Spring 2006 - Tec

2006 Volume 1:1
Tec-Masters, Inc.
The
TM
From The Bridge
eye
In This Issue:
TMI & General Dynamics:
Mortar Systems Contract Win ................................2
This is a must share reading “From the Bridge” by
Wayne Dyer, Ph.D., author of Pulling Your Own Strings.
Raytheon Six Sigma Specialist Training
Certificates of Merit Awarded ................................2
— Dr. Marvin P. Carroll
AT&SP: Systems Development & Operations
Support | ISS Experiments ......................................3
“You Get What You Think You Deserve”
— by Wayne Dyer, Ph.D.
T
he esteem in which we hold ourselves is the single most important factor in determining our success and happiness. If you
know that you deserve success, that is precisely how you will think
and act. Here are ten methods you can use—beginning today—to
help you raise your self-esteem:
1. Affirm each day that you and only you determine your self-worth.
Don’t ever judge yourself based upon the opinions of others.
2. Practice living your life based on inner signals. Permitting your life to
be taken over by another person is like letting a waiter eat your dinner, and you’re still stuck with the bill.
3. Learn to welcome failure. High self-esteem comes from the belief
that all obstacles are lessons rather than proof of your incompetence
as a person. Remember that you are not a failure as a person simply because you failed at something.
4. Remind yourself each day that NOW is the working unit of your life.
Leave the past behind. Everything that you have experienced is,
purely and simply, OVER! And you can no more enjoy life by hoping
for a future result than you can enjoy music by waiting for the final
note. This moment is all that you have.
5. Eliminate self-deprecating statements from your vocabulary. Stop
telling yourself: “I’ll probably look stupid,” or “I have no talent,” and
replace these statements with, with: “I’ll give it a try,” and “I know I can
learn this with practice.” Correct yourself in mid-sentence, if necessary,
until thinking positively comes naturally.
(Continued on page 12)
Personnel Security Investigations
New Web-based Approach .....................................4
TMI Manufacturing Facility Growth:
Mortar Contract Support........................................4
TMI’s eTeaching & AAMU
$3 Million Ethiopian Literacy Project ..................5
Quality Manual Revisions:
CMMI, ISO 9000, Six Sigma ..................................5
Multimedia Department & Web-based
Training Support & Video Production...................6
TMI’s eTeaching Institute Forms Collaborative
with Academic Institutions .....................................7
TMI eTeaching | eTutoring Pilot Program
with Northrop Grumman, AAMU, NCATSU..........7
TMI Mid-Atlantic Operations.................................8
Conditioned-Based Maintenance ...........................8
TMI Human Resources ...........................................9
CRASHPORT Successful in Court ...........................9
TMI|FRC Mentor-Protégé Program at Work ......10
Customer Support Appreciation Awards..............11
“Silver Snoopy” Awarded to TMI Staffer ............11
Dr. Marvin P. Carroll to Chair AAMU
Black-Tie Scholarship Ball...................................12
Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA):
Entrepreneur of the Year Award ..........................13
Missile Defense Directorate .................................14
TMI Lawton Operations .......................................15
Page 1
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
MORTAR SYSTEMS CONTRACT WIN
RAYTHEON SIX SIGMA
SPECIALIST TRAINING
CERTIFICATES OF MERIT AWARDED
T
D
GENERAL DYNAMICS & TMI
“A Winning Combination”
he Army Mortar Systems Integration contract,
a 4-year effort with ISO requirements,
was awarded on December 29, 2005 to General
Dynamics – Ordnance and Tactical Systems
(GD-OTS). Tec-Masters is a teammate on the
uring the past six months, Tec-Masters has
awarded Certificates of Merit to 34 TMI
employees for completion of Raytheon’s Six Sigma
Specialist Training program. The Six Sigma program promotes and solicits employee participation
in an improvement process that assures value
added to our customers and to TMI.
Six Sigma is a knowledge-based process for
transforming the manner in which we approach a
problem or program, thus, defining how we do
business and maximize customer value, improve
internal processes, and grow our business. The
concept is based on facts, not opinions.
M224 60mm Lightweight Company Mortar System (left)
and M252 81mm Extended Range Mortar (right)
effort, and our work share includes the Staging
and Fielding of the Army’s three (3) mortar
systems: M252 81mm, Medium Extended Range
Mortar; M224 60mm, Lightweight Company
Mortar System (LWCMS); and M120/M121
120 mm Mortar.
TMI’s Six Sigma class was taught by Mr. Martin W.
Leek, Certified Raytheon Six Sigma Expert, System
& Integration Engineering, Raytheon Company.
The process defines a new culture of how TMI will
work across all business units to attain added
value. It is supported at all corporate levels,
including executive management, and should be
embraced by all TMI employees to help align
business goals.
Six Sigma improvements are underway at
Tec-Masters. Currently, two Six Sigma initiatives
are in review and planning stages, having been
approved for action by TMI management. First, a
recommendation for adoption of Lean
Manufacturing processes and techniques at our TMI
Manufacturing Facility is being planned, for
primary implementation with the new Mortars
Systems contract to be staged there. As a second
candidate project, an initiative to develop an
automated contract past performance library is
under consideration.
Armored Personnel Carrier which contains M120mm Mortar
The contract effort will be conducted in Huntsville,
AL with the Program Management and Fielding
components being exercised from Building 1400 in
the Tec-Masters Executive Plaza location.
TMEye
TMI’s goal is to train all employees, to encourage
Six Sigma processes, and to reap the benefits of
our corporate knowledge to help make our
Company more successful.
Additional Six Sigma training opportunities will be
announced as scheduled. Employees should begin
now to identify those areas where implementation
of specific improvements would be beneficial in
making this initiative a success.
For more information, please contact:
Ron Juergens — 721-6611
Roosevelt Conley — 721-6601.
cmgadmin@tecmasters.com
Page 2
2006 Volume 1:1
Tec-Masters, Inc.
Advanced Technology and Space Programs (AT&SP)
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION SUPPORT (SDOS)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EXPERIMENTS
A
s a member of the Systems Development and
Operation Support (SDOS) contract, TMI
personnel are responsible for integration, test, and
operation of scientific research in the Microgravity
Science Glovebox (MSG) aboard the International
Space Station.
it easier for crew members to use. An airlock under
the Work Volume can be accessed to bring objects
safely into the Work Volume, while other activities are
going on inside the glovebox.
As part of the initial glovebox science activities, two
investigations developed by TMI were
conducted during Expedition Five:
♦ Towards Understanding Pore Formation and Mobility
During Controlled Directional Solidification in a
Microgravity Environment Investigation (PFMI),
developed by TMI for the Marshall Space Flight
Center and principal investigator, Dr. Richard
Grugel.
♦ Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules
(SUBSA) was developed by TMI for MSFC and
principal investigator Dr. Aleksander Ostrogorsky
of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New
York.
Astronaut Mike Foale shown with the TMI developed PFMI
experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG)
Most people think of a ‘glovebox’ as a compartment
in the dashboard of a car where manuals, road atlases, and even, occasionally, gloves are stored. The
MSG, now celebrating it’s 4th year onboard the
International Space Station (ISS), is a far more complicated piece of equipment.
The device allows
astronauts aboard the ISS to perform a wide range
of experiments in a fully sealed and controlled
environment, completely isolated from the rest of the
Station.
The ‘gloves’ are the access points through which astronauts can manipulate experiments in the field of material science, biotechnology, fluid science, combustion
science and crystal growth research. In microgravity,
a glovebox is needed to contain experiments with
fluids, flames, particles and fumes. In an earth-based
laboratory, liquids stay in beakers or test tubes. In
the near-weightlessness of the Station, they float
away and could get into the cabin air and irritate a
crew member’s skin or eyes or even make them sick.
They could also damage the Station’s sensitive computer and electrical systems or contaminate other
experiments. Experiments operating inside the MSG
are provided with up to one (1) kilowatt of power
and cooling, video downlink and recording, data storage and downlink, remote commanding from the TeleScience Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center
(MFSC), vacuum, venting, and gaseous nitrogen. The
part of the unit that holds experiment equipment is
called the Work Volume, and has a usable volume of
about 67 gallons (255 liters).
The pore formation and the solidification experiments
(PFMI and SUBSA) were the first materials science
investigations conducted on the International Space
Station. The SUBSA experiment was used to study the
growth of semiconductor crystals in the microgravity
environment of space. Results from the experiment will
be used to improve the development of semiconductor
materials employed in computers and electronic devices.
The PFMI experiment is being used to study the effects of porosities and impurities in material castings.
The intent of the PFMI experiment is to gain insights
that will improve solidification processing in space
and on earth. Using
PFMI, scientists will examine ways to control
pore formation and
improve materials processing for many applications including turbine
blades used in aircraft
engines.
SUBSA, PFMI, and the
MSG were launched to
the International Space
Station in June 2002 on
Space Shuttle flight
Reggie Spivey and Andrew
STS-111. The SUBSA
Tylgieski demonstrating
furnace completed its
access to MSG
mission and was returned to earth by the Space Shuttle Discovery in
August 2005. The PFMI furnace continues to operate
on board the International Space Station.
This work space is approximately waist-high and can
slide out to extended or protracted positions, making
Page 3
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
SECURITY
PERSONNEL SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS
— The New Way: A WebWeb-based Approach —
E
ffective July 8, 2005, DoD changed the
procedures for submitting the investigation
requests used in processing eligibility compliance
requirements for obtaining security clearances.
Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) is the law of the land now. It is a webbased system which allows you to access the system
from either your
home or office as
long as you have a
properly configured
internet browser.
New procedures
allow employees
to enter, update,
and release their personal investigative data over
a secure internet connection with Government access. Adobe Acrobat 7.0 is required in order to
download and print the required release forms.
TMI’S MANUFACTURING
FACILITY IS GROWING
W
ith the recent award of a subcontract from
General Dynamics for warehousing and
kitting mortar components, Tec-Masters’ Manufacturing Facility will become a busy complex. Plans
are underway to
install
security
fencing and a
special containment
storage
area at the facility located just off
Highway 72 East
of
Huntsville.
Approximately
TMI Manufacturing Facility
half of the 13,000
square feet facility will be dedicated to the new
activities, and additional staff will be moved to the
offices there to coordinate the new efforts.
Employees will be notified by the Facility Security
Officers (FSOs) or the Security Office staff if they
are required to initiate or update a security investigation. At that time directions will be provided to
the website that contain instructions for accessing
and completing the required information.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is now
responsible for processing security investigations.
Currently, their case backlog exceeds 100,000.
Interim Secret authorization is normally available
within several weeks for initial investigations, and
final Secret authorization generally requires six
months or more for completion. An Interim Secret
clearance means that an individual can access
Secret and Confidential materials but cannot access
any caveated information (i.e. NOFORN, COMSEC,
NATO, CNWDI) until a final Secret clearance is
authorized and the caveated information is authorized by the classified contract. Periodic reinvestigations, those 10 year updates we all do for Secret access, will also take well over 6 months, however, OPM is hopeful that they will eventually be
able to reduce these time lags.
For more information please contact:
Rich Grandey, TMI FSO
Office: 721-6615
Email: rgrandey@tecmasters.com
Tec-Masters modifies expended TOW (Tube
Launched Optically Sighted Wire Guided) Tubes
for use as MILES training devices under a VECP.
In addition to the mortars contract, efforts and
proposals have been underway for securing other
manufacturing and
production projects,
to include several
machined component
lines and manufacture of larger weldments and parts for
field training systems.
With a continued
coordinated effort in
building that business
area, TMI’s Manufacturing should prove
itself to be a major
Billy Bryant operates a mill
resource for our
to modify a TOW Tube
anti-tank weapon
customers.
Page 4
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
TMI’S eTEACHING INSTITUTE
TO SUPPORT AAMU $3 MILLION
ETHIOPIAN LITERACY PROJECT
H
untsville’s own Alabama
A&M University (AAMU) is
the recipient of a $3 million grant
funded through the US Agency
for International Development (USAID) to provide
cost-effective textbooks and learning materials for
children in sub-Saharan Africa. AAMU will partner
with Tec-Masters, Inc., which will employ its innovative eTeaching system to provide an electronic network (including cameras and computers) for effective communication with Ethiopia and other partnering agencies in Africa and the United States.
AAMU will receive $1 million each year over a
three year period through 2008.
TMI President and CEO, Dr. Marvin Carroll, will
accompany Dr. Mary Spor, Project Coordinator,
and other project team members to Ethiopia in late
February for a first-hand assessment of how TMI’s
collaborations in this effort can best support this
project. Professor Spore, who is also the coordinator of AAMU’s Reading/Literacy Ph.D., School of
Education, had this to say:
“To a large extent, the development of a nation
depends on the education that can be delivered to its
children. But in sub-Saharan Africa only 58.5% of the
676 million people are
considered to be literate.
A significant contrast exists
between male and female
students, with males
comprising the overwhelming majority of those
who attend and continue
to attend school.”
Dr. Mary Spor
AAMU will address the critical need for high quality, cost-effective textbooks and learning materials
in sub-Saharan Africa. Working with partners in
Ethiopia and the United States, including
Tec-Masters, this initiative will develop and publish
600,000 textbooks for primary school students in
the subjects of math, science and reading. Team
members will focus on the academic needs of
primary school children while recognizing their
cultural heritage.
Textbooks and learning
materials will be provided equally for both boys
and girls. The project will be accomplished through
face-to-face collaboration, assessment and
analysis, in-depth discussions, consensus, shoulderto-shoulder writing, and effective management.
TMI QUALITY MANUAL:
TARGETED REVISIONS FOR
CMMI, ISO & SIX SIGMA
T
he Quality Management shop has been in the
midst of a hub of activity over the last few
months! Updates and revisions to several of our
ISO procedures and other quality improving
processes are currently in the works. All TMI quality documents are available on the TMI intranet at:
www.tecmasters.com/qm/
Recent revisions completed or in process include:
a. SPP-05 Purchasing (Vendor Evaluation
Correction per Internal Audit)
b. QP-13 Process Improvement Management
(Six Sigma)
c. SPP-01 Quality Manual (CMMI added)
d. QP-10 Internal Audits (Mature Program
Implementation)
e. QP-09 Control of Quality Records
(Corrective action from May external audit)
f. SPP-08 Property Management (Pending to
add automated property management
instructions)
Items SPP-05 and QP-13 have been finalized and
released. QP-13 implements TMI’s Six Sigma
program for process improvement and explains
how proposed projects may be submitted. Our
Quality Manual, SPP-01, is being revised to include
TMI’s Capability Maturity Model Integration
(CMMI) program. CMMI is very similar to ISO
9001:2000 since implementation requires management of processes per stringent standards. Initially,
only the Radar Digital Signal Insertion System
(RDSIS) program will be brought under CMMI in the
2006 timeframe. Additional projects will follow
over the next few years. RDSIS is managed by Lou
Rosenthal. Glenn Greenlee and Wanda Spikard
play key roles in CMMI implementation.
Initiation of these management programs serves as
recognition that TMI’s customers demand a quality
product, and the best way for them to obtain that
quality product is to require their suppliers, like
TMI, to manage programs and processes with the
customer and all stakeholders in mind. This is done
while constantly considering ways to make the
product better, which results in customer satisfaction
and return business to TMI. QP-10’s changes
(Continued on page 10)
Page 5
2006 Volume 1:1
Tec-Masters, Inc.
MULTIMEDIA DEPARTMENT PROVIDES WEB-BASED TRAINING SUPPORT
Department of the Navy, Army Corps of Engineers, Army Materiel Command
T
he TMI Multimedia Department continues to
meet web-based training requirements from
various customers. The majority of this work is followon from existing customers which testifies to the satisfaction previously provided.
♦ US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
TMI’s Multimedia department has been contracted to
revise and expand the existing Safe-Self, scenario
driven, web-based training program. The curriculum
design will be modeled after the existing Self-Safe
scenarios developed two years ago. The eLearning
course is designed
to provide a basic
introduction to tactical communications
techniques for the
US Army Corps of
Engineer Natural
Resource Management
(NRM)
Nashville park lakefront scene
employees.
The
used for video background
target
audience
includes: temporary rangers, gate/park attendants,
clerks, office assistants, park host, volunteers and
maintenance personnel.
The production of these nine additional scenarios will
require the use of twenty actors selected from Huntsville, Birmingham, and Nashville talent agencies. The
recently approved scenarios were prepared by Bill
Stackhouse. Rex Free will direct this program with
assistance from Tim Pierce, Jerry Schrimsher, and Jim
Ogle as lead programmer.
♦ DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
TMI’s video production crew, directed by Jerry
Schrimsher, recently completed a Quality Assurance
Project Plans (QAPP) video program that will assist
Navy personnel who develop, review, implement or
use QAPPs. This production, which required the services of professional actors, was shot on location at
the Huntsville Botanical Garden and in the TMI production studio.
The video is also being incorporated into a webbased training program that will be hosted on the
Navy Knowledge online website. Scott Simpson is
using Macromedia Flash to produce the training
course. The target
audience
for this training
includes
EPA,
DOE, and DoD
first and higher
level supervisors
of
personnel
who
are
Multimedia Video Production Crew
responsible for
Uniform Federal
Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans. A webbased training was also developed by Scott Simpson.
♦ US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
The US Army Corps of Engineer Natural Resource
Management Career Development is beginning a
multi-year eLearning initiative. Each of the curriculum’s nine courses addresses specific requirements
This unique application consists of backgrounds (see
photo above left) being video taped and the actual
scenarios (personnel play their rolls) will be shot in our
studio using the “Green Screen”. The finished scenarios will be composited using Ultimatte and Chroma
Key applications.
♦ US AIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND
The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)
Command Management System (CMS) web-based
training program is a decision making tool used to
identify resource requirements, determine funding
necessary to maintain standard performance levels,
allocate available funds to pay and non-pay
activities, and assist in preparing POM and Fin Plan
funding cycle deliverables. Led by John Bramblett,
this production is based on a world-wide survey
which, culminated
with a design concept that established
production baseline.
TMI’s
protégé,
Future
Research
Corporation, has the
lead on this program with Rex Free
and Laura Cole.
Jim King (left) and Terri Thomason developing
eLearning Courseware for online course modules
and functions for personnel with careers in Natural
Resource Management. The curriculum introduction
and first four courses are mandatory for all NRM
employees as they provide basic civil service information through modules on Human Resources, Personal Career Development, District Office Organization and Natural Resource Management. Depending
upon the specialty or experience of the NRM employee, they may choose between subsequent
courses on Operations and Maintenance, Recreation
and Security, Administrative Responsibilities, Safety,
and Security and Law Enforcement. Scripts for this
program are being prepared by Jim King and the
web-based application is being programmed by
Terri Thomason.
Wed-based Training Sample Page
Page 6
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
TMI’S eTEACHING INSTITUTE
Bridging the Gap...
From Industry to Academia
“A New Approach to Online Training
to Unleash the Power of the Mind”
Tec-Masters has implemented its new online eTeaching
Institute system which targets corporate, academia,
and government clients. The eTeaching Institute offers
individual, personalized, effective, economical, and
secure online instruction and tutoring. Our eTeaching
system has three main components: corporate or continuing education learning management system, educational learning management system and our suite of
eTools. The term “eTeaching” results from combining
eLearning + TMI Suite of Tools.
Mirie Westbrook prepares to demonstrate available TMI
eTeaching suite of online tools and courseware.
TMI’s eLearning, or electronic learning systems, manages content, instructions and courses using the internet. The eTutoring system gives users online access to
professors or specific subject experts over the internet.
Most of our network web professors (NetProfs) have
doctorate degrees and are extremely proficient in
their chosen areas. The NetProfs use the TMI electronic whiteboard to assist users in a variety of subject
areas including: Basic Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra I,
Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus,
Calculus, Statistics and Probability.
TMI HOSTS
eTEACHING|eTUTORING
PILOT PROGRAM INITIATIVE
|Northrop Grumman Corporation|
AAMU | NCATSU
O
n December 8, 2005, Tec-Masters, Inc. hosted a
planning initiative which included representatives from Northrop Grumman Corp (NGC), Alabama
A&M University (AAMU), and North Carolina A&T
State University (NCATSU). The meeting focused on
the unique opportunity to launch a pilot program in
eTeaching|eTutoring at AAMU and NCATSU. Following the general discussion, TMI provided a demonstration of its eTeaching system and it’s various capabilities.
AAMU’s Business Industry Cluster played
a key role in these initial discussions.
Business
Cluster
co-chairs,
Dr. Rose Yates (AAMU) and Mr. George
Reynolds (Northrop Grumman), introduced ways and means to enrich the
student knowledge base by introducing the eTeaching
concept developed and powered by Tec-Masters, Inc.
The objective of the demo was to provide a “visual”
launch of the pilot program, showing how eTeaching
tools can be used to aid students in their studies. TMI
also demonstrated how academic institutions can use
eTeaching tools to possibly increase enrollment and
advance student progress in difficult academic
programs. In addition, the demo included information
on the use of Continuing Education Unit (CEU) courses
for academic advancement and the utilization of
web-based assessment tests as a metric in the
learning process. The last demonstration showed how
students can interact “live” with network professors,
via the Internet, to obtain real-time tutorial assistance
in various courses.
We have a suite of over 200 web-based professional
courses available on our system. This includes the
following certification courses: Cisco CCNA, Microsoft
MCSE, Oracle9i, Micro.NET, ComTIA Security, and A+.
J.F. Drake State Technical College is presently using
TMI eTeaching system to provide online instructions to
their students in six different courses. Each semester
the school will be able to add additional courses and
provide more students with
access. TMI is currently the
sole provider of J.F. Drake’s
distance learning system.
(Continued on page 9)
Pilot Program Kickoff Meeting Attendees included (from left):
Roosevelt Conley, Director, TMI Business Development; Sandy
S. Johnson, President/CEO, Anautic, Inc.; Trent Montgomery
(AAMU); Dianna Vass (NCATSU); Leotis Parrish (NCATSU);
John C. Kelly, Jr. (NCATSU); Joseph Monroe (NCATSU);
Marvin P. Carroll, TMI President & CEO; and George M.
Reynolds, Director, Industry & University Initiatives Engineering
and Manufacturing (NGC). (Not shown: Mr. Ralph Johnson,
TMI Executive Vice President and Mr. Mirie Westbrook, TMI
Manager, IT Solutions
(Continued on page 11)
Page 7
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
EXPANDING THE TMI FOCUS
|TMI Mid-Atlantic Operations|
Tec-Masters (TMI) has established a Washington, D.C.
presence with World I.T. Solutions, one of its small
business partners, to further its Mid-Atlantic focus and
develop additional public and private sector business
in the United States.
As director of business development efforts in TMI’s
Washington office, Perry Carter, has been assigned
to establish and maintain key Mid-Atlantic relationships with federal, state and local agencies, trade
associations, small businesses, and HBCU/MI’s to
facilitate discussions between TMI’s operational and
business development teams.
CONDITIONED-BASED
MAINTENANCE
Tec-Masters maintains an active role in the development and application of specialized software tools
and analysis methodologies. While the primary
purpose of these methods/tools is to facilitate an
evaluation of integrated Health and Usage
Monitoring Systems (HUMS), a supplemental benefit is
realized with respect to Condition-Based Maintenance
(CBM). TMI has developed a number of tools that are
now used to better interpret emerging HUMS data,
thus enabling accurate determinations of the
functional health of helicopter components and/or
subassemblies.
One such tool allows analysts to predict and plot the
actual displacements of gear teeth, as they are
cyclically loaded and unloaded. This tool was
previously used to investigate an anomalous condition
affecting the main bevel gear aboard aircraft 507.
While several indicators suggested potentially serious
tooth cracks, results of the displacement analysis were
used to dispel the initial diagnosis. The condition was
identified as a tooth pitch or alignment anomaly, a
diagnosis subsequently confirmed by way of visual
inspection. The gear box was left in place and the
subject aircraft remains in service in Iraq. A premature and unnecessary replacement of the main
transmission was thus averted.
Attendees at the recent business strategy planning session held in
Huntsville, AL and hosted by Tec-Masters, Inc., included:
(standing left) Perry Carter, TMI-D.C.; Terry Craft, COO, Solvern
Innovations; Andre Gudger, CEO, Solvern Innovations; Marvin
Carroll, President & CEO, TMI; Rodney Hawkins, CEO, Washington
Technology Group; Ron Juergens, TMI; Crystal Shell, President,
WILL Technology, Inc. (WTI); Mark Carroll, TMI; Charles Sulcer,
VP/FSO, WTI; (seated left) Karola Porter, WTI;
Roosevelt Conley, TMI; and Sheryl McFerrin, VP Operations, WTI.
(Not shown): Greg Seward, CFO, World IT Solutions (WITS)
Dr. Marvin Carroll, Tec-Masters’ CEO, commented on
this strategic initiative:
“Launching of a TMI presence in the Washington, DC
metro area supports our corporate objective of
expanding our business base by focusing on agencies
and corporations that need solutions that TMI currently
provides. It is our fundamental belief that TMI’s positive
relationships with our present customer base can be
further leveraged at the Pentagon and with Federal
Defense, Civilian, State, or Local agencies in Washington,
DC, Maryland, Virginia and neighboring facilities
in the Mid-Atlantic region.”
As an integral part of the TMI strategy, our business
development teams are establishing realistic plans
to grow our share of the modeling and simulation
market while expanding deeper into IT and C4ISR
markets. TMI continues to identify key long-term
Another instance involved an Intermediate Gear Box
(IGB) aboard aircraft 534. Preliminary indications
suggested a problem associated with one or more
rolling elements in an IGB bearing. Again, the initial
recommendation was to remove and replace the
subject gear box. However, a subsequent analysis
conducted at TMI revealed a unique excitation
affecting the third harmonic of the gear mesh
frequency. This obscure but important fact was instrumental in formulating a revised diagnosis.
Deeming the anomaly to be of lesser severity, the
aircraft was placed on a watch list and continued
in service.
Other tools are used to expedite the analysis of
comprehensive data sets compiled from among large
numbers of HUMS-equipped aircraft. These tools are
used to compute normalized scores, thus comparing
aircraft-specific vibrations with fleet nominal values.
These values permit analysts to quickly identify faulty
components and to perform preliminary assessments
of fault severity.
All of the aforementioned tools may prove
invaluable in the ongoing development of “expert
systems” and the implementation of Condition-Based
Maintenance.
(Continued on page 15)
Page 8
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
HUMAN
RESOURCES
TMI is pleased to announce that several new
employees that have joined our organization. We
hope each new member of the Tec-Masters Team
will find their employment a challenging and
rewarding experience.
Employees who have
joined the Tec-Masters family since September
2005 include:
William Bell
Elline Binner
James R. Blacklock
Billy J. Bryant
Charles Chesser
Egan F. Conway
Ruth Ann Davis
Sherri Etheridge
Richard Hicks
Valorie Hilbun
Amanda Hoot
Linda Hornsby
Neal Lawrence
Jennifer Lucas
Layne A. Maples
Anthony Marowski
Fred C. McMullen
David Minaschek
Jessie Potts
Glenn Queen
Zackary Reeves
Jennifer Russell
Kenneth Scarle
Johnny Siefert
Kenneth L. Sloan
Kimberly E. Sloan
Aris Dean Stone
Lawrence Streeter
Nathan Warner
Ron Washington
Stacia Williams.
Staffing additions to the Human Resources (HR)
Department include Betty Battles who joins us as a
Human Resource Assistant. Betty, a TMI team member since October 2005, has become very involved
in the day-to-day requirements for a smooth work
flow in the HR Department. Betty serves as the
primary point of contact for employees needing
assistance with all standard Human Resources
forms, tuition reimbursement, W-4’s, or Blue Cross
insurance applications. If you have questions or
need assistance in any of these areas, Betty can be
contacted at:
256.721.6602
bbattles@tecmasters.com
TMI ETEACHING INSTITUTE (Continued from page 7)
Tec-Masters, Inc., in partnership with Northrop Grumman Corporation and North Carolina A&T State
University have undertaken
a collaborative effort to
fund an eTeaching and
eTutoring pilot program at
Alabama A&M University.
The program is specifically
designed to assist a select
group of students utilizing
the TMI eTutoring tools. TMI
is putting a number of other
initiatives in place to market
this product and service,
including providing support
Mirie Westbrook is shown
to the HUMS Black Hawk
with TMI servers used to
power eTeaching.
The
and Multimedia Navy
online system is hosted at
Distance Learning programs.
Tec-Masters’ corporate
headquarters.
SUCCESSFUL IN COURT CASE
“Crash simulation made simple”
Tec-Masters’ military and defense technology has
recently been successfully deployed in the development of an automated analysis system for simulating
and measuring the likelihood and severity of bodily
injuries and damage for use in commercial insurance
applications. The use of this innovative technology
know as CRASHPORT can provide objective, unbiased,
scientific analyses of injury potential associated with
low-impact vehicle collisions. Industry needs dictate
that the product must be readily understandable,
incorporate variables and unknowns, and comply with
quality standards. It must also meet the evidentiary
criteria for admissibility suggested by the Supreme
Court: (1) the evidence is based on a testable theory
or technique; (2) the theory or technique has been
peer reviewed; (3) it should have a known error rate
and standards controlling the technique’s operation;
and (4) the underlying science is generally accepted.
TMI’s CRASHPORT is a bio-mechanical analysis service,
and it does all of that and more.
Easy, right? TMI’s Automotive Team, led by Bob
Thibodeau, and including: John Grzybowski, Paul
Janssen, Scooter Johnson, Aaron Rodriguez, and Lynne
Woods, met the challenge.
Despite having
reasonably met all the above criteria, there was still
one “sticking point.”
In any presentation to a
prospective customer, the fact remained that
CRASHPORT had never been used in court. Never mind
that one customer currently settles 70% of his cases in
30% of the time it use to take, or that CRASHPORT
results have led to out-of-court settlements, sometimes
with one phone call! Even though a CRASHPORT paper
was presented at the Premier World Automotive
Conference and was subsequently published in Traffic
Injury Prevention, a peer-reviewed journal, CRASHPORT
still had never been used in court. That is, not until
one month ago.
A patrol car rear-ended another vehicle in a left-turn
lane, and the occupants filed a claim against a southwestern city. The city attorney’s office submitted a
CRASHPORT case and used the results to decide the
claim. The occupants took the case to trial, and the
city requested CRASHPORT’S assistance in the court
setting. We engaged Dr. Polat Sendur to conduct
extensive pre-trial comparisons of an older case’s
simulation outputs with those from the latest and most
sensitive models, and they compared favorably. We
also engaged the testimony of Dr. Allan Tencer, a
well-accepted researcher, author, and expert witness
regarding spinal injury in automobile crashes, and a
member of CRASHPORT’S Board of Advisors.
(Continued on page 12)
Page 9
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
TEC-MASTERS & FUTURE RESEARCH CORPORATION
DOD MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM AT WORK
Lined Technology Acquisition Resources for Services
(STARS) government-wide acquisition contract in
2004. This 10 year contract has a ceiling of $15
billion and allows government organizations quick
access to an array of Information Technology
solutions.
Each task may have a total dollar value of
$3 million on a noncompetitive basis. Services
available under this contract include:
♦ Custom Computer Programming Services
♦ Computer Systems Design Services
♦ Computer Facilitates Management Services
♦ Data Processing, Hosting, & Related Services
♦ All Other Information Services including:
Marvin P. Carroll (left) & Jesse Nunn: Teaming For Success
Tec-Masters, Inc. (TMI) and Future Research
Corporation (FRC) are in the final year of a DoD
approved Mentor-Protégé Program, with TMI
serving as the mentor corporation. This successful
program has helped establish multimedia
capability at FRC and is in the final stages of ISO
9001-2000 certification.
With the aid of TMI’s Multimedia past
performance, FRC was awarded the 8(a) Stream
QUALITY MANAGEMENT: (Continued from page 5)
recognize that TMI’s ISO program of internal audits
and the TMI programs under ISO have matured.
This will lessen the internal audit frequency on these
programs after they have proven their excellence
in management by ISO 9001. The TMI Management Meeting held November 4, 2005 approved
two programs for the Mature program status:
Automotive and Multimedia. Because of their
demonstrated success in meeting ISO standards,
they will be subject to internal audits only once per
year compared to three times per year as in the
past.
The Quality Management Office developed a
three day class for training internal auditors to
meet and implement internal auditor requirements.
Participants in the training included several TMI
employees along with representatives from Future
Research Corporation (FRC), a TMI protégé under
the US Army OSADBU Mentor-Protégé Program.
The first day of the class s lasted one full day and
reviewed ISO 9001:2000 in some detail, and the
remaining two days centered on specific audit
techniques and requirements. TMI staffers, Tonya
- Training Development
- Web Design and Hosting
- Computer/Web-Based Training Development
- Video Production
In October 2005, FRC was awarded a three year
$2.9 million IDIQ STARS contract to continue development of computer-based and web-based training development support for the Civil Engineering
Corps Officers Corps School, Port Hueneme,
California. The first task totaled $335,000, and
TMI is a subcontractor on this contract.
Moore (Contracts) and Pam Player (Accounting)
attended and completed the classes and qualified
as TMI’s latest Internal Auditors. Anyone who is
interested in becoming an Internal Auditor or in
reviewing ISO 9001, please contact Miles Martin
in the Quality Management Office at 721-6719.
One additional in-house improvement has been the
implementation of the new automated Individual
Work Authorization (IWA) system. This is a process
improvement project implemented through our
perations Division and coded by Paul Janssen. This
improvement was one of TMI’s quality objectives
for process improvement for implementation in
2005/2006. The decrease in man-hours required
to complete an IWA has been an immediate benefit, end users have reported a
recognizable improvement in
the process through the use of
the new system.
d
UALITY IS THE KEY TO
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Page 10
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
ETEACHING
PILOT PROGRAM: (Continued from page 7)
The educational learning management system was
actually developed to support engineering assessment
test, EE 101, Introduction to Electrical Engineering.
This course concept in electrical engineering includes
practical pre-calculus concepts and how they are
utilized. At AAMU, students are required to develop
an electrical project and subsequently, develop
additional skills through project presentations and
topical research in the electrical engineering
curriculum.
This pilot program will demonstrate the effectiveness
of eTeaching|eTutoring in advancing educational
opportunities at both universities. TMI has targeted
Spring 2006 as our “stand up” date. Educators will
become “stockholders” in the future growth for the
advancement of the student’s educational progress.
Tec-Master’s and Northrop Grumman’s commitment
toward continuing education will be a beacon for
other companies to invest in the product. The pilot
program will offer strategic advantages for other
colleges and universities who are struggling to
advance the knowledge base of their gifted students.
“Silver Snoopy”
AWARDED TO TMI STAFFER
O
n August 5, 2005,
Reggie Spivey, was
presented with a NASA Silver
Snoopy Award for the superb
work he accomplished on
SUBSA and PFMI. Of all the
SFA Awards, the Silver
Snoopy best symbolizes the
intent and spirit of Space
Flight Awareness. An astronaut always presents the Silver Snoopy, because it is
the astronauts' own award for outstanding
performance, contributing to flight safety and mission
success. It is always a special honor to receive this
award. Fewer than one percent of the space
program workforce receive it annually.
CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE
TMI PROJECT SUPPORT
Receiving awards and congratulations from Dr. Carroll:
Emily Weber (left) and Don Dowdy (right)
Astronaut Leroy Chiao shown presenting Certificate of
Appreciation and Commendation to TMI’s Reggie Spivey
In response to acknowledgments received from our
various TMI customer project offices, on December 19,
2005, Dr. Marvin Carroll presented certificates of
appreciation and letters of recognition to 14 TMI
employees in honor of their “outstanding support” and
“performance beyond the call.” Awardees from Precision Fires Rocket and Missile Systems Project Office
(PFRMS) included: Mark J. Meyers (HIMARS), John
White (HIMARS and M270A1 Life Cycle Contractor
Support), Don Dowdy (PFRMS/Foreign Military Sales,
IPT, CECOM QAT), Lawrence Phillips (Guided Multiple
Launch Rocket System Program (GMLRS), Tammy Hill
(GMLRS), Kayla Bentley (GMLRS), Natasha Schors
(GMLRS), and Joe Douglas (GMLRS). Non-Line of
Sight Launch System certificates of award were
presented to: Bob Kirkhuff, Dennis Hoefle, and Hallie
Neal. Jason Cuneo and Emily Weber received
award certificates from Utility Helicopter/BlackHawk
Program.
John Shanholtzer received an award
certificate from PEO STRI (Joint Readiness Training
Center).
The award is a sterling silver Snoopy lapel pin that
has flown on a Space Shuttle mission, plus a
certificate of appreciation and commendation letter
for the employee, both signed by the astronaut. Leroy
Chiao was the astronaut who presented the award to
Mr. Spivey.
Dr. Chiao was selected by NASA in January 1990,
and he became an astronaut in July 1991. He is
qualified for flight assignment as a Space Station
Commander, Space Station Science Officer and as a
Space Shuttle Mission Specialist. A veteran of four
space flights, Dr. Chaio flew as a Mission Specialist on
STS-65 (July 8-23, 1994), STS-72 (January 11-20,
1996) and STS-92 (October 11-24, 2000). He was
also the Commander and NASA Science Officer on
Expedition-10 (October 13 to April 24, 2005).
Dr. Chiao has logged a total of 229 days, seven
hours, 38 minutes and five seconds in space, including
36 hours and seven minutes of Extravehicular Activity
(EVA) time in six space walks.
Page 11
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
FROM THE BRIDGE (Continued from page 1)
6. Stop expecting other people to understand you. You
must decide if you like your behavior. If not, then
change it without expecting anyone else to agree with
you or understand you. Your life will only make sense
when you don’t need other people to confirm that it
does. The greatest understanding you can have
about yourself and others is that
no one will ever understand you
completely.
7. Take small risks each day and
praise yourself for doing so, regardless of the outcome. Simply
remind yourself how terrific you
are for taking a risk and growing
as a human being.
8. Cease asking permission. Substitute declarative sentences for supplication. Instead of saying, “Is it all
right if I order shrimp?” say, “I am having shrimp;
what are you having?” As an adult, asking permission means abdicating responsibility and giving someone else control over you. It’s difficult to hold yourself
in high esteem when there is no self to esteem.
9. Reduce your emphasis on externals as measurements
of success. If your self-esteem is based upon acquisitions, then you will always suffer from the disease
called “more.” Your esteem as a person is a matter
of attitudes, not accumulations, and until you really
understand this, you will always lack self-esteem.
10. Keep in mind each and every day: “There are no
ordinary moments.” Every experience of your life is a
miracle to savor and enjoy. When you learn to think
in this way, you will never doubt your own worth,
because you will see fully that you yourself are a
miracle.
CRASHPORT (Continued from page 9)
At the successful conclusion of the trial, the city
attorney wrote, “We got a verdict yesterday - a win for
us! Thank you and the CRASHPORT staff for your support.
The report of the CRASHPORT analysis of this accident
was admitted into evidence. Additionally, Dr. Allan
Tencer was a great witness! His credentials were
impeccable. His testimony was understandable and
compelling and his demeanor on the stand was impressive, yet modest. At the end of the day, I think, through
an effective team effort we convinced the jury of the
truth… Again, thanks for your efforts.”
This one’s for you, Bob!
•
Bob Thibadeau
ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY
BLACK-TIE SCHOLARSHIP BALL
“Building Upon the Legacy:
Bridging the Digital Divide”
DR. MARVIN P. CARROLL, President and CEO of
Tec-Masters, Inc, was recently selected as event
chairperson for the 6th Annual AAMU Black-Tie
Scholarship Ball. The annual scholarship fund raiser
will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 7:00
PM, in the Von Braun Center North Hall. Event proceeds will provide direct scholarships to students
based upon Student Business/Industry Scholarship
criteria.
Those
organizations
that are prohibited from contributing to an
endowed fund
may offer scholarship support
through this funding mechanism.
Proceeds
will
also be used to
enhance AAMU
continuing education scholarships.
Dr. Marvin Carroll & Dr. Robert
Jennings confer following the BlackTie Scholarship Ball Kickoff Breakfast.
Dr. Carroll shares
much in common
with Alabama A&M University’s new president—
both are native Atlantians and each has a strong
commitment to strengthening the economic and academic base of our community. Together with cochairs, Dr. Rose Yates (AAMU) and Mr. George W.
Reynolds (Northrop Grumman) they will bring a
level of energy to the event which will bring about
the desired results in the scholarship campaign. The
event will bring together representatives from a
broad spectrum of business, both large and small,
along with local, state and government business
entities to enjoy an evening of dining and dancing
for a great cause—to raise no less than $200,000
in scholarship monies.
• Sponsorship Levels •
Mega-Gifts—$25,000+
Platinum—$15,000
Silver—$5,000
Tables—$1,000
Torchbearers—$25,000
Gold—$10,000
Bronze—$2,500
Individual Tickets—$75
For more information:
Roosevelt Conley, Event Planning Coordinator
256.830.4000 — rconley@tecmasters.com
•
Page 12
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
BEYA 2006 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Awarded to Tec-Masters President | CEO
Defense Industry Titans Gather to Honor America’s Top Engineers
M
ore than two-dozen engineers and scientists
received National awards and recognition
during the 20th anniversary Black Engineer of the
Year Awards (BEYA) celebration on Saturday, February 18, 2006 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA)
Member, Dr. Marvin P. Carroll, a Howard
University graduate and President & CEO of
Tec-Masters, Inc., was honored as BEYA’s 2006
Entrepreneur of the Year.
Inset photo (CAPT Curbeam) courtesy of NASA
Dr. Marvin P. Carroll (above right) TMI President | CEO,
stands with Captain Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., US Navy and
NASA astronaut during 20th Anniversary 2006 BEYA
Awards. TMI performed electronomagnetic compatibility
(EMC) testing on composite materials for NASA at Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.
Dr. Marvin P. Carroll (left)
President &CEO of
Tec-Masters, Inc., stands
with the 2006 Black
Engineer of the Year,
Ms. Linda Gooden,
President, Lockheed Martin
Information
Technology (LMIT).
Dr. Marvin P. Carroll, founder and President of
Tec-Masters, Inc., stands with General Benjamin S. Griffin,
Commanding General, US Army Materiel Command,
shortly after receiving 20th Anniversary National BEYA
Award at Baltimore’s Convention Center.
Dr. Carroll and other honorees each were presented their awards by Chief Executives of
Battelle, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, IBM, Lockheed Martin,
Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. Commanding
Generals of major US Army Commands and Navy
Admirals, Directors of major US Navy Programs,
also presented awards to engineers who hold
patents or have otherwise recently distinguished
themselves in private or public sectors and
academia. Engineering Deans and distinguished
graduates of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) were honored during an
earlier ceremony.
Pictured left:
Ms. Pat Williams,
CEO, Omega
Technologies,
Dr. Marvin Carroll,
Brigadier General
Velma Richardson,
US Army Retired, VP,
Lockheed Martin IT
Page 13
Tec-Masters, Inc.
2006 Volume 1:1
MISSILE DEFENSE DIRECTORATE ACTIVITIES
T
he increasing cost of live fire testing of missile
defense radar systems continues to drive system
test organizations to explore alternative test approaches employing digital simulation. The challenges
of digital simulation include providing realistic, high
fidelity target and environment characteristics in realtime to fully exercise the radar system in an effort to
accurately predict system performance.
To address these challenges, Tec-Masters personnel
are working several missile defense efforts that
include Sim-Over-Live Driver (SOLD), Missile Defense
System Exerciser (MDSE), Missile Defense Integration
Exercise (MDIE), and Ballistic Missile Defense System
(BMDS) Radar Digital Signal Injection System (RDSIS).
A brief description of these efforts is provided below:
Sim-Over-Live Driver (SOLD)
Tec-Masters, Inc. is developing the SOLD for testing
the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
Tactical Element. The SOLD is a mobile, Governmentowned HWIL driver for end-to-end testing at National
Test Ranges by injecting threats and environments into
the Radar and simulating additional launchers and
missiles. The SOLD will be used to support THAAD
Flight Test and Operational Assessments conducted by
Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) at national missile ranges such as the Pacific Missile Range
Facility (PMRF) or White Sands Missile Range
(WSMR). During pre and post flight activities it provides a testing/training capability. During the actual
Flight Test the Simulation-Over-Live capability will
inject live and simulated threats to exercise the Radar
and THAAD Fire Control and Communications (TFCC)
components at large threat raid density and environments. The figure below illustrates the SOLD intgration with the THAAD TFCC and Radar components.
Missile Defense System Exerciser (MDSE)
Tec-Masters, Inc. is the developer of the THAAD Test
Controller (TTC) for the
THAAD Node of the
THAAD Tactical Element
MDSE architecture shown
TFCC
below. The TTC is the
system driver for the
THAAD initial Block 06
capability equipment.
The TTC provides the
mechanism by which
THAAD HWIL components
and simulations are synchronized, integrated,
Object Reports
Discrimination Reports
and controlled. A mobile
Hit Assessment Reports
Interceptor Support Plans
version of the TTC has
Search Plans
Radar Tasking
been used for Air and
Missile Defense field
exercises such as Roving
RADAR
Sands.
MDSE is a distributed
real-time HWIL test tool
being developed to perform Ballistic Missile
Defense System (BMDS) characterization assessment,
interoperability assessment, and element integration
assessment. MDSE is composed of an integrated set
of BMDS elements/components and test infrastructure
widely dispersed among BMDS element HWIL facilities. It is designed to present a common test control
and element/component stimulation environment to
the BMDS elements and components. It operates over
a wide range of simulated conditions to permit
boundary and stress testing of the integrated elements/components, and to characterize the ability of
the BMDS elements to interoperate as a single system.
MDSE is designed to maximize the use of embedded
tactical HWIL and minimize the use of models and
simulations.
Missile Defense Integration Exercises (MDIE)
The MDIE test program at the Joint National Integration Center (JNIC) provides for the planning and conduct of MDIE tests using the Missile Defense System
Exerciser. It includes BMDS level integrated laboratory HWIL testing that involves a broad spectrum of
test objectives. Tec-Masters, Inc. is involved in the
planning and conduct (operates/maintains) of the
THAAD Node during the MDIE event, and provides
post event analysis.
BMDS Radar Digital Signal Injection System (RDSIS)
Tec-Masters, Inc. is also developing the real-time digital signal injection capability for the BMDS Radar.
The RDSIS is a radar signal processor injection driver
that receives waveform and beam position commands
from the radar system, and, using these commands
and a simulated threat scenario, computes and injects
simulated radar returns in the form of In-Phase and
Quadrature (I&Q) data directly into the BMDS Radar
signal and data processor. This unique approach will
provide a test capability to exercise the complete
(Continued on page 15)
Sim-Over-Live Driver (SOLD)
Shelter
Launch Messages
Launch Messages
Launcher
Missile
Launcher
Messages
Scenario Monitor
Launcher
Model
State Data
Uplinks
Downlinks
Enhanced
THAAD
Test
Controller
(ETTC)
Missile
Model
Scenario Monitor
Live I&Q Data
SOLD
Interface
Unit
(SIU)
Sim I&Q Data
Radar
Digital Signal
Injection
System
(RDSIS)
Object
Data
Sim-Over-Live I&Q Data
Waveforms,Status
Threat
Driver
Page 14
2006 Volume 1:1
MISSILE DEFENSE (Continued from page 14)
signal and data processing functionality from beginning to end in a real-time, tactical configuration. This
approach, among other capabilities, provides the
capability to assess radar system performance under
extreme object loading conditions and assesses radar
system reaction to conventional and unconventional
threats.
The RDSIS currently under development supports the
primary radar operational functions such as single
beam search, multiple beam searches, multiple frequency search, verification, track initiation, track, and
discrimination. It will accommodate all narrowband,
mediumband and wideband waveforms available in
the BMDS Radar. Receiver hardware effects including
automatic gain control, noise injection, and channel-tochannel amplitude and phase errors. Real-time antenna pattern models are provided for the transmit
sum beam, the receive sum and difference beams,
and for the simultaneous receive sum beams. The
RDSIS antenna models reflect the impact of the wideband array architecture transmit/receive (T/R) module outages, and array error effects for both the
mainbeam and sidelobes. Environmental effects models for atmospheric absorption, atmospheric refraction, lens loss, and cloud and precipitation attenuation
are also included.
Tec-Masters, Inc.
TMI Lawton Operations
JOINT LAND COMPONENT CONSTRUCTIVE
TRAINING CAPABILITY SUPPORT
TMI-Lawton Simulation and Analysis continues to provide worldwide support to the Army's Battle Command Training Centers (BCTCs) as part of a support
team for the Joint Land Component Constructive Training Capability (JLCCTC) Entity Resolution Federation
(ERF). The BCTCs are the focal points for Army battle
staff digital training and development. JLCCTC ERF is
a PEO-STRI program that supports staff training in the
BCTCs on digital information systems at division, brigade, and battalion levels to optimize tactical combat
readiness and decision-making. Additionally, JLCCTC
ERF simulates emerging tactical warfighting strategies,
techniques, and equipment to determine the commander's and his/her staff's battlefield effectiveness.
The JLCCTC ERF concept allows commanders and their
staffs in training to experience the warfighting tempo
they could expect to encounter on the battlefield with
the objective of improving tactical decision-making
The RDSIS will utilize scattering center based radar
cross section (RCS) models to generate radar return
signals for threatening objects and debris, and will
also have the capability to use statistical characterization models to generate radar return signals for
debris. The RDSIS will model object dynamics in terms
of position, velocity, acceleration, yaw, pitch, roll,
body axis rates, and ballistic coefficient.
TMI MID-ATLANTIC OPERARTIONS (Continued from page 8)
trans-formational programs where TMI’s multimedia
services, interactive learning and communications
products, and light manufacturing capabilities are
seamlessly integrated with large and small business
partner offerings to enhance both DoD and DHS
global capabilities for TMI. Successful TMI discussions
and agreements recently have been completed for
opportunities or programs that include, but are not
limited to: US Army’s ITES-2S, Homeland Security’s
EAGLE, State Department’s HITSS, US Marine Corps’
CBIRF, and DISA’s ENCORE-II vehicles.
TMI continues to leverage corporate relationships with
its small business partners and protégés for corporate
growth. A meeting was held in Huntsville, during the
first week of February for TMI, local and Mid-Atlantic
small business partners with strategic relationships,
past performances, and complimentary competencies
in the US Air Force, US Army, US Navy/Marine Corps,
Intelligence communities, and Civilian Agencies. Our
footprint in Washington is an extension of our existing
sales and branding resources at TMI – Huntsville,
Lawton, Orlando, and Atlanta.
Battalion Operations Center
Under contract with the Depth and Simultaneous
Attack Battle Lab, TMI employees Dave Minaschek
and Mike Perdieu provide JLCCTC ERF training and
fielding support to BCTCs and other Army facilities
with FireSim XXI. Recently, they participated in the
JLCCTC ERF Version 3 Test Event at PEO-STRI where
FireSim XXI and its live tactical command and control
interface, Extensible C4I Interface Suite (ExCIS)
received PEO-STRI certification. FireSim XXI is an
event sequenced simulation of friendly and enemy
artillery forces. It simulates the target acquisition,
command, control, communications and intelligence
(C3I), weapon/target allocation, logistics, firing
platforms and munitions to a high level of detail. It is
large scale (up to corps level for many applications)
and yet highly resolute (individual sensors, weapons,
fire direction centers, munitions, and messages). The
interface with the live command and control systems is
accomplished with the aid of ExCIS. ExCIS provides
native Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System
(AFATDS) and legacy messaging for training and
exercise support. FireSim XXI communicates with
ExCIS using psuedo Command and Control Simulation
Interface Language (CCSIL) messages.
Page 15
Tec-Masters, Inc.
“Quality is the Key to Customer Satisfaction”
Published by:
TEC-MASTERS, INCORPORATED
Corporate Headquarters:
1500 Perimeter Parkway
Suite 215
Huntsville, AL 35806-3520
President/CEO: Dr. Marvin Carroll
1.800.849.9472
256.830.4000
256.830.4093 (fax)
POC: Larry Reed
Vice President, Operations
256.721.6638
TMEye
cmgadmin@tecmasters.com