In-Person with Derrick Hinton

  • Published
  • By Janae' Daniels
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Derrick Hinton, principal staff assistant and adviser to the director of Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) visited Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) April 7 - 9 as part of a NASA-DoD Aeronautics Facilities Users Meeting.

This meeting is a result of the NASA and DoD National Partnership for Aeronautical Testing (NPAT) council that was established in 2007. The purpose of the NPAT is "to expand cooperation between the two agencies and to facilitate the agencies' establishment of an integrated national strategy for the management of their respective aeronautical facilities."

"This is the fourth users' group meeting where they [NPAT] bring in the individuals from NASA and DoD that manage and operate the facilities and then bring in the customer and industry side which also has facilities as well and that are primary users of those facilities," Hinton said. "So you get the government side and the user side together and you have cross talk. This is to make sure we understand the requirements and make sure they understand the capabilities and it's a good forum for us to try to work together corporately to make sure we are meeting the test needs."

Hinton feels the TRMC's relationship with AEDC is more of a partnership.

"AEDC has provided us, I think, real sound support in many different areas," he said. "They understand what is required and they understand what it takes to put solutions in place and get them out in a timely manner so you can have the instrumentation in place, when needed and get decision quality data. That is what this partnership has allowed us to do."

As the principal deputy for the Defense TRMC within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L), Hinton assists in all matters pertaining to assessment of and strategic planning for the Major Range and Test Facility Base, which AEDC is one of 24 activities.

"All the large test facilities fall under the policy that we are responsible for and my director [Dr. John Foulkes] has oversight of those major ranges and test facilities to make sure we have the right infrastructure in place he said."That is the natural relationship, but it goes beyond that."

"We have programs within our organization where we sponsor the development of instrumentation and AEDC has a lot of expertise and we leverage them heavily. It's a natural relationship that's proven very fruitful so far and I expect it to continue."

In addition to his duties, Hinton serves as deputy director for the Joint Investment Programs and Policy Division and is responsible for management of the Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP). Funding under this program is AEDC's development and work on the Space Threat Assessment Testbed (STAT).

"When you develop a satellite, you need to know how it's going to perform in its operational environment which is outer space," he explained. "How do you create that environment in a ground test facility so that you understand those natural phenomenons that occur? How do you know when it's a natural threat that's occurring or whether it's a man-made threat so you can put in countermeasures to defeat them? This is why you need STAT."

STAT is an effort that Hinton's organization identified as a capability gap in a strategic planning meeting in conjunction with the other military services.

"We knew we needed a STAT and AEDC has some natural capabilities in place like the Characterization of Combined Orbital Surface Effect [CCOSE] capability that was established with the subject matter expertise already here," he explained.

AEDC's work on the Total Airborne Plume Simulator (TAPS) is also being funded by Hinton's organization.

"For our aircraft systems certainly in theater where you are dealing in a hostile environment on a day-to-day basis, one of the biggest threats to our aircraft is shoulder-fired missiles," he said. "We have to put countermeasures in place and it has been a priority of the department to put those missile warning systems in place so that we can protect our fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Testing those systems to make sure they function as they should is very important."

He continued, "The TAPS capability is an ability for us to make that missile warning system believe that a missile is actually being fired at it. The burner portion is the most critical part of that system because it gives the correct signature and it gives it that right spatial requirement to allow it to believe that you're actually closing in on it. If we didn't have that component we wouldn't be able to build and test those kinds of systems."

Hinton began his career serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1985-1991, joining the DoD civilian work force in 1989 as a test engineer responsible for munitions Test and Evaluation with the 46th Test Wing Eglin AFB, Fla. In 1996, Hinton joined the AT&L team, then transitioning to the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation in 2001 and finally joining the TRMC in 2005.

He holds a bachelor of science in industrial engineering from the University of Alabama and masters of public administration and an acquisition core level III certification in Test and Evaluation from the Defense Acquisition University.