Description
The Operations Systems Center supports the Coast Guard’s five strategic missions: protection of natural resources, national defense, maritime safety, mobility and security. It was established in 1991 with the clear mission to computerize the US Coast Guard. As soon as everything got on computers, the mission has been changed to maintenance and update operations.
Operations Systems Center is the brain behind most actions performed by the United States Coast Guard. It deals with software development and automated systems. It is the premier source of such systems in the US Coast Guard. The systems are not just developed, but also maintained, repaired when something goes wrong and updated whenever new technologies hit the market. Aside from the US Coast Guard, the center also supports the Department of Homeland Security.
The center is located in the immediate closeness of Martinsburg, in Berkeley County, in the western side of Virginia. Coast Guard facilities in Berkeley County include a documentation center that keeps track of U.S. vessels, much like the Department of Motor Vehicles does with vehicles, and the National Maritime Center, which issues credentials for mariners. It indirectly supports multiple national missions, including the National Defense or the Maritime Safety. There are close to 600 individuals hired on site, counting military troops, civilian contractors, civilian scientists and reserve troops, not to mention about some families too. All the local teams work in a tight collaboration to fulfill the mission and objectives of the center.
Altogether, the Coast Guard has about 800 employees in the Eastern Panhandle, including military, government civilian and contract civilian workers.
