One of the most critical keys to the continuing success of Warfighter support involves the leadership of U.S. Army noncommissioned officers within the science and technology community.
NCO involvement in the S&T process is extremely critical to the development of the right technologies and the right equipment for Warfighters currently in the field.
When I first came to the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, one of my first initiatives was to travel around the command and see how the NCOs and the Soldiers were being utilized in the S&T process. I wanted to make sure that there was a strong working relationship between the Soldiers and our scientists and engineers. As part of that, I wanted to make sure that our scientists and engineers were actually taking advantage of those Soldiers and learning from all of their combat experience. And, I can tell you that they are. RDECOM is putting the Warfighters at the forefront of every research and engineering project that we do.
The proper utilization of these vital personnel assets is critical; given the many lessons learned, they can provide us despite their limited numerical presence within the S&T community. While RDECOM includes 18,000 scientists, engineers and other professionals, we are reinforced with only about 190 NCOs and Soldiers.
One of the things that I do for RDECOM NCOs is hold quarterly professional development opportunities. I get NCOs from the command together at different locations throughout the United States to make sure that I link the Soldier assigned to the organization with their experience. Just as we need the engineers to learn from the NCOs experience, we need the NCOs to become better educated about the big picture, how their contributions in working with the scientists and engineers can directly support the Warfighter in the field.
There is tremendous value in the NCO sitting there with the engineer and scientist. Together, they can apply first-hand, battlefield experiences to new technological innovations and engineering solutions. Because, at the end of the day, that piece of equipment ends up in the hands of a Soldier in the mountains of Afghanistan.
For example, we had a requirement to develop a Gunner's Restraint System for all of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle variants. Because those vehicles were procured and fielded quickly, they did not have a restraint system to protect gunners from getting injured or killed if an MRAP rolled over. That led to our 'tasker' to develop a Gunner's Restraint System within 72 hours.
The resulting project focused on a collaboration of engineers and scientists within RDECOM, to include the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, working closely with the U.S. Army Developmental Test Command here at Aberdeen Proving Ground and NCOs on the ground.
The Soldiers collaborated with and worked with the engineers and scientists, and we were able to pull it together in just one weekend. Within a few days of the first 50 to 100 systems arriving in theater, they saved somebody's life.
I can tell you that the engineers could not have done it that fast all by themselves. Having those NCOs who have been in combat, who have driven MRAPS, and who have operated the weapon systems on an MRAP right there during the engineering can make the process go extremely fast. That first-hand exchange of information is irreplaceable.
The last few years have seen the expansion of NCO involvement in the S&T process from throughout the Army. And, from my experience, the engineers, scientists and NCOs all love it because they educate each other.
This relationship is critical to keeping the Army on the cutting edge of technology because it brings fresh experience into our labs and produces Warfighter-focused solutions out of our labs.
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