ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (May 12, 2021) – Engineers and scientists with the Army Futures Command (AFC) have opportunities to obtain a larger, global view of science and technology through participation in an immersive international exchange program.
The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center – a component of the AFC’s Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) – is a frequent participant in the Army’s Engineering and Scientist Exchange Program (ESEP) with ally nations.
The ESEP, as outlined in Army Regulation 380-10, aims to coordinate technological efforts between the United States and its ally countries as well as reduce duplicative research, development, test, and evaluation efforts. The program allows DoD civilian scientists and engineers the opportunity to embed within a foreign partner's laboratories and test centers to work side by side with experts around the world.
“The ESEP is an excellent research opportunity and developmental program that we need to continue to leverage to make our scientists and engineers more versatile,” said Chuck Hoppe, the Center’s associate director for science, technology and engineering. “That benefit is best realized when we exercise the opportunity to send our personnel overseas and when we make it a priority to receive scientists and engineers from our allies,” he added.
The C5ISR Center already has an international view toward research and development, having 48 international armaments cooperation agreements with 15 partner nations used to share research, development, test, and evaluation information, emphasizing the international nature of technology development. The ESEP rotational experience – a year with the possibility of an extension – further develops the Center’s awareness of international technology capabilities that may be leveraged to support the Army’s modernization initiatives.
According to Stephen Conley, chief of the C5ISR requirements integration and international programs, the Center’s international programs enable its scientists and engineers to build relationships and tap into the technology research being done outside the United States. The ESEP is one of the ways the center is developing a world-class workforce, he added.
The Army has ESEP agreements with 16 countries – including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Australia – for eligible Army engineers and scientists to consider when applying.
A recent participant in the ESEP is C5ISR Center computer engineer James Yockey, who served a 13-month rotation with Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) from October 2019 to November 2020.
During his time with the DSTG, Yockey worked on various simulations regarding hiding the radio signals Soldiers use on the battlefield. Yockey and his teammates explored different methods to reduce the probability of signal detection, including reducing the power levels used to transmit the signal and using directional antennas that could focus power in a certain direction.
“One of the things that I’ve gained is perspective. I definitely have a new view on the way scientific research could be done,” Yockey said of his experience.
Yockey co-authored his first research paper, “Emulating Low Probability of Detection Algorithms,” published in the November 2020 issue of International Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference, while in the program. He is also slated to be named as a co-author in an upcoming paper, pending acceptance.
“I became a better engineer for the Army. I have new skills, new perspectives and new goals as a result of this program. I have relationships that otherwise would not have existed, and part of the benefit of having these relationships is leveraging their expertise and vice versa,” said Yockey, who noted he continues to engage with his Australian DSTG team members.
For more information, contact the C5ISR Center Public Affairs Office: usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mbx.pao@mail.mil.
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The C5ISR Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, the center develops and matures capabilities that support all six Army modernization priorities, enabling information dominance and tactical overmatch for the joint warfighter.
The C5ISR Center is an element of U.S. Army DEVCOM. Through collaboration across the command’s core technical competencies, DEVCOM leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our nation’s wars and come home safely. DEVCOM is an AFC major subordinate command.
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