White Sands Missile Range, N.M.-White Sands Missile Range will induct Dr. Donald W. Hoock, Jr. and Joseph L. Trammel into its Hall of Fame on November 18, 2014 during a luncheon ceremony at the installation's Frontier Club.
Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor White Sands can bestow upon an individual locally. The Hall of Fame was established in 1980 to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to White Sands during their tenure on the range.
White Sands Missile Range has elected two former U.S/ Army Research Laboratory civilian employees to its Hall of Fame for 2014. One is a physicist who helped develop computer software still in use today to model obscurant smoke, dust, and haze effects. The other was a security team leader who continues to serve as a spiritual leader to the WSMR community after his retirement.
Dr. Donald W. Hoock, Jr.
Effective training entails simulations of what may possibly be encountered during combat. It is essential to be able to identify and prepare for possible equipment disruptions. Such disruptions can take place due to natural or man-made causes. The Soviet Army in central Europe planned to use smoke and obscurant munitions that would blind the U.S. Army's sensors and prevent long-range standoff capability. While working with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory at White Sands Missile Range, Dr. Donald W. Hoock, Jr. helped co-author a computer program that helped deter the Soviet Army's smoke tactics.
For several years, a model Hoock coauthored was the lead project of the U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory's Atmospheric Effects division. The Combined Obscuration Model for Battlefield-Induced Contaminants model was coauthored by Hoock in 1983. COMBIC predicted the effects of dust, smoke, and obscurants on U.S. Army target acquisition and surveillance systems. It was adopted by the Army war gaming community and remains today the primary model used in Army war gaming simulations to model obscurant smoke, dust, and haze effects. It provides modelers with "predictions of temporally varying visibility and transmission loss information for dozens of specific types of modeled battlefield obscurants."
Hoock's work did not stop with COMBIC. Although the model provided general information about the cloud position, other important concepts were not well understood. The evolution of obscurant clouds, the behaviors of obscurant clouds in a complex terrain, such as urban environments, and the way light traveled through spatially variable smoke plumes were poorly understood.
A year after the completion of COMBIC, Hoock began working on an extensive research program to gain a better understanding of obscurant clouds. Between 1985 and 2004 Hoock led a major research effort involving eleven coauthors and publishing over 32 papers and reports covering these research areas.
The research resulted in the "development of a breakthrough cloud visualization algorithm, termed STATBIC, the Statistical Texturing Application to Battlefield-Induced Clouds. The model helped understand the unpredictable characteristics of real battlefield clouds, like those with non-repeating variations in shape and concentration that may have holes. These unpredictable characteristics "produce significant performance variations in target acquisition, tracking, designation, weapon homing, and design aspects for low observables of electromagnetic systems propagating or detecting radiation through or near them."
Hoock was awarded the Department of the Army Research and Development Achievement Award for his work on "High Resolution Radiative Transfer Visualization of Smoke and Dust Clouds" in 1992.
He retired from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory at WSMR in 2012. He passed away in 2012.
Joseph L. Trammel
Joseph Trammel's hard work and dedication were evident during his 42 years of service as a government employee. His selfless contributions have left a long lasting impact on each organization he has worked with including the WSMR community, the Department of the Army, and the Department of Defense.
Trammel led the Security and Counterintelligence effort for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory at WSMR for almost 30 years. As Security Team Leader, his job was to protect ARL technology in support of the Soldier on the battlefield. During this time Trammel's duties included establishing, executing, and maintaining an effective security, counterintelligence, special access, and other sensitive access programs for ARL.
Trammel's expert security operation functions made countless critical projects possible. Amongst the high-profiled projects that were possible because of his expertise was the Improvised Countermeasure Equipment (ICE), an IED countermeasure that was used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Not only did Trammel help protect the Soldier during combat, but he also ensured the safety of those on the installation. In 2012, Trammel took on additional duties as the ARL Foreign Disclosure Officer for over a year. He planned and coordinated ARL-WSMR's participation in Annual Antiterrorism Force Protection and Continuation of Operation Exercises. He also "trained and managed the ARL-WSMR Crisis Action and Crisis Management Teams, which proved invaluable during the wildfires that threatened WSMR in 2010."
In 2010, Trammel saved the life of a fellow employee who failed to show up for work. Trammel was unable to contact the employee or the emergency contacts by telephone. He drove about an hour to the employee's home and summoned emergency services to meet him at the individual's home. Upon arrival, the individual was found unconscious and barely breathing due to health complications. They were able to revive the employee and transport him to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, where he recovered. Trammel received the Department of the Army Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service for his "compassion, concern for others, and composure under pressure."
As an Ordained Pastor, Trammel continues to lead the Gospel Congregation at WSMR since 1985 and holds Bible Studies twice weekly. He has been continuously involved in the installation chapel's activities including seasonal plays, concerts, and Summer Bible School. When the installation military chaplain was not available or the position was vacant, Trammel served as the community's spiritual leader. Trammel has also selflessly dedicated his own Family time to personnel working during Christmas Eve providing them their holiday meals.
Trammel retired from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in 2013 and lives in Las Cruces.
To attend this year's induction, please call the Protocol Office at575-678-1949 or 575-678-1038 and make a reservation with your credit card number by Nov. 9. No payment will be received at the door. Menu selections are Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas and Barbeque Brisket for $18.00.
A reception will be held immediately after the induction at the White Sands museum. Cake and coffee will be served.
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