Soldier brings experience in theater to Center S&T role

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (March 27, 2025) – Growing up in Indiana, Maj. Shane Kohtz never considered joining the Army.

Until 9/11.

“I was a sophomore in high school when the attacks happened, which had a great impact on me.” Kohtz said.

That desire to serve would lead Kohtz to the U.S. Military Academy – and alongside many of his generation, deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kohtz said that it was accepted among the cadets that they would be deployed and the school prepared them for the experience as much as possible. But there was no way to truly prepare for the experience of warfare and the months -- sometimes years -- away from home.

“You don't really know what Army life is like or what to expect until you live through it. The second deployment was not as hard, obviously, because it's not so new anymore. You try to mentor the younger folks who are in it for the first time or having issues because you've already been through that.”

Once back stateside, Kohtz had a choice to make in his military career – was it time to hang up his uniform? The Army, he said, had given him a purpose larger than himself.

“I was part of a team,” he said. “Everyone sharing the same mission. Every day we were in it together, driving towards the same purpose and mission.”

Kohtz wanted to continue to serve his country. An idea born out of his deployments had piqued his interest and led him to some late-night research.

What about the Army Acquisition Corps?

“When I was on my first deployment, we would get a lot of equipment but sometimes it didn't necessarily meet the need or the requirement. I started looking into who managed that for the Army,” he said.

That career change would eventually lead him to the Center which has given him the unique opportunity to work with the teams who do work on some of those capabilities – and his experience of being the end user has allowed Kohtz to help shape them.

“Being on the science and technology side, this assignment has been interesting, seeing the early part of the life cycle, sometimes even before requirements are even written."

On April 4, Kohtz will reach another milestone in his career, as he is officially promoted to lieutenant colonel. It is an achievement born out of 17 years of service – service that he didn’t necessarily plan out all those years ago as a young lieutenant fresh out of West Point. But as Kohtz looked back on his career – so far – as a married father of three, his advice to the young leaders of today is to try not to fall into that young person’s trap of thinking they need to have it all figured out.

“Everything that you think in the beginning – that’s probably not going to be how it plays out,” Kohtz advised. “Be open to taking a different path.”

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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery – DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit devcom.army.mil/.