The U.S. Army Operational Test Command will host a conference for Program Executive Officers Wednesday at West Fort Hood.

PEOs, under the direction of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, are key acquisition officials responsible for directing major programs in areas that include aviation, communication, missiles, ammunition and integration. They routinely work with the Army Test and Evaluation Command and its subordinate command, OTC, in the conduct of developmental and operational testing.

“Over the past year, ASA(ALT)/PEOs, ATEC and others have worked some incredibly tough program issues and concerns related to developmental and operational testing,” said Lt. Gen. William Phillips, ASA(ALT) principal military deputy/director of acquisition career management/chief integration officer. “PEO Day will provide an opportunity to share ideas, discuss strategies and institutionalize continuous process improvements within the Army and Office of the Secretary of Defense testing communities.”

According to Col. Joseph Martin, OTC commander, Lt. Gen. Don Campbell Jr., III Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, will open the conference, followed by remarks from Phillips and Maj. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, ATEC commanding general.

“Our intent for this conference is to offer a venue designed to unify PEOs across the Army in order to achieve efficiencies and effectiveness,” Martin said, “while showcasing OTC’s and III Corps’ footprint and diverse workforce.”

Throughout the day, attendees will hear from speakers on a variety of topics, to include lessons learned from Network Integration Evaluation 12.2, the use of modeling and simulation in testing, what to expect from NIE 13.1, the importance of an integrated threat in test scenarios, and the integrated test and evaluation concept.

Face-to-face dialogue between the acquisition and test and evaluation communities, Phillips said, is crucial to balancing future requirements to ensure affordability.