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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award for developing and improving protection and testing equipment used during COVID-19 response efforts June 27, 2025, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

DEVCOM earned the award for support of COVID-19 relief efforts from March 13, 2020, to March 12, 2021. The DEVCOM team, comprised of Army Civilians, contractors and service members, rapidly pivoted to learn how to operate during the global pandemic while maintaining its critical mission to innovate on behalf of the Army to deliver next-generation combat capabilities.

“With the grace and hindsight of five years between us and the early days of the pandemic, it’s easy to lose sight of just how harrowing those months were,” Lt. Gen. Miles Brown, the Army Futures Command deputy commanding general, said.

“With the grace and hindsight of five years between us and the early days of the pandemic, it’s easy to lose sight of just how harrowing those months were,” Lt. Gen. Miles Brown, the Army Futures Command deputy commanding general, said.

DEVCOM developed, tested and produced military durable face coverings that Soldiers used while training at Fort Benning, Georgia; delivered an alternative 3-D printed design to test swabs during the early months of the pandemic; provided to New York City a mobile COVID-19 testing platform for healthcare workers; and researched coronavirus-killing antibodies.

“Without missing a beat, DEVCOM teammates did what they have always done,” Brown, who previously served as DEVCOM commanding general from July 2021 to September 2023, said. “They rolled up their sleeves, got creative, and found a way to get the mission accomplished.”

“Without missing a beat, DEVCOM teammates did what they have always done,” Brown, who previously served as DEVCOM commanding general from July 2021 to September 2023, said. “They rolled up their sleeves, got creative, and found a way to get the mission accomplished.”

During the ceremony, Brown remarked that, while DEVCOM support to the COVID-19 response was remarkable on its own, the command’s commitment to its primary mission to support Army Modernization never slowed down despite the challenges the pandemic posed. 

“During that same time period, DEVCOM supported more than 200 experiments and Soldier Touchpoints, including Project Convergence,” Brown said. “It’s why I was so incredibly proud when I was the commanding general, and why I continue to be proud today.”

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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery, DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit devcom.army.mil.