Defense Contract Management Agency continues to support the Department of War’s ongoing work to bring unmanned systems capabilities to American warfighters.
Jeff Beaudoin, director of DCMA's Information Technology Mission Applications Division and a member of the DCMA Blue List team, spent a week with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade Marne Unmanned Center of Excellence at Fort Stewart, Georgia, June 1-4, as they conducted the unit’s inaugural initial licensing training under the Army’s newly published Small Unmanned Aircraft System Operator Training Program.
“The Marne Unmanned Center of Excellence, which became operational in March, moves soldiers through academic instruction, virtual simulators and increasingly challenging flight tests,” Beaudoin said. “The academics cover everything from controlled and uncontrolled airspace familiarization, air traffic control coordination procedures, weather reports, policy, flight logs, and a technical overview of the Teal 2, an unmanned system approved for use on the Blue List.”
Beaudoin contacted Army Chief Warrant Officer Five Jonathan Morrison, the UAS operations officer from the unit, to learn more about the training program.
“Morrison and I go back about 20 years to when we were both noncommissioned officers teaching advanced individual training courses for the Army’s Apache Longbow program at Fort Eustis, Virginia,” Beaudoin said.
Beaudoin visited Fort Stewart to see the UAS class and talk with soldiers about the Blue List. He said Morrison was more than happy to enable the visit.
“Since the Secretary of War assigned the Blue List to DCMA, we have been talking more and more about how we get after this mission from our different foxholes,” Beaudoin said. “As part of the Blue List leadership team, we saw this as an opportunity to build an interagency and service relationship with evolving potential.”
Beaudoin said he was impressed with the training and excited for its long-term impact.
“Everything was clearly put together according to Army Doctrine and builds on the information presented in the Basic UAS Qualification Courses,” Beaudoin said. “I think the most important part was really hearing from the troops and the (noncommissioned officers).”
The Army is transitioning training and tactics to employ UAS technologies, and it falls on the unit commanders and unit master trainers to ensure their drone operators are well qualified on their assigned platforms, Beaudoin said.
He spent time talking directly with the NCOs and junior enlisted going through the course to learn how the Blue List could be used more effectively to enable feedback and information sharing.
“There are hurdles and challenges that these line units see along the way, as policies and resources identified through programs like Drone Dominance are still working their way down to the tactical edge,” Beaudoin said. “This team is on the right track, preparing their units ahead of time so they’re ready to receive the new tools to operate on the modern battlefield, and the Blue List team is proud to be supporting the war fighter.”