ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC) will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate its establishment as the Army Corps of Engineers’ newest Major Subordinate Command. The event will begin at 10:15 a.m., September 14th, at the AGC.
Headquarters, Department of the Army, approved the establishment of the AGC on February 20th. Formerly known as the Engineer Research and Development Center’s Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), the AGC will become a direct reporting center under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
The Army Geospatial Center will continue TEC’s legacy of providing geospatial support and products to warfighters, but will expand its mission to support the Army’s Battle Command Systems, facilitating dissemination of relevant geospatial information to every level across the dynamic battlefield environment. Additionally, the center will coordinate, integrate, and synchronize geospatial information requirements and standards across the Army, as well as develop and field geospatial enterprise-enabled systems and capabilities to the Army and Department of Defense.
“This is a great opportunity for USACE to respond to a critical need for our Army,” said Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, Chief of Engineers. “Army leadership has asked us to step up to the plate and solve pressing geospatial problems that are negatively impacting our units’ Battle Command.”
“Multiple standards and conflicting policies equate to slowing our commanders’ ability to act decisively within the complex operational environment,” said Robert Burkhardt, AGC director and the Army’s Geospatial Information Officer. “This reorganization allows us to focus entirely on the Army Geospatial Enterprise function-from policy to Warfighting. It also provides greater visibility for a geospatial enterprise across the Army and the Joint communities.”
The AGC will serve as a key enabler of the Army Geospatial Enterprise – an integrated system of technologies and processes that delivers a geospatial Common Operational Picture to the Warfighter.