Short Courses
The following short courses are being offered by DEPS and ITEA on 3 February 2025 in conjunction with the
2025 DE Test & Evaluation Joint Conference. Continuous Learning Point (CLP) credits will be awarded for completion
of the short courses.
Registration for the short courses requires payment of a fee. See Course Registration & Fees at the end of this page.
Registration for a short course does not require registration for the Conference.
Note that while all short courses are unclassified, some will have additional participation requirements,
which are listed below and are identified in the Classification field in the course descriptions.
- Open/ Distribution A - Any registrant may participate.
- Distribution C - Restricted to U.S. citizens who are employees of the federal government or its contractors.
- Distribution D - Restricted to U.S. citizens who are employees of the Department of Defense or its contractors.
Course 1. T&E of HEL Systems
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructor: Todd Steiner, Scientific Research Corporation/TMRC
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Learning credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: An introduction to fundamental considerations for the test and evaluation (T&E) of High Energy Laser (HEL)
weapon systems. Students will be given an overview of the various distinct types of HEL testing, including example test concepts/configurations,
considerations for test instrumentation, and key testing issues, such as safety and environmental concerns.
Topics to be covered include:
- HEL employment/testing challenges
- Types of HEL testing
- Lethality phenomenology testing
- HEL effects
- HEL lethality testing types and test diagnostics
- System output testing
- System performance testing
- HEL examples of static ground testing, dynamic OT, OT/Live
- HEL test measures
- Instrumentation Considerations
- HEL instrumentation summary
- Instrumentation protection
- Non-intrusive measurements
- HEL testing considerations
- HEL testing issues
- HEL testing safety
- Test planning tools
Intended Audience: T&E engineers who may be responsible for planning, supporting, and/or executing
range tests that involve HEL weapon systems.
Instructor Biography: Dr Todd Steiner has been involved in Directed Energy testing for the last 30 years.
He is currently a Senior Principal Scientist for Scientific Research Corporation supporting the Test Resource
Management Center (TRMC). He is the lead within the TRMC for Directed Energy testing and leads the Directed
Energy Test and Evaluation Investment Roadmap development. He has supported DoD RDT&E for 44 years, including
22 in the USAF at the Air Force research Lab (AFRL). He previously worked on beam control technology efforts
within AFRL supporting the Airborne Laser.
Course 2. T&E Fundamentals and Certified T&E Professional (CTEP) Foundations
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release
Instructor: Charles “Chas” McKee, PELSS 3 Program Manager Global Systems Technologies Inc.
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Learning credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This high-level half-day course will review the fundamentals of T&E which are covered in the International
Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) Certified Test & Evaluation Professional (CTEP) Foundational exam. The
course includes an introduction with a short history of T&E in the Federal Government and an overview of the
DoD Acquisition Process (with a few references to DHS and FAA acquisition processes). The class then focuses
on the CTEP Body of Knowledge (BOK) including the four subject domains plus some specialized types of testing:
- Test and Evaluation Planning: Requirements analysis, T&E strategy, the TEMP, evaluation approach, test planning, T&E cost management, contracting for T&E, organizational planning, risk identification and management.
- Test and Evaluation Design: Test adequacy and Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques (STAT)
- Test and Evaluation Execution: Test Control Management, Data Management, and Test Safety / Certification.
- Test Data Analysis, Evaluation and Reporting: Data Verification and Validation, Validation of Test Results, Evaluation, Reporting, Cyber Resilience / Cybersecurity Analysis, Model Validation, and Data Analytics.
- Specialized types of Testing: Integrated Test & Evaluation (IT&E), Human Factors Engineering in T&E, Modeling & Simulation (M&S) in T&E, Reliability Growth, Software Development (including Agile) in T&E, Artificial Intelligence in T&E, Cyber Security T&E, Live Fire T&E, and Interoperability T&E.
Intended Audience: Individuals in the T&E community (government and industry, ITEA members and non-members)
who want to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and abilities in T&E and be recognized by ITEA for their professional
growth. Note that the Certified Test & Evaluation Professional (CTEP) credential is becoming a “preferred” requirement
in many test engineer job postings.
Instructor Biography: Mr. McKee brings 34 years of experience in Program Management, Test and Evaluation,
Systems Engineering, Human Factors Engineering, and Strategic Planning, supporting the Department of Defense, Homeland
Security, and Transportation. He served as President of the Board of Directors for the International Test and Evaluation
Association (ITEA) from 2013 to 2015. His expertise includes Acquisition Management, Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E),
and Human Systems Integration, notably leading the design of a Common Graphical User Interface (CGUI) for checkpoint
systems to enhance security and efficiency. Over his career, Mr. McKee has provided technical leadership and subject
matter expertise to diverse clients, including DOT&E, JT&E, TSA, TRMC, and multiple military commands, excelling in
areas like test planning, statistical analysis, and system evaluation.
Course 3. Wargaming Directed Energy
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructor: Mark Neice
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Learning credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course will introduce participants to the types and applications of contemporary
wargames, provide a history of wargaming, and propose principles on the capabilities and limitations of wargaming
based on the evidence provided by that history. It will establish a foundation in the roles, skills, and
opportunities associated with wargaming using practical examples and mini exercises. The second part of the course
presents an overview of processes used to organize, develop, and execute experimentation wargames for innovative and
futuristic concepts, with a particular emphasis on the development, adjudication, and analysis of directed energy
concepts. It will explore how different organizations develop games from the tactical to strategic levels to
influence and inform next generation warfare, and it will challenge participants to bring their own expertise to
bear in identifying the possibilities associated with bringing novel tools to the future force mix.
Intended Audience: The course is designed for junior and senior technical engineers and managers who seek
an understanding of experimentation wargaming and its application to support weapon system concept development and
transition to the warfighter.
Instructor Biography: Mark Neice, based in Albuquerque, NM, US, is currently a President and CEO
at Directed Energy Consultants LLC. Mark Neice brings experience from previous roles at Directed Energy
Professional Society, High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office OSD, Omega Air Refueling Services, Inc
and Air Force Research Laboratory. Mark Neice holds a Master of Science (MS) in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton, and a robust skill set that includes Directed
Energy, Flight Test, Rugby, DoD, Systems Engineering and more.
Course 4. T&E of HPM Systems
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructor: Jeff Schleher, American Systems
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Learning credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: The short course is an introduction to the testing of high power radio
frequency weapons. The course contains an introduction to the fundamentals of these high-power microwave
(HPM) weapons to establish a common vocabulary. The focus of the course is on test practices as they apply
to HPM weapons for U.S. system testing and susceptibility testing as specified in MIL STD 464C. HPM
instrumentation, test measures, and analysis make up a section of the course. Various presentations
address military applications of HPM weapons and how fielded systems have been tested. Substantial new
HPM test equipment has been recently made available to military test ranges and developmental laboratories.
The course will address the availability, location, and procedures for these test capabilities as well as
the process used to determine what test equipment was needed. A portion of the course will address the
specialized requirements of these systems for safety considerations and permitting required for testing to
proceed. This course is appropriate for managers and analysts requiring an overview of HPM weapons and
how they are tested in addition to new HPM field test engineers for which best HPM test practices are
addressed.
Topics include:
- HPM Fundamentals - Design of an HPM Weapon System
- Testing Fundamentals as Applied to HPM
- Test Measurement and HPM Environment
- Sources for HPM Testing
- HPM Test Locations
- HPM Test Instrumentation
- HPM Test Types with Examples
- Safety and Spectrum Management
Intended Audience: This course is appropriate for managers and analysts requiring an overview of HPM weapons and how they are tested
in addition to new HPM field test engineers. A background in science and engineering at least to the technicial level is required to understand
the technical portion of the course.
Instructor Biography: Jeff Schleher has spent 45-years in military test and is an early member of
ITEA, participating in concept, developmental, and operational test. Mr. Schleher's early test activities
focused on large radar and space system testing, but since the 1990's he has engaged in high power microwave
test support and is a DEPS plank holder. Mr. Schleher's current activities are as a subject matter expert
for the Test Resource Management Center science and technology efforts in the areas of - directed energy,
electronic warfare, and nuclear effects - to provide military test ranges with necessary equipment and
capabilities to support testing of high-powered microwave weapon and modern electronic warfare systems.
Previously, he supported the acquisition of high power microwave sources and sensors through the Directed
Energy Test and Evaluation Capability. Mr. Schleher is retired from the Air Force and is the current
president of the Albuquerque Chapter of the Association of Old Crows.
Course 5. TENA/JMETC Solutions for Test and Training
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release
Instructor: Gene Hudgins, KBR/TRMC
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Learning credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This tutorial will address using the well-established TRMC Enterprise Solutions of the Joint Mission Environment Testing Capability (JMETC) Program Element (PE) to mitigate T&E challenges in evolving digital ecosystems, reducing risk in often-uncertain environments while regularly saving time and money in the process. Established in 2006 under the TRMC, the JMETC program is the DoD’s corporate approach for linking distributed facilities with the JMETC Secret Network (JSN) for LVC testing capability. JMETC utilizes the Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA), which provides real-time software system interoperability by interfacing to existing assets, systems, and simulations. Reuse and interoperability of range assets is tremendously improved, thus reducing development, operation, and maintenance costs. Additionally, TRMC Enterprise Big Data (BD) and Knowledge Management (KM) with the (Cloud Hybrid Edge-to-Enterprise Evaluation & Test Analysis Suite) CHEETAS framework have the capacity to improve acquisition efficiency, keep up with the rapid pace of acquisition technological advancement, ensure effective systems are delivered at the speed of relevance, and enable T&E analysts across the acquisition lifecycle to make better and faster decisions using data that was previously inaccessible, or unusable.
Intended Audience: Anyone wanting to use Enterprise Services of the TRMC will benefit
from the Tutorial. Services include use of TENA, JMETC, Cybersecurity and Big Data/Data Analytics.
Instructor Biography: Gene Hudgins works for KBRwyle as Director of Test and Training
Environments and supports the Test Resource Management Center's (TRMC's) Test and Training Enabling
Architecture (TENA) Software Development Activity (SDA) and Joint Mission Environment Testing
Capability (JMETC) as the lead for the TENA and JMETC User Support Team. Since October 1998, the
Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP) has overseen the development of TENA - which
drastically improves range interoperability and resource reuse among DoD range systems, facilities,
and simulations. As a key member of the TENA SDA and JMETC Program Office, Gene is responsible for
Distributed Event Coordination, Design, and Integration. Gene also manages TENA training and Range
Commanders Council coordination. Gene is an active member of the International Test and Evaluation
Association (ITEA) and recently served as President on the Executive Committee of the ITEA National
Board of Directors (BOD). Prior to this work for the TRMC, Gene worked on Eglin AFB as an
Instrumentation Engineer and Department Head. Gene has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical
Engineering from Auburn University (War Eagle!), a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from
the University of Florida (Go Gators!), and an MBA from the University of West Florida.
Course 6. Test & Evaluation of AI Enabled Systems
Classification:
Instructor: Carol Pomales, MITRE
Day/Time: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Learning credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: The growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine
Learning (ML) enabled systems has presented unique challenges to the Test and Evaluation
community. This course provides an introduction to AI/ML, discusses important issues
for AI/ML including bias and trust, and defines the unique challenges for Test and Evaluation.
Intended Audience:
Instructor Biography:
| Course Fees |
|
| |
Single Half-Day
|
Two Half-Day
|
| All Attendees |
$300
|
$550
|
Registration
To register for a short course separate from the 2025 Joint Conference on T&E Support to
Prototyping and Experimentation, select one of the following options.
If you plan to also register for the conference, you may use the Joint
Conference registration form instead.
- Complete this form to register on-line.
Note that on-line registration does not require on-line payment.
Some organizations have installed web filters that prevent on-line registration
from inside their facilities. If this appears to be true for you, please try again off-site
or use the registration option below.
- Print this registration form (in PDF format) and follow the instructions provided.
Persons requesting cancellation through 6 January will receive a full refund. Cancellations after
6 January are subject to a $100 cancellation fee. There will be no refunds for short courses after
27 January.
Last updated: 23 January 2025
