About Grid Square Recon

What is Grid Square Recon?

When a military family receives orders to move to a new location, accurate information can be hard to find. Most of what's available is often outdated, irrelevant, or validates poor perceptions about the local community around the military installation.

Our aim is to provide information on areas surrounding military installations to build a more positive outlook and experience for military members and their families. Our goal is to replace the dread and anxiety often associated with military moves with the anticipatory savoring associated with a new adventure.

We provide information on the community using written products, still and video imagery, and interviews to share stories of local citizens and military members.

But what's up with that name? The military community uses the Military Grid Reference System to navigate. We use squares as a reference, and a 'grid' is how we find our location. When we get orders to move, the first thing we do is recon the area. Hence, Grid Square Recon.

Our Recon Team

Chris Lancia, Chief Recon Officer

Chris is a natural storyteller who lives to share experiences with those around him. With more than 20 years of military experience and more than a decade as a journalist, Chris brings a practiced eye and a style that engages and build community through connection. As our Chief Recon Officer, Chris is responsible for our day-to-day operation and for collaborating with content creators and those with a story to be told.

Sarah Lancia, Creative Director

Sarah embodies the ideal that it takes courage to be creative. She's spent her life seeing the beauty in the world around her, and is an artist with skills that vary from graphic design to pottery to painting to photography to web design. Sarah serves as the layout editor for a magazine, and brings her talents to help us drive engagement with our audience. As our Creative Director, Sarah is responsible for our creative decisions and for ensuring we identify the best way to connect with an audience and tell stories of our incredibly diverse communities.

Cadence, Chief Adventure Dog

Cadence is an American Pointer, and she's always up for an adventure. Having spent her entire life in a military family, she's dedicated to helping us find dog-friendly adventures for her fellow four-legged family members! She overloads our photos with cuteness, and is always open to pets, treats, and a long car ride with the windows down and the wind in her fur. Feel free to say hi when you see her on an adventure!