Meet the Army's gear testers: Lucky soldiers who get to play with new toys

If you want to find out quickly how it will break, give it to the Marines.

Lucky beggars. At least their letting military personnel test it, civilians just don't cut the mustard testing.

Sort of misleading article; Yes OTC conducts many operational tests but they don't conduct them all. They don't have enough of the required MOS/skills sets to them all. I am with the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA) where we plan and execute OT for everything fielded to the USMC. IN some cases we work with other operational test agency's who are leading the effort . We test it right the first time, and we are really economical when compared to OTC. We don't need the support that OTC requires.