Army Corps of Engineers officials joined leaders from Fort Meade and the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) on Jan. 29 to break ground for the unit’s new $30 million complex.
Col. Patrick Mahaney, AWG commander, addressed the Corps, unit, installation and contractor team that will construct the new headquarters on a 17 acre site. “Our mission is to improve the survivability of soldiers and that mission is growing. We are glad to be part of the Fort Meade community with Corps support," he said.
The new facilities will ensure that the AWG is able to meet its world-wide mission and solution development capabilities in support of Army and Joint force Commanders.
Asymmetric warfare is the application of dissimilar strategies, tactics, capabilities and approaches used to circumvent or negate an opponent’s strengths while exploiting his weaknesses.
The U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group provides Operational Advisory and Solution Development support globally to the Army and Joint Force Commanders to enhance Soldier survivability and combat effectiveness, and enable the defeat of current and emerging threats in support of Unified Land Operations.
The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG), headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, is an Army unit of highly skilled warriors who provide observation, analysis, training and advisory support to Army and Joint Force Units in order to enhance their capabilities to predict, mitigate, counter and defeat asymmetric threats and methods. The AWG is the only unit in the Army that actively seeks new enemy tactics, training and procedures and looks to develop solutions.
The contract was awarded on Oct. 30, 2012, to Skanska USA Building, Inc. The project consists of the constructing of four buildings. Three of the buildings will be located within the current AWG Campus, with the fourth building located on a site approximately one mile away. The facilities include the Headquarters building (approximately 75,000 square feet), a Visitor Control Center (2,700 square feet), a Vehicle Maintenance/Fabrication Facility (7,000 square feet) and a public works building (15,000 square feet). This project also includes the demolition of four buildings to be phased with construction activities. Construction duration is 730 calendar days with expected completion in 2015.