SMDC officer appointed to Army Science Board

By Jason B. CutshawFebruary 19, 2015

SMDC officer appointed to Army Science Board
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Patrick M. Marshall, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command Technical Center and Army Science Board fellow, is at Marshall Space Flight Center Test Stand 500 examining a Soldier-Warfighter Operationally Res... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
SMDC officer appointed to Army Science Board
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- One U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command officer was selected to serve as a fellow on the Army Science Board in December to assist the Army in maintaining a technological edge for America's Warfighters.

Lt. Col. Patrick M. Marshall, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Army Science Board fellow, was selected to the board and will help advise and make recommendations to the secretary of the Army and other Army leaders on scientific and technological matters of concern to the Army. He will serve approximately three years.

"First of all, it is a huge privilege and an honor to be able to work with very senior members in the military department and senior executives to work on very challenging problems for the benefit of the future Army," Marshall said. "From a professional development perspective, it is certainly a huge opportunity as a military officer."

Marshall said the Army Science Board accepts problems nominated to be studied from senior commanders. Those problems then go through the secretary of the Army's office for final approval before they come back to the board.

"From the standpoint of our command specifically, the problems that the board are working on right now are very large problems," Marshall said. "They span the Army unilaterally and affect all major commands and elements of the Army. So while we will not be working specifically within our function into these problems, the ability to work with this very distinguished team, and with the secretary of the Army's office, to help understand the challenges and then bring that knowledge back to the command will certainly help us to gain insight. (It will also) provide a unity of effort in solving very high-level Army problems as an element of the Army team.

"Understanding those challenges as I work with the other board members to develop a position to make recommendations to senior Army leadership provides an opportunity for me to bring that knowledge back and help integrate our command with the Army as we adjust to challenges of the future," he added.

Marshall said his specific function on the board is to manage a study group that will be working on a problem and facilitate the group's development. He will then help bring that documentation together as the official government representative who is hosting and coordinating the effort of the team.

"Everyone on the board is a distinguished member in their own right, and they have been selected for their seniority and their credibility and their subject matter expertise. So it is a great opportunity to be able to work with them to help manage their intellectual process as they bring viable solutions to challenging Army problems," Marshall said.

The Army Science Board, which replaced the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, was chartered as a federal advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act in 1977. Both organizations grew out of the need for Army-specific guidance on scientific research and development and the Army's desire to maintain its strong technical advantage over other nations.

"Lt. Col. Marshall will be a fellow supporting the Army Science Board and its efforts to look at the 'way ahead' on where the Army is going to go in terms of science in the future and how to better support the Army mission," said Dr. Steve F. Pierce, SMDC chief technology officer. "He is in there at a good time. I believe Pat is going to be looking at the Army's operational effort in terms of science and technology. It is a great opportunity for him and a great opportunity for SMDC.

"He, personally, is going to be able to grow as an officer because he is going to better understand Army-level efforts in science and technology," he continued. "As far as the command and its mission is concerned, this is great from two points. He is able to go ahead and inject his knowledge and understanding of the SMDC mission into efforts in the Army Science Board. He will also be able to bring back to SMDC where the Army is going in terms of science and technology so I think this is very important.

"I am proud of SMDC getting a person recognized to be a part of the Army Science Board," Pierce added. "The good part of all of this is we will have a member of the command on the Army Science Board who will, first of all, help the board in terms of space and missile defense determine the 'way ahead,' and the second part is, he will also be able to make sure that SMDC equities are included and recognized."

The Army Scientific Advisory Panel began with 25 members and met Nov. 16-17, 1954. During the meeting, the panel was briefed on various areas involving the Army's research and development efforts. By 1958, the panel had grown to 70 members and divided itself into eight different subpanels: air mobility; chemical, biological and radiological warfare; communications and electronics; firepower; environmental research; human factors; surface mobility; and research organization and planning.

Throughout its history, 590 people have served as Army Science Board members. These include two astronauts, three Olympians (one with a silver medal in the long jump), one ambassador to France, and a member of the first expedition team to ascend Mount Minya Konka in Eastern Tibet.

"Lt. Col. Patrick Marshall is highly qualified to support the Army Science Board," said Thomas E. Webber, director, SMDC Technical Center Space and Strategic Systems Directorate. "He understands and has been involved in areas related to the subject matter of the fiscal year 2015 study topics and understands how to add to the Army community science and technology body of knowledge.

"Lt. Col. Marshall is an exceptional officer who understands operational needs of the Warfighter as well as technical aspects of promising technology," he continued. "He objectively assesses concepts that could be of military utility to our Warfighters. He has an extraordinary understanding of advanced technologies and exceptional program management skill.

"Pat understands how to tailor and convey complex information to engineers, scientists as well as Soldiers and decision makers," Webber added.

Marshall said serving on the board is a great opportunity and encouraged officers in the future to look for this opportunity if it presents itself again and try to become nominated. He said as the Army addresses these very high-level problems, a three-star command with major functions in advanced technologies and major warfighting functionality, like SMDC, should have a direct influence on how those challenges are addressed.

"I think it is very helpful for appropriate officers from within the command to try to stay connected with the Army Science Board process," Marshall said. "These difficult problems will be studied for multiple years in succession as we refine the Army strategy for rebalancing the force. I think it is important, at least for the next three to four years, for the command to continue to support these efforts, if for no other reason than to ensure a thorough unity of effort at the Army leadership level as we all work together to improve our national defense and improve the conditions for our Soldiers.

"This is a great opportunity, but it is a huge honor and privilege to be able to work with the very top level of the Army on very difficult and demanding problems," he added. "I am humbled that they selected me to do this job and I really look forward to working with this very distinguished group of senior officers and private civilians from all over America as we strive to strike a balance with future force challenges."

Related Links:

USASMDC/ARSTRAT website

USASMDC/ARSTRAT Facebook page