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Show '- ?.' -f Materiel Test Directorate: Why we are all at DPG by SFC Phil Hale Battlefield, smoke and The t : chemical weapons . . . what effect will they have on U.S. troops and equipment? That is just one of the many questions in this complex. subject area that is being ans-wered. by the dedicated men and women, soldier and civilian, of the Materiel Test Directorate (MTD) at Dugway Proving Ground. As part of the US Army Test and Evaluation Com- 1 I mand (TECOM) family of in- stallations charged by the Army's Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM) with the test and evaluation of all I w materiel used by the Army, Dugways MTD has a varied and vital role in the defense posture of the United States. One of the prime objectives of the proving ground is the testing and evaluation of chemical and biological defensive systems, or, in easier words, we test the equipment being developed to protect our troops from a chemical or biological attack by hostile - - w t S ' m MM tions as well to give equipment. We Will Field No Item Before Its Time Just as important as fielding new items is the identification of "duds", items that just will not work for what-- , and new clothing. Decontamination Equipment Also Tested Another vital test that is ongoing at MTD is the testing ever reason on the of various decontamination i..M ? perts at MTD work with it until recommendations can be. made to the developer to fix ... 9 '1 r, . Vater treatment s v ,S . " - , q l , - ?" x it.- - ... - - . . ' " " ' sw r 9 xw t , ..s ' ' ' . ; : '.7 J ,v , . ;. V 't1-- '- . t s 'rt ' . ' and all equipment being tested in a fraction of the time mother nature would take. In this way, equipment can be subjected to extremes of tem- ; . Six-Da- soned professionals at MTD, and handling. To paraphrase a popular Instrumentation Vital To The Mission Supporting all of this testing requires, as you can well imagine, vast quantities of sophisticated equipment. The Instrumentation Branch, and Optical Data Branch also of the Technical testing of battlefield smoke systems. .The Israeli Army, in the 1973 War, found one of man's oldest dethat fensive tools works just as effectively against radars and Support ys ' Division, 4. the taxpayers dollar is not to be wasted on frills. They are also dedicated to providing the maximum effective range of the budget dollar as well. m Dugways MTD employs some of the finest experts in the free world in the use and - - t of battlefield protection can never be too high. To the sea- perature, humidity and other adverse conditions that could affect their performance. By doing this we can test to see the effect of long-terproper or improper storage ants. s V- ONE OF THE MANY missions that can be found ongoing at any given time involves test firings of representative samples of the artillery munitions stockpile. Here SFC Kenneth Thornton, Chief of the Weapons System Branch Firing Battery checks as Gunner, SGT Herman Terrell chambers a 105MM smoke projectile in preparation for firing. Plami obu tains a vast inventory of equipment designed to age Or condition these munitions Where's There's Smoke There's MTD Another facet of MTD's mission is the test and development of smoke and obscur- A ' ' .s' . ment. .. s : 1. ,J . ' ;1 9 $ . - if those, who will use the equipment in the field. .. Protection of the environment is also a major consider-- . ation, and one that is a major responsibility of the Environmental and Life Sciences Division, or Baker Lab To many soldiers, the price Division of MTD also main- Industrious troops of both armies have already found, that the Sanator is an excellent tool for cleaning grime and mud from tanks and other large pieces of equip- Ji constantly to ensure the safety not only of the workers conducting the test, but of Life-Cyc- le device : Safety and accuracy are also hallmarks of the way MTD does business on a daily, basis. Every test is reviewed is fired to when the last whisp of smoke disappears from view. Accelerated Testing The Technical Support which provides high volumes of hot water quickly from a variety of sources. The US is testing it to see if it is suitable for decontamination purposes. :.s-;:?'- .i ' " . ' k :v -- - ; 0. .,. ; before. Dedication to excellence is a way of life at MTD, every worker realizes that he or she is contributing to the saving of lifes on the battlefield. sure everything about the round from the instant that it One excellent example of this philosophy is the Sana-toan item already in use by the Norwegian Armed Forces which developed it. The Sanator is a portable Ki; . ss k - facture equipment or procedures to get the required data even if the equipment they need has never been available , the problems. i , V'Z - - c;. tools available. A unique capability of these folks and the scientists throughout the MTD is the ability to fabricate or manu- Supporting this testing are the artillerymen and mortar crews of the Weapons Systems Brandi of the Technical Support Division of MTD. This group of soldiers and civilians maintains a small battery of special artillery pieces instrumented to mea- battle-fiel- d. ... get maximum effectiveness from these items. How this equipment is to be used is tested, and everyone at DPG who works with an item is constantly on the lookout for ways that it can be used more ylff w ' . collect and process huge quantities of data quickly and accurately using the latest MTD. If an item doesn't perform properly, but has merit, more testing is done, and the ex- devices. Personnel at MTD put new items through their paces in an ever continuing effort to . infrared equipment as it did against the spears and eyes of primitive warriors. Determining exactly how effective the modern smoke munitions and equipment are is the job of the Smoke Branch in the. Test Design and Analysis Division of the best set of instructions .possible with their new manders an idea of how long their troops could stay on a contaminated battlefield before they had to be retired to the rear for decontamination . r:T s . efficiently, so our troops get com- - rrr rZ.Mf' - ....Jr.- DITTO TECHNICAL CENTER, home of the Materiel Test Directorate as seen from Five-Mil- e HilL The home of the Dugway mission, many Dugwayites have never been closer than this view represents. (More Ditto photos on page 6) .t - - ... - , if ' ! - .. f' I - decontamination are also ..- L 1 - - . of material from new and used items of clothing and equipment being used by our soldiers and, in the protected environment of the laboratory, exposing these samples to Various, chemical agents. How long it takes each agent to penetrate in various forms such as liquid, or vapors of various strengths under various temperature and climactic conditions. The effects of r t ( - r. documented. This method is also used on most often worn combina- - - ' I I Socks To Caps One example of such testing involves cutting samples March 15, 1984 t v. "j ' - - , i ; ',i I,, . - f-w-- vital to the average soldier. Clothing Tests: Thursday, V... :i v- r- forces. While some items like the M1E1 Abrams main battle tank seem to grab the headlines other tests occur here every day which are just as "Published in the interest of the personnel of Dugway Proving Ground, Utah -- - ' song, "You work hard for your money" . . . MTD "works harder with your money! Since Dugway's founding in 1942 MTD has been diligently providing the best to soldiers of the United States and our allies. Supporting the test mission of Dugway is the reason we are all here putting every- are charged with the responsibility of providing and maintain- thing to the test for the ing the instrumentation to nation's best. . - the Army. a buying filplhiin! nexfl mmonfitli t The Public Service Commission of Utah, after a year of hearings and deliberations has announced a decision concerning telephone service to, Dugway and some of the surrounding areas. As part of the changeover from a government-owneand operated system to one operated by Mountain Bell,Class B (household) telephone users will have to own. their own instruments. At the time of the changeover, expected to be by mid to the end of April, Dugway subscribers will be required to install their own equipment, and turn in the phones now in their quarters that are owned Mr. Bernard Groharing, Chief of the U.S. Army Com- . Another major part of the changeover is that all telephone numbers will change. No one will have the same number they presently have assigned. instrument, including There will be a small touch-ton- e. munications Command (USACC) Detachment here stated that although Moun- d byUSACC. i : ; . . tain Bell will provide the service to Dugway, they will not provide telephones. He recommends that when you do purchase your phone, you purchase a quality instrument from a reputable company. He said that when you buy the "cheap" phones, known as "throw-aways- " you will get what you pay for. Related to that, an impor- tant consideration, according to Groharing, is that if your phone breaks, you are responsible for its repair. At tional Publishing Company, a private Published by the. Transcript-Bulleti- n firm fa no way connected with the Department of the Army. Opinions . ed application by Beehive, authorized Mountain Bell to provide the service, and ordered Mountain Bell to provide the Commission with detailed, plans, exchange boundaries, rate, structure and stallation dates. , in- expressed by the writers herein are their own and are not to be con- sidered ah official expression by the Department of the Army. The ap- - f fi . w a. A m I'M - V. - 'Ija eral, US Army Materiel Development and Readiness , 4 - L . .1.1 - 9 kMj '' AJt .nf Command, (DARCOM), to . be placed on the retired list in his current grade. He is scheduled to retire 30 June after more than 35 years of service. The secretary also announced that the president has nominated Lieutenant General Richard H. Thomp r General of DARCOM. He is presently Dieputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, HQ, US Army, Washington, D.C. R. Keith, Commanding Gen- ' Beehive Telephone Company t to provide the service. In the announcement, the. P.S.C. dismissed the amend- son, USA, for appointment to the grade of general and assignment as Commanding nominated General Donald on the held up been had changeover the from an application by service up-to-da- te Secretary of Defense Weinberger announced today that the president has decision TTie f Channel 13, and the weekly bulletin for more information. CG DARCOM to retire and Salt Lake City wilt continue to Dugway subscribers. with-Mountai- vices. . extended service to Tooele At the present time the Dugway Federal Credit Union is discussing Bell a proposal that become the agent on they for the payment of bills, post and possibly for other ser- Mountain Bell Dugway scribers can use any type of w monthly - charge. At that time all residents of quarters will have to sign up to continue telephone service. with the changeover to t e, forwarding, etc. Each of these services will carry an addi- type of equipment employed by the Army only dial or dial pulse phones can be used, but $ touch-ton- dial service, custom calling features such as speed dialing, conferencing, call the present time, with the ' April date had to be flexible Since, several actions have to take place before a contract can be signed, and he said the Army will not allow the purchase of equipment until a contract is actually signed. : Groharing said he does not expect any rate change. The service charge for touch-ton- e phones. Mountain Bell representatives will be on post within the next couple of weeks to discuss with subscribers all of the services that will be avail- able, which include Groharing said that the - Mr. Grbharing suggests that everyone monitor later editions of the Sampler, Major General Benjamin F. Register, Jr., former AMCCOM commander and presently Deputy Director, Defense- Logistics Agency, has been nominated for promotion to Lieutenant General and assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics at a date to be determined. - . pearance of advertisements Inserts In this publication does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of the Army. , . u. |