REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. - Team members from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command were recognized by their peers for their accomplishments.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation selected the SMDC Future Warfare Center, Eagle Vision/ROVER Responsive Exploitation of Space Products for Tactical Use (EVR2EST) team as the recipient of the 2011 USGIF Achievement Award for Military. The award was presented Oct. 18 at the GEOINT Symposium in San Antonio.
"It's a great honor to be chosen for this prestigious award by our peers," said Justin Novak, FWC Innovative Ventures Office. "This award is the culmination of years of experience SMDC has with various experiments and programs including the Flagship Experiment, Alabama Homeland Security's Virtual Alabama Program and the National Guard Bureau's Geospatial Information Interoperability Exploitation-Portable System (GIIEP), pronounced 'jeep,' program.
"With EVR2EST, SMDC makes space-based imagery and radar products available to Warfighters and first responders at the tactical level," he continued. "Space and its products can now be leveraged without the need of sophisticated software and complex training through government commercial and open source best practices.
"The requirement for larger bandwidth networks has always been a concern of the modern battlefield," Novak added. "EVR2EST addresses this operational need not by purchasing more costly bandwidth, but by optimizing the information on those networks and reducing the time and size while maintaining the precision and fidelity of the information. This leads to enhanced situational awareness through timely, accurate and network-friendly information."
The USGIF Awards Program annually recognizes the exceptional work of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft's brightest minds. The Intelligence Achievement Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in the tradecraft by an individual or team from the military, government and industry sectors.
Novak talked about how the project has worked in the past as well as in the future.
"EVR2EST (pronounced 'Everest') allows the rapid distribution of space-based imagery and radar products generated by the Eagle Vision Program's deployable satellite ground stations," Novak said. "In conjunction with these systems, satellite imagery and radar products can be generated in mere hours after the satellite has collected the information allowing for timely and accurate operational support to Warfighters and first responders."
While discussing the award, Novak spoke about how the program is beneficial to the public.
"In the disaster relief and humanitarian assistance roles, EVR2EST supports the Defense Support to Civil Authorities mission by rapidly providing critical space-based information to Warfighters and first responders," Novak said. "Information is critical to disaster mitigation planning, search and rescue, and recovery. This allows for timely access to state and federal aid, as well as clearer communications of need through better information gathered from these space-based products."
Novak said both SMDC and the Air Force A2Q Division are working hard to make space accessible to the Soldier on the ground and the airmen in the cockpit. SMDC's mission is to "Secure the High Ground" and leverage the advantages space has to offer.
"This effort is a joint program between SMDC and Air Force A2QS (ISR Innovations Directorate) which leverages SMDC's in-house government engineering and rapid prototyping capability augmented with contractor support as needed," Novak said. "EVR2EST is a prime example of dual-use technology (i.e. technology that can be leveraged by both Department of Defense and civil authorities).
"We definitely need to mention the Army and Air Force piece as A2Q was the customer who funded the effort to implement EVR2EST for the Eagle Vision Program," he added. "I would also highlight the fact that this effort was an SMDC-FWC project which was developed primarily with in-house government labor and expertise."
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