort Bragg...

and airdropped onto Sicily Drop Zone...

where U.S. Army paratroopers prepare the LAV and its weapons for action...

then test-fire its weapons as part of OTC's airdrop certification.^[7]

Operational Test Command (OTC) locations:

• Fort Cavazos:
  • OTC headquarters
  • Aviation Test Directorate
  • Test Technology Directorate
  • Maneuver Test Directorate
  • Maneuver Support and Sustainment Test Directorate
  • Mission Command Test Directorate
• Fort Bragg: Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate
• Fort Bliss: Air Defense Artillery Test Directorate
• Fort Sill: Fires Test Directorate
• Fort Huachuca: Intelligence Electronic Warfare Test Directorate

See also

Similar Navy and Marine Corps organizations:

• 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