NEW DIRECTOR ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY FOR DTC AS HE JOINS RANKS OF SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE

ATEC Commander Maj. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco presents coins to show his appreciation to the Jimenez family. (Photo by Sean Kief)

By Mike Cast
DTC Public Affairs

A ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground Dec. 17 marked a change in leadership for the Developmental Test Command (DTC) as well as its new director’s promotion to the Senior Executive Service. David Jimenez, who was the Associate Director, System Engineering, for the Communications Electronics, Research Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), became an SES as he assumed responsibility for DTC. Its former director, Mike Etzinger, now leads the Army Evaluation Center (AEC).

Both DTC and AEC come under the aegis of the Army Test and Evaluation Command and its commander, Maj. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, who officiated at the Dec. 17 ceremony. He lauded both Etzinger and Jimenez for their service to the nation and the important work they are doing for the Army and the United States. During his remarks, he noted that 2011 will be a year of change for APG as well as DTC.

“This is going to be the year of transition for a lot of different reasons,” he said. “Of course the BRAC, as everybody is well aware, is bringing all sorts of things to this installation, and also to the headquarters and the (DTC) command. But there is also going to be some transition and transformation within the command that we are going to launch into as we go forth over the next few months. That will carry on, probably over the next couple of years, as we organize and look at how we do business better and more efficiently in a shrinking budget environment. So both gentlemen are going to have their hands full . . . helping with the transformation.”

Maj. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco presents the DTC colors to its new director, David Jimenez, as Mike Etzinger, former director, looks on. (Photo by Sean Kief)

As he presided over Jimenez’s ceremonial elevation to the rank of SES and assumption of responsibility for DTC, Dellarocco paid tribute to his family for contributing to his success as a civilian Army leader at CERDEC.

“His success is grounded on family, and I can see that,” Dellarocco said of Jimenez. “He has had a really great career. He’s the right guy at the right time for this job. This installation has had a test focus for decades, but now it is getting a different flavor. The folks from Fort Monmouth are coming down, and it’s going to change the complexion of this (installation) pretty substantially. He’s my go-to guy to make this work.”

After presenting Jimenez with the certificate of appointment to the Senior Executive Service, Dellarocco administered the oath of office. Then, according to tradition, Jimenez unfurled the SES flag that symbolizes his attainment of that rank.

Etzinger ceremonially passed the DTC colors to Jimenez through DTC Command Sgt. Maj. Carlton Handy. For his leadership of the command from May to December 2010, Etzinger received the Superior Civilian Service Award. The award citation read, in part: “Mr. Etzinger’s extraordinary vision, technical competence and superb leadership ensured the Army developed and acquired equipment and systems that were instrumental in protecting our warfighters. Through his personal efforts and tireless dedication, Mr. Etzinger motivated his employees to their highest levels of performance, ensuring the success of the command mission.”

“For anyone who has worked with me or actually been in close proximity to me, I guess there are a couple things that are fairly apparent about me,” Etzinger said afterward. “One: I say what I mean. Two: I mean what I say. With that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to express my most heartfelt thank you to the entire DTC family. It has been a pleasure. It has been a privilege. Test for the best. Army strong.”

David Jimenez, DTC's new director, expresses his gratitude to the Army, his family and his new " DTC family" during the ceremony Dec. 17. (Photo by Sean Kief)

During closing remarks, Jimenez said mentors guided him along his path to leadership.

“I’ll tell you that I was incredibly fortunate the minute I walked into the Army in the mid ‘80s,” he said. “I was taken under the wing of somebody who served as my mentor. You look back at those experiences, and those are the things I built my career upon – things like work as hard as you can, always do the right thing, look out for the interests of the Army, and that drove me to where I am today. All those things I just told you, you couldn’t accomplish without the support of family. You can’t accomplish it without the teamwork of people that you meet along the way.”

He said his success was not his alone but one he shared with his wife – and that he was “humbled” by the warm welcome he received from people in DTC. To his new DTC staff he added, “I promise to work hard for you every day, and together we are going to figure out the Army’s big challenges in test and evaluation.”

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