In a ceremony held earlier this month, the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Joint Interoperability Test Command opened the doors to its newest facility at Fort Huachuca, Arizona: The Joint Warfighter Test Center—according to Roger Greenwell, DISA Enterprise Integration and Innovation director, the new 40,422 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is a testament to DISA’s support to the Warfighter.
“This facility takes us into the future,” said Greenwell. “It enables our program managers to operate more efficiently with a greater focus on the actual testing of applications, programs, hardware and components in a much more collaborative way. I’m so proud of the folks here at JITC and the work they’ve done in bringing this facility to reality. This is a huge accomplishment for DISA.”
Someone who understands the impact the facility will have on the Warfighter is U.S. Navy Capt. Anthony Saxon, JITC commander. As a Navy information professional, Saxon knows what it’s like to be in the field when things go awry.
“As a communications officer you see what happens when things aren’t interoperable,” said Saxon. “When reliability isn’t there, when resilience isn’t there, when things don’t work like they’re supposed to, you have to scramble, which prevents the Warfighter from time on action. This command gives me the ability to make sure the Warfighter has a [command and control] system that is certified. We know it works, and we have a support system in place to support our mission partners.”
Having roughly 700 federal civilians, contractors and military members under his command gives Saxon a perspective unlike any he’s had thus far in his 26-year military career.
“Being the JITC commander allows me to see operations at the department level,” Saxon said, “something that I wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to in the Navy. This shows the support that we have for the Warfighter and the investments we’re making to ensure they have the best equipment.”
Greenwell, who leads the DISA directorate under which JITC falls, echoes Saxon’s sentiments.
“We have some of the greatest testers across the Department of Defense,” said Greenwell. “The ability to bring them together to test all these joint Warfighter capabilities is truly a one-of-a-kind capability for the department.”
Story authored by Edward E. Shank, DISA Strategic Communication and Public Affairs