October 2, 2009 - ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC), formerly known as the Engineer Research and Development Center's Topographic Engineering Center (ERDC-TEC), became a Major Subordinate Command center under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) yesterday.
The AGC will continue ERDC-TEC's legacy of providing timely, accurate, geospatial support and products to warfighters; however will expand its mission to 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 as well as develop and field 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."
"GI&S 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 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 Army-wide, network-enabled system of systems."
The AGC's people, projects, and programs will equip Commanders and Soldiers with the ability to exploit a net-centric, enterprise environment that allows geospatial information to be collected once, then processed, exploited, and shared among all Soldiers and their organizations in a timely manner. These efforts will reduce redundancy, conserve scarce resources and personnel, and, in the end, improve the probability of mission success.
