The APSL metrology and calibration program is the critical link which ensures measurement accuracy and traceability to national standards for every Army weapon system. The APSL is an element of the US Army Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Activity (USATA), a primary organizational element of the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) located at Redstone Arsenal, AL. The APSL consists of four major metrology labs: Physical, Electrical, Applied Physics, and Radiation. In addition, the APSL includes the Army Dosimetry Center and the Production Control and Shipping Division. The APSL staff consists of approximately 100 engineers, scientists, and engineering technicians, along with a small number of supervisory and administrative support personnel.
Our mission is to provide the Army’s highest level of metrology and calibration services as required, traceable to national standards or fundamental physical constants. We develop metrology and calibration procedures, measurement standards, and systems required to support Army current and future weapon systems through the U.S. Army TMDE Activity worldwide enterprise. The APSL provides state-of-the-art metrology and calibration services, technical expertise, health physics services, and chemical/biological defense-related support to the Army. We provide engineering and scientific representation to the tri-service Joint Technical Coordination Group for Calibration and Measurement Technology and its subgroups responsible for managing and coordinating metrology R&D. Our subject matter experts serve on Army, DOD, and national technical committees, and provide liaison between the Army, NIST and other technology developers. We support the DA radiation safety community by providing program specific services. These services include health physics, nucleonics, ionizing radiation dosimetry, and maintenance and continuous update of the repository for Army personnel radiation exposure records.
The Enterprise Support Division (ESD) provides an Army global strategy for calibration and repair support of Test, Measurement, and Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) through the application of sound metrology practices, experiences, and knowledge bases. The ESD is composed of four divisions: the Physical Measurements Division (PMD), Electrical Measurements Division (EMD), the Enterprise Assessment Division (EAD), and the Future Force Integration division (FFID). Engineers working within both the physical and electrical measurements divisions analyze the methods, techniques, and processes of calibration from NIST to the end user, ensuring that the traceability of the calibration chain remains unbroken. Engineers and equipment specialists within both the physical/dimensional and electrical divisions create step by step instructions on the calibration of TMDE. This process ensures that calibration procedures make sense from a mathematical and theoretical standpoint as well as providing the necessary guidance to the field technicians to perform the calibration procedure accurately and effectively. The Enterprise Assessment Division is composed of the Quality Assurance (QA) branch and the Requirements, Publication Management, and Training branch. The QA branch provides a system of checks and balances for the field calibration activities throughout the world. The QA team provides assurance to the global Army community that the calibrations performed by all field calibration activities are being executed as designed and in the appropriate environment necessary to make accurate measurements, thus ensuring traceability of measurements.
The Requirements, Publication Management, and Training branch executes missions in three separate lanes: First, the Requirements section receives information from the field on new equipment processed at field calibration activities and documents guidance received from the directorate on the calibration strategy for this newly received equipment. The Requirements branch administrates TB 43-180, a compendium of all calibrated items in the Army inventory (approximately 58,000 separate lines, each with 18 variable data fields). In addition, the Requirements branch monitors and oversees the evaluation of calibration procedures developed by the electrical and physical measurement division. This evaluation examines all the mathematical calculations and theory in a procedure as well as the logical progression of the process to ensure that the procedure is performing the calibration as designed. In many instances, a calibration procedure will also receive a dynamic evaluation, where a technician physically performs every step of the calibration procedure to verify and validate the processes and calculations in the procedure.
Operating in a parallel path of the Requirements section, the Publications Management section performs all the administrative functions necessary to publish calibration procedures into the Army library of documents, ensuring that all procedures follow the strict guideline in context and formatting necessary to align with the Army Publications Directorate regulations on technical bulletins. The Pubs Management section also coordinates all incoming requests for changes to calibration procedures and calibration data templates.
The training section of EAD provides instruction to technicians in a variety of subject areas and disciplines. This training provides the technician an opportunity to improve their capabilities within the lab and the region of operation, as well as establishing a baseline for incoming calibration technicians.
Finally, Enterprise Support recently established a new division to provide logistical support and TMDE integration across the enterprise. Established in November 2022, the Future Force Integration Division (FFID) delivers TMDE supportability statements across the 150+ ASA ALT program and product offices. Additionally, FFI provides Integrated Product Support expertise in the realm of Lifecycle Support Plan influence, Technical Manual Verification and Logistics Demonstration support, TMDE cross walk assessments, and various requirements analysis functions. FFID integrates with the Army Futures Command (AFC) Cross Functional Teams (CFT) to provide measurement demand expertise across the Signature Modernization Programs. Internally, FFID works with the various directorates and calibration facilities to provide subject matter expertise within USATA’s mission scope.
The Enterprise Support Directorate, through the implementation of all its synergized divisions, acts as a force multiplier in multi-domain operations, allowing the warfighter to exploit increased efficiencies, accuracies, and precision, creating avenues for victory on the battlefield.
The Management & Operations Division is responsible for personnel management, operational support, property accountability, supply & equipment management, information technology and financial management in support of USATA’s worldwide TMDE calibration and repair support mission.
S-1
Provides centralized personnel and manpower support for USATA Activities worldwide. Processes hiring approvals. Provides subject matter advice to the Executive Director and USATA operating officials. Maintains and processes changes to USATA manpower and manning documents. Monitors completion of mandatory training and serves as a conduit for training information. Provides employee career development assistance and information.
S-3/5
Provides a central technical capability within USATA, serving as the focal point for immediate actions on a variety of high priority, high visibility programs, projects, and subjects involving policy, organization, priorities, plans, and resource allocations. As staff advisor to the Executive Director, USATA, the S-3/5 support element provides staff management and oversight, with respect to directing, managing, and evaluating worldwide programs. The Operations staff element ensures effective internal coordination and liaison with external organizations, and serves as the central office for USATA studies, reviews, staff actions, and taskings from higher headquarters.
S-4
Serves as the principle advisor to the Activity on all property management and accountability functions. Provides oversight and enforcement of the Command Supply Discipline Program. Manages the Activity’s property book and hand receipts. Coordinates and monitors supply requisitions. Maintains a TMDE calibration standards equipment pool to ensure the Activity’s materiel readiness requirements. Serves as the facilities manager and manages the organization’s safety program.
S-6
Provides Information Management Area (IMA) technical expertise to the Activity; Designs, develops, programs, implements, and maintains computer architecture and software applications for USATA tactical and unique systems.
S-8
Plans, directs, develops, executes, controls, and accounts for the Operation and Maintenance, Army (OMA) (direct and reimbursable) budgets in support of USATA’s worldwide mission. Provides advice and assistance to the Executive Director, USATA, and operating officials relative to programming, budgeting, funding, accounting, and financial management matters. The assigned Budget Analysts, and Management Analysts ensure the availability of current-year and projected-year funds and monitor and execute customer provided funds in support of reimbursable missions.
The Production Division is responsible for operating USATA’s worldwide network of TMDE Support Centers (TSCs) providing TMDE calibration and repair support to Army operational and training units, industrial base sites, and numerous other organizations.
This division consists of four geographical/mission-oriented Divisions. These Divisions manage the 42 TSCs co-located with Army Divisions, training Centers of Excellence, Arsenals, Depots, and Test Centers. The Production Division teams employs Department of the Army Civilians and Local National employees who calibrate, repair, process, transport and track over half of all TMDE in the US Army (Active, Reserve and National Guard).
Production Divisions and TSC locations (ACL – Area Calibration Lab, SAAG – Small Arms and Ammunition Gage):
Operational Army (OA) Division
Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Division
Europe Division
Pacific Division