In 2023, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George began discussing a new concept that would become widely recognized across the Army: continuous transformation. While modernization had been a top Army priority, continuous transformation was a new paradigm through which the Army would transform, iteratively and continuously, to become more lean, mobile and lethal through faster integration of cost-effective technology.

At U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), this message of continuous transformation drove to the heart of the command’s mission and workforce. As a direct reporting unit to the vice chief of staff of the Army, ATEC performs test and evaluation in direct support of U.S. Army Futures Command to inform Army senior leaders and provide soldiers with needed capabilities to fight and win the nation’s wars. This includes executing developmental testing, operational testing and continuous evaluation to ensure that equipment is safe, effective, suitable and survivable before it is fielded to soldiers.

Today, ATEC is accelerating Army continuous transformation in multiple ways. These efforts include rapid reporting of test results to Army senior leaders in near-real time to enable them to make speedy, risk-informed decisions. ATEC also is leading learning campaigns that combine developmental testing, operational testing and continuous evaluation together to help field high-priority systems faster than ever.

In addition, ATEC is pursuing digital transformation, including creation of a cloud-based data mesh to enable analysts to more quickly access and assess test data, as well as conducting more live, virtual and constructive testing. This makes it possible to conduct tests for cutting-edge systems in simulated environments; tests that would be impossible in the physical open air.

These innovations are numerous and profound, but ultimately, it is ATEC’s people who propel these innovations every day. And the command is at the forefront of investing in its workforce to drive the transformation that the Army needs to fight and win on the 21st-century battlefield.

ATEC is a civilian-majority organization, composed of approximately 3,800 Army civilians and 445 military personnel. These highly skilled test officers, engineers, scientists, researchers and evaluators are involved in 2,300 tests annually.

Fulfilling Mission

ATEC’s workforce is deeply connected to and fulfilled by this mission. In October 2024 at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition, then-Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth recognized ATEC as one of the top five best places to work in the Army. This recognition was based on results from the 2023 Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. And while ATEC placed third among Army organizations, it was first among those with a majority-civilian workforce.

This award did not happen by accident. It was a result of the command’s deep commitment to empowering its workforce to drive transformation and be all they can be. This is reflected in the first line of effort in the ATEC Campaign Plan, which is dedicated to modernizing ATEC’s human resources processes, practices and policies to recruit, develop and retain a skilled, innovative and adaptive workforce.

Recruiting technology talent starts with using the right technology. ATEC uses a talent acquisition platform known as Yello, which has revolutionized its ability to hire qualified applicants for critical positions across the ATEC enterprise. The command uses the platform for recruitment at career fairs, single job announcements, developmental assignments, marketing and administrative operations.

Yello significantly simplifies the recruitment process. It provides a user-friendly experience for candidates, human resources staff and hiring managers, and it reduces processing days and referral time with the Army’s Civilian Personnel Advisory Center and Civilian Human Resources Service Center. ATEC announcements sync to the ATEC civilian careers website to increase efficiency and accelerate the hiring process from start to finish.

ATEC also markets its opportunities using an engaging web presence at ATECCivilianCareers.com, which is separate from the main ATEC mission website. The website not only lists open ATEC positions, but it also contains employee testimonials and narratives concerning their impactful work on behalf of soldiers.

Learning Culture

ATEC focuses on nurturing a learning culture that values intellectual curiosity to increase performance. Given the rapid pace of new technologies the Army asks ATEC to test and evaluate, the command cannot simply hire all-new staff—it must upskill and empower its existing workforce.

This workforce encompasses many career fields: science, engineering and analysis, human capital and resource management, logistics, digital technology, security and intelligence, installations, professional services, construction engineering and infrastructure, contracting, education and information services, program management and life cycle logistics.

According to ATEC’s Workforce Training and Development Division chief Anna Sanderlin, leadership support drives the progression of available training.

“This speaks volumes to the work culture environment at ATEC, starting from leadership all the way at the top,” she said. “It’s not just the words from ATEC leadership; it’s also their actions supporting, embracing and endorsing people. It’s clear to see that the leaders care, and this is what proves that people are truly their focus, not just at headquarters but throughout the command.” 

Workforce Initiatives

ATEC has developed a commandwide training program based on results from an annual training needs assessment that addresses the top technical knowledge, skills and assessment gaps as well as top professional development gaps. Over the past three years, ATEC’s human resources team has conducted focus groups to capture these gaps to more intentionally modernize the workforce.

For fiscal 2024, the technical priority gaps were metrics and methodologies; data collection, transfer, reduction and analysis capability; modeling and simulation; artificial intelligence and machine learning; and advanced instrumentation. Professional development gaps included Microsoft 365 and data visualization; leadership and coaching; emotional intelligence; critical thinking; difficult conversations; influencing and negotiating; problem-solving; strategic thinking; and verbal, written and electronic communication.

To address the gaps, ATEC created the Workforce Assessment & Learning Tool (W.A.L.T.) as a central training location. W.A.L.T. contains an extensive training catalog, as well as learning paths curated by technical subject-matter experts across the enterprise. The W.A.L.T. power app allows users to create and update their own unique learning path and provide valuable return-on-investment data for training functions they have attended.

The data W.A.L.T. collects is utilized to enhance and inform future workforce training initiatives. Top training areas include Microsoft Azure cloud computing, model-based program planning, leadership development and more.

ATEC civilians participate in the Army’s Civilian Education System, a leader development program that provides enhanced educational opportunities throughout their careers. ATEC employees who are part of the Army’s acquisition workforce also can participate in the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Account Program, a DoD funding source to recruit, hire, develop and train acquisition professionals. In addition, there are opportunities to receive tuition assistance for courses from accredited colleges or universities through the Academic Degree Training or Short Term Academic Training programs.

ATEC maintains academic partnerships with the Texas A&M University System, Clemson University in South Carolina, the University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and more. These partnerships allow ATEC to influence science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula, develop a talent pipeline and leverage advanced research and facilities to further its test and evaluation capabilities, infrastructure and methodologies.

Real-World Skills

Outside the classroom, employees can compete for short- and long-term developmental assignment opportunities. These are intended to give employees experience and practical knowledge of command functions outside their immediate work domain to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities.

Another example of how ATEC invests in the workforce to gain new skills is the annual AI Challenge for the DoD acquisition community. The challenge uses ATEC artificial intelligence-ready data sets to solve real-world problems. In 2024, 29 teams created AI models to speed up defect detection in body armor X-rays, while results from the 2023 challenge are saving the Army hundreds of man-hours in artillery acoustics analysis. Planning for the 2025 challenge is underway, with winners to be announced in September at the ATEC Data Summit.

Sanderlin emphasized that workforce readiness is contingent upon the team closing identified gaps to make sure the organization can get equipment out to soldiers faster and more effectively and efficiently.

“ATEC is always at the forefront, and we’re always looking at things creatively, from a standpoint of innovation and automation,” Sanderlin said. “We are constantly collaborating with other Army commands, higher levels or other external stakeholders to figure out how to work more effectively and smarter.”

Many Opportunities

The majority of the ATEC workforce stays with the organization because of the importance of the mission. Employees take pride in ensuring that equipment is effective, suitable and survivable before soldiers receive new systems. Aside from the mission and numerous professional development opportunities, ATEC offers additional beneficial opportunities to improve work life and morale:

• Town halls: ATEC regularly conducts headquarters and commandwide town halls to share important updates within the organization, conduct Q&A sessions and acknowledge personnel achievements.

• Ready and Resilient: ATEC offers training and provides resources to enhance workforce resilience at each of its subordinate organizations. Ready and Resilient programs are designed to ensure the wellness, health and morale of the ATEC family.

• Building strong and ready teams: This chaplain-led program is designed to strengthen marital and workplace skills while enabling individuals to take care of their family relationships and remain focused on the ATEC mission.

• Army Civilian Fitness and Health Promotion Program: This program encourages Army civilians to enhance their health and fitness while increasing organizational wellness and mission productivity.

Underpinning all these efforts is Mission Command—a philosophy of leadership and command that empowers subordinate decision-making and decentralized execution within a commander’s intent, enabling agile and adaptive leadership in complex situations. This military concept is equally applicable to civilians, as it promotes unity, transparent communication and an engaged work environment. By fostering motivation, encouraging initiative, building cohesive teams and advancing shared understanding, ATEC enhances the workforce’s ability to take calculated risks.

In turn, this empowers ATEC to tackle its toughest test and evaluation challenges and steers the command toward accelerating the Army’s continuous transformation. ATEC will continue to innovate talent management strategies to ensure that the workforce has the necessary skills and competencies to support current and emerging test and evaluation missions—because our people and our soldiers deserve nothing less.

* * *

Maj. Gen. Patrick Gaydon has been serving as commanding general of U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, since July 2024. Previously, he served as vice director for joint force development with the Joint Staff. He deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. He graduated in 1994 from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, and holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.