CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Welcome to the June issue of the ITEA Journal! Our new online format for the cornerstone T&E technical Journal has been very popular. We have had greater than 3,000 page views and 864 review sessions of our last issue and we have received very positive feedback on the ease of access, searchability, and of course the world class content on relevant T&E topics. As always, start with the Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Laura Freeman’s “Issue at a Glance” section as she highlights this issue all about “Test the Way We Operate – Best Practices and Lesson Learned.”

We had a highly successful ITEA Test Instrumentation Workshop (TIW) in Las Vegas in May that was very well attended by over 350 T&E professionals seeking education and professional development, to improve their test ranges, test teams, and to assist their customers and companies in providing the best test and training environments to collect decision quality data. We had 13 technical sessions, a hands-on-lab, sold out exhibit hall, and the ever-popular networking sessions. A special thanks to Wendy “Def” Peterson, our Antelope Valley Chapter President and her team who volunteered countless hours to plan and execute this event! Wendy’s full-time job is the Director of the 812th Test Support Squadron under the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB, CA – thanks also to the 412th and 812th for supporting her volunteerism and leadership for our T&E enterprise. It’s very encouraging that we had a record setting 150 attendees at our T&E tutorials during this workshop which informs our Board of Directors on the value and importance of ITEA and drives our strategic planning process. Wendy presented a check from ITEA for $5,000 to the Antelope Valley Union High School Education Foundation to stimulate interest in technical career fields that contribute to the T&E profession!

On another note, we’ve gained an 800% increase in ITEA followers of our LinkedIn page in the past 6 months – a great indicator for the interest in ITEA, and the T&E education we provide through our courses, conferences, tutorials, certification, and other programs. If you are not following ITEA, please head over to our LinkedIn page and follow. Along with the information found on our website, this will tune you into all our workshops, lunch and learn webinars, tutorials, and other educational opportunities. If you are not an ITEA member and reading this as part of our trial period, please consider becoming a member to propel your career and our T&E organization!

We have particularly relevant technical events planned for the remainder of 2023. Please join us on 18 July for the popular ITEA Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) workshop focused on “MDO in an Extended Range Environment” in Ventura, CA. On 29 August, we will kick off the Cybersecurity Workshop in Virginia Beach, VA where attendees will engage in discussions on “Securing the Future: Navigating the Evolving Threat Landscape.” And our 40^th Anniversary of the Annual International T&E Symposium will start on 5 December in Destin, FL for a can’t miss theme of “Next Generation Test Dominance.”

Visit our website at itea.org for more information about ITEA engagement opportunities to strengthen our organization, improve the T&E profession, and further your career.

“In God we Trust. All others must bring Data.” – quote made by W. Edwards Deming. I’ve always liked his position on data driven decision making, and ITEA will connect you with many highly successful T&E professionals with extensive experience in tackling the challenges of getting good data. It’s an exciting time to be working in this industry – stay engaged with ITEA and consider joining if you are not a member to take advantage of membership!

Enjoy the Journal!