The Army’s largest technology command has moved to a hybrid training model to help new employees understand how to leverage its global science and technology network of more than 14,000 personnel in 100 locations with hundreds of domestic and international partnerships.
The DEVCOM Mission Orientation is geared toward DEVCOM Forward Element personnel in support of their mission to work with allies and partners in interoperability and scout for cooperative research. The fall 2021 iteration was a combination of virtual and in-person sessions that included tours and demonstrations at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM’s, Army Research Laboratory, C5ISR Center and Chemical Biological Center, all located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. It also consisted of virtual meetings with DEVCOM’s Armaments Center, Aviation and Missile Center, Data & Analysis Center, Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Soldier Center, and external organizations including; Medical Research and Development Command, Engineer Research and Development Command, and 75th Innovation Command.
“This is a unique opportunity to learn about the entire DEVCOM organization and our partners. And, it is particularly critical for employees assigned overseas who reach back to our network of technical experts and S&T integrators at headquarters,” said Maj. Gen. Miles Brown, DEVCOM commanding general, who delivered opening remarks at the DMO.
DMO was previously called Orientation and Reach Back Training, and it began in 2003 to rapidly prepare employees who were deployed to Iraq to assist military commands and Soldiers by identifying capability shortfalls and reaching back to DEVCOM for solutions. Nearly 500 employees have completed this training since it began.
DEVCOM Forward Element personnel, Quick Reaction Coordinators, International Points of Contacts at the centers/lab, and other personnel attend the DMO to get a cross-command overview of capabilities, an understanding of the Request for Information process for reach back, and the tools available to support DEVCOM’s global mission. While employees may have some knowledge about various technologies, DMO provides information about the DEVCOM enterprise overall, its mission, and areas of research with which they may not be familiar.
DFEs have personnel embedded in combatant commands around the world, and they often see firsthand issues Soldiers experience with equipment and technology in the field. The DMO provides the instructions to query program offices, subject matter experts at DEVCOM, and external organizations through RFIs to expedite potential solutions through DEVCOM Science and Technology Integration.
“The nature of the DMO has changed since 2003, and it is more important than ever that personnel supporting the global mission, whether they are serving with our allies in Australia or at Army South, understand DEVCOM’s command priorities and extensive capabilities so that they can best serve the warfighter,” said Collier Slade, director, S&TI partnerships division.
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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is home to thousands of the Army’s scientists, engineers, technicians, and analysts located around the globe that leverage cutting-edge technologies to empower the American Warfighter with the data and abilities to see, sense, make decisions and act faster than our adversaries – today and in the future.
As part of the Army Futures Command, Team DEVCOM takes risks to find new solutions every single day. Our experts drive innovation, improve existing technologies, and engineer solutions to technical limitations. Our work goes beyond theory to simulation and prototyping. We take potential S&T solutions from the lab “into the dirt” for experimentation alongside Soldiers. DEVCOM prides itself as a global ecosystem of innovators, from world-class universities and large defense contractors, to small minority-owned businesses and allied international partners.
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