MARCH 12, 2025 – “Our whole mission here is to introduce students, parents and teachers to opportunities that they wouldn’t normally have in a traditional education setting,” Brian Leftridge, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Program Manager for U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, said.
Leftridge and the DEVCOM STEM Office accomplish this through administrative and logistical support to host back-to-school nights, science fairs, STEM camps, and other similar events and programs. The team is a central coordinating office for DEVCOM locations around the nation and serves as the lead for Aberdeen Proving Ground internal and external STEM education activities.
In total, the DEVCOM STEM Office reaches approximately 28,000 students through over 150 STEM events and programs each fiscal year.
“What drew me to this type of work is the opportunity to work with students and teachers, but with the service mindset and at such a larger scope,” Leftridge said. “I think the mission we have at DEVCOM is vital in more ways than just national defense, and with all of the research and innovation that is currently going on here, it’s a great place to be.”
Though working with a service mindset is nothing new to Leftridge, having been a high school math teacher in Harford County, Maryland, for four years, working at DEVCOM has given him the opportunity to continue to promote STEM education while at the same time build awareness of STEM career opportunities within DEVCOM.
“DEVCOM is one of the best organizations in terms of supporting STEM education outreach across the nation, and it’s important to go out into the community and work to build talent that we know we’re going to need to fill the science and technology positions of the future,” Leftridge said.
According to Leftridge, the DEVCOM STEM Office is as successful as it is because it includes a team full of well-rounded experts with unparalleled diligence.
“Our team is unique as we each have different backgrounds that help accomplish our goal of inspiring the students of our communities,” Leftridge said. “I have an education background, but we have folks on the team who were previously at our centers and labs working on day-to-day STEM activities, we have logisticians that help support the events we put together, we have folks with marketing backgrounds, and we have folks that worked in the field and in the lab as scientists. I feel that the dedication and professionalism of the team is unmatched.”
Leftridge and the team also manage the U.S. Army’s centralized STEM education and outreach efforts that fall within the Army Educational Outreach Program, or AEOP, to include technical and fiscal oversight of the cooperative agreement with the collection of industry, academic and non-profit partners within the program.
The AEOP aims to provide an accessible pathway of STEM opportunities to attract, develop and mentor the next generation of the nation’s talent through U.S. Army educational outreach programs.
“We work everyday hand-in-hand across the major STEM commands on APG and throughout the Army to help manage the STEM outreach efforts they have going on,” Leftridge said. “We also work across services and up to the Department of Defense level as well.”
It is with dedication to outreach efforts from the DEVCOM STEM Office that the centers and labs across DEVCOM have found long-term success in building their pool of a talented and innovative workforce.
“Our STEM outreach and education programs have been around for a long time and have documented success,” he said. “For instance, the APG GEMS program has brought students into the STEM centers and labs to engage with scientists and engineers for more than 20 years. Many of those participants are still engaged with APG today.”
GEMS, or Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science, is a U.S. Army-sponsored, summer STEM enrichment program for middle and high school students that takes place in participating U.S. Army research laboratories and engineering centers.
“Once our GEMS students age out of that program, we’ve brought them back as undergraduate interns doing research in our science and technology labs, and now we have these students that are beyond impressive working with our workforce. So, from fifth grade all the way to employment, it makes me feel like all this work and effort is worth it.”
Similarly, as much as Leftridge recognizes that the efforts of the team are vitally important to achieving positive results for DEVCOM, he knows that just as important is the support from their leadership.
“My team and I are really appreciative of how extremely supportive not just our DEVCOM leaders have been, but Army Futures Command leaders as well,” he said. “It’s through that top-down support and being viewed as the subject matter experts when it comes to STEM education within the Army that we are able to accomplish so much. The support that we receive is one of the main reasons that I enjoy working here.”
While Leftridge realizes the importance of promoting and inspiring STEM education today, he also understands that the long-term effects of those efforts will benefit many tomorrows from now.
“The end goal is to make sure that when these students get to their career level, they understand that there are so many opportunities here at DEVCOM, and that they can be part of the U.S. Army without wearing a uniform,” he said. “We work on technology that obviously makes life better for our service members, but also that benefits everyday life of our society.”
To learn more about the AEOP, visit https://www.usaeop.com/.
Story by Ryan Rayno
U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command