Some of the U.S. Army’s top science and technology leaders are changing how they think and act so they can transfer new technology solutions to soldiers more quickly. “A solider’s life is far more complex than when I was a young infantryman,” says Maj. Gen. Nick Justice, commander of the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM). “We have to be nimble and responsive to those young soldiers.” Providing that support means looking at every level of Army science and technology, beginning in the Army’s labs, which produce basic technologies like new armor materials and partner with others doing research in applicable fields. Those technologies progress through the RDECOM centers to program managers, who shepherd particular pieces of equipment through the final phases and to the field. Along the way, collaboration takes place with academic researchers, industry, international partners, and others.
Now, the Army also is introducing combat veterans into critical junctures in the development of new equipment. “We will have senior noncommissioned officers who have three, four, five combat tours under their belts,” Justice explains. “They are not coming to be subject matter experts but to partner with my directors and my scientists and engineering officers in uniform. Engineering is about detail, and there’s no better place to look at detail than in our non-commissioned officer ranks.” Bringing soldiers into the system is appropriate because changes to the research, development, and engineering community are driven by changes in the field. “No longer do we look to buy an end device,” Justice points out. “Now we look to buy an integrated solution. And we need to design to modernize, not design the perfect product today. We know the requirements are going to change, so we need to build change into our products and into the Army organizations that produce those products.”
Source: United States Army