Gen. John Rafferty is pictured talking with Jered Ford during a recent visit. Ford has worked at Yuma Proving Ground for 14 years and is currently the Artillery Branch Chief.
Gen. John Rafferty is pictured talking with Jered Ford during a recent visit. Ford has worked at Yuma Proving Ground for 14 years and is currently the Artillery Branch Chief. (Photo Credit: Ana Henderson) VIEW ORIGINAL

Jered Ford has steadily moved up the ranks at Yuma Proving Ground (YPPG) since starting his career 14 years ago.

Ford grew up in Northern Arizona and graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Mechanical Engineering degree.

He first heard about YPG from his Grandfather, an Air Force Veteran living in Yuma, who heard YPG was hiring engineers.

Ford was hired in 2007 by YPG contractor ECIII as a test officer in the Munitions and Weapons (M&W) branch. He then transitioned to government service as a Civilian employee a year later.

For eight years Ford worked as a test officer overseeing tests programs and learned the foundation of testing.

“The experience working with teams and external organizations as well as the experience with the artillery systems and ammunition have fed my knowledge about the systems and the testing associated with them.”

Ford’s next move was into a leadership role yet he didn’t leave the M&W branch. He served as team lead for the Counter-fire team for about two years and then for the Artillery one team. In December of 2020, Ford was named the M&W Artillery Branch Chief. He stepped into the position in March of 2021. He knows the work performed by the M&W team makes an impact.

“Our division is an excellent test division. It’s very professional and very busy. It’s an important test division with Army modernization and the LRPF CFT focusing its number one priority on long-range precision firing and that’s in our wheelhouse.” Adding, “The work that we have been doing is really important to the Army Modernization and ultimately to the Soldiers.”