As a representative program example, Harper outlined operations of the BuckEye system now in Jordan, explaining that the original deployment was part of a 2013 coalition special operations exercise called “Eager Lion.” However, the contributions of that system were so valuable that the supported unit requested continued presence of the “non-program of record UAS” (Arrow UAS) and BuckEye sensor.
“As a result of being one of the only ISR [intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance] systems there right now and the unclassified nature of the collected data, we have been able to share data collected across all the interagency partners,” he noted. “So all of that data gets shared with NATO, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, some of the other three-letter agencies as well as USAID [U.S. Agency for International Development] and other folks.
BuckEye Arrow unmanned aerial system (UAS) collects high-resolution geospatial data in support of Special Operations Command Central. This UAS is equipped with a miniaturized Light Detection and Ranging, or LIDAR, sensor that can be used for a variety of missions and AGC then makes that data readily available to warfighting forces and supported agencies. Photo courtesy AGC
“Many of the requirements the UAS is supporting now actually come from another USACE capability called the FEST-A [Forward Engineer Support Team-Advance] Team – a small engineering team of various engineering specialties assembled to provide engineering planning/design support and limited infrastructure assessment to combatant commanders,” Harper added. “There’s a connection there, where they have to go out and look at potential logistics areas where we may set up U.S. facilities and basing. Part of that process uses high-resolution mapping to delineate the boundaries and facilitate negotiation with the State Department and the host nation.”
The other major AGC directorate is the Systems and Acquisition Support Directorate, which was formally established in November of last year.
“Mike Harper’s directorate builds the geospatial information that drives the Army Geospatial Enterprise,” explained Daniel Visone, chief of the Systems and Acquisition Support Directorate. “And the six branches in my directorate build the systems and shape the framework for the enterprise. Additionally, we work in partnership with the ERDC to address the gaps in the enterprise.”
In terms of support to Army acquisition programs, Visone noted that two of his branches provide geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) support to the Distributed Common Ground System-Army system and Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities program, while one of his branches is in charge of the geospatial component of the Army Common Operating Environment. “Between the three, we are shaping and implementing the GEOINT capabilities for the Army from national to the tactical level.” A fourth builds and fields engineer reconnaissance and survey kits.
Other branches are involved in maintaining the databases for the National Inventory of Dams and Inland Electronic Navigation Charts and a number of special projects that “really look at geospatially enabling customers’ business processes.”
One recent special project example involved AGC working with Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) to utilize Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to support its day-to-day cemetery operations. The Army leveraged existing GIS capabilities, “Army Mapper,” to transform ANC’s cemetery management. GIS has also been used to support transparency to the nation, provide the public with access to more than 150 years worth of internment records, and enhance visitor experience through kiosks and downloadable geospatial mobile applications.
“We’re really trying to use our tradecraft to help a customer do their job better by leveraging geospatial technologies,” Visone said. “In fact, I personally look at AGC as the Army’s geospatial knowledge center to enable customers and technologies.”
Among several recent program accomplishments, he highlighted another representative example that his directorate worked jointly with ERDC’s research division.
“The approval of an open standard called GeoPackage by the Open Geospatial Consortium [OGC] board is really a success story this year,” Visone explained. “AGE is all about open standards and one of the gaps that we saw was the inability to move geospatial data down to a handheld in an open standard that supported disconnected operations.
“This agency stands ready to deliver capability at scales that are important to the tactical warfighter,” he concluded. “NGA can’t do it all. They aren’t resourced to do it all. The services really have to depend on some level of their own capability to handle that stuff. We’re here as a resource. We’ve been used in the past. And we want to be more widely used in the future.”
“This is going to be game-changing,” he continued, “because it’s not just a solution for the Army; other government agencies and industry are going to use it, too. It is one of the fastest standards that has been passed by OGC. This has been a tremendous win because it’s not just going to shape how the Army moves data but also DOD [Department of Defense], federal government, and industry as well.”
Fontanella’s AGC overview also noted the center’s contributions as GPS Garmin® data repository for DOD, as executive agent for the water resources database, and in providing extensive reachback capabilities.
“Just last year alone our folks responded to over 2,500 requests for information from units in the field,” he observed.
From his position as AGC director, Fontanella acknowledged some challenges ahead for the full implementation of the AGE through the common operating environment.
“The challenges really relate to the fact that the enterprise is not a thing that you can put your hands on,” he said. “Rather, it is a system of technologies, people, standards, governance, and processes that deliver this standard and shareable geospatial foundation. As a result, there are a series of interdependencies that are part of the enterprise.”
If the current budgetary environment causes any of the interdependent elements to “slip to the right,” any resulting gaps would need to be identified and addressed.
Meanwhile, Fontanella’s message to warfighters remains steadfast.
“This agency stands ready to deliver capability at scales that are important to the tactical warfighter,” he concluded. “NGA can’t do it all. They aren’t resourced to do it all. The services really have to depend on some level of their own capability to handle that stuff. We’re here as a resource. We’ve been used in the past. And we want to be more widely used in the future.”
This article first appeared in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Building Strong®, Serving the Nation and the Armed Forces 2014-2015 Edition.