ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (March 31, 2015) -- A delegation of 17 Turkish scientists, engineers and military officers toured U.S. military research and development centers March 16-31, to examine American science and technology practices to advance their own R&D enterprise.
The group visited the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Rodman Materials Research Laboratory here March 27. They were given a U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command overview by Brig. Gen. William E. Cole, RDECOM deputy commanding general.
Dr. John M. Pellegrino, director of ARL's Computational and Information Sciences Directorate and Chief Information Officer, discussed the ARL workforce, the lab's Open Campus initiative and some intricacies of government-industry relations.
"You have to build the ecosystem," Pellegrino said, addressing the leadership support, collaborative mechanisms and sharing strategies needed for a successful research enterprise.
Eager to add to the discussion, questions from the group fueled a two-hour conversation that included how U.S. research portfolios are prioritized, the relationship between R&D centers and combatant commanders and the possible exchange of scientists and engineers between the two nations.
The Turks were expressly interested in how military research centers are organized, how R&D projects are selected, and were curious how the U.S. military competes with corporate markets and other universities for scientists and what incentives military research centers have to offer. They also asked how funding for military research is managed.
"The Turks have been late to join the (R&D) party, and are now looking to establish a network similar to ours. They're here to add to their understanding of what they need to do," said Jyuji Hewitt, RDECOM's executive deputy to the commanding general. "This is certainly a step in the right direction."
"They are also going to receive Ms. (Heidi) Shyu, (Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acqusition, Logistics and Technology), who will visit them in May," Hewitt added. "So they're here to gain awareness about what we do."
Professor Dr. Ismail Demir, the undersecretary of Turkish Defense Industries, and Maj. Gen. Oguz Serhad Habiboglu, head of the Plans and Policy Division for the Turkish General Staff, led the group. Demir was educated in American schools for nine years, earning two masters of science degrees from the University of Michigan and Purdue University, then earning a doctorate at Washington State University.
Each member of the Turkish delegation communicated and understood their mission.
"To enhance cooperation between R&D functions," explained Vedat Karagoz, a major in the Turkish army. "We're here to establish connections between your facilities and ours. We would also like to exchange students for specified projects.
"We're late about it, in terms of being a NATO country, a partner country," Karagoz said. "We don't know enough about the ecosystem which we are in. Maybe we can help you, maybe you can help us."
With the second-largest military in NATO (the U.S. is the largest), and Turkey's geographic location at the southeastern flank of the alliance and its status as a Muslim-majority country, the country plays a critical role in regional security, particularly in Afghanistan where it has pledged continued support for training Afghan security forces beyond 2014 through bilateral and NATO programs.
The Turkish government spent more than $1 billion on defense, research and development in 2013. More local businesses have been introducing products to the market, contributing to Turkey's goal of relying more on domestic sources than imported products.
Turkey is also one of a handful of countries undertaking research on advanced optics. Turkey has been focusing research on Quantum-Well Infrared Photodetectors, an area in which the United States is similarly engaged.
Prior to visiting APG, the Turkish contingent toured the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Naval Research Laboratory. They were scheduled to visit the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in Natick, Mass., this week to close out their tour.
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RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness -- technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection, and sustainment -- to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations. If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC delivers it.
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