Team Bliss welcomed the newly formed Integrated Test and Evaluation Directorate in an activation ceremony Friday at the Fort Bliss and Old Ironsides Museum.

Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army, directed in September 2010 that Fort Bliss should become the Army’s “centerpiece” for network integration and develop a robust integrated Army network. The Department of the Army authorized the activation of this new directorate that will support network integration and other Army priorities earlier this year.

“We are merging operational testers, developmental testers and evaluators from multiple organizations from the Army test community,” said Col. Dave Wellons, ITED director. “We are working closely together in order to tackle the challenges of testing and evaluating current program-of-record systems, developing systems and emerging technology simultaneously in battlefield conditions.”

ITED is under the U.S. Army Operational Test Command, one of three major subordinate commands of the Army Test and Evaluation Command, according to their official website. ATEC, the Army’s independent test organization, has responsibility for all Army developmental and operational testing by ensuring that Soldiers go to war with weapons that work. ATEC gives recommendations to Army officials and Milestone Decision Authority whether a system should be fielded to the warfighter, modified, matured before fielded or terminated. OTC provides essential information for the acquisition and fielding of warfighting systems. The command plans, conducts and reports operational tests, assessments and experiments of systems.

Wellons said ITED’s mission is to provide Soldiers the very best equipment available for their deployment, mission execution and a safe return to the United States. They will work with Army Acquisition, Training and Doctrine Command and ATEC as well as Program Executive Office-Integration and Brigade Modernization Command.

Wellons is the first director of the ITED and formerly the commander of the Fires Test Directorate in Fort Sill, Okla.

Brig. Gen. Donald M. MacWillie, commander of OTC, said Wellons was retiring, but he decided to answer the nation’s call to serve again.

“This Army, this nation needed his talents to come here and take us to the next level,” said MacWillie. “It takes a rare combination of ability and leadership to coach, teach and mentor and, most importantly, to partner. [Wellons] is the right guy.”

Wellons said he was ready to accept the mission as “trusted agent for the Soldier” and the “voice of the warfighter.” He also charged his team to “do today what others will not, so that tomorrow we can do what others cannot.”

The ITED is already fielding and testing systems at Fort Bliss.