The Army’s world of testing came full
circle recently for Col. Conrad Christman.
Christman helped the West Fort Hood-based Operational
Test Command conduct tests when he was a major in the
4th Infantry Division. Now, he leads an entire test
directorate.
“If I had looked in a crystal ball back then, I would
not have believed it,” Christman, a military
intelligence officer who took over OTC’s Intelligence
Electronic Warfare Test Directorate about a month ago,
said. “I am fortunate to have this job.”
Christman–who used to be deputy
commander of the 504th Military Intelligence Brigade,
which has since been redesignated the 504th Battlefield
Surveillance Brigade–has been learning new acronyms
since taking over the directorate at Fort Huachuca,
Ariz.
“I have been an intelligence officer for 20 years, and
this is drastically different,” he said.
But he does have a “skilled civilian crew” to whom to
turn to ask for advice or translations.
Christman, who was at Fort Hood recently for a ceremony
honoring research personnel in Forward Operational
Assessment Team VIII, and his directorate are
concentrating largely on counter-improvised explosive
device systems, including those that jam detonation
systems.
The directorate also is busy looking at biometrics and
some aspects of unmanned aerial systems.
“This is a huge growth industry,” Christman said. “A lot
of business is coming our way.”
The special testing areas at Fort Huachuca and the
neighboring
Yuma Proving Ground help Christman and the IEWTD
accomplish their
massive mission.
An electronic range is kept clear of things that could
distort a test. Still, IEWTD personnel have to sample
signals in the area and make sure they won’t interfere
with a test, then stimulate the system to be tested,
create test devices and then, finally, run the test.
“It is much more complicated than your average test,”
Christman said. “With a howitzer, you just make sure it
goes down range to hit a target. With this, you have to
test more.”
The IEWTD partners with other branches of the military
to help test their equipment, Christman said. The
directorate recently finished testing the Navy’s F/A-18
Hornet with electronic platform.
The IEWTD also is concentrating on testing the Future
Combat Systems, a set of equipment allowing all Soldiers
on a battlefield to be connected to each other with maps
and other information.
Part of the challenge of being the director is keeping
his Soldier and civilian workforce up-to-date on
technology, especially when it comes to FCS.
“The technology is not locked,” Christman said. “It’s
always emerging and changing. What we do has to be
relevant to what Soldiers need on the battlefield. The
intelligence business is growing in leaps and bounds.”