Senior engineer helps guide AFFTC

  • Published
  • By Diane Betzler
  • Staff Writer
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Dan Roth is a civilian who holds a senior level executive position at Edwards. He is a leader in the federal civilian workforce and a member of Maj. Gen. David Eichhorn's center staff.

Mr. Roth serves the Air Force Flight Test Center as a technical adviser and is responsible for final review of the center's technical programs.

"I look at the technical aspects of everything the center does from flight test missions to ground test missions," Mr. Roth explained. After analyzing his findings on a particular issue, Mr. Roth consults with General Eichhorn and recommends technical solutions.

Mr. Roth began his career at Edwards in 1976 when he came on board through the Student Career Experience Program, a program designed to provide work experience for undergraduate students. Today he serves as the center's senior functional engineer for all the scientists and engineers at the AFFTC.

"I work on the general's behalf with a workforce that is highly educated and trained," Mr. Roth offered. It is his job to ensure the workforce is distributed, trained and educated properly for the flight test mission.

He also works with higher headquarters and oversees how the base scientists and engineers participate in the Department of Defense career development programs.
On the test mission side, Mr. Roth looks for ways to improve the efficiency of the mission.
"For example, I'm pushing for the development and implementation of new analysis techniques for how the center conducts and analyzes data from a test," he said. His goal is to add more statistical rigor into the testing.

Although he's a leader of the technical workforce, Mr. Roth reviews National Security Personnel System performance objectives and ratings for base scientist and engineers from, he says, a functional standpoint rather than getting involved with the day-to-day supervision of those employees.

Mr. Roth pretty much stays away from the financial side of operating the center, however, some of his decisions can have an impact on center funding and how those funds are distributed.

"When we're asked to take cuts I have to decide which test programs we can cut," Mr. Roth explained.

He does that by looking at the requirements of the testing and determines which testing is of greater importance and must continue and which testing can be halted, all of which impacts the way funds are distributed.

"I don't look at it from a funding standpoint, I look at all the testing we do and establish if we are testing the right things," Roth said.

"The test wing is responsible for execution of the test mission and I tend to be more strategic with my efforts," he said.

His approach is to look at the testing going on today at the center and develop methods for how the AFFTC can test better in the future.

Mr. Roth analyzes such technical issues as how to grow the workforce and how the center should advance its test methodologies and capabilities so it is prepared for the future.

He also addresses issues on how the AFFTC can become more involved with other test organizations within the Air Force, the DoD and within the international communities. These are just some of the many issues the advisor deals with and researches on a daily basis.

Armed with an impressive education, and although one needs a master's degree to be promoted in the AFFTC, advanced education isn't all it takes to get to the SES leadership level.

"The degree in itself won't help us do our mission," Mr. Roth said. He says what's equally important is the training one gets and the knowledge gained from spending time working different assignments.

Mr. Roth, however, has spent his entire career at the AFFTC and says, as he got more involved with flight test, he knew that's where he wanted to be, "I never wanted to leave the center," he said, even though experiencing other bases and leadership positions is what it takes to qualify for the executive director's position.