# Presentation: 528065

## US National Grid (USNG)

-                            FGDC-STD-011-2001

**Harnessing a national grid as a **
**     ****preferred language of location ...**
**           ... *****optimized for local applications.***

- For information, see:
- www.fgdc.gov/usng

## Please note, there are many ways to 

- Please note, there are many ways to
- describe a location with coordinates.
- The US National Grid being discussed
- here is just one of them.

## Slide 3

## A Standard Grid... 				

- - _*A communications enabler*_.
- - Geoaddress          on maps.
- - Universal Map Index
-  An enabler...  a bridge between
- hardcopy maps and digital.
- 	- Frictionless interoperability

- ...a consensus based standard.

- ... a nationally consistent language of location.

## USNG... framing issues.

-  USNG is an FGDC process standard
- - It is a _*presentation process*_ standard.
-  It is not intended to define internal storage structure
-  of any GIS or to the transfer of coordinates between
-  databases or appliances.
-  Intended for ground operations. For the general public,
- 	public safety, and commerce.
- - For maps generally >1:1,000,000-scale.
-  Not applicable to aeronautical and nautical operations
-   as such.

## From research into, 

- Terry, 1994, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, Vol 63, No. 4, Apr 1997, p.381 - 383.

- From research into,
-              “Why not lat/long instead of plane coordinates.”

***Green*** (15m) equates
- approximately to (12m)
- the National Map
- Accuracy Standard (NMAS).

**Notes:**
This chart gives a feeling for the magnitude of errors using different coordinate treatments.
The <15m category is the only one that falls within the designed accuracy of the map and near-term GPS.  All other samples fell outside that level of accuracy which is reasonably obtainable by people and to which our mapping and GPS systems are designed (and no small amount of money has been spent to achieve).  Note that users successfully achieved the reasonably obtainable level of accuracy over 6 times as often when using full UTM grids as compared to when they worked with full lat/long grids.
Complimentary to this issue is the need for maps with a full grid.   All map users preferred a full grid as compared to only tick marks and they NEVER achieved the level of accuracy that should be obtainable when they only had tick marks to work with.

## Meets National Map

- Pos Accuracy Bullseye

- Terry, 1994, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, Vol 63, No. 4, Apr 1997, p.381 - 383.

- Accuracy Standard

**Notes:**
Empirical results confirmed the user's preference.  Participants were asked to scale the coordinate values for precise points on 1:24,000-scale maps.  Using these large scale maps, similar  to a city map, test participants achieved three times the accuracy, with fewer blunders, and in one-third the time using UTM, as compared to using lat/long.  
The need for maps with a full grid was also clearly evident.
Results:
	Gridded UTM: 86% of the samples were less than 150 meters in positional error.  Of those, their avg positional error was 10.2m.
	Gridded lat/long: 63% of the samples were less than 150 meters in positional error.  Of those, their avg positional error was 31.7m.
	Ungridded UTM: 34% of the samples were less than 150 meters in positional error.  Of those, their avg positional error was 100.1m.

## 08/27/98

- User’s Preference (91%)

- Terry, 1994, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, Vol 63, No. 4, Apr 1997, p.381 - 383.

**Notes:**
In a research project comparing the two systems in 1996, 91% of the participants preferred UTM over lat/long.  Reasons given were the ease of learning and using, speed with which UTM grids can be plotted, and how much easier it was to commit blunders with lat/long as compared to using the simple counting system of UTM.
Additionally, most of the popular literature aimed at teaching the general population how to use GPS also suggest UTM over lat/long as the preference for use on land. 
Note: This test was accomplished prior to the increased availability of GPS receivers with UTM/MGRS.  Test participants were taught how to truncate UTM coordinates using the MGRS method so for practical purposes the test was of UTM/MGRS.

## Often asked question: Why not use Lat/Long, state plane, 5’ grids,

- 2.5’ grids, etc, instead of UTM/USNG, etc....?

- 1. Latitude / Longitude
-     a.  Many different position reporting formats.
-     b. Just how far is 1 minute of longitude anyway?
-     c.  Ever tried to accurately fix a position to within
-         10-m using a paper map and lat/long?
-    10 out of 12 authors of GPS “How to” books
-     recommend UTM over Lat/Long.,
*                      *_*Ease of use, fewer human errors*_*.*

- 2. But we have GPS!!!
-     a.  GPS is wonderful at providing a position (PNT).
-     b.  As a map... _*not so good*_!
-         Small GPS screen: 1,600-mm2  Small, low resolution screen
-                 Large 7.5’ quad: 256,000-mm2 Large synoptic, high res view.
-     c. Applying GPS position to map in the field.
- 	*– **See 1.c. above.*

- -  But the # 1 REASON IS THAT THE US NATIONAL GRID IS A
- NATIONAL STANDARD!   Why?  _*See Reason 1.c. above!*_

- Map and GPS same relative size.

## 08/27/98

- UTM or SPCS?

**Notes:**
State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS).  Occasionally the option to use SPCS or other local system as the preferred spatial address  instead of UTM/MGRS is raised.  The SPCS is another earth referenced coordinate system and it too is just as accurate as UTM or lat/long.  There is a mistaken belief by some that it is more accurate which is not true.
Today the largest constituency for SPCS is among surveyors and in turn some state and local officials.  The SPCS was developed in 1935 by the US Coast & Geodetic Survey (now the National Geodetic Survey) before there was an internationally accepted  system found in UTM.  Because of its historical legacy, SPCS will continue to have a role in surveying and cadastral work.  Nevertheless, there are drawbacks to selecting SPCS as a preferred national spatial address system.
These drawbacks include:
	- It is not a uniform national system.  It consists of 50 different systems with over 111 zones as depicted above. Some states use the foot while others use the meter,  and different map projections are used.   Compared to UTM, the zones of SPCS are very complex .
	- Low cost GPS receivers do not use SPCS and the growing list of local         systems.
	- USGS is producing (in cooperation with the states) large and medium scale maps with full UTM grids and the new digital orthophoto quarter quadrangle series uses the UTM projection.
SPCS and local systems do not contribute to national and international communications interoperability.  Consider the discontinuity that occurs at state (and even county) boundaries.
Given a choice between a single system or multiple systems for spatial addressing, what will the public prefer?  A single system is almost essential to effectively teach this subject in the public school system.

## Slide 11

**Notes:**
In this brief we have seen how spatial addresses can be used, and many of the issues involved in their use.  From these issues we can identify characteristics required of a United States National Grid (USNG) that is to be used as a preferred spatial address system by the community.  Those requirements are;
- In the public domain.
- It must be geodetically referenced.
- It should be a plane coordinate system.
- It should be seamless at political boundaries.
- It should possess powerful truncation features.
As we look for a USNG it should, if possible, be an off-the-shelf system.

## Slide 12

**Notes:**
When we filter currently available, off-the-shelf, coordinate and addressing systems through the requirements process, we find UTM/MGRS offers the best option for a USNG.  This raises the question of why not simply use the UTM/MGRS?  The references for MGRS are defined through a standards process which responds to the needs of the international military community of the western nations.  And while MGRS as currently defined may be a solution for the civil community’s USNG, the MGRS itself is subject to change driven by a set of needs that may be different from the civil community’s.  Thus a USNG needs to be defined in it’s own right.

## Slide 13

## “Problems/Issues/Gaps:

*Responders’ lack ability to share information between the MAC (Multi-Agency Coordination Entities) and *
*area command posts is partially due to weak communications and interoperability standards.  *
*This is evidenced by situations where MAC and area commands may both be utilizing digital maps, but with different indexing standards.  The result may be an inability to easily exchange map coordinates.”*
- _A_ _Project_ _Responder_ _Report_: _Technology_ _Opportunities_ _for_ _Implementing_ _the_ _National_ _Incident_ _Management_ _System_ (NIMS)
- Of October 2005, p. 31, by Hicks and Associates, Inc., for The Memorial
- Insitute for the Prevention of Terrorism and the United States Department of Homeland Security.

## 	“Lack of a uniform method for describing incident

*locations has long been a major impediment to rapid*
*and effective emergency response in diverse metropolitan and rural areas...   *
*...**the immediate impact of USNG will be to ensure that GPS is directly usable with properly gridded map products to quickly enable  multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional emergency responders, and the public in general, to precisely identify geolocations in the real world. *
*...**the USNG will be a principal integrating mechanism to create spatial interoperability nationwide...among multi-jurisdictional civil emergency response organizations and when necessary, between those organizations and the military to support any and all domestic emergency response and disaster relief operations.”*
- - Appendix E Spatial Interoperability
-  Defense Science Board Task Force on the Future of the
- 	Global Positioning System, October 2005.

## Slide 16

## Multiple non-standard reference systems:

- 	= Not compatible with GPS, C2 systems, etc.
- 	= Does not enable trained forces or interoperability.
- 	= Operational friction during mutual assistance.

- Local (state) quadrangle reference system.

## Grids are good but...

- ...a _*standard*_ grid reference system is essential.
- 	_*The alternative is operational friction.*_

## What exactly is a 911 Grid Map?

- Location, location, location...

## Common Ground Alliance

- “Miss Utility”
- map reference system

-  - Nonstandard notations
- - Adds operational friction

## A Brief MGRS - USNG History

- MGRS
- 1914 - WW I: Convergence of technologies.  Necessity mother
- 	of invention.  French develop use of grids.  Lat/Long too
- 	hard for average soldier. _***WW I Lesson: Grids are great.***_
- 	Everybody develops one.

- 1940’s  WW II: Many different grids in use.  Projection issues.
- 	Operational friction.
- 	           _***WW II Lesson: Get everyone on standard grid.***_
- 1945 - 1949:  US and British armies develop and implement
- 	UTM and Military Grid Reference System (MGRS).
- 	_***Great success story; Used in combat ever since.***_

- USNG
- Mid - 1990’s:  No standard civil grid equiv.  GPS arrives.  9/11.
-         USNG development at FGDC.  MGRS could answer the
-         requirement, no need to be original... but NAD27 US issue.
- USNG/WGS84 = MGRS/WGS84     USNG/NAD27 not = MGRS/27

## The value of an alternative approach:

- Results of Research at an ABCA Conference

- Hypothesis:  Standards, doctrine, and training based
- on a standard grid will substantially reduce operational
- friction and improve operational effectiveness.

- _Scenario:_ Disaster has struck Blues City in Blue Land, requiring
- formation of a coalition to support civil authorities in disaster
- response.
- _Part I:_  Without prior notice or special training coalition officers
- are provided a 1:50,000 topographic map of Blues City, romer
- scale, and requested to locate features provided by USNG/
- MGRS grid coordinates.
- _Part II:_  Given rapid planning requirements, coalition countries
- must produce their own maps of Blues City located on a UTM
- zone junction.

## The value of an alternative approach:

- Results of Research at an ABCA Conference

- _Part I:_  _***Without prior notice or special training***_
- coalition officers are provided a 1:50,000 topographic
- map of Blues City, romer scale, and requested to locate
- features provided by USNG/MGRS grid coordinates.
-       Results: Of 64 attempts, 63 points located.

## Slide 24

## KATRINA Lessons Learned in Mississippi:

*system.  We recommend the use of the US National Grid *
*(USNG). We made the mistake of initially improvising a *
*search and rescue grid and then modifying that grid for *
*local use.  Hundreds of copies of each were published.  *
_*The USNG is a readily available standard that is yet to *_
_*be adopted by emergency response agencies*__*** ***_
_***due to lack of education***_*.”*

- From proposed:
- Joint Emergency Mapping System for Mississippi (JEMS),
- Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies
- Delta State University, Mississippi
- 19 November, 2005

## Slide 26

## FGDC-STD-011-2001

*	**“**We should promote voluntary standards that *
*	**enhance the effective coordination of disaster **	**	**responses, such as the U.S. National Grid map *
*	**standard for geospatial information system;”*
- 		- The Honorable John H. Marburger, III
- 		Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy.
-  	Testimony of Dec 5, 2001 before the Subcommittee on Science,
-   	Technology and Space Committee on Commerce, Science, and
-   	Transportation,  United States Senate.

- United States National Grid
- www.fgdc.gov/usng

## Slide 28

**Notes:**
The world is further broken down into 8° bands of latitude. Combined with UTM Grid Zones, these 8° latitude by 6° longitude blocks are known as Grid Zone Designations. (Note, the USGS does not portray the latitude letter designation.)
In the northern hemisphere these start with the letter N at the equator and proceed consecutively northward in 8° increments (with the omission of the letter O).
MGRS Grid Zone Designation 18S ranges from 32°N to 40°N and 72°W to 78° W.
 Washington, DC is located in UTM/MGRS Grid Zone Designation 18S. 

## Slide 29

## Slide 30

**Notes:**
The world is further broken down into 8° bands of latitude. Combined with UTM Grid Zones, these 8° latitude by 6° longitude blocks are known as Grid Zone Designations. (Note, the USGS does not portray the latitude letter designation.)
In the northern hemisphere these start with the letter N at the equator and proceed consecutively northward in 8° increments (with the omission of the letter O).
MGRS Grid Zone Designation 18S ranges from 32°N to 40°N and 72°W to 78° W.
 Washington, DC is located in UTM/MGRS Grid Zone Designation 18S. 

## Slide 31

## Jefferson Pier: 18S UJ 2337 0651

## ppt

## Slide 34

## Slide 35

**Notes:**
Essential to understanding why participants preferred UTM over lat/long is the nature of spherical coordinates when they are portrayed as a map. 
	1)  Lines of lat/long form quadrangles of varying size.  As one moves away from the equator, the linear value of 1 arc second of longitude decreases.  
	2) The counting system of 360°60'60.0" is complex and contributes greatly to the difficulty found in using this system.
 These negative attributes are compounded at large scale.  The resulting complexity makes it difficult for people to measure precise locations accurately at large scale as compared with the task on a plane using symmetrical squares and a counting system with a base of 10.

## Slide 36

**Notes:**
Essential to understanding why participants preferred UTM over lat/long is the nature of spherical coordinates when they are portrayed as a map. 
	1)  Lines of lat/long form quadrangles of varying size.  As one moves away from the equator, the linear value of 1 arc second of longitude decreases.  
	2) The counting system of 360°60'60.0" is complex and contributes greatly to the difficulty found in using this system.
 These negative attributes are compounded at large scale.  The resulting complexity makes it difficult for people to measure precise locations accurately at large scale as compared with the task on a plane using symmetrical squares and a counting system with a base of 10.

## UTM Zone Junction - Zones 15 - 16

- 90° W

- 90° W

- 87° W

- 84° W

- 0°

- 84° N

- 500,000-mE

- 0-mN

- EQUATOR

- 93° W

- 0°

- 96° W

- 500,000-mE

- 500,000-mE

- UTM grid lines

- 7.5’ quads

- Zone 15

- Zone 16

- Point
- of
- tangency

**Notes:**
Essential to understanding why participants preferred UTM over lat/long is the nature of spherical coordinates when they are portrayed as a map. 
	1)  Lines of lat/long form quadrangles of varying size.  As one moves away from the equator, the linear value of 1 arc second of longitude decreases.  
	2) The counting system of 360°60'60.0" is complex and contributes greatly to the difficulty found in using this system.
 These negative attributes are compounded at large scale.  The resulting complexity makes it difficult for people to measure precise locations accurately at large scale as compared with the task on a plane using symmetrical squares and a counting system with a base of 10.

## Slide 38

## FGDC US National Grid resource site: 

- DC Master Address Repository
- _[http://](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)__[dcatlas](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)__[.](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)__[dcgis](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)__[.dc.](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)__[gov](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)__[/MAR/](http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/MAR/)_

- The National Map

- _[http://](http://stlcin.missouri.org/citydata/newdesign/index.cfm)__[stlcin.missouri.org/citydata/newdesign/index.cfm](http://stlcin.missouri.org/citydata/newdesign/index.cfm)_

- St. Louis, MO Parcel Data by Address

- http://stlcin.missouri.org/citydata/newdesign/addressparser.cfm?addresssearch=&previouspage=data

- 1620 L St NW

- USNG: 2331 0803

- Relevant URLs

- FGDC US National Grid resource site:

- http://www.fgdc.gov/usng

- DC GIS
- http://dcgis.dc.gov

## Slide 40

## USNG geoaddress and

- universal map index value.

## St. Louis, MO GIS Web Site

- Street address look up...
-  Functions like a Universal Map Index

## “Street Sign-in-a-Box”

- “Turn right at 438 Northing.”

- 438n

- “Street Sign-in-a-Box”
- concept

- 43

- 44

- 83

- 84

## Think of it as a  “street sign-in-a-box”

- Threshold Automobile GPS Initiative
-                       TAGI

## Slide 45

## Slide 46

## Done

**- Education.**

**Maps**
**  ****with USNG grids. **
**          ****(hard copy**
**                     ****& digital)**

** ****- User**
**Friendly GPS/**
**Internet and**
**Wireless Connectivity**

**Community**
**          ****Consensus**

- (Public/Business/Government)

**Four Pillars of Implementation**

**- Geoaddress **
**Availability**

- US National Grid

***Done***
***FGDC’s***
***US National Grid***

## www.fgdc.gov/usng

- Comments?

- Analog-----------------Bridge--------------------Digital

- For information, see:

## Backup Slides

## GIS technician training requirements emerge from Hurricane KATRINA, 2005.

Additional issue.  It has been suggested that MGRS/USNG cannot be used by aircraft supporting ground operations. 

- Additional issue.  It has been suggested that MGRS/USNG cannot be used by aircraft supporting ground operations.

- New Orleans, LA

- FGDC US National Grid (WG84) = Military Grid Reference System (WGS84)
- See www.fgdc.gov/usng for additional information

- USNG Zone Junction

## USNG Zone Junction

- Training requirements emerge from Hurricane KATRINA, 2005.
- 	-  “We tried to implement the USNG in New Orleans early on but based on the visual confusion of the product (see Doug’s example), it was dropped for a Lat/Long grid.”  - FEMA, GIS Coordinator, DHS/FEMA Region X,
- 	email of Friday, May 5, 2006, 11:00
-     Next slide depicts how the grid was used.

- New Orleans, LA

## Warning:  This is not how the USNG zone junction is cartographically handled

- Sample of how FEMA GIS depicted the USNG at the zone junction
- in New Orleans, LA during Hurricane KATRINA, 2005.
- Warning:  This is *not* how the USNG zone junction is cartographically handled
- and this method does not work with low-cost GPS receivers.

- (“Doug’s FEMA Example”)

## Proper way to handle the grid at zone junction:
Survey ops: Uses UTM numerical coordinates. Extend one zone across into the other (not both).  Carry survey across and then establish control in new zone.  

Position referencing:  Uses USNG alpha-numeric format.
Do not extend zones across into adjacent zones.  Each point has an absolute value based on the zone that point is located in.

- Survey ops: Uses UTM numerical coordinates. Extend one zone across into the other (*not both*).  Carry survey across and then establish control in new zone.
- Position referencing:  Uses USNG alpha-numeric format.
- Do not extend zones across into adjacent zones.  Each point has an absolute value based on the zone that point is located in.

- USNG Zone Junction

## Slide 54

## Situations the US National Grid will remedy...

- Miami, FL -- The story of a lady’s drowning quickly gained National
- coverage after she dialed 9-1-1 on her wireless phone from her
- sinking car in a Miami, FL canal. Not able to escape the car and
- with dispatchers unable to locate the accident scene, the woman
- perished before emergency help could reach her.
- Fort Lauderdale, FL – A lady was forced to wait seven minutes
- and make three separate 9-1-1 calls from her cellular phone
- before help was dispatched after her daughter was impaled by
- a three-foot steel rod that had crashed through their windshield.
- The lady was forced to exit the interstate and find a major
- intersection in order to give the dispatchers her location.
- From National Emergency Number Association web site
- and other sources.

## Day County, SD – A lady spent 40 hours in temperatures that 

- dropped to -30° F when a blizzard stranded her in her pickup truck.
- Although she was able to dial 9-1-1, she was unable to tell her
- rescuers where she was. While the Day County Sheriff’s office
- was eventually able to locate the car, it took them five hours to
- place the vehicle within a 35-mile radius.
- Rural Michigan – A lady was rear-ended and suffered minor
- damages while driving in rural Michigan. While no one was
- injured, she did call 9-1-1. She informed the dispatcher of her
- location and then waited 30 minutes for the cruiser to arrive.
- When he failed to materialize, she called again. The two roads
- that she had given to the dispatcher to help them locate her
- actually crossed twice, and the cruiser was looking at the
- wrong intersection.
- From National Emergency Number Association web site
- and other sources.

## Washington, DC – In 2001, a visitor to the FDR Memorial was 

- Washington, DC – In 2001, a visitor to the FDR Memorial was
- struck with a heart attack.  A passing police officer and the
- dispatcher could not agree on an appropriate address for the
- incident location at this large campus like memorial.
- Eventually an intersection several blocks away was selected,
- but the ambulance was never able to find the incident.
- Arlington County, VA. -  In 2003, a motorcyclist was seriously
- injured after being thrown over the guardrails of an overpass.
- A pedestrian nearby immediately called 9-1-1 but had trouble
- determining an address for the incident.  He did have a GPS
- receiver, and finally asked in frustration if the 9-1-1 operator
- could use a coordinate from it.  The operator replied that no,
- they did not use that technology.
- From National Emergency Number Association web site
- and other sources.

## Fairfax County, VA – A caller to 9-1-1 reported having been stung 

- by a bee, and was beginning to have trouble breathing.  The 9-1-1
- operator could see clearly on the map where the caller was
- located with Phase II wireless location technology, but had no
- actionable way of describing the caller’s location in the 493 acre
- park to first responders.
- From National Emergency Number Association web site
- and other sources.

## In Rhode Island, cell phones equipped with GPS chip sets can be rapidly located to within 15-m of true position.  9-1-1 organizations remain focused on conventional addresses, yet only about a fifth of the street addresses have been correlated to a coordinate.  For incidents where the provided coordinate cannot be correlated to a street address there is no way to readily communicate a location to first responders who can only use street addresses to find places.  As the Rhode Island 9-1-1 Director Ray LaBelle stated, "If I give an ambulance driver latitude and longitude coordinates, he's going to tell me where to go."   (Lagesse, 2003). 

- “...In Iraq, Coalition Forces (particularly the U.S. Govt and U.S. Military) are using MGRS coordinates almost exclusively. They have GIS software and data that allows them to search for a particular address (building #, street # and house #) within the 9 districts of Baghdad and in a few other cities/regions of Iraq. The operators in the field will get intel about a person of interest being located at a particular address. We will use the GIS sw/data to locate that address on a map or imagery of the city. Then, using our data, we can provide an MGRS coordinate for that location. The operator can then plug that coordinate into his GPS and easily navigate to the building of interest in order to do surveillance.”  - US Government person, December 2005

**Two perspectives on using coordinates...**

## The Modern Devil Dog.... 

- “The map was my most important tool.
- With that, a compass, and a radio,
- I was God in the wilderness.
- Preserving the map from the weather,
- I had learned from bitter experience,
- was a lifesaving effort,...”
-     - 1st Lt Michael C. Hodgins, USMC
- _Reluctan_t _Warrior_, Vietnam, March 1970

- The Modern Devil Dog....
-     ...synergistically using analog and digital tools.

- A GPS receiver
- in the pocket.

- A paper map
- in hand.

-  Paper map: Does not
-   manipulate or
-   communicate data.
- - Allows basic geospatial analysis (KOCOA)
- - Provides a synoptic view.
- - Batteries never die.

- - Billet holders will be
-   getting D-DACT.

## Briefing and rehearsal

- Digital 3D modeling
- and simulations,
- interconnected
- simulators,
- but sometimes...

- Note sand table/terrain model.

## Sand Tables

- Note use of grid lines

## Physical Implementations 

- Physical Implementations
- of Geoaddresses

## Driving Factors and Impetus....

**Improved 911 & emergency services.**
**Improved business processes.**
**Enables use of geospatial info tech.**
**	****- National Map application.**
**	****- Web mapping and other uses.**
**	****- Orthoimagery.**
**	****- Paper maps (properly gridded).**
**Enables use of GPS!  (and TAGI)**

## Geoaddress

**Geoaddress**

- Example:   USGS National Center
-                       18S TJ 9473 1361

## Value of a Standardized Grid

- _Easier to use_ than lat/long.   _Reduced training requirements_.
-  Provides a _cross check_ between a street address and geoaddress to
-     ensure information is not garbled in transmission.
-  _Increase the speed and accuracy_ with which places can be identified on
-     a map or in a GIS.  _No ambiguity._  _Includes all places_--not just roads.
-  _Enables creation of a universal map index_ of places and facilities.
-  _Improves navigation_ to, and within, incident areas by responding
-     external forces/mutual assistance situations.
-  Sets _a presentation format standard_.  USNG does not replace GIS data
-     storage formats or SPCS in survey and engineering operations.
-  _Improves coordination_ between different responding agencies
-     (to include local, state, federal, and general public).
-  _Nonproprietary standard facilitates rapid implementation_ by
-     commercial maps and software applications.
-  Facilitates use of simple, digital, communications systems such as
-     Short Messaging Service (SMS) when cell phone voice circuits are
-     overloaded during crisis.
-  _ENABLES THE USE OF GPS!_  *USNG now used in commercial GPS.*