conduct impartial tests under conditions as close to those encountered in the field. At the same time, the Air Force also took steps to avoid creating another APGC. AFTEC would be a small management headquarters with approximately 200 personnel, and AFTEC would never own any of the systems it tested. The charter and subsequent events showed the Air Force's reluctance to turn all OT&E over to the new Center. Although AFTEC declared full operational capability in October 1974, by the end of its first year, the Center had responsibility to test only 32 OT&E programs, while the major commands continued to conduct OT&E on their programs of interest. AFTEC was limited to monitoring OT&E of smaller acquisition programs at the major commands. Another obstacle arose because AFTEC was such a small organization that it had to rely heavily on the major commands to provide personnel for test teams and funds for OT&E. In October 1976, Major General Howard W. Leaf assumed command of AFTEC, and gradually implemented changes that enhanced AFTEC's role in OT&E conducted at the major commands. Major General Leaf, promoted to Lieutenant General and reassigned as inspector general of the Air Force, departed AFTEC in May 1980. By that time, he had helped find solutions to AFTEC's budgeting process, forged closer relationships with the major commands, and had established three levels of AFTEC effort for monitoring major command OT&E programs. Like his predecessors and successors as AFTEC commander, Major General Leaf sought to involve OT&E testers as early as possible in programs identified for OT&E to help ensure system readiness for test and that tests reflected the needs of users of the new systems. Early OT&E also played a role in ensuring the "fix-before-buy" approach had a chance to save resources by finding problems before production, thereby avoiding costly modifications to fielded systems. As a whole, Major General Leaf's time as AFTEC commander stabilized the new organization and made it a more active participant in Air Force OT&E. From AFTEC to Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center AFTEC's increasing contributions to Air Force OT&E led the Center to create detachments and operating locations dedicated to conducting AFTEC's OT&E mission. While AFTEC headquarters remained at Kirtland AFB, detachments activated at numerous locations, including Kapaun, Germany, Eglin AFB, Florida, Edwards AFB, California, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Detachments tended to support relatively broad categories of test—fighter aircraft, large aircraft,