Board of SATCOM Advisors

The mission

Aerospace Technical Group defines and protects the professional standard for satellite communications — so the people who keep the link alive when it's hardest can carry a credential that proves what they can do, and employers on both sides of the uniform know exactly what it means.

ATG is a credentialing body, not a school. We don't sell training. We set and safeguard the standard the profession is measured against: we validate what a proficient SATCOM professional must know and be able to do, and certify it in a way that is vendor-neutral, evidence-based, and defensible.

The Tactical SATCOM Specialist (TSS) credential certifies mastery of SATCOM fundamentals and field performance in secure, tactical, and austere environments. It doesn't validate button-pushing on one radio — it validates genuine understanding of the link: establishing it, defending it, and restoring it when it degrades. It's built to matter downrange and to hold value the day someone takes off the uniform.

This is worth your time because a real standard raises the skill of the force, gives those who've served a portable credential the civilian world recognizes, and gives the next generation something worth training toward. It opens doors: to mentorship, to leadership, and to a standard that trainers everywhere build toward instead of reinventing.

Why you've been invited

Because you've done the job.

A certification is only as credible as the people who validate it, and the only people who can say what truly matters are the ones who have lived it, breathed it, and executed it when it counted. We're deliberately assembling a panel that won't always agree — a room of "no-sayers" who will challenge everything and let the data settle it.

Ground rules

The process

Using a Panel of Experts, we will formally document and develop the latest and final version of the Standards, Tasks, and Question Pool, and establish an official Blueprint Weight that accurately reflects the role, an official Cut Score, and an official review and selection of the Question Pool and Exam Version A.

This is part-time, phased, and mostly asynchronous. The Board Chair, Brandon Arenas, leads the schedule — and we're moving quickly.

1. 1 Initial Survey 20 min

   A short questionnaire: in your own words, what must a SATCOM professional be able to do? Defining the Minimally Competent Candidate (MCC) and the tasks they must be able to perform.

   Start the Initial Survey →
2. 2 First-round Job Task Analysis 15 min

   Review the existing competency standards; rate each on how critical, difficult, and frequent it is; propose any to add or remove.

3. 3 Second-round Job Task AnalysisJTA Report 10 min

   Review the consolidated set and weigh in only on the new items other experts proposed.

4. 4 First Panel WorkshopBlueprint Weights · MCC Profiles · DACUM Tasks 120 min

   Review the results from the SME Survey (guided MCC and task presentation) and the Job Task Analysis as a group — the results from the SMEs' first- and second-round JTA ratings.

   Reach consensus on the definition of the Minimally Competent Candidate (MCC), and finalize the domains, standards, and tasks.

5. 5 Question Pool AnalysisFacility Index Ratings 90 min

   Answer and review a sample of real exam items, then complete the Round 1 Angoff worksheet by rating each item and flagging any that are weak.

   Group 1 will rate questions 1–200 and Group 2 will rate questions 100–300. Groups are divided by areas of knowledge and expertise.

   Final Facility Index Ratings come from a pilot of 30 individuals and the Panel — a mix of highly proficient technical professionals cross-trained into SATCOM, and SATCOM experts on the terminal and network sides.

6. 6 Hofstee Worksheet 10 min

   Complete the Hofstee Worksheet.

7. 7 Second Panel WorkshopAngoff Ratings · Hofstee Cut Score 180 min

   Discuss the Facility Index and compare Round 1 Angoff ratings. You'll have the opportunity to adjust your ratings based on the discussion. Flagged questions are discussed.

   Review the validated standard and cut score (Hofstee). Closing thoughts and decisions.

The SME Panel and the Board of Advisors

Joining the SME Panel doesn't require — or guarantee — a seat on the Board of SATCOM Advisors.

Advisors on the Board meet quarterly for the first year, then yearly. The quarterly meetings surface new findings, evidence, and issues and decide whether anything needs to change; the yearly review confirms the credential still meets the industry's needs as technology and the field evolve. Between meetings, advisors are called on only as a specific need arises, and are typically paid as consultants for the hours they work or the projects they take on.

Recognition, confidentiality & appreciation

• Your input is confidential and becomes ATG's protected intellectual property.Ratings, comments, and deliberations aren't shared outside the process, and, by design, you won't see other panelists' individual work before deliberations. The data speaks for itself.
• Your name and credentials are recorded in the confidential ISO/IEC 17024 validation record.That record is provided only to the DoD and to organizations that require it to verify the credential was built to standard. It is not public.
• A public Board of SATCOM Advisors seat is optional and by your consent.If you want the recognition, you may be listed publicly with the title of your choosing, and use it for your own purposes.
• A modest thank-you for your time may be offered.This is a thank-you, not a wage. Participation is a mission contribution, and validators hold no financial stake in credential sales — part of what keeps the standard impartial.
• Priority for paid work.As the credential becomes funded, panelists get first look at paid consulting engagements through the Board of Advisors.

What we need from you

1. Signed SME Confidentiality & Contribution Agreement. sent by ATG
2. Signed Consent & Permissions Form online · step 1 above, including:
   • Your name and credentials exactly as they should appear in the confidential validation record and, if you consent, on the public Board.
   • Contact info, preferred method, and availability.
   • A short professional bio (3–5 sentences) and a summary of relevant SATCOM experience: roles, years, systems, and environments (unclassified).
3. A resume/CV or credentials summary (MOS/AFSC/rate, relevant certifications) for the qualification record that makes the panel defensible. email to ATG
4. A conflict-of-interest disclosure — any financial interest in a competing credential or current/planned training product (or "none"). online · step 1 above
5. A W-9 if you receive a cash honorarium. Download the IRS W-9.
6. A Board of SATCOM Advisors Agreement if you wish to join the Board and are approved.