Misplaced Pages

U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command
ATEC logo
Active	1 Oct 1999 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
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
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Beret flashes worn by the Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (left) and Airborne Test Force (right)

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.

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

History

Consolidation of all Army developmental and operational testing commands was approved by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army on 18 Nov. 1998. The decision led to the redesignation of the Operational Test and Evaluation Command to ATEC on 1 Oct. 1999. All major subordinate commands of OPTEC were redesignated as well with the Test and Evaluation command redesignated as the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground; the Test and Experimentation Command was redesignated the U.S. Army Operational Test Command, Fort Hood, Texas; and the Operational Evaluation Command and the Evaluation Analysis Center were combined to form the new U.S. Army Evaluation Center located at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Operations

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. 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 1,100 tests daily that encompass everything from individual weapons to National Missile Defense systems. The annual budget for the command is in excess of half a billion dollars.

Test centers

• 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)
  • Cold Region Test Center (CRTC)

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 Liberty: 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

• Operational Test and Evaluation Force
• Director, Operational Test and Evaluation
• Joint Interoperability Test Command
• Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center
• Air Force Test Center
• Naval Air Warfare Center
• Naval Undersea Warfare Center
• Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity
• Marine Corps Test Unit

References

1. ^ U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command Official Homepage, U.S. Army, last accessed 1 February 2018
2. ^ U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, History, U.S. Army, last accessed 1 February 2018
3. U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, Organization, U.S. Army, last accessed 1 February 2018
4. 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

Further reading

• ATEC News
• ATEC Civilian Careers

v t e United States Army
Leadership	Secretary of the Army Under Secretary of the Army Chief of Staff Vice Chief of Staff 4-star generals 3-star generals 1798–1959 1990–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present Army Staff Senior Warrant Officer Sergeant Major of the Army House Armed Services Committee (House Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces) Senate Committee on Armed Services (Senate Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces)
Components and commands	Regular Army Army Reserve Army National Guard Active Units Reorganization plan of United States Army Commands Forces Futures Materiel Training and Doctrine Service components Central Europe and Africa Pacific North South Special Operations Surface Deployment and Distribution Space and Missile Defense Cyber Command Direct reporting units Second Army Medical Intelligence and Security Criminal Investigation Division Corps of Engineers Military District of Washington Test and Evaluation Military Academy Reserve Acquisition Support Center Installation Management War College Field armies First Third Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Branches Acquisition Corps Adjutant General's Corps Air Defense Artillery Branch Armor Branch Aviation Branch Army Band Chaplain Corps Chemical Corps Civil Affairs Corps Corps of Engineers Cyber Corps Dental Corps Field Artillery Branch Finance Corps Infantry Branch Inspector General's Corps Judge Advocate General's Corps Logistics Branch Medical Corps Medical Service Corps Medical Specialist Corps Military Intelligence Corps Military Police Corps Nurse Corps Ordnance Corps Psychological operations Quartermaster Corps Signal Corps Special Forces Transportation Corps Veterinary Corps
Installations	United States and overseas Germany Japan Kuwait South Korea
Training	Basic Training BOLC ROTC (ECP) OCS WOBC WOCS Military Academy (West Point) MOS
Uniforms and insignia	Awards and decorations Badges Branch Officer Warrant Enlisted World War I World War II Uniforms
Equipment	Individual weapons Crew-served weapons Vehicles
Premier ensembles	Army Field Band Army Band Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps West Point Band
History and traditions	History Continental Army Union army National Army Army of the United States Center of Military History Institute of Heraldry America's Army Army Art Program Flag National Museum West Point Museum Rangers U.S. Army Regimental System Soldier's Creed "The Army Goes Rolling Along" Division nicknames Draft Service numbers Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra
Historical	Buffalo Soldiers Army Air Forces Army Service Forces Women's Army Corps Rough Riders U.S. Cavalry United States Colored Troops United States Army Hospital Corps U.S. Sanitary Commission
Category

• United States Army Direct Reporting Units
• Military in Maryland
• 1999 establishments in the United States