U.S. Army Operational Testers' Hall of Fame

 
 Mr. Robert W. "Bob" Hall

Inducted September 24, 2008

Operations Research Systems Analyst
Division Chief, TCATA
Fort Cavazos, Texas, 1986-1990

Deputy Director
Methodology and Analysis Directorate
TEXCOM and USAOTC
Fort Cavazos, Texas, 1990-2005

Acting Technical Director
U.S. Army Operational Test Command
Fort Cavazos, Texas, 2005-2006

Technical Director
U.S. Army Operational Test Command
Fort Cavazos, Texas, 2006-2007

 

 

Often called the "Go to Guy" at the U.S. Army Operational Test Command (USAOTC),  Robert W. "Bob" Hall has had more influences on the processes, procedures, and the methodologies of operational testing than anyone in the past has had and probably anyone in the future will have.

Retiring as the USAOTC technical director, the only Senior Executive Service position on Fort Cavazos, Texas, in June 2008, Mr. Hall left behind peers, subordinates, and supervisors who agree that he is the most knowledgeable, competent, hard working, energetic, and productive individual they have ever known.  His military and civilian careers spanned more than 40 years, with 32 years involved in operational testing.

Mr. Hall was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 19, 1946, and graduated from Arkansas State University in 1968 with a degree in mathematics.  Receiving his commission as a Regular Army infantry officer in 1968, he was honorably discharged in 1983.  During that time, he served as an infantry platoon leader, a company commander, a brigade S-1 and S-3, a test officer, and a senior military analyst.

Mr. Hall's final military assignment was at the TRADOC Combined Arms Test Activity (TCATA) at Fort Cavazos.  There he transitioned into civilian service as an operational research systems analyst (ORSA) in the Combat Support Test Directorate (CSTD), TCATA.  He became the CSTD ORSA Division Chief in 1986 and in 1990 was selected as the Deputy Director/Chief, Program and Analysis Division, Methodology Analysis Directorate (MAD) for the newly named U.S. Army Test and Experimentation Command (TEXCOM).

He became the acting technical director in 2005 and was officially selected for that position and promoted to SES in 2006.

Mr. Hall has been a team member for a number of significant Army test and evaluation reengineering studies that resulted in major changes:  consolidation of Army evaluation assets; establishment of the Integrated Test and Evaluation process as the Army's standard methodology for test and evaluation; and, most importantly, the Army-level group study for the consolidation of Army testing.  This study resulted in the formation of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) and, as a subordinate command, the current U.S. Army Operational Test Command (USAOTC).

Renowned for his knowledge and ability to provide guidance, Mr. Hall was instrumental in developing "how to" regulatory documents called test operating procedures and methodology (TOPMs) and authored most of them.  These efforts were absolutely essential to the success of USAOTC efforts to mitigate the effects of decreasing resources, increasing workload, changing policies and procedures, and integrating inexperienced personnel.

Embracing transformation and change, Mr. Hall led the USAOTC Lean Six Sigma program, co-chaired the USAOTC implementation of the Combined-Based Compensation Appraisal System (CCAS) and transition to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), and provided technical management of more than 100 Rapid Acquisition Initiatives (RAI) programs supporting the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).

Mr. Hall's extremely keen mind and brilliant leadership enabled him to solve complex problems routinely, providing a "help desk" service on all aspects of operational testing.