SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
SPOTLIGHT: MS. CAROL D. HOLCOMB
Tree decades, one program, countless rewards
MS. CAROL D. HOLCOMB COMMAND/ORGANIZATION:
Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office, Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space
TITLE:
Chief, Platform Integration and Launch- ers Division, Systems Engineering Directorate
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 26 EDUCATION:
M.S. in management, Florida Institute of Technology; B.S. in electrical engineer- ing, University of Alabama in Huntsville
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS:
Level III in test and evaluation, and in systems planning, research, development and engineering; Level I in program management
AWARDS: Inadvertent Launch Investigation Special Act, Errant HELLFIRE Investigation Special Act
C
arol Holcomb has worked for the Army for nearly 30 years, and has spent all of that time on one program. But don’t
confuse longevity with stagnation: She started as a college student and has worked in an alphabet soup of roles—including R&D, T&E and S&T (that’s research and development, test and evaluation, and sci- ence and technology)—and is now chief of the Platform Integration and Launchers Division within the Systems Engineering Directorate at the Joint Attack Munition Systems (JAMS) Project Office.
Holcomb started at the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command as part of a co-op program, sparked by her father’s 40-year Army career. Her work at the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space (PEO MS) means that she’s involved in the entire weapon system— missile, launcher and aircraft—and has seen some big changes over the past three decades.
“As a weapons integrator, one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is in stan- dardizing of the logical and functional interfaces,” she said. “Tis change plays a huge part in reducing both software development and subsequent integra- tion costs. Likewise, it makes integration onto additional
streamlined and less painful.
launch platforms more It pro-
motes the reuse of components, which is 72
necessary for future acquisition to make weapons more cost-effective.”
She added, “I have been remarkably for- tunate in that I’ve been involved with one particular product throughout my entire career. It has been amazing participating and contributing to that system and see- ing what goes into making that product successful.”
What do you do, and why is it impor- tant to the Army or the warfighter?
We handle launcher development and engineering for all of JAMS’ products, which range from small, guided muni- tions to multimode missiles. We are also responsible for integrating those weap- ons onto launchers and their respective launch platforms. We provide the war- fighter with an integrated weapon system featuring the latest technologies and capabilities within the weapon’s class.
How did you become part of the AL&T Workforce, and why?
I started working for the government as a co-operative education student at the Test and Evaluation Command. I was inter- ested in working for the government at a very early age because my father worked for the Army for nearly 40 years. His work always seemed interesting and purposeful, so I wanted to contribute like he had.
Army AL&T Magazine
April–June 2015
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