Col. Jerel D. Evans, Garrison Commander, Fort Moore, and Rob Gordon, Director of the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, sign an Intergovernmental Support Agreement, or IGSA, to perform Mission Partnership for Resilient Environment Planning (M-PREP) and Associated Documentation Support between the United States Army and the University of Georgia, Nov. 07, 2024, at Fort Moore, Georgia. IGSAs are public-public partnerships designed to support the Army mission by allowing state and local public entities to partner with installations to receive, share, or provide installation support services. (U.S. Army photo by Daniel Marble)

FORT MOORE, Ga. – U.S. Army Garrison Fort Moore hosted an official ceremonial signing of an intergovernmental support agreement designed to enhance the resilience of the installation in partnership with the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Nov. 7, 2024, in McGinnis-Wickham Hall at Fort Moore.

Using IGSAs is a cost-effective way for Fort Moore to acquire services from state or local governments while building stronger relationships with surrounding communities. Military services are authorized by federal law to enter into such agreements if they enhance mission readiness, increase efficiencies, or reduce costs.

“Today we celebrate as we solidify our 17th of 18 approved intergovernmental support agreements,” said Elizabeth Guzman, Fort Moore IGSA manager. “This agreement solidifies our partnerships with academia, specifically the University of Georgia. These partnerships are extremely important to us because they provide us with the efficiencies that the Army needs to help sustain our installations.”

The IGSA was made official with signatures from Fort Moore Garrison Commander Col. Jerel “J.D.” Evans and UGA Institute of Government Director, Rob Gordon, during the ceremony attended by staff from each organization.

“We are honored to celebrate our innovative partnership with the U.S. Army through our Defense Community Resilience Program,” said Gordon. “It builds upon the Institute of Government’s unique capacity to create trusted relationships with military personnel and communities, leveraging and deploying research and technical expertise from across UGA.”

The partnership between Fort Moore and the UGA Institute of Government aims to enhance the resilience of military installations and their surrounding communities through expertise in community engagement, infrastructure planning, governmental policy, economic development and nature-based engineering. The Defense Community Resilience Program employs resilience professionals, based in partner defense communities, to serve as liaisons with the installations, adjacent communities and UGA’s network of researchers and technical experts from academic, government, private and nongovernmental partners.

“This IGSA partnership assists with securing the future of the Army and its warfighters by stewarding, conserving and enhancing our premiere training lands, and Lawson Army Airfield, for immediate and long-term mission requirements,” said Evans. “It also directly enables Fort Moore’s mission of providing trained and combat-ready Soldiers and leaders, developing the maneuver force’s doctrine and capabilities, and ensuring a high quality of life for our Soldiers, civilians, and their families; as we continue securing the freedoms for the people of our great nation.”