Ever wonder how the Army develops new equipment or vehicles and how soldiers can get involved? You might be surprised to learn that soldiers across the Army are already playing a critical role in shaping the future of Army capabilities. In fact, soldiers now have more input in the development and selection of the Army’s next generation of weapons, equipment, and vehicles than at any point in our history.

This process, known as soldier-centered design, ensures that those who will ultimately use the equipment—the soldiers themselves—are part of the development process from the start. Their feedback directly informs industry representatives, researchers, and acquisition experts, helping to define the tools and capabilities needed to win future wars.

Soldier-centered design isn’t just about testing gear under strict lab conditions. Instead, it offers more flexible trial parameters that allow for soldier creativity, resulting in field-practical feedback that drives early prototype development and refines requirements from the very beginning. As warfare rapidly evolves, it is more important than ever to include soldiers in these transformation efforts, ensuring that the Army’s systems are essentially ‘built’ by those who will rely on them in the future fight.

The amount of disruption in the character of warfare is unprecedented and continues to accelerate. It is more important than ever that the Army, Joint and industry partners, and academia involve the soldier into continuous transformation efforts early and often. In short, the soldier provides the most important inputs to the Army’s research and development team so the Army can “get it right” when it comes to systems and kit.

This deliberate involvement of soldiers into persistent experimentation is all part of Army Continuous Transformation, which we manage across three periods of time: 1.) Transformation in Contact; 2.) Deliberate Transformation; 3.) Concept-Driven Transformation. soldiers and leaders can get involved on the ground floor of the first time horizon, Transformation in Contact, right now, though soldier-centered design trials, a cornerstone of Army experimentation.

How Soldier-Centric Design Works

Soldier-centered design events provide opportunities for soldiers to collaborate directly with Army civilians and defense contractors. During these events, soldiers offer hands-on feedback on emerging technologies, systems, and concepts. Whether large-scale events involving hundreds of soldiers over several months, or smaller trials with just a handful of participants, the goal is the same: to let soldiers test prototypes in real-world field conditions and provide feedback that informs design improvements.

For example, during Operation Hard Kill at Fort Drum in August 2024, soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division worked with industry partners to refine collaborative unmanned capabilities as part of counter-unmanned aerial systems training. Touch points like those allow soldiers to identify issues – like the placement of a button or the durability of a scope or sensor- and work with developers to make iterative improvements that will ultimately hold up to the rigor of war. Soldier-centric design programs reflect how Army modernization is a continuous process, where technology is refined through multiple rounds of soldier input.

(Fort Drum, New York, 1 August 2024). Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division and U.S. Army Development Command-Armaments Center contribute to innovative unmanned capabilities as part of operation Hard Kill at Fort Drum, New York, Aug. 1, 2024. Operation Hard Kill provides an opportunity for 10th Mountain Division and industry partners to work together to develop and test a collaborative system to facilitate c-UAS training at Fort Drum. (Still photo collage from U.S. Army video by Sgt. Jaidon Novinska)

Scaling Soldier-Centered Design: From Small Tests to Major Transformations

While some soldier-centered design events are massive, spanning years and involving hundreds of soldiers, smaller touchpoints are just as impactful. These smaller interactions, which may last only a few hours or days, provide early-stage feedback that enables quick adjustments to prototypes or tests of organizational changes involving new technologies. These trials are normally coordinated through U.S. Army Forces Command’s Test, Schedule, and Review Committee; the group that manages resources for Army tests, multiservice operational test and evaluations, experiments, or demonstrations. The committee is responsible for maximizing the use of limited resources and minimizing test events’ impact on readiness.

Utilizing this process, in the last year alone, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command conducted 24 soldier touchpoint events. With the Army’s emphasis on Transformation in Contact, that number is expected to nearly double in the coming year, with about 4,000 soldiers participating.

Army Futures Command is using soldier-centered event results to inform highly advanced, annual, Joint-level culminating exercises, such as Project Convergence. Whether big or small however, these events offer a critical opportunity to bridge the gap between the civilian scientists developing new technologies and the soldiers who will ultimately use them.

(Fort Drum, New York, 8 August 2024). U.S. Development Command Armament Center industry partners set up and load a counter unmanned aerial system for the Operation Hard Kill assessment hosted by the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, New York, August 8, 2024. The 10th Mountain Division modernizes its formations to offer opportunities for innovation of emergent equipment that the Army could use to modernize the force. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kade M. Bowers)

Why Soldier Feedback Matters

The value of soldier feedback can’t be overstated. When a soldier gets their hands on a new piece of gear, they provide unique insights that go beyond what scientists and engineers can measure in a lab. Their feedback helps translate “mil-speak” into “geek-speak” for developers, ensuring that equipment is practical and user-friendly in real-world conditions. Soldier-centric trials facilitate this conversation “in situ,” discussing progress within the field or in a Soldier’s daily environment.

A soldier-centered design approach assesses both the soldier and the equipment as a total system. While engineers gather objective data, the subjective, experience-based feedback from the user is just as essential. U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command is primarily staffed by civilians and contractors, with less than 1% being soldiers. This makes soldier-centered design events crucial, as they connect the “makers” with the “doers,” allowing engineers and scientists to directly hear from the people who will rely on their creations in the field.

(8 April 2024) Marc Schwarzkopf, a U.S. Army Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center support contractor and member of the Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System development team, teaches Sgt. First Class Laura Zietz of MS CDID how to use the system for unmanned chemical agent decontamination in the field. (Still photo collage; original U.S. Army photos by Gabriella White)

The Benefits of Soldier-Centered Design for the Army

As previously discussed, soldier interactions under the soldier-centered design model provide early, iterative feedback to developers, program managers, and Program Executive Offices for early identification of issues and solutions. So how does the Army actually benefit from soldier-centered design?

First, the process can significantly reduce costs. By identifying potential issues during the development phase, the Army avoids costly redesigns later. Early involvement of soldiers also leads to increased acceptance and effectiveness when new equipment is finally fielded. soldiers who have a say in how a device is built or operates are more likely to embrace it—and imagine the sense of pride when they see a feature they recommended come to life in a fielded product!

Furthermore, soldier feedback ensures that equipment is developed with practical applications in mind. Soldiers spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve their kit, and soldier-centered events capitalize on that expertise, ensuring that the Army fields the best possible technologies. Additionally, these events offer units the chance to train with cutting-edge systems, giving them an edge in future integration and increasing overall readiness; a rare chance to prepare for the inevitable integration of machines into our formations.

How Leaders Can Support Soldier-Centered Design

A quality soldier-centered design event doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a team of teams and the right leaders to place emphasis on its importance. For these trials to be successful, leadership involvement is critical. Leaders should be present at the event to show their support and emphasize the importance of the exercise. Prepare for the touch point by contacting Army Futures Command and Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology; they can assist with some lessons learned to make your soldier-centered technology test a home run.

Leaders should consider carefully whom they select to participate and what factors would produce the highest quality results. For example, if a soldier has a hand injury, they would not be able to fully participate in a rifle test experiment. Leaders should set clear expectations for the participating soldiers: provide high quality and thorough feedback, leverage their experience, and carefully follow the guidance of the developers. Along with selecting the ideal soldier participants, leaders must ensure their soldiers’ time is deconflicted – competing priorities with training schedules and deployment can make it difficult to garner high quality results.

Finally, it’s important to communicate to soldiers why their participation matters—not just for themselves, but for their units and the broader Army. Soldiers need to understand how their feedback contributes to the Army’s transformation efforts and the critical role they play in shaping the future force.

(Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 17 April 2024) A warfighter at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center uses new technology to identify an unknown agent simulant during a field trial scenario with developers on site. (U.S. Army photo by Ellie White)

Conclusion

Hopefully, the efforts that have already started throughout the Army in accomplishing continuous transformation are slightly de-mystified now. Transformation relies heavily on soldier-centered design, where soldiers’ insights are at the forefront of technological innovation. If you’re selected to participate in one of these events, seize the opportunity! Your feedback could be the key to refining the next generation of Army equipment. By working side by side with researchers and engineers, soldiers help ensure the Army fields the best tools to support the most capable fighting force in the world.

Command Sgt. Maj. Brian D. Haydt has over 30 years of Army service as an Armored Crewman; serving in every enlisted leadership position and multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently the Command Sergeant Major of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), responsible for accelerating research, development, engineering, and analysis to provide warfighter capabilities.

Sgt. Maj. Brian Disque has 29 years of service as an Infantryman. He has served in a variety of Infantry units and has served in multiple locations around the world. He currently serves as the National Capitol Region senior enlisted advisor for Army Futures Command.

Master Sgt. Katie Smith has experience as a signal and public affairs Soldier over her 19 years of service, and is a Licensed Master of Social Work. She currently supports the Army’s transformation mission under Army Futures Command, Communication Directorate.

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