U.S. Army Operational Test Command Executive Director James Amato was selected to become the new director of the U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

Amato was chosen for senior executive service with OTC in September 2008 and assigned to the command as executive director.

“I am extremely proud to have been associated with OTC these last four years,” Amato said. “I have learned so much from the exceptional workforce that I will take with me as I continue in the service of the men and women who defend our great nation.”

The analysis activity conducts a variety of critical analyses to provide state-of-the-art analytical solutions to senior-level Army and Defense Department officials. With more than 600 analysts, engineers, mathematicians and scientists, it supports the equipping and sustaining of weapons and materiel for soldiers in the field and for the future force.

Amato and his wife, Susan, are Baltimore natives. They live in Belton, with their children, Nicholas and Claire.

“I am honored to have been chosen for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Amato said. “My family and I are looking forward to getting back to our Maryland roots, but at the same time, leaving Central Texas will be bittersweet.

“We have made lots of friends here, and saying goodbye won’t be easy,” he said. “But we’ll look forward to returning for visits and hope that our Texas friends will visit us in Maryland as well.”