A Marine Corps detachment based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, rolled and cased its colors during a deactivation ceremony March 26 at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s campus in Springfield, Virginia.

The deactivation of Marine Detachment Fort Belvoir was part of a move to consolidate all Marine intelligence training at Marine Corps Intelligence Schools, a part of Marine Corps Detachment Dam Neck, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The detachment’s mission was to train and educate geographic intelligence, imagery analysis, and technical surveillance countermeasure specialists in their occupational field, said Marine Corps Capt. Nathan Nofziger, commander of Marine Corps Detachment at Fort Belvoir.

Though the detachment at NGA was officially established in 2008, Marine Corps training in topography at Fort Belvoir began in 1972 under an NGA predecessor organization, the Defense Mapping Agency, said Nofziger.  

While at NGA, the detachment successfully executed its mission over the years, said Nofziger. Over sixty Marines, served as instructors or support staff to graduate more than 1,300 geospatially-trained Marines.

“These Marines will provide support to their commanders and the decision makers out in the field,” said Phillip Chudoba, director of NGA’s GEOINT Enterprise directorate. “We are going to miss you, but as members of the larger geospatial enterprise, you won’t be too far.”

The ceremony was paired with the last graduation of Marines at NGA, closing a chapter in Marine Corps history and the legacy of geospatial schooling at NGA. The next class of Marines training in geographic intelligence has begun at Marine Corps Detachment Dam Neck.