Army establishes new subordinate command for geospatial resources

Formerly known as the Engineer Research and Development Center’s Topographic Engineering Center (ERDC-TEC), the Army Geospatial Center (AGC) yesterday became a major subordinate command under the Army Corps of Engineers. The move expands missions and workload under the organization and will reduce redundancy in operations.

The AGC also will help conserve resources and personnel already at a premium, and provide more detailed, interactive geospatial data reporting.

In the vein of the ERDC-TEC, the AGC will still provide geospatial support Army battle command systems in the theater, but now will disseminate information to a wider audience across the battlefield environment.

The command also will play a role in Army and coalition modernization. “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,” according to an AGC press release issued today.

“I view this as the nation’s geospatial center,” Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, chief of engineers, said at the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. “What you are able to give the soldier is amazing. With study, and with your products, they can better understand the terrain where they’re going to operate so much better.”

The AGC is located in Alexandria, Va.