WORKFORCE
MIXED BAG
Brown meets with other members of his test team—from left, Craig Block, Steve Kaye, Jeb Woods and Adrian George— alongside a UH-60M Black Hawk. Experimental pilots test all kinds of differ- ent aircraft, and even within a single type, aircraft vary. Two Black Hawk helicop- ters, for example, might have different sets of prototype controls. (Photo by Christy Barnett, unit public affairs representa- tive, U.S. Army Redstone Test Center)
utilization, usually in the Program Exec- utive Office for Aviation or Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors. Having to complete two separate key developmen- tal positions back to back is challenging in its own right.”
Brown, who’s currently serving in his 51T key developmental position, noted that his work puts him in contact with multiple programs and reinforces the acquisition fundamentals he learned in his courses.
“Tese programs are all different acqui- sition categories and types: programs of record, QRCs, JUONs, etc. Tey’re also at different stages in the acquisition life cycle. As a result, I’m getting a very broad look at the acquisition process as a whole— something you might not initially expect from a highly technical XP specialization.” (QRCs are quick reaction capabilities; JUONs are joint urgent operational needs. Key developmental positions are jobs that DOD sees as fundamental to an officer’s development in a particular field.)
Te biggest challenge he faces is managing aircraft schedules. “Te average battalion might have 24 aircraft, all of which are the same. So if, for example, one Black Hawk isn’t ready, a flight crew can just move to the predesignated identical spare and complete its mission for the day,” Brown said. “But in a testing facility, we might have just a fraction of that number of aircraft of a single type, for example, and
none is the same. Tey’re all in different stages of testing, outfitted with different prototypes or modifications, and have different test instrumentation equipment installed.
“We also have to operate them within the parameters granted by the organizations we’re testing them for. So we use detailed tracking and weekly deconfliction meet- ings to make sure that if something comes up and one test flight changes, we can minimize the negative effects to any other test programs that are slotted to test using a singular, unique aircraft.”
Brown noted that the most valuable train- ing he has received so far in his career came from his assignment at the Naval Test Pilot School. Te school incorporates more than 100 hours of flight training in rotary-wing and fixed-wing platforms, covering more than 15 aircraft types.
“It starts with first principles on aircraft performance, aircraft handling qualities and aircraft systems, then builds over multiple exercises and test reports toward a monthlong, comprehensive evaluation of an aircraft for a specified mission,” he explained.
The final report requires students to combine their aviation expertise with what they’ve learned in training to assess the suitability of an aircraft for warfighters’ needs. “Te school teaches us to be a
bridge between the tactical and the tech- nical communities, which is right where the Army Acquisition Workforce operates,” Brown said.
Now out of training and part of the acqui- sition workforce, Brown sees firsthand the importance of serving as that bridge. “Te more the acquisition community under- stands the warfighter’s mission and exactly what’s needed for that mission, the better the product will be. Te uniformed acqui- sition officer is the link to help facilitate that understanding.”
He noted a couple of things Soldiers don’t often think about when it comes to acqui- sition. “Most Soldiers don’t know that there’s a huge workforce behind them that they’ll never meet. Tey should take comfort in knowing that these people go to work every day dedicated to giving them what they need,” he said. “And most don’t realize how much never gets to them—that the new capabilities they receive are the culmination of a lot of things that didn’t work. When the system works the way it should, the warfighter doesn’t get something that doesn’t work, and we haven’t spent a lot of taxpayer dollars unnecessarily. Success shouldn’t be measured only by what makes it to the warfighters.”
—SUSAN L. FOLLETT
https://asc.ar my.mil
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