USAEC's staff of cultural resource professionals includes archaeologists, architectural historians, and preservation planners. This expertise is augmented through Federal agency partnerships and the ability to outsource projects through cooperative agreements.
USAEC has provided partnership opportunities by establishing Cooperative Agreements for Cultural Resources Management Support. These agreements were created at the request of installations and major commands to take advantage of the cooperative agreement authority provided by the Defense Authorization Act of 1997 and Army Regulation (AR) 200-4, "Cultural Resources Management." The Cooperative Agreements involve stakeholders in promoting effective, long-term, sound stewardship of the Army's cultural resources. The stakeholder organizations offer flexibility and expertise to promote excellence in all cultural resources program areas. There are currently 13 organizations that offer support under the cooperative agreements. The agreements are available to any installation or activity within the Department of Defense.
USAEC established the Cooperative Agreements with the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), Fort Detrick, as a "turnkey" arrangement, so while USAEC was involved in the initial establishment of the agreements, it is not involved in their actual operation. Installations that want to use one of the cooperators for professional support will go directly to the USAMRAA POC with their scope of work and funds to request the support. USAMRAA will charge the requesting organization a 2-percent fee on obligated dollars or a minimum of $500. USAMRAA currently anticipates that they will be able to provide a 2-week turnaround for award of each job following receipt of funds from the requesting organization.
The USAMRAA Web site may be referenced for details not appearing here, as well as for the Program Assistance Announcement for potential cooperators. IMA, MACOM and installation cultural resources managers who are aware of potential cooperators who could submit a proposal under this announcement are encouraged to solicit their submittals.
The Cooperative Agreements provide installations, MACOMs and other activities an alternate, optional means to obtain professional cultural resources support from organizations such as universities, Native American tribes, non-profit and for-profit organizations. Award of Cooperative Agreements is ongoing; the current cooperators, including support offered and areas of coverage, are:
| Organization | Areas of Operation | Areas of Support |
| Panamerican Consultants, Inc. | Entire United States | ICRMP Development, Technical Support |
| State University of West Georgia | GA, SC, NC, TN, AL FL, MS, AR, LA | Curation |
| The Louis Berger Group | Entire U. S. | Technical Support, ICRMP Development, Conference Support |
| Maryland Archeological Conservation Laboratory | Maryland | Curation |
| University of South Carolina, Institute of Archeology and Anthropology | South Carolina | Technical Support (Archeology) |
| R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates | CONUS and OCONUS | ICRMP Development, Technical Support, Native American Consultation Support |
| Scientific Consultant Services | Pacific Region | ICRMP Development, Technical Support |
| National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers | U.S., to include Alaska and Hawaii | Technical Support, Native American Consultation Support, Conference Support |
| Two Rivers Consultants | Entire U.S. | Ethnographic Research |
| TMC Design, Corporation | Entire U.S. | Conference Support |
| Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), Colorado State University | Entire U.S. | Development of ICRMPS, Technical Support, Native American Consultation Support |
| Earth Tech, Inc. | CONUS and OCONUS | Development of ICRMPS, Technical Support, Native American Consultation Assistance |
| New Mexico State University | Entire U.S. | ICRMP Development, Technical Support |
| Geo-Marine, Inc. | Entire U.S. | ICRMP Development, Technical Support, Native American Consultation Support |
| Cultural Site Research and Management (CSRM) | Western U.S. | ICRMP Development, Technical Support |
Under an Interagency Agreement, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation assists USAEC with many of the Army's guidance documents. The aim is to provide installations the cultural resource information and guidance that USAEC has been developing and to ensure consistency in the manner in which Army installations manage cultural resources.
In 1999, the Army entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress. The partnership focuses on developing and executing strategies for the redevelopment of Army historic properties.
In addition, an Interagency Agreement between USAEC and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) allows installations to use USFS staff to directly conduct required cultural resources programs. Another valuable source for cultural resource information is the National Park Service (NPS) and their affiliated National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT).
For additional support, USAEC has utilized the services of Center of Expertise for the Preservation of Structures and Buildings at the Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
For Cultural Resources Technology development and transfer, the USAEC has also partnered with the USACE Construction Engineering Research Laboratory of the Engineer Research and Development Center in Champaign, Illinois.
For Army NAGPRA compliance assistance, artifact curation and records management support, USAEC partnered with the Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections at St. Louis District, USACE.