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NEWSITEA 2011 Tester of the Quarter Awards: 2nd QuarterThe Emerald Coast Chapter is pleased to announce that the 2nd quarter winner of “Tester of the Quarter” was Mr. Jason Lucas of the 46 Range Group, 46th Test Systems Squadron (46 TSSQ). As Program Director for the Joint Test & Training Ops Control Capability (JTTOCC) team, Mr. Lucas and his team developed numerous new capabilities to support the Eglin Test and Training Complex (ETTC). The total number of ETTC range missions is expected to increase annually over the next 5 years due to new F-35 training flights, 7th Special Forces Group (SFG) mission requirements, and other additional units recently assigned to Eglin AFB. One of the team’s goals was to integrate the operations of the Eglin Radar Control Facility (ERCF) with the Range Operations Control Center (ROCC) to enhance communication and cooperation between these crucial mission areas. The team designed and managed the development of the architectural plans to modify an existing building to house both ERCF and ROCC functions, and established a timeline for executing the move with an aggressive schedule. The team also developed a Common Operating Picture (COP), fusing the schedule from Center Scheduling Enterprise (CSE) with data from air/ground tracks into a single tailor-able display, providing unprecedented situational awareness of the range complex and storing data for analysis of range usage and facilitating real-time decision-making by range operators. Test and Evaluation Forum DiscussionThe Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter hosted an open Test and Evaluation forum discussion on 29 September 2011 at Eglin AFB. The guest speaker was Col Colin R. Miller, Commander 46th Test Wing, who presented a discussion on the F-35 Lightning II, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) from the tester's perspective. The briefing provided an overview of the F-35 program, aircraft systems, cockpit, mission systems, and weapon systems. The F-35 is the Air Force's newest 5th generation aircraft and redefines the definition of a multi-role air superiority platform by providing the capability to support multiple missions including air-to-air, air-to-surface, surveillance/reconnaissance, electronic attack, and command & control. Col Miller discussed the importance of risk management and maintained that developing an aircraft that is "ready-to-test" is crucial to a successful test program. His first hand experiences with the JSF confirmed that that efficient program management should include a realistic "re-fly rate" and that a backup plan is always necessary to preserve the program's schedule integrity. "Nothing substitutes for real flight testing." said Col Miller. Col Miller also discussed the importance of having a representative integration lab and/or flight test bed to properly perform integration testing to save time and cost.
Membership Social and Membership DriveThe Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter hosted a Membership Social and Membership Drive on 5 May 2011 at the Eglin Bowling Alley.
2011 Scholarship WinnersThe Emerald Coast Chapter of the International Test and Evaluation Association is proud to announce the six winners of a $1,000 scholarship. The following 2011 winners competed against a field of talented local high school seniors and were recognized for their academic, extracurricular activities, and their interest in scientific/engineering disciplines that may lead to careers associated with test and evaluation:
ITEA LuncheonThe Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter hosted a luncheon on 28 Sep 2010 at the Eglin AFB Enlisted Club Lounge. The guest speaker was Col Michael E Gantt, Commander 53rd Wing, who presented a discussion on “DT/OT Integration”. The 53rd Wing comprises approximately 2,000 military and civilian people at 17 locations throughout the US, and is responsible for fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted air vehicle operational testing and evaluation, and tactics development and evaluation in the areas of electronic combat, armament, avionics and aircrew training devices. Col Gantt’s topic of discussion was Integrated Testing (IT), which is the combined effort of performing Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) and Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E). IT requires a collaborative partnership between all the stakeholders, which includes the users, acquisition program offices, developers, and the Developmental/Operational testers. Col Gantt noted that while the acquisition program offices are the catalyst of better IT and should take the lead in all IT initiatives, the testers must collaborate to the fullest extent possible to make systems better. Examples of successful programs that used robust, fully integrated DT/OT testing included the B-1 Sniper ATP, F-22 OFP Testing, and F-15 Combined Test Force. In concluding, Col Gantt stressed the need for AF PEOs to solicit Program Managers (PMs) to lead efforts to improve integrated test, and the focus of these PMs should be to establish and sustain robust, responsive, and inclusive Integrated Test Teams (ITTs). The focus of program ITTs should be to charter applicable stakeholders to conduct “clean sheet” studies of how to improve IT within the acquisition program. The focus of testers should be on collaborative test planning, facilitated by a common analysis methodology.
ITEA 2010 Tester of the Quarter Awards: 1st QuarterThe Emerald Coast Chapter is pleased to announce that the 1st quarter winner of “Tester of the Quarter” was “Team Robin Shelby” of the ACC’s 53rd Wing Electronic Warfare Group, 36 EWS. The Team crafted a 5 week Foreign Military Exploitation (FME) test plan, and established key test measures to enable A-10, F-16, F-15, B-1, and B-52 jammer evaluations. The team also orchestrated a 6 week test effort to evaluate 6 systems and 5 aircraft types, which bolstered Combat Air Force Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities. In addition, the team conducted lab tests, analyzed test runs, characterized jammer performance, and programmed new techniques to defeat new threats and provide enhanced system capabilities on multiple platforms.
"Team Robin Shelby" Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter co-sponsors 15th Aircraft-Stores Compatibility SymposiumThe Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter co-sponsored the 15th Aircraft-Stores Compatibility Symposium, held April 19-22 2010 at the Emerald Coast Conference Center in Fort Walton Beach. The Symposium provided the international test and evaluation community the opportunity to share information of mutual interest regarding the challenges associated with aircraft-stores compatibility issues. For four decades these forums have provided for the exchange of ideas on the core engineering disciplines with a focus on improving the compatibility process and expediting support to the war fighters. The theme for this year’s symposium was Embracing Compatibility Challenges of the Next Decade. Co-sponsored by ITEA and the 46th Test Wing, this year’s symposium featured presentations on current F-35 Test and Evaluation activities, UAV combat operations, the expanding role of light attack aircraft, and Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance. A highlight of the event was a special presentation honoring the 40th anniversary of aircraft-store compatibility. This briefing showcased the history of compatibility, highlighted the development and role of modeling and simulation in compatibility, and recognized several aircraft-store compatibility pioneers. The symposium also included three outstanding tutorials: (1) “Design of Experiments” comprised a two-part series that provided a broad overview of developing smart test strategies using a statistical approach, (2) “Generational Diversity” offered a unique perspective on dealing with diversity in the workplace, and (3) “The Conventional Munitions Orientation Seminar” identified the primary building blocks used to produce conventional munitions and covered methods of Munitions Development, System Test and Verification, Post Production, Weapons Employment, and Future Air Armament.
Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter Awards Five ScholarshipsThe Emerald Coast ITEA Chapter completed its 2010 Scholarship Program and awarded five $1,000 scholarships to local high school graduates. Certificates were given to the winners at their schools awards recognition ceremonies. The following is a list of the five winners and the educational institutions they have elected to attend: Cody PK Heitman (University of Florida), Ben Johnson (University of Florida), Elizabeth Gallagher (Auburn University), Eric Nieves (University of Florida), and Jessica P. Maney (Troy University). Acquisition Changes at the Air Armament CenterOn Feb 9th the Chapter co-sponsored a luncheon hosting Mr. Randy Brown, 308 ARSW/CL, who presented a briefing on “Acquisition Changes at the Air Armament Center”. Mr Brown presented an Acquisition Improvement Plan (AIP) that would: 1.) Revitalize the AF acquisition workforce, focusing on in-sourcing and the conversion of contractor positions to civil service positions, 2.) Improve the requirements generation process, establishing Technical Transition Councils (TTCs) to ensure the organizations of AAC are aligned in their efforts, 3.) Instill budget and financial discipline, such as Firm Fixed Price contracts and high fidelity cost estimates, 4.) Improve AF major system source selection, which would include independent review teams and improved training, and 5.) Establish clear lines of authority and accountability within acquisition organizations, which involves organizational change requests and matrix management.
ITEA 2009 Tester of the Quarter Awards: 4th QuarterThe Emerald Coast Chapter is pleased to announce that the 4th quarter winner of “Tester of the Quarter” was the JASSM Combined Test Force (CTF) Test Team of the 46th Test Wing’s 780th Test Squadron. Team members included (from left to right in photo) Bill Barton, Bill Hetter, Norm Mucklow, Dan Nowers, and Brian Fraser. The Team meticulously planned every detail of the successful test execution of the AGM-158A, JASSM, Lot 7 Reliability Assessment Program (RAP) mission employing a B-52H staging out of Barksdale AFB. The mission provided critical information needed to answer reliability issues to the Secretary of AF for Acquisition, OSD, and Congress. With just a 21 day turn around between deployments, the team also expertly and successfully executed a JASSM-Extended Range (-ER) launch employing a B-1B from Dyess AFB. This test continued a string of six successful JASSM-ER missions conducted by the team.
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