Editor's Perspective
GIF 2009 Volume: 7 Issue: 5 (October)
In a sure sign of the growing importance of geospatial intelligence in all aspects of military operations, the Army’s GEOINT organization has been elevated to the status of a major subordinate command center under the Army Corps of Engineers.
Formerly known as the Engineer Research and Development Center’s Topographic Engineering Center (ERDC-TEC), the Army Geospatial Center (AGC) stood up in early October, with the goal of continuing ERDC-TEC’s legacy of providing timely, accurate, geospatial support and products to warfighters.
The AGC’s mission also will expand, however. It will now support Army battle command systems by facilitating the 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, while also developing and fielding geospatial enterprise-enabled systems and capabilities to the Army and Department of Defense.
“I view this as the nation’s geospatial center,” said Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, chief of engineers. “What you are able to give the soldier is amazing. With study, and with your products, they can understand the terrain where they’re going to operate so much better. We’re so much better as an Army because of what you do.”
Geospatial information and services is undergoing a revolutionary change, said Robert Burkhardt, AGC director and the Army’s geospatial information officer. “While hardcopy mapping products remain critical to current operations, more detailed, interactive digital, geospatial data is providing new opportunities for both commanders and soldiers. Geospatial data provides the foundation for a common operational picture [COP]. The AGC will provide standard and shareable geospatial information necessary to enable this COP, support battle command on the move, and allow soldiers to operate effectively and efficiently in a net-centric environment within an overall Armywide, network-enabled system of systems.”
That’s the way to reduce wasted effort, conserve scarce resources and people, and increase the chances of mission success.
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