December 13th is recognized as the birthday of the National Guard. A historic military organization that began in 1636 as a Massachusetts colonial regiment, it is now the oldest constituent of the U.S. Armed Forces. You could say that it’s the grandfather of citizen-soldier reserve components such as the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.
With that birth story in mind, let’s turn our heads to AATC, a U.S. Air Force aircraft test facility located in Tucson, Arizona. It’s the subject of a gov pub entitled “Relevance Through Innovation: The History of the Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC).” It is an innovation hub for airmen and civilians from Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and the Air Force to find “cost-effective but cutting edge technology to improve the ARC’s combat capability and add value to the Total Force.”
The book details the testing facility’s inception, workforce challenges, leadership changes, and milestones. Over the years, AATC has endeavored to use new and old tech approaches to produce combat capability improvements. The mettle of a modernized mission-ready fleet is tested at this highly functional proving ground.
Author David P. Anderson writes of AATC’s extensive history: “It illustrates the true spirit of innovation that helped it acquire and sustain operation relevance to the Air Force.” When you read the book, you begin to appreciate how the facility represents more than just testing and technology. Several chapters touch upon the many years it took for AATC to cultivate its strengths and overcome the limitations of bureaucracy.
The facility is a success story of military transformation. Through testing and evaluation, AATC equips a fighting force to protect and defend the United States. Talk about a considerable force behind ‘Total Force.’
How do I obtain this publication?
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- Click here to purchase Relevance Through Innovation: The History of the Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC)
- Click here to purchase Leading The Way: The History of Air Force Civil Engineers, 1907-2012
- Click here to purchase A Magnificent Showcase: History, Heritage, and Art: The United States Air Force and the Air Force Art Program
- Click here to browse our United States Air Force (USAF) History collection
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About the author: Our guest blogger is Chelsea Milko, Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.
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Trudy Hawkins
Government Book Talk 