Two Army organizations - each known for their long history of technical expertise, customer service and war fighter support - officially merged to become the Redstone Test Center in a ceremony Thursday that brought together the best the Army has to offer in testing and evaluation capabilities.
The ceremony, which included the casing of the flag of the Redstone Technical Test Center, the activation of the Redstone Test Center and the assumption of command of RTC by Col. Steven Kihara, was an historic event mandated by the 2005 BRAC recommendations and reflective of Team Redstone's growing profile as the Army's center for missile, sensor and aviation testing and evaluation.
"We're here today to celebrate change," said James Johnson, director of the Army Developmental Test Command.
"The only constant in the Army is change -- change to adapt to new circumstances; change to improve how we do business; and change to shape the Army of tomorrow. The ceremony marking this change is much more than merely a symbolic gesture. It proclaims that we can adapt, we can improve, we can create a new history every bit as rich, as rewarding and as significant for today's Army and our nation."
RTC is now comprised of RTTC and the Aviation Technical Test Center, which was deactivated at Fort Rucker in July following a long history of providing airworthiness and safety qualification testing of aircraft and related aviation equipment. The changes celebrated in Thursday's ceremony at Bob Jones Auditorium heralded in a new era of testing that will build on what Team Redstone is well known for - providing the best of missile and aviation systems to the war fighter.
"The new Redstone Test Center will comprise the very best of the Redstone Technical Test Center and the Aviation Technical Test Center, leading to greater synergy and greater efficiency all the while maintaining the focus on customer support," Johnson said.
"The new RTC will bring enhanced aviation test and evaluation capabilities to Redstone Arsenal, a big step forward in supporting the PEOs and acquisition program offices in their development of new missile and aviation systems."
Among the changes coming to RTC will be the construction of a 126,000-plus Rotary Wing Center, a hangar at the Redstone Airfield that will hold 10 rotary wing aircraft, and provide labs and aviation support services. Construction is also beginning on a 37,000-square-foot RTC headquarters building on Martin Road. RTC has about 1,100 employees, 300 of which are still in the process of transitioning from Fort Rucker to Redstone Arsenal.
Speaking to an audience that included Maj. Gen. Jim Myles, commander of the Aviation and Missile Command; Maj. Gen. Roger Nadeau, commander of the Army Test and Evaluation Command; Brig. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, program executive officer for missiles and space; Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and many former RTTC as well as former ATTC employees, Johnson outlined highlights of RTTC's "essential chapter in the history" of the Army's test and evaluation community that began in the early 1950s.
"By testing a multitude of weapon systems that have made our Army the dominant force on the battlefield - with the needs of the Soldier always in mind - RTTC has not only written a proud history, it also has demonstrated the technical competence and commitment to Soldiers that the Redstone Test Center is founded upon," Johnson said.
RTTC's accomplishments were possible because of the ingenuity, expertise and commitment to excellence of its employees and leadership, he said. RTTC employee expertise, technical know-how and technological capabilities "cemented its reputation as an outstanding Army organization," he said.
As part of the ceremony, Johnson thanked David Byrd, formerly director of RTTC and now technical director of RTC, for his leadership in a time of transition for Redstone Arsenal's testing and evaluation community.
Under Byrd's leadership, the RTTC team provided development test support for a spectrum of Army missiles, aviation systems, sensors, subsystems and system components, and supported 85 Rapid Initiative Force Protection Systems, directly contributing to the fielding of vital Improvised Explosive Devices detection and neutralization systems, and enhancing the safety of war fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Byrd's leadership team was responsible for advancing the growth of aviation flight-systems testing at RTTC with the conversion of one of RTTC's test ranges into a joint Aviation, Sensor and Unmanned Aerial System Range and with the upgrade of aviation instrumentation at RTTC.
There have also been significant enhancements to the RAPTR, E3 testing, aviation safety parts and condition based maintenance testing.
RTTC developmental tests conducted on the Javelin, TOW and Hellfire missiles - all currently in use by U.S. war fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan - were conducted at RTTC, including tests of the Warhead and Launcher Modifications designed for use on unmanned aerial systems. Programs like RTTC's Active Protection System/Hit Avoidance Program are essential to the missions of organizations such as the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, Directorate of Operational Test and Evaluation, Defense Advanced Research Projects and Future Combat Systems.
"These farsighted changes have placed the Redstone Test Center in a position of strength and will maximize its effectiveness and productivity for acquisition programs," Johnson said. "By serving as a major testing organization, RTTC has been at the center of efforts to field technologies that protect our Soldiers and support them in battle from sensors to missile guidance systems."
Byrd, who has served as the director of RTTC for two years following Johnson's tenure, thanked Redstone commander Myles "for the outstanding support you have provided to the test community at Redstone. Your continuing support on-post and within the local community are very much appreciated. At every community event that I have heard you speak, I believe you have mentioned the importance of ATTC and RTTC to Team Redstone and to our Soldiers."
He also thanked Garrison commander Col. Bob Pastorelli and the Garrison staff for their support in assisting with the facility needs of RTTC.
"Not only does RTTC occupy approximately one-third of the land on Redstone Arsenal and probably has the largest number of buildings on post, we also require extensive services ranging from construction, equipment and logistics support to ammunition supply," Byrd said. "Col. Pastorelli, we are probably your biggest headache, but you and your staff continue to provide tireless support to our mission."
Excellence in RTC leadership will continue under its now commander, Johnson said. Kihara most recently served as the commander of the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis, Va. He is a master aviation and a certified experimental test pilot with more than 4,000 flight hours in more than 65 different aircraft.
"Col. Kihara brings to RTC a critical understanding of the role test and evaluation plays in the development of DoD weapon and aviation flight systems," Johnson said.
Kihara told ceremony participants that he is "absolutely honored and humbled" by his new assignment.
"There is no place I would rather be than right here, right now, doing what we are doing here today," he said.
Kihara thanked Byrd for his "absolutely incredible" work in leading the RTTC staff while also serving as the BRAC coordinator for the merging of ATTC and RTTC. He said the success of RTC "will be borne out in the coming months as we fully establish a world-class test organization with the ability to conduct qualification testing of integrated aviation, missiles and sensors from component through system level."
That success will also be evident in RTC's role with its command organizations, partners and customers.
"It will be borne out as we establish an organization that is an honest and respected member of this 'coalition of the willing' that we call the 'aviation and missile enterprise' - fully integrated with AMC, the respective program executive offices, life cycle management commands and the war fighters ... and accomplishes the mission in concert with other organizations as an equal partner," Kihara said.
"It will be borne out as we establish an organization that capitalizes on the talent and takes best breed care of its most important asset - its work force, whether military, government or contractor in order to get the right data at the right time the first time and allowing data transparency from component through system level for the Army's decision makers."
Employees like Ron Yarbrough and Jeff Welch, both formerly of ATTC, view the formation of RTC as a good move for the Army, the customers, the war fighter and the civilian work force.
"It's good for the Army to have all testing under one command," Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough is moving in about a month from Fort Rucker to Redstone Arsenal. Welch has already made the transition.
"I really like the area," Welch said. "There are some growing pains with the move. But there is always good and bad. This is going to be good. We're going to make it good."
Johnson said he hopes RTC's employees will remember and build on the past success of RTTC and ATTC.
"I urge you never to forget where you came from," he told his ceremony audience. "Remember it. Be proud of it and build upon it. Your past efforts have written a distinguished history of a proud organization. Now, what you do from this day forward will honor and define the legacy of the Redstone Test Center."
Social Sharing