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Welcome to the Protective Design Center


The Protective Design Mandatory Center of Expertise (PDMCX) was established as a Center of Expertise for the Army relative to antiterrorism and force protection in 1985 in response to concerns by the Army Vice Chief of Staff following the bombing of the Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. AR 190-13 was subsequently revised to include the requirement that HQUSACE maintain a center of expertise for protective design to assist in protecting the Army from similar attacks in the future.

The PDMCX provides direct protective design technical support services to USACE activities, the Army, and other Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD federal agencies. The PDMCX also provides technical support to foreign, state, and local governments and authorities when coordinated with and authorized by HQUSACE through an Interagency and International Services agreement.

Effective 25 February 2024, Engineer Regulation (ER) 1110-1-8175, set forth the authority, policy, roles, and responsibilities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Protective Design Mandatory Center of Expertise, located in the Omaha District. It also provides policy and guidance by which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commands and other Department of Defense and government agencies obtain services from the PDMCX.

Our Mission:

The Protective Design Center (PDC) is the Army's center of expertise for engineering services related to force protection and protective design. We provide engineering design and support services to the Army for both permanent and expedient applications and to DOD and other U.S. Government agencies to protect assets against criminal, terrorist, conventional, nuclear and special weapon threats.