Political humor is no stranger to tales of rivalries among Government agencies, including even the military services;
stories of voluntary cooperation are rare. But occasionally there are accounts of successful cooperative efforts that
have yielded results far greater than expected. This report is about one such effort,which has existed for over three
decades. It involves a little-known element within the Department of Defense (DoD), the Calibration Coordination
Group (CCG), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the Department of Commerce.
For over 33 years the CCG and NIST have had a working relationship to provide the military services with required
measurement standards and expertise, and to schedule the calibration of military laboratory standards at NIST in
the most efficient and cost-effective way. They have also had to anticipate totally new technologies and the
measurements that they would require, so that the necessary research and standards development could take place
in a timely manner.This benefited not only the military services but also American industry. Yesterday's military
technological innovations often become today's industrial products. With the measurement infrastructure already
developed, U.S. industry is in a unique position to capitalize on new products and gain a competitive edge in the
new world economy.
On the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of NIST (and the 33rd of the CCG) it seemed an appropriate time to
tell the story of how this partnership came to exist and to provide some highlights of what has been accomplished
over these years. Besides coordinating routine calibrations of military standards for the three services at the
NIST laboratories the CCG has sponsored close to 500 technical research projects to develop new standards and
measurement methods in anticipation of technological advances. Since NIST also serves as the nation's primary
civilian standards agency, the results of these projects quickly found their way into the country's commerce.
The results, not always easy to document, have in many cases provided the source for new product development
and entrepreneurial startups.
In the following pages we have documented some of these engineering projects and their results, not only for
archival purposes but also to honor the efforts of the people who had the foresight to recognize the initial
problems and generate solutions with far-reaching results.
This NIST Centennial Special Publication is dedicated to the staff of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology and to the members of the metrology organizations of the military services, past and present.
Gerome Reeve, Radio-Frequency Technology Division, NIST retired, and
Dr. Raju Datla, Optical Technology Division, NIST, Editors
To obtain a free CD or hard copy of A Partnership For Advanced Measurement Standards, contact:
Martin Wilson, Secretary
National Institute of Standards and Technology
100 Bureau Drive, MS 8441
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8441
301-975-2356
301-869-5700 (fax)
martin.wilson@nist.gov
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