If the popular review magazine Consumer Reports were a unit in the Army, it likely would be the Operational Test Command.

The unit hosted leaders of the testing community in its West Fort Hood offices for Program Executive Officers Day, providing a chance for the command doing the testing to meet with the officials responsible for directing many of its future projects.

“We have an environment that continues to evolve around us,” said Col. Joseph Martin, commander of Operational Test Command. “Because of that change, there are gaps in capabilities. The Army's Training and Doctrine Command looks at those gaps and creates requirements.”

To that end, Martin said his unit then tests new capabilities to see if they meet requirements. This means testing everything from equipment to instructional manuals to repair parts.

Lt. Gen. William Phillips, of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, thanked everyone for traveling to Fort Hood for the Aug. 15 event to discuss the future of military testing.

“Coming to a place like this, interfacing with warfighters and their teams, to talk about concerns and issues is absolutely priceless,” he said.

The military is preparing for changes, and the testing community is no exception, said Phillips. He used points outlined previously by Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to describe the changes testing could see: transitioning the force, budget cuts and downsizing.

The budget, he said, will move from being “almost unconstrained in some ways to very constrained.”

“2013 and beyond the budget will reduce significantly,” said Phillips. “That is an important reason why we are here, to look at ways to become more efficient.”

This year’s budget was $32 billion for resources and development.

Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr., commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, spoke to the executives about how the transition of the force from fighting two wars, to one, can allow for more testing on post.

“We’ve got ranges, facilities and capabilities. Come and test, we are open for business,” he said.

Most of what the test command does can’t be discussed, but its work pops up across the Army. Recently on Fort Hood, the unit was involved in the new Heavy Equipment Transporters received first in the Army by 180th Transportation Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command.

“That’s an example of a piece of equipment that went through testing and was found suitable, effective and survivable,” said Martin. “It met all the criteria so that piece of equipment was fielded to that particular unit. ... The process is ongoing, and soldiers — who are our most important consumers — get the best equipment.”