FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
A unique engineering unit in U.S. Army South provides
geospatial support by collecting, analyzing, managing and disseminating
real-time information using satellite imagery throughout Central and South
America.
The 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, with its
34-member team, uses its available tools to create graphic products that help
Soldiers visualize terrain before operations commence, which enables U.S. Army
South personnel to execute operations effectively.
“We produce data for narrowing their (Army South staff)
focus so they can save time,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jason Feser, commander, 512th Geospatial
Engineering Detachment. “We have a big mission with a big chunk of terrain.
Sometimes it can be daunting.”
A key task of the detachment is to populate the Theater
Geospatial Database. The database provides terrain visualization to help
execute missions. The products include information on lines of communication,
hurricane analysis data, landing and drop zones, and information on the
existing infrastructure.
“A lot of the information we provide is if a project is
feasible,” said geospatial engineer Sgt. Ray Thomas.
“For instance, we can help in the construction of roads
based on the landscape. We can also tell if an existing road is passable using
the slope of the landscape. A project we are working on is information on
flooding due to the El Nino this year. We base our information on data
collected from the last El Nino and predict impacted areas which can be subject
to flooding.”
El Nino is a warming of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean,
occurring every few years, that alters the weather pattern of the tropics and
sometimes causes catastrophic weather conditions such as flooding and
mudslides.
At Army South, most of the work the engineers perform is
related to natural disasters. The command’s area of operations include Central
and South America which, in the past, have been prone to natural disasters due
to hurricanes, El Ninos and high winds associated with heavy flooding events.
“Humanitarian relief is what we mainly do,” said geospatial
engineer Sgt. Jeremy Taylor. “For instance, we provided geospatial information
during Operation Unified Response in 2010 for disaster relief in Haiti.”
The 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment was able to
provide route reconnaissance data, flood analysis and mudslide analysis for the
joint task force commander during the international humanitarian response. They
have also been involved in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and are providing
information for the upcoming 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Members of the 512th Geospatial Engineer Detachment discuss
topographic information in the U.S. Army South area of operations during an
office meeting at U.S. Army South headquarters on Fort Sam Houston Nov. 12. The
34-member team uses its available tools to create graphical products that help
visualize terrain before operations commence which enables Army South personnel
to execute operations effectively.