Photo By Gabriella White | DEVCOM CBC Director Michael Bailey (right) meets with Deborah G. Rosenblum (left),...... read more read more
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD – The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) contributed to the Beholder's Gaze (BG24) experiment held at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Oahu, Hawaii, from Oct. 20 to Nov. 1, 2024. BG24 was an experiment designed to integrate multiple chemical and biological sensing, information management, and analytics technologies to address integrated early warning capability needs in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility.
This three-week-long experiment supported a stated requirement from USINDOPACOM. It was sponsored by the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) and orchestrated by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Joint Science Technology Office (DTRA-JSTO). Service members from across the joint services, including special operators and National Guard civil support teams, allowed technology developers to receive immediate feedback on the various capability sets under consideration.
DEVCOM CBC Research Chemist Dr. Alan Samuels served as the technology manager for BG24, allowing him to influence the technological components of the experiment and their integration into the underlying information management environment. In this capacity, Samuels exercised coordination and control over the contributing technology components of the experiment. His instrumental role ensured that the fundamental technology sets would be best suited for BG24's initial run. In that role, he focused on early warning alongside chem-bio intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.
"We wanted to do some experiments to pursue our efforts for the bolstering of our chem-bio defense capabilities in the USINDOPACOM theater," said Samuels. "I had the opportunity to go and pursue technology sets that could be arrayed against potential threats in the CBRN space. Beholder's Gaze is a brand-new initiative, so we had to build the aircraft as it rolled down the airfield."
According to Samuels, experiments like BG24 allows Army researchers the valuable opportunity to receive direct feedback from Soldiers. These technology integration exercises, backed by a schedule of realistic and varied scenarios, offer chem-bio experts and leadership the ability to peer into a simulated future warzone where their technologies must prove themselves.
BG24 was focused on innovative technologies that work with advanced data analytics and information integration to achieve early warning and situational understanding of chem-bio threats. DEVCOM CBC subject matter experts placed their next-generation equipment in the hands of Soldiers to be field-tested amid Hawaii's humidity and terrain.
Overall, DEVCOM CBC contributed and managed roughly half of the technologies present at BG24. Other agencies supporting the CBDP include the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), DTRA-JSTO, and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
Throughout the experiment, warfighters and researchers collaborated to find ways to improve the technologies they were using in this realistic setting. DEVCOM CBC Research Biologist Dr. Cory Bernhards brought his team's Far-Forward Advanced Sequencing Technology (F-FAST), an agnostic pathogen identification system, to be quickly used in the field. Bernhards echoed the sentiment of many scientists who participated – there is no substitute for field feedback.
"There's always something that the servicemen and servicewomen will remind you to consider," said Bernhards. "Ruggedization, durability, interface – those are all hot topics for us to focus on that don't get stress-tested until we participate in an experiment like this. We're really on the lookout for critiques or feedback that say, 'You're on the right track here.' All we're looking for is how we can best protect and equip them."
When a large-scale field experiment such as BG24 concludes, DEVCOM CBC's experts return to their teams to continue improving their technologies. Lester Strauch, a senior industrial engineer at the Center who contributed his team's unmanned robotics and modular sensor capabilities, said that his team's morale is strongly tied to how much their work benefits the warfighter.
"We have some extremely talented people here at the Center, and a lot of them don't get to see or interact with warfighters; they don't get to see the passion they have for testing these things," said Strauch. "I try to relay that to all of them. That is really the thing—the satisfaction of knowing that we're doing the right things and going in the right direction - It's just a matter of how we get it in front of more Soldiers."
DEVCOM CBC Director Michael Bailey also attended BG24 to observe the operators working side-by-side with the Center's engineers, chemists, biologists, researchers, and technology developers from industry.
"We have many advancements to bring to the table, so delivering them to those who will be on the battlefield will always be our first priority – they are the end-user," said Bailey. "This was a lengthy, strenuous event for our technology to be put through its paces. The feedback our teams have received will only make that cycle accelerate to get these innovations fielded."
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2025 13:42 |
| Story ID: | 490272 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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