The following short courses were offered by DEPS and ITEA on Monday, 18 May 2026 in conjunction with the
2026 DE Test & Evaluation Joint Conference. Continuous Learning Point (CLP) credits were awarded for completion
of the short courses. Click the course below to see details.
Classification: Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Distribution: Limited Distribution C: Restricted to U.S. citizens who are employees of the federal government or its contractors.
See Security information for instructions on participating in short courses with limited distribution.
Instructor: Nahim Flores, CIV U.S. ARMY SMDTC
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Fee: $300 ($50 discount if you take two courses)
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.
Classification: Unclassified
Distribution: Open/Distribution A - Any registrant may participate.
Instructor: Charles "Chas" McKee, PELSS 3 Program Manager Global Systems Technologies Inc.
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1300
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Fee: $300 ($50 discount if you take two courses)
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 DoW 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.
- TSpecialized 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.
Classification: Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Distribution: Limited Distribution C: Restricted to U.S. citizens who are employees of the federal government or its contractors.
See Security information for instructions on participating in short courses with limited distribution.
Instructor: TBD
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Fee: $300 ($50 discount if you take two courses)
Course Description:
This 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.
Topics to be covered include:
- HEL employment/testing challenges
- 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 for which best HPM test practices are addressed.
A background in science and engineering at least to the technicial level is required to understand the technical portion of the course.
Classification: Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Distribution: Limited Distribution D: Restricted to U.S. citizens who are employees of the U.S. Department of War or its contractors..
See Security information for instructions on participating in short courses with limited distribution.
Instructor: Mark Neice, Directed Energy Consultants
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Fee: $300 ($50 discount if you take two courses)
Course Description:
Test & Evaluation (T&E) of Directed Energy (DE) Systems is nothing new; however, the purpose of testing is changing.
DE's many decades of research focused testing is now transitioning to support programs of record that lead to fielded DE weapons systems. This
course is designed as an entry level short course where the instructors will briefly review the T&E processes and highlight applicable DoD guidance.
Since Directed Energy (DE) is a technology very different from the kinetic weapons that form the basis of DoD written guidance, the instructors will
apply the core T&E principles to DE weapon system development. This will include familiarization about methodologies along with unique test range
resources that are required for DE weapons T&E.
There are differences in DE T&E phases. For instance, laboratory Research and Development (R&D) T&E has a science and engineering focus. In contrast,
DE T&E for defense acquisition of fieldable DE weapons for warfighters has a more combat operational focus. The course will highlight the distinct
differences between these types of DE T&E to include the spectrum of R&D T&E, Developmental T&E (DT&E) and Operational T&E (OT&E).
The phases of DT&E and OT&E for DE weapon systems are the types of testing that lead to fielding a DE weapon system after it has been proven to
meet technical system performance requirements, military utility, and operational suitability requirements. These combat-relevant areas of T&E also
include Logistics T&E (LT&E), which are focused on validated reliability, maintainability, sustainability and other specific logistics requirements
that help to determine DE weapon system mission availability in a realistic combat environment.
The course will emphasize the need to consider integrated mission-level T&E for DE weapons, since the cost (in time and resources) is very high
if done in a sequential DT&E followed by OT&E, followed by LT&E (as was historically done for other types of systems). Live fire testing of DE weapon
systems is costly, and the resources are precious and few in terms of full-scale DE weapon systems test ranges and instrumentation. Careful design
of test principles can result in much more effective and efficient DE weapons T&E by integrating all the elements of DT&E, OT&E, and LT&E to the
maximum extent possible.
Intended Audience: To understand the material in this course, the attendee should have already
completed DE 101, or have prior familiarization with DE weapon systems.
Instructor Biography: Mark Neice is the President of Directed Energy Consultants, providing DE subject-matter expertise to the directed energy community. Mark is the former Executive Director of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS). DEPS fosters research and development in Directed Energy, to include high-energy laser and high-power microwave technologies for national defense and civilian applications, through professional communication and education.
Mr. Neice is formerly the Director of the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, working for the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering. There he supervised the research and development of solid-state, free electron & gas laser devices, beam control technologies, lethality analysis, and the modeling & simulation tools that create military applications of laser energy for combat operations.
A command pilot, Col (ret) Neice has time in the 4950th Test Wing, and as initial cadre of the Joint Stars test team. He has over 7800 flying hours, mainly in the C-135 and B-707 variants, and is a member of the DoD Acquisition career force, certified in program management; test & evaluation; systems engineering; and science & technology management. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Enginerring Sciences from USAF Academy and a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton.
