As director of the Defense Mapping Agency from December 1994 to May 1996, Maj. Gen. Philip W. Nuber oversaw the agency’s reinvention task force. Initiated by Nuber’s predecessor, Maj. Gen. Raymund O’Mara, the task force sought to transform DMA from a map-provider to a timely source of geospatial information and services. The task force presented Nuber with a proposal for a completely restructured agency based upon three functional groups: The Operations Group, the Acquisition and Technology Group, and the Installation Group. Nuber embraced and implemented the changes, profoundly changing the nature of DMA and enabling its talent and tradecrafts.

Nuber brought DMA to the attention of the world stage when he personally, on site, provided the Global Geospatial Information System to President Clinton’s Dayton Peace Accord in the settlement of the Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo boundaries. Thanks to DMA, the national leaders assembled at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, saw three-dimensional satellite imagery and mapping data of their nations and quickly solved issues of land boundaries.

Maj. Gen. Nuber began active military service in March 1962 and earned his pilot wings in June 1963. He had more than 4,200 flying hours and was a veteran of 300 combat missions. Major General Nuber retired June 1, 1996, after 34 years of service.