On 9 March 2016, Mr. John Teufert, Head of the Geospatial Services Branch within the Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) Service Line, was awarded the prestigious Bundeswehr Cross of Honour in Gold for outstanding deeds. This special grade of the Bundeswehr Cross of Honour is the second highest decoration of the Bundeswehr and has currently only been awarded about 150 times.
John is an active Reserve Officer of the Bundeswehr and serves several weeks each year back in uniform. Within the Bundeswehr, John has performed many different military functions, including support to the German Special Operation Forces community. Recently, he was assigned as the commander (OF-5) of the Multinational Geospatial Support Group (MN GSG) - a German-led NATO Smart Defence initiative.
John highlights: "This new assignment is a perfect match between my NCI Agency responsibilities and my reserve duties. MN GSG has been stood up by Germany to provide geospatial support exclusively to NATO and the EU. This new multinational element will enable NATO to obtain and maintain geospatial information superiority. To stay fully trained and certified definitely helps me to better understand our customers and provides valuable, but different perspectives. I look forward to commanding MN GSG during my next reserve exercises and to helping meet NATO's requirements."