By Sgt. Aaron Harris, Enterprise & Mission Command Test Division, Mission Command Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command
HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Georgia — Aviation Soldiers are busy here testing a new system focused on improving enterprise readiness through modernizing Aviation maintenance and logistics functions.
“We are getting a look at how the Soldiers actually use the Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-A) system, which is as operationally realistic as it gets,” said MAJ Andrew J. Johnson, a test officer with the Mission Command Test Directorate (MCTD) of the Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas-based U.S. Army Operational Test Command (OTC).
The new Enterprise Aviation (EAVN) builds on existing GCSS-A logistics capabilities to add Aviation maintenance and logistics Army’s fixed wing, rotary wing, and unmanned aerials systems.
EAVN was developed to provide better situational awareness to support senior leader decision making to better use Army Aviation assets around the world.
“Testing this tool is important because this affects over 51,000 Aviation users across the Army,” said Johnson. “The Army needs to see whether this tool provides situational awareness and visibility of aircraft parts and components.”
Troops with 2nd Battalion, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion (2-3 GSAB), 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade (3rd CAB), 3rd Infantry Division are supporting the operational test.
“The ‘go live’ nature of the test helps OTC capture honest feedback to help Army leaders make informed fielding decisions,” Johnson said of the troops.
Spec. Clete O. Davis, Army Aviation Tech Supply user with the 3rd CAB, said it is beneficial that the Army is considering his feedback by testing the system the way it will be used.
“The testing was realistic because I’m able to fully create an inventory that can be tracked within the actual system,” he said.
Mission partners backing the test included representatives from the Army Futures Command (AFC), Aviation Enablers-Requirements Determination Division (AE-RDD), Army Evaluation Center (AEC), Aviation Center of Excellence, Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), Electronic Proving Ground (EPG), and Product Director GCSS-Army (PD GCSS-Army).
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About the U.S. Army Operational Test Command:
As the Army’s only independent operational tester, USAOTC tests Army, joint, multi-service, and multi-domain warfighting systems in realistic operational environments; using skilled Soldiers to provide data on whether the systems are effective, suitable, and survivable. USAOTC is required by public law to test major systems before they are fielded to its ultimate customer — the American Soldier.
OTC’s Mission Command Test Directorate plans, conducts, and reports on independent operational tests, assessments, experiments and rapid initiatives of Enterprise and Tactical Mission Command systems to provide essential information for the decision-making process for acquisition and fielding.
OTC’s Aviation Test Directorate at West Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas, plans and conducts operational tests and reports on manned and unmanned aviation-related equipment to include attack, reconnaissance, cargo and lift helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, tactical trainers, ground support equipment, and aviation countermeasure systems.
