J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 0 9

Vol. 7 No. 4

ACTION

GEOINTIN
On My Mind

The Evolving Mission of Our Warfighters

We are a nation at war. American combat forces, alongside our allies, are operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Events on the ground have led President Obama to announce a responsible drawdown of combat forces 

in Iraq, while increasing our attention to the violence in the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

As part of an integrated team, NGA is prepared to provide the highest level of geospatial intelligence 

(GEOINT) our warfighters need to continue in their evolving mission.

Transitioning Our Efforts Around the World

As the United States withdraws combat brigades from Iraq over the next year, NGA continues to support 

our warfighters and the intelligence mission. The U.S. military’s new focus there will increase GEOINT 

requirements at this critical time for Iraq. With resources and forces moving from Iraq to Afghanistan and 

Pakistan, all of these regional security forces will need support more than ever.

The U.S. military is uniquely prepared to deploy around the globe in many different capacities. An 

important element of our mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and elsewhere, is to protect the populace. 

GEOINT can provide crucial aid to this mission, identifying groups of internally displaced people, analyzing 

threats to infrastructure and ensuring safety. Imagery can be a powerful tool in discovering drug fields 

and supply routes. The versatility of GEOINT adds tremendous value for our warfighters.

Streamlining Our Efforts for the Future

The NGA deployment program continues to show success in integrating analysts with operational forces, 

working directly with our mission partners. Our deployed analysts work on site, providing analysis in real 

time and directly contributing GEOINT for military missions and future operations. Service GEOINT Elements 

(SGEs) serve as another component of GEOINT reachback and reachforward capabilities. SGEs facilitate 

integration across the National System for Geospatial Intelligence, particularly the military services, by 

helping to expand the collection and distribution of GEOINT to deployers, Intelligence Community (IC) 

partners and our warfighters.

To continue to enhance and consolidate GEOINT capabilities, we have established the Office of the 

Director of Military Support (ODMS). ODMS comprises support efforts from the Military Executive, the Office 

of Global Support, the Combat Operations Support Team, the Office of Military Support and the Office of 

Future Warfare Systems. Combining these organizations enables NGA to improve the world-class GEOINT 

that saves the lives of our warfighters. ODMS’s broad responsibilities cover the range of Department of 

Defense (DOD) operational missions. Joint exercises improve our military’s effectiveness and preparedness while simulating the international environment we must often work in. Managing these exercises 

represents another example of the support NGA’s ODMS provides.

Last month the president approved the recommendation on the next generation of electro-optical 

satellites. These new electro-optical satellites provide an opportunity to improve our support to our 

military, the IC, and policy makers. As Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said, ” When it comes 

to supporting our military forces and the safety of Americans, we cannot afford any gaps in collection.” 

Along with our partners in the IC, DOD and commercial sector, we are moving forward to improve our 

overhead constellation and ensure the success of our mission.

As NGA continues to improve our support for warfighters, our deployers are having a significant impact 

in combatant commands across the world. Our reachback capabilities continue to enhance GEOINT at 

home and abroad. By realigning and restructuring our military support organization, we are improving our 

responsiveness and effectiveness. NGA and our mission partners will continue to work in collaboration 

and remain vigilant in providing the best GEOINT to the engaged forces.

Robert B. Murrett

Vice Admiral, USN

Director
8 14

3

Contents

2 Letter to Our Readers

3 Up Front: Realignment Streamlines 

Military Support

›› F E A T U R E S

4 GEOINT Aids Recovery of World War II Airmen

5 Wounded Warriors Participate in NGA Fellowships

6 Analysts Take Flight to Certify Targeting Accuracy 

8 Good Gravity Data Elevates Warfighters

10 NGA Collaboration Team Educates Army 

College Students

11 Army College Amplifies Students’ Military Insight

12 Web Services Boost Warfighters’ Response

›› D E P A R T M E N T S

13 Focus Areas: Model U.N. Conference Affords 

Recruiting Opportunity

14 Partnerships: GEOINT Guides the Few 

and the Proud

16 21st Century: Terrain Intelligence Revolutionizes 

Operations in Theater

18 Working for NGA: Observer Attests to Decisive 

Deployer Partnership

19 Our Heritage: Aerial Imagery of Neuve Chapelle 

Yielded Battlefield Intimacy

Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 ›› Vol. 7 No. 4

On the Cover

Military warfighters on the front line maintain the safety and security 

of the United States and its allies. NGA ensures that soldiers, sailors, 

airmen and Marines all receive the geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) 

resources they need to perform their essential missions. GEOINT 

answers the needs of men and women in uniform from every service 

who must meet challenges whether above or below the Earth’s surface. 

Cover photos provided by the Department of Defense. Cover design by 

Anika McMillon.

More to the Story?

The online Classified Pathfinder, which is accessible 

by members of the Intelligence Community, may include additional information and expanded sections 

of some Pathfinder articles. The Classified Pathfinder 

provides a forum for reading and discussing topics at 

the level of “Unclassified//For Official Use Only” or 

higher. For information please contact the Classified 

Pathfinder editor, Heather Cox, at 301-227-2290.

1 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009
2 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Office of Corporate Communications

4600 Sangamore Road, Mail Stop D-39

Bethesda, MD 20816-5003

Telephone: (301) 227-7388, 

DSN 287-7388

E-mail: pathfinder@nga.mil

Director

Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett, U.S. Navy

Deputy Director

Lloyd Rowland

Office of Corporate Communications, Director

Jennifer A.K. Daniel

Editor

Jason K. Michas

Managing Editor

Kelly M. Kemp

Graphic Designer 

Anika D. McMillon

Contributing Authors

Greg A.

Martha B.

Heather C.

Tom C.

Ralph E.

John F.

Ken F.

Juanita H.

Jay K.

Joshua K.

Maj. Christian M., U.S. Army

Marsha M.

Christina P.

Cheryl W.

Jeannine W.

Thomas W.

Dr. Gary E. Weir

GETTING PUBLISHED

All members of the geospatial intelligence community are welcome to submit articles of community-wide interest. Articles are 

edited for style, content and length. For details on submitting 

articles, send an e-mail to pathfinder@nga.mil.

The Pathfinder is the medium with which the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency enhances and promotes public 

awareness and understanding of the discipline of geospatial 

intelligence. The Pathfinder is an authorized Department of 

Defense publication for members of the Department of Defense. 

Contents of this publication are not necessarily the official view 

of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, Department of Defense 

or NGA. Articles in the Pathfinder may be reproduced in whole 

or in part without permission, unless stated otherwise. If they 

are reproduced, please credit the author and the “National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Pathfinder magazine.” Any 

reproduction of graphics, photographs and imagery is subject to 

the original copyright.

Letter to Our Readers

GEOINT in Action

The indispensable contributions of 

American and allied warfighters range from 

combat operations to humanitarian work 

around the globe. Geospatial intelligence 

(GEOINT) often enables the completion of 

successful missions. The duty to protect 

freedom weighs heavily on servicemembers, 

and NGA stands beside them, refining its partnership with each military service.

Warfighters apply their craft to many tasks, 

aided by the analytic skills and expertise of 

NGA professionals. This agency accepts the 

obligation to sustain military operations that 

require GEOINT. The following sketch highlights 

only a few examples.

The commitment to front line forces extends not just to combat. A remarkable 

recovery effort in the Himalayan mountains promises the return of airmen lost 

in World War II, in part due to GEOINT resources provided by this agency. The 

Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program assists wounded or injured servicemembers to acquire job skills and experience to smooth their transition to civilian 

life. Analysts ensure that military weapons hit their marks, while geodesists and 

terrain experts develop gravity models and better tools for navigation. The Marine Corps refines GEOINT for specific uses, assisted by embedded NGA analysts 

and other professionals.

The agency looks beyond present-day missions as well. NGA helps prepare 

future military and civilian leaders, sending personnel to instruct and train with 

military colleagues at the Army’s Command and General Staff College. The 

agency continues to expand GEOINT access and delivery through enhanced 

digital technology, such as Web services, which retrieve specific data. NGA 

seeks the best-qualified candidates to advance future needs, participating in 

an annual model U.N. conference that draws students from historically black 

colleges and universities.

These and other stories are developed further within this issue. The reader 

need only explore. The September/October issue will emphasize the exceptional 

work performed by NGA within the realm of global navigation.

Jennifer A.K. Daniel

Director, Office of Corporate Communications

2 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 
3 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Up Front

Realignment Streamlines Military Support 

By Juanita H.

NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett recently 

announced the standup of a new NGA element, the 

Office of the Director of Military Support (ODMS), and 

named Army Brig. Gen. Brian Keller as the first director of 

military support. At the same time, Murrett announced 

the establishment of the Military Operations Group 

(MOG) within NGA’s Analysis and Production Directorate.

Office of the Director of Military Support

The standup of ODMS culminated an effort that 

began in October 2008, when Murrett asked Army Brig. 

Gen. Brian Keller to serve as NGA’s military executive, 

instructing the general to “organize for combat.” Keller 

named a four-person military study team to determine 

how to reorganize NGA’s geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) combat-support structure to work more effectively 

and efficiently. The result of their study, ODMS, comprises an Expeditionary Operations component and a 

Military Readiness component.

Expeditionary Operations pursues two missions— 

ensuring that NGA has a superior cadre of trained 

deployers ready to support combat operations and 

synchronizing and integrating NGA’s GEOINT support to 

combat forces. 

Military Readiness looks to the future. This component 

coordinates the integration of GEOINT into the training 

agenda for military servicemembers preparing to deploy. 

This component also coordinates GEOINT planning and 

production with military service elements to ensure that 

GEOINT fully supports future warfare systems.

Military Operations Group (MOG)

In January 2009, Murrett put together an additional 

study team to examine how to synchronize NGA’s GEOINT support to the combatant commands (COCOMs). The 

team identified the need to integrate COCOM strategic 

GEOINT support activities with related activities, such as 

developing policy guidelines for the NGA Support Teams 

(NSTs) that serve the COCOMs and acquiring GEOINT 

information technology.

Murrett approved the team’s recommendation to establish the MOG to address these needs. Once the MOG 

is fully organized, a single MOG manager will oversee 

all 10 NGA COCOM NSTs and serve as the Analysis and 

Production Directorate’s primary liaison to ODMS.

Benefits of the Reorganization

ODMS eliminates the organizational separations dividing the different combat-support responsibilities within 

NGA, focuses the efforts of the two new components—

Expeditionary Operations and Military Readiness—on 

clearly defined mission areas, and enhances NGA’s 

synchronization with the COCOMs in developing policy 

and providing GEOINT training, service and support.

This realignment, enhanced by the collaboration 

between MOG and ODMS, will facilitate even greater 

coordination between the work of the GEOINT analyst 

and the requirements of the military partner. 

Juanita H. is a public affairs officer with 

NGA’s Office of Corporate Communications.

3 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

DOD Photo
4 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

GEOINT Aids Recovery of World War II Airmen 

By Christina P.

What happened to six American planes that went

down on Jan. 25, 1944, while flying a special mission 

over a section of the Indian Himalayas known as “the 

Hump”? This question haunts the widows, siblings and 

children of the airmen, who flew for the U.S. Army Air 

Forces, predecessor of the U.S. Air Force. NGA is assisting the Joint Prisoner of War–Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) to provide answers.

JPAC crisscrosses the globe fulfilling its mission to 

achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans 

who go missing as a result of the nation’s past conflicts. 

One of the planes lost in the Hump during World War II, 

a B-24 bomber that carried 1st Lt. Irwin Zaetz and eight 

crew members, disappeared during a supply run to 

Kunming, China. JPAC called on NGA to help locate the 

bomber, the crew’s remains and the likely sites of the 

other wrecks.

JPAC investigates leads that might help recover and 

identify Americans who were killed in action but never 

brought home. Preparing carefully for a JPAC operation, 

which can last 45 to 60 days, is essential because 

so many tools are required for success. Treks can be 

dangerous, so JPAC leaves nothing to chance. A recovery 

team may bring equipment as varied as durable fourwheel-drive vehicles or mountain-climbing equipment to 

scale steep faces. Teams sometimes travel with supplies 

weighing up to 10,000 pounds. JPAC needed NGA’s 

help to determine the best way to maneuver its personnel and bulky excavation equipment across the harsh 

Himalayan environment. 

NGA provided terrain analysis products to assist JPAC 

in planning the safest ground routes into and out of the 

Himalayan Range and to identify possible helicopter 

landing zones and aerial drop zones to resupply the JPAC 

team. Additionally, NGA supplied elevation and hydrography products and a variety of maps for mission planning, including maps of India, its railways and adjacent 

countries and even travel maps.

With geospatial intelligence products in hand, 

JPAC personnel led a mission to find these planes 

in October 2008. In the northeastern Indian state of 

Arunachal Pradesh, the team found two of the aircraft, 

including the bomber containing the remains of Zaetz 

and his crew.

NGA received two letters of appreciation from JPAC 

officers thanking the agency for its contributions to this 

highly visible mission. NGA’s work with the successful 

JPAC recovery effort underscores the agency’s commitment to all warfighters, whether fighting today’s conflicts 

or those of years past. 

Christina P. is the team lead for South Asia and South 

Central Asia in the GEOINT Foundation Office.

Photo by Getty Images
5 Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009

Wounded Warriors Participate in NGA Fellowships

By Jay K.

Military servicemembers recovering from injuries 

or illness may face months of medical treatment before 

getting back on their feet. Recuperation can be a confusing and frightening time for these “wounded warriors,” 

who often wonder what’s in store for them.

One serviceman, a U.S. Army captain who deployed 

to Iraq in 2004, expected a lifelong military career. That 

dream shattered when he was injured in the line of fire. 

After numerous surgeries and three years of recovery at 

Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he faced the end of his 

military career. During his recovery, he pondered a career 

change—something he never thought he’d need to do. 

That’s when he decided to apply to the Department of 

Defense’s Operation Warfighter program, which places 

servicemembers in temporary work assignments at U.S. 

government agencies as they recover.

The Army captain completed an Operation Warfighter 

internship at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), 

the agency that builds and operates U.S. satellites, 

before getting a full-time job at NGA. He drew from what 

he learned at NRO to help NGA start its Wounded Warrior 

Fellowship Program as part of Operation Warfighter.

Concerns about careers, health and finances can be 

stressful for injured servicemembers. Through the NGA 

program, the agency does its part to relieve this stress 

by jumpstarting wounded servicemembers’ careers, 

whatever their long-term plans. Like other participating 

agencies, NGA takes injured servicemembers under its 

wing and offers them work through fellowships. Most 

NGA fellowships are in the National Capital Region due to 

the large number of wounded warriors recovering in the 

area. Experience in geospatial intelligence is useful but 

not required to apply to NGA’s Wounded Warrior 

Fellowship Program. The main purpose of the program is 

to reintroduce wounded servicemembers into the work 

force and, in some instances, help them discover a new 

career interest. 

The fellowship program places recovering servicemembers in positions related to their career interests where 

they often receive training in new job skills. Though 

servicemembers must receive appropriate security clearances before starting their fellowships, NGA’s security 

office fast-tracks the clearance process for these applicants. NGA also works with the wounded warrior fellows 

to ensure that their work schedules do not interfere with 

any medical treatment they receive. 

Already nine wounded warriors have either come 

onboard with NGA or are awaiting the green light to start 

working in fields ranging from counterintelligence to 

intelligence analysis. Wounded warrior fellows currently 

work in NGA’s Security and Installation Operations Directorate, Source Operations and Management Directorate, 

and Analysis and Production Directorate. Other examples 

of past or potential NGA fellowship positions include 

warfighter support, intelligence reports and analysis, 

source collections analysis, imagery analysis, acquisition, finance, human resources and staff officer. The fellowships are unpaid but give participants valuable work 

experience, networking opportunities and the security 

clearances necessary to seek permanent positions within 

the Intelligence Community or at other government agencies if they leave military service. 

“It allowed me easy access to a community that I normally wouldn’t have access to,” the Army captain stated. 

“It’s not easy to get into the Intelligence Community, 

especially without having someone to train you. When I 

was found medically unfit to do my [Army] job, I had to 

change my career. [The wounded warrior program] allowed me to continue to serve.”

The captain isn’t alone. One NGA fellow obtained a 

permanent job at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees U.S. nuclear facilities, in large part 

due to his fellowship with the Analysis and Production 

Directorate early this year. 

The Recruitment Center, Special Programs Office, 

recruits and identifies potential wounded warrior fellows from among applicants to the Operation Warfighter 

program. The program manager, a wounded warrior 

herself, matches warriors with fellowships, coordinates 

clearances and acts as a liaison with fellows during their 

time working at NGA. For more information on Operation 

Warfighter or the Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program, 

contact the NGA program manager at NGAWoundedWarriorProgram@nga.mil.

Jay K. is a staff officer in the Office of 

Corporate Communications.
6Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009

Analysts Take Flight to Certify Targeting Accuracy 

By Martha B. and Greg A.

It’s not every day that NGA analysts get to test their

geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) work in person, but the 

opportunity can be memorable. Returning to Naval Air 

Station North Island in San Diego, California, following 

their visit to the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in March, 

two NGA targeting experts experienced the sights and 

sounds of twin turbo engines from the back of a C-2A 

Greyhound aircraft. Feelings of anticipation were muted 

in a split second as the effects of g-force pushed them 

backward and the plane achieved the velocity needed 

to avoid plunging into the wintery waters of the Eastern 

Pacific. They had just completed an audit of the ship’s 

target coordinate mensuration programs.

Audits like this support the U.S. Navy’s goal of entering accurate coordinates into precision-guided munitions like the Joint Direct Attack Munitions. Visiting the 

USS Nimitz was just one part of an ongoing NGA effort to 

help mission partners such as the Navy obtain accreditation in the geospatial science of target mensuration. 

Accreditations are crucial to the warfighter because 

they help maximize the effectiveness of weapons 

systems, minimize threats to the U.S. warfighter, and 

cut the risk of collateral damage. Accreditations also 

establish a standardized methodology for target mensuration across services and commands in the National 

System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG), ensuring that 

the warfighter receives the best targets, no matter who 

produces them. 

NGA targeting experts audited the target 

mensuration programs of the USS Nimitz.

Photo by Lawrence K.
7 Pathfinder ››

Martha B. is an accreditation program manager for the 

July/August 2009 

Precision Engagement Division.

Greg A. is a special issues manager for the Precision 

Engagement Division.

Since August 2006, NGA’s Office of Targeting and 

Transnational Issues has had the responsibility for accrediting NSG partners’ target mensuration capabilities. 

Before getting NGA’s seal of approval, partners must 

go through a four- to six-month accreditation process 

to document their training and certification programs 

and show how they provide accurate coordinates for 

precision-guided munitions. These reviews and audits 

enforce the standards and accountability for this DOD 

targeting function. 

The NGA accreditation team relies on technical 

expertise in target mensuration and business process 

management to advise organizations across the NSG 

on how to pass muster when exam time arrives. This 

expertise enables NGA to verify that organizations provide accurate mensuration data for the precise targeting 

coordinates used for coordinate-seeking weapons. The 

organizations that NGA accredits have the authority 

to contribute targeting coordinate information into a 

central database.

When it comes to the desire to become certified in 

target mensuration, the Navy does not stand alone. In 

July 2008 NGA awarded its first such accreditation to 

the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). NGA awarded its 

approval following an extensive review of CENTCOM’s 

certification program documentation and a visit by an 

NGA–Joint Chiefs of Staff audit team to CENTCOM’s 

headquarters in Tampa, Fla. 

NGA provides informal staff assistance visits to 

accredited organizations as well as scheduled two-year 

and four-year certification reviews. NGA also performs 

periodic reviews of the MIDB target detail records, provides feedback to producing organizations on errors and 

provides quarterly metrics on quality to the Joint Chiefs 

of Staff. These exchanges help ensure that the targeting 

community can effectively manage the challenges of 

constant deployment schedules and changing military 

staffs. Complementing this achievement is the added 

trust that the NSG has gained in the warfighter community as NGA analysts deploy to theater and collaborate on 

time-sensitive operations.

When the USS Nimitz launched the C-2A Greyhound in 

the Eastern Pacific, other U.S. carrier groups were likely 

launching strike aircraft from waters not nearly as friendly 

as those off the coast of California. Fortunately these 

aircraft were armed with the weapons, targeting expertise 

and confidence required to execute operational plans 

predicated on precise coordinate-seeking weapon systems. NGA ensures the NSG community produces targeting GEOINT that achieves national security objectives. 

During their visit to the USS Nimitz, analysts 

flew aboard a C-2A Greyhound.

DOD Photo
8Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Good Gravity Data Elevates Warfighters 

By Joshua K. and John F.

Whether for precise targeting or securely anchoring 

imagery and navigation satellites in the Earth’s orbit, the 

force of gravity influences every aspect of military operations and the geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) behind 

them. It should be no surprise, then, that for more than 

50 years, gravity analysts in NGA’s Office of GEOINT Sciences have made knowing gravity their mission.

More than 300 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton explained 

how gravitational forces affect moving objects of different sizes and masses. Worldwide variations in gravitational forces act upon moving objects on or near the 

Earth’s surface, such as aircraft, submarines, missiles 

and spacecraft. Therefore, understanding these gravitational forces and compensating for their differences 

dramatically improves the accuracy and performance of 

certain military vehicles and weapons system platforms.

Gravity Data Collection

Different geophysical features such as mountain 

ranges, faults, and rift zones cause changes in Earth’s 

topography and variations in the density and distribution of masses in the Earth’s crust. Consequently, the 

Earth’s gravity varies significantly across the globe. In 

order to understand gravity variations, scientists use 

gravity meters to measure gravity around the world. 

More than 60 million measured gravity points now reside 

in NGA’s Point Gravity Anomaly (PGA) Database. NGA 

uses this comprehensive library of gravity information to 

develop Earth Gravitational Models (EGMs) and to support submarine launch fire controls and aircraft 

navigation systems.

On July 30, 1964, the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, an NGA predecessor organization, was 

designated as the Department of Defense (DOD) depository for all gravity data. Today NGA continues this legacy 

through an active acquisition program that acquires 

much gravity data through informal exchanges with private industry and research groups. For example, private 

oil companies measure and collect gravity anomalies, or 

changes in gravity, during the oil exploration process because anomalies can indicate the presence of geologic 

features such as folds or salt domes that trap oil within 

the Earth. Researchers also collect gravity data used in 

environmental research such as climate and ocean studies. NGA’s partnerships with geophysical organizations, 

universities, research institutes and foreign and domestic government agencies have resulted in significant 

acquisition of open source gravity data.

8Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

A geodetic surveyor records a measurement from a relative gravity meter.

NGA Photo
9Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

NGA Photo

Joshua K. and John F. are geodetic earth scientists in the 

Office of GEOINT Sciences.

NGA’s gravity meter loan program is another method 

for acquiring gravity data. NGA possesses one of the 

world’s largest inventories of gravity meters and loans 

them to organizations in exchange for the collected gravity data. International collaboration on scientific endeavors such as EGMs and the Arctic Gravity Project also 

contributes data to the PGA database. Other sources 

include gravity measured or derived from satellite systems such as the Navy GEOSAT altimetry mission and the 

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment.

To maintain the highest data integrity, a gravity 

evaluation team checks newly acquired gravity data for 

uniqueness, potential discrepancies and agreement with 

surrounding data sources before the data enters the 

PGA database.

Gravity Data Support for the Warfighter

NGA uses a global reference frame, the World Geodetic 

System 1984 (WGS 84). The WGS 84 reference system 

provides the common operating picture for all GEOINT 

and includes a Mean Sea Level (MSL) model developed 

from analysis and modeling of Earth’s gravity, especially 

from Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM08), the latest 

global gravity model. This MSL model establishes the 

standard vertical reference surface for many NGA 

elevation products.

For many years, NGA has also provided military 

customers with gravity anomaly and gravity disturbance 

products for use in inertial navigation systems (INSs) 

onboard aircraft, submarine and weapons system platforms. An INS employs accelerometers, gyroscopes or 

other motion sensors to continuously measure position, 

orientation and velocity of a moving vehicle. High-accuracy INS systems are standard equipment for military 

systems that require corrections for the effects of spatial 

variations in the gravity field. NGA works with DOD system engineers and contractors to implement gravity data 

sets that will support the requirements of these systems, 

resulting in significantly improved navigation.

Gravity data also supports the warfighter in the 

absence of Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The 

military relies heavily upon GPS navigation systems for 

position and velocity updates. However, within a military 

theater of operations, if GPS jamming occurs or a submarine is unable to surface for a GPS update, gravity data 

help mitigate the degradation in the navigation system, 

keeping planes and submarines on course or ensuring 

that ordnance is on target. When GPS accuracy is fully 

available, combining gravity and GPS yields an even 

greater level of accuracy.

Through its meticulous acquisition, analysis and exploitation of gravity information, NGA’s Office of GEOINT 

Sciences has become a world leader in the application 

of gravity products to mapping, targeting, navigation and 

weapons system performance. No matter how the Earth 

changes, warfighters can confidently depend on the 

gravity GEOINT foundation layer that literally lies beneath 

their feet. 

An absolute gravity meter weathers the elements during a gravity survey.

NGA Photo
10Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

NGA Collaboration Team Educates Army College 

Students 

By Ralph E. and Marsha M.

“Emerging military leaders are gaining more 

geospatial awareness that increases the quality of their 

decisions because NGA analysts are deeply integrated 

and fully embedded in exercises,” retired Army Lt. Col. 

Robert Garven of the Army’s Command and General Staff 

College (CGSC) reported recently.

Students at the CGSC in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., have 

an intellectual demand for prompt and accurate geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) as a part of their leadership 

education. These leaders grasp the value of GEOINT in 

their decisions as they learn to lead large forces in military operations or to support civil authorities.

Through its Intermediate Level Education (ILE) program, the CGSC offers a graduate-level joint professional 

military education to mid-career U.S. and international 

military officers and exceptional civilian agency leaders. 

CGSC prepares graduates to be adaptive leaders, balanced warriors and creative thinkers capable of operating in joint military, interagency, intergovernmental and 

multinational teams in the 21st century.

The NGA Support Team (NST)-Army is fully engaged 

and embedded with the Army mission partner. Assisting 

the CGSC with delivering GEOINT education, it assembled an NGA-wide collaboration team that has made 

tremendous advances in its GEOINT–ILE collaboration 

and was integral to the development of more than 2,500 

agile leaders in 2008 and 2009. The team consists of 

NGA Analysis and Production Directorate and Source 

Operations and Management Directorate geospatial 

analysts, imagery analysts, regional analysts, cartographers and data stewards who were embedded in CGSC 

classrooms during the ILE division exercise. Participating 

in 11 exercises, the collaboration team analysts served 

as GEOINT educators, created numerous specialized 

GEOINT products, built proficiencies in advanced analytical competencies and learned from peer review and 

feedback.

Significant NST-Army achievements in 2008 and 2009 

included the development and delivery of a 1:100,000 

scale map and integration of an NGA Google EarthTM 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike 

Mullen speaks to students at the Army’s Command 

and General Staff College.

DOD Photo
11Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Ralph E. is an NGA liaison to the Army Training and 

Doctrine Command at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. 

Marsha M. is a geospatial analyst in the Office of 

Eurasia–Africa.

server on the CGSC intranet. The map enabled the college to retire a 1978 Russian map because the college 

had a quality NGA-developed replacement. The networking of the Google EarthTM server employs a mainstream 

GEOINT exploitation tool that is available in operational 

environments today. 

Several collaboration team members in recent 

exercises who have either deployed or are preparing 

to deploy stated that the CGSC experiences gave them 

the self-confidence to know exactly what analysts could 

generate in addition to standard GEOINT products. 

Exercise participation can help analysts get ready for 

deployments to NGA mission areas. 

Army College Amplifies Students’ Military Insight

By Maj. Christian M., U.S. Army, and Ken F.

While NGA teams assist the Army’s Command

and General Staff College (CGSC) with geospatial 

intelligence (GEOINT) education, other NGA personnel 

attend the college as students. As part of their career 

development, agency leaders can apply to attend 

military Senior Service Schools, and the CGSC is one 

of them.

Every year, the college offers its graduate-level 

curriculum to over 1,200 officers from the Army and 

other military services, foreign officers from over 50 

countries, and U.S. government civilian employees. 

Students are mid-level leaders for joint military, interagency and multinational operations. In addition to 

completing the curriculum, students may also pursue 

an optional Master of Military Art and Science degree.

During the yearlong curriculum, students study 

team development, advanced critical thinking and 

military decision making, leadership case studies, 

lessons from military history, and a review of national 

strategic policy and how it drives military operations. 

Students gain multinational experience, increase their 

understanding of how the military works, and practice 

optimizing the capabilities available within a 

broad interagency environment. Interagency 

students also learn by comparing the organizational 

structures, career paths and leadership models in 

their home organizations.

Since 2007, NGA has sent students to attend 

the CGSC. As participants in the course’s rigorous 

exercises, NGA students develop their knowledge 

of land warfare and military decision making. As the 

agency’s ambassadors, NGA students contribute to 

the courses by building their classmates’ understanding of GEOINT and NGA’s partnerships with military, 

multinational and civilian intelligence agencies. Prepared for NGA assignments that will take advantage 

of their unique CGSC experience, graduates return 

to NGA as stronger leaders, better able to anticipate 

GEOINT needs on the battlefield to more effectively 

serve the agency’s partners. 

Maj. Christian M. is a U.S. Army physician. 

Ken F. is a staff officer in the Office of Asia Pacific. 

The authors were classmates at the Army Command 

and General Staff College.

As NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett recently 

stated, “GEOINT is at the heart of preparation and 

success for virtually every mission set in which our intelligence, defense and other partners are involved.” At 

CGSC, the NST-Army has established a GEOINT education 

foundation for military leaders and NGA analysts. 
12Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Web Services Boost Warfighters’ Response 

By Thomas W. and Cheryl W.

As technology has become faster and more 

powerful, NGA has developed a suite of Web services 

that enable the warfighter to discover accurate geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) data efficiently. These 

advances will be incorporated into GEOINT Online (GO), 

NGA’s unclassified Web service tool that supports homeland security, defense, global navigation and 

other operations.

Web services filter, retrieve and project the specific 

data required in a standard Web application or browser 

as a viewable digital map. For example, roads, traffic, airports, dams and contour lines are popular data overlays 

displayed by Google EarthTM, which retrieves these various data from Web services. A few examples of NGA Web 

Services include Country Name Service, which identifies 

countries that fall within a specified geographic point or 

area; Distance Bearing Service, which can calculate the 

distance and direction between geographic coordinates 

or additional coordinates based on distance and direction; and Coordinate Parse Service, which interprets and 

converts strings of coordinates from degrees, minutes 

and seconds to decimal degrees. Each of these services 

provides data useful to geospatial analysis.

Web services can work for the warfighter in many 

ways. When a sergeant drawing up plans for a raid in 

Afghanistan needs situational awareness of the environment where his troops will deploy, the sergeant reviews 

digital maps of the terrain. Using the same digital maps, 

he then determines the best route for his platoon to 

travel and flags areas where his troops face danger. 

Previously, the sergeant would have needed to sift 

through hundreds or even thousands of CDs to find the 

two or three with the maps he wanted or request the CDs 

from a base on the other side of the globe. As another 

example, an analyst who wants to display airfields and 

ship locations near a particular port and calculate the 

distance to each can compile or link data from several 

Web services.

NGA has also devised a method to obtain information 

quickly from Web services in several alternative formats: 

Geospatial Really Simple Syndication (GeoRSS) feeds 

timely updates to online map generators so analysts can 

get data out to warfighters swiftly; Geography Markup 

Language (GML), which encodes geographic data, and 

Keyhole Markup Language (KML), used to visualize 

geographic data, enable analysts to receive up-to-theminute details on geographic points of interest; and 

Hyper Text Markup Language, used by all Web browsers, 

displays results on a nicely formatted Web page.

Web services put important data at the warfighter’s 

fingertips during crises. The warfighter no longer needs 

to search archives or modify formats before displaying 

the data required. These tools better prepare analysts 

and warfighters to confront the nation’s enemies, making the warfighter more agile and responsive when faced 

with a crisis.

Thomas W. is a contract employee supporting the 

development of NGA Web services. 

Cheryl W. is a Web content services manager.

Photo by Getty Images
13Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Focus Areas

Model U.N. Conference Affords Recruiting Opportunity 

By Jeannine W.

NGA Focus Area: Invest 

in our people, with a 

commitment to diversity, 

to preserve our nation’s 

GEOINT advantage.

During March 26–28, 2009, NGA

and the North Carolina Consortium for 

International and Intercultural Education (NCCIIE) 

cosponsored the 20th Annual Model United Nations 

Conference in Durham, N.C. Each year, the Model U.N. 

Conference brings together students from historically 

black colleges and universities for three days, giving 

them an opportunity to work on resolving a simulated 

world crisis through debate, discussion and negotiation 

of the problems surrounding it.

The consortium created its first Model U.N. in 1989 to 

address the need for greater minority involvement and 

participation in the international arena and to better prepare students to become full participants in the global 

community. Over a decade ago, several NGA employees 

who were former participants in the event encouraged 

NGA to become a cosponsor. NGA has provided funding 

and personnel support ever since. In return, the annual conferences have served as an effective resource 

for recruiting highly qualified candidates, with NGA 

representatives conducting interviews of prospective 

students for consideration for NGA assignments and 

sharing information on the agency’s student internships, 

co-op programs and career opportunities.

On the first day of the 2009 conference, student 

attendees were assigned to working groups. Within 

these groups, students became representatives for 

specific nations. They participated in simulated U.N. 

Security Council sessions and actively debated and 

negotiated to try to resolve the preassigned crisis 

situation. During the conference, the students were 

evaluated on their diplomatic skills and received awards 

for outstanding performance. 

Throughout the event, students attended 

presentations on international security issues provided 

by experts in the field. The NGA Recruitment Center 

coordinated a number of this year’s speakers, including 

the keynote address by Cardell Richardson Sr., director 

of NGA’s Source Operations Group. Richardson provided 

an overview of the broad scope of NGA’s products and 

customers, touching on monitoring international conflicts such as the one in Darfur, national security support 

for the presidential inauguration and other high-profile 

events, national disaster support and scientific mapping 

of the polar ice caps for climate change studies. 

Richardson concluded his remarks saying, “What 

this means is that we need future leaders like you—with 

your critical thinking, problem solving, analytic and 

diplomacy skills—to join our ranks and help solve these 

tough challenges.” Another senior NGA employee, a 

student at the very first NCCIIE Model U.N., also spoke 

about how the conference prepares students for an active role in the world.

Building on the success of the conference, NGA and 

the North Carolina Consortium hope to arrange for 

Model U.N. students to visit one of the agency’s facilities. The 2009 conference, as have conferences past, 

provided NGA with the opportunity to reach out to and 

engage the nation’s next generation of leaders at this 

inspiring training ground. 

Jeannine W. is a human development consultant in the 

Recruitment Services Office. Members of the recruitment 

team contributed to this article.

Photo by Getty Images
14Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Partnerships

GEOINT Guides the Few and the Proud 

By Tom C.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, a U.S. Marine

Corps colonel fired one round into a locked-up laptop, 

declaring, “There, now I have a doorstop.” Firing a 

second round dead-center into his mapboard, he emphasized, “But, I still have a map.” This story, possibly 

fictitious, highlights the reality of geospatial intelligence 

(GEOINT) for the Marines: the often sparse conditions 

within which they operate require GEOINT in many forms, 

from electronic to printed, cartographic products.

The Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA), the 

Corps’ intelligence component, aided by a small team of 

dedicated NGA analysts, prepares the type and quantity 

of GEOINT products the Marines require, demonstrating the advantage of Unified Geospatial-intelligence 

Operations (UGO). As part of the National System for 

Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) and a member of the Intelligence Community (IC), MCIA fully embraces the UGO 

concept, which coordinates and aligns GEOINT resources 

throughout the IC.

MCIA recently established a Geospatial Intelligence 

Directorate, or GID, with a mandate to provide reachback 

for expeditionary Marine forces worldwide. Augmented 

by NGA imagery and geospatial analysts, the GID 

provides GEOINT for training Marines prior to deployment and stands ready to produce tailored products 

as required for forces in theater. MCIA maintains close 

GEOINT coordination with various Marine commands at 

Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., intelligence battalions, 

which have both imagery and topographic platoons, and 

the Marine Expeditionary Forces at Camp Pendleton, Calif.; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; and Camp Courtney, Okinawa, 

Japan. These commands and units also enjoy onsite 

access to NGA through embedded analysts, liaison officers and technicians. Together, MCIA and NGA’s “GEOINT 

ambassadors” support overall Marine Corps intelligence 

production through collaborative and integrated UGO.

Providing GEOINT support to the Marines requires a 

combination of talent, training, a good operational mindset and piercing foresight. The Marine Corps maintains 

its own cadre of imagery and topographic analysts who 

receive their basic tradecraft training at either 

Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, or at the NGA National 

Geospatial Intelligence College at Fort Belvoir, Va. 

Regardless of follow-on assignment, their focus remains 

tactically oriented on beach and route studies in anticipation of a myriad of assignments that could arise worldwide, ranging from humanitarian relief to full combat 

operations. Because the Marine Corps usually responds 

first to national-level operations and its initial forces are 

expected to be en route within six hours of alert, there 

is often little preparation time. Consequently, the initial 

hours and days of operations are “come as you are,” 

supported by whatever GEOINT is available at the time.

Operations often occur in unanticipated places, 

where available GEOINT is frequently large-scale and 

only marginally effective in supporting the operations to 

which Marines are assigned. For this reason, the Marines 

maintain their own GEOINT analytic experts at all levels 

of command who continually comb databases worldwide 

to produce geospatial products at a very high level of 

accuracy and resolution. These map-like products, which 

can contain such details as drainage culverts, ditches 

and footpaths, are then disseminated to the front line. 

MCIA emphasizes the geospatial analysis of its GEOINT 

products. While detailed feature data is a critical GEOINT 

component, it is equally vital for the analysts to provide 

insight into how terrain may affect impending operations regarding potential ambush sites, lines of sight, 

etc. Where effective information networks exist, digital 

geospatial data may be sent for display in command and 

control systems. In more austere environments, usually 

the norm, geospatial products are printed on large plotters and physically delivered to the units that need them.

Marines also recognize the importance of understanding the cultural environment in which they may operate. 

Although MCIA produces an abundance of country studies and handbooks, representing regional and cultural 

nuances on a map is daunting. To meet this challenge, 

MCIA chartered a geospatial cultural team comprising 

dedicated geospatial analysts with backgrounds that 

include history and anthropology.
15Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

MCIA is on the cutting edge of providing visual 

products that answer many of the questions Marines 

need, often in a hurry. The Marine Corps’ unique GEOINT 

resources serve Marines well at all levels of operation, 

from strategic, worldwide analysis to tactical 

operations on the ground. The dedicated 

Marines and embedded NGA analysts 

are proud of their accomplishments 

in providing the GEOINT necessary to 

sustain Marine forces whenever and 

wherever they may deploy. 

A replica of the Marine Corps War Memorial 

stands near the entrance to Marine Corps 

Base Quantico, Virginia.

Photo by Kathy Reesey, Marine Corps Base Quantico

Tom C. served as chief of 

the NGA Support Team at 

the Marine Corps 

Intelligence Activity.
16Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

21st Century

Terrain Intelligence Revolutionizes Operations in Theater

By Greg A.

The scent of juniper and mulberries lingered in the 

air as the sergeant crossed the Afghan nightscape on 

a low-level flight path that masked the arrival of the 

Black Hawk carrying his special operations forces team. 

Though the sergeant faced a new target, his sense of 

déjà vu was unmistakable. He had last seen this terrain 

hours before he left his base when he studied target 

information from his NGA counterpart half a world away.

Terrain intelligence, a composite of imagery, elevation and feature data, is at the heart of the interactive 

scene visualization a pilot uses to steer a Black Hawk 

into the valleys of Afghanistan or to launch a successful 

strike against a high-value target holed up in a cave. 

Knowledge of terrain and enemy forces is imperative 

when battling an adversary. In fact, dominance of terrain intelligence has been decisive in conflicts from the 

Civil War to World War II and beyond. Today’s analysts 

craft imagery and elevation data from unmanned aerial 

vehicles into terrain intelligence products.

Terrain Revolutions and Evolutions 

(1970–2000)

Though contour lines are often taken for granted, they 

are fundamental to understanding the battle space. 

In fact, contour lines, which depict the elevation of 

the Earth on mission planning maps, are the building 

blocks of terrain intelligence; they graphically convey 

strategic, tactical and operational terrain intelligence to 

the warfighter. NGA’s ability to provide effective terrain 

intelligence to the warfighter has grown exponentially 

since the early 1970s. In the 1970s the Defense Mapping 

Agency (DMA), an NGA predecessor, led the first revolution in 

terrain intelligence since the 

birth of photogrammetry and stereocompilation in the 

1940s. This advance rode the coattails of the information 

technology industry. Cheap, high-speed computers were 

its engines, facilitating the development of terrain compilation and flight simulation software, navigation and 

attack profiles, and Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) 

navigation systems.

Revolutionary computer applications enabled commanders to fire cruise missiles effectively just as they 

helped sergeants visualize terrain. A sergeant’s team 

needs terrain intelligence to hone in on high-value 

targets the same way a commander needs terrain data 

to fire a missile. Owing to the demands of both the sergeant and the commander, spending on Digital Terrain 

Elevation Data (DTED®) spiked from the late 1970s to 

the late 1980s. This funding increase for DTED® products provided cartographers with information needed to 

develop the Topographic Line Maps (TLMs) that military 

operations planners use.

The transition to digital production systems and the 

growth of terrain data collection and systems from the 

late 1980s to the late 1990s marked the start of the 

second revolution. These technology advancements 

enabled automated data processing systems 

to calculate terrain elevation without 

human guidance. Terrain analysts 

abandoned photo labs, once considered necessary components of 

terrain compilation.

The third revolution in 

collection and exploitation 

of terrain data started in the 

late 1990s and continues 

today. Technology advances 

of this period allowed 

analysts to precisely analyze 

underground facilities and 

An Army team patrols near Zabul 

Province, Afghanistan. Military 

operations benefit from revolutionary 

advances in terrain intelligence.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini
17Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009

to collect and analyze high-resolution, high-accuracy terrain data. Access to such high-definition data, unheard 

of 10 years ago, allows mission planners to hone in on 

key tactical targets while minimizing collateral damage. 

In the 10 years between Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom, DMA tremendously enhanced 

its ability to capture and analyze terrain data.

Terrain Today (2001–Present)

NGA’s ability to develop terrain products for its 

customers reflects both its experience supporting the 

warfighter over the past decades and the utility of the 

products it creates for theater operations. For example, 

on the one hand the agency’s TLMs help mission planners prepare for deployments to the field. On the other 

hand, the TERCOM data sets NGA produces underlie the 

U.S. Strategic Command’s work building cruise missile 

guidance and targeting systems.

Likewise, the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) 

uses High Resolution Terrain elevation (HRTe) data to 

analyze underground facilities and develop tactical 

applications that support counterterrorism, counterproliferation, urban warfare, weapons of mass destruction and special operations assessments. Successful 

counterinsurgency operations in Iraq in 2005 and 2006, 

aided by precise, mission-specific data, attest to the 

value of these types of terrain intelligence to both decision makers and warfighters.

Terrain Tomorrow (2009–2016)

Terrain intelligence has caught the attention of Department of Defense leaders, who focused on it during a 

recent national security review. That report indicated that 

time-sensitive terrain data give U.S. forces an edge when 

they confront national security threats including terrorism and urban warfare. Because of these threats, special 

operations forces will continue to use terrain data when 

preparing to face their adversaries.

The explosion in digital technology that drove the 

development of better terrain analysis has increased 

the expectations of the warfighter. Human monitoring of 

advanced terrain computing systems to verify that the 

systems perform accurately therefore remains necessary in preparing terrain products that meet U.S. and IC 

partners’ requirements. The advances in data collection, 

processing and analysis systems require a highly trained 

workforce to ensure the interoperability of these 

systems and to analyze mission-critical 

terrain data.

The 19th century military strategist Carl von Clausewitz recognized 

terrain as a key component of 

military and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT). Clearly, 

terrain data remains 

paramount to 

NGA’s GEOINT 

customers.

Greg A. is a 

special 

issues manager for 

the Precision 

Engagement 

Division.
18Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Working for NGA

Observer Attests to Decisive Deployer Partnership

By Heather C.

In early spring 2009, I was given a rare opportunity

to observe NGA deployers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 

experience of seeing these men and women in action 

altered not only my professional perspective but also my 

life. NGA deploys personnel to over 150 locations worldwide. This all-volunteer cadre performs a wide variety of 

assignments to ensure accurate, timely geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) support to the warfighter and civilian.

Part of my mission in going overseas was to gauge 

the level of GEOINT integration into the warfighter’s 

operational picture, and I had the opportunity to tour 

facilities, attend briefings, and meet with some of the 

NGA Support Team deployers and listen to important 

feedback. I absorbed success stories and made note of 

challenges at all steps in the effort to win against violent 

extremism, and those in positions of authority offered 

many spontaneous testimonials. One commander 

noted, “We couldn’t do this without GEOINT.” While I 

understood and appreciated this academically, it was 

my firsthand experience with that support that brought 

it all home. 

Regardless of location, U.S. military bases never 

sleep. In the chaos of war there are a few constants—the 

roar of fighter aircraft, the crunch of gravel under tires, 

the unforgiving glare of the sun in the afternoon. During 

my time abroad, I noted another significant constant—a 

certain look in every American’s eyes. There was steeliness, a particular set of the jaw. For both warfighter and 

civilian, there was work to be done. 

Even at rest, no one was wasting time. They moved 

with purpose. I watched military and civilian personnel 

stand in rustic, windowless rooms with the threat of 

improvised explosive devices, surface-to-air missiles 

and suicide bombers all around them. I watched NGA 

deployers sitting beside their military brethren, sharing desk space, energy bars and a commitment to the 

mission, despite all of these distractions. One evening 

I observed the power of seamless integration: an NGA 

analyst spotted something on the video feed, which 

led to a sudden flurry of phone calls to home agencies, 

combatant commanders and instant messages to other 

analysts. As this played out, I soon forgot to keep score 

of which agency was doing what, and in the end it really 

didn’t matter. Every participant in this ballet knew his or 

her role and performed it quickly without regard to personal credit. Beginning with that one analyst’s attention 

to detail, the warfighters engaged, capturing another 

enemy of coalition forces. Lives were likely saved and 

the world became a better place because of the danger 

that deployers and warfighter’s together had removed. I 

saw GEOINT in action—people sacrificing time at home 

with family because what they were doing was greater 

than what they were feeling.

The commitment and acceptance of sacrifice do not 

change with location—the mission is still the mission, 

and it will get done. Purpose stands strong, and NGA 

deployers and their military partners stand together. 

Photo by Getty Images

Heather C. is a public affairs officer in NGA’s Office of 

Corporate Communications.
19Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Our Heritage

Aerial Imagery of Neuve Chapelle Yielded 

Battlefield Intimacy

By Dr. Gary E. Weir

How in the world can you lead forces into battle 

from a desk? A great many general officers asked themselves that question in the opening months of the Great 

War, World War I. This conflict seemed to depart from the 

textbook, from the type of confrontation many of these 

men knew and expected. Using maps that seemingly 

covered acres of conference tables, NGA’s cartographic 

forebears exposed for planners the violent events of late 

1914, reducing hundreds of miles of front and millions 

of soldiers to a manageable reality. Trained in the wars 

of the previous century, very few generals felt comfortable with the map, the table and the moveable symbols 

representing forces. Many sought action at the front 

because their professional standards and the traditions 

established by Napoleon and Frederick the Great of 

Prussia seemed to demand it. Among the Germans, 

British and French, 204 generals met their end before 

November of 1918.

The generals sought to communicate instructions 

firsthand, in a way that demonstrated their leadership 

style and effectiveness. Could a leader actually achieve 

the required intimacy with the conditions of battle 

and those fighting across miles of front simply by 

using an exquisitely rendered map? It seemed 

obvious that the map needed a complementary source to bring the fighting to the 

planning table in a compelling and 

immediate way.

Preparing for the battle at Neuve 

Chapelle, a small village in northern 

France near the border with Belgium, 

revealed that aviation and aerial 

photography could well provide the 

intimacy required by those old-school 

officers. Through the opening months 

of the war, the Royal Flying Corps 

(RFC), which would in time evolve 

into the Royal Air Force, began 

systematically using handheld cameras to photograph 

the frontlines that the British shared with the Germans. 

By early 1915, the RFC could illuminate that real estate to 

a depth of 1,500 yards behind the German lines.

When planning for Neuve Chapelle first began, RFC 

No. 3 Squadron received a series of inquiries regarding 

the German trenches just opposite British forces in the 

planned area of operations, which included brickfields 

and a railway junction just south of the LaBassée Canal. 

The level of detail provided by successive photographic 

reconnaissance sorties over that area revealed new German trenches under construction. When presented to 

British and French staff officers, it became clear to them 

that the Germans also had an attack in the planning 

stages. The photographs revealed their basic intent 

Crewmen load a Type A camera prior to a 

photographic reconnaissance sortie.

Photo provided by the Medmenham 

Society Collection.
20Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

as well as those points at which the opposing forces 

would likely meet in battle. The revelations offered by 

this source and its ability to bring the front immediately 

to the map table made instant converts of those who 

used it.

After this initial success, RFC No. 3 Squadron managed 

to exceed already heightened expectations. One of the 

squadron’s particularly talented photographic observers, Leftenant C.C. Darley, proceeded to accelerate the 

collection of aerial photographs of the planned battle 

area with the full support of the general headquarters 

staff. He and his colleagues very soon had resources 

sufficient to assemble an aerial map or photo mosaic of 

the Neuve Chapelle area. His commanding officer, Maj. 

John Salmond, immediately saw the significance of the 

new tool and brought both it and Darley to meet Col. 

Hugh Trenchard of the RFC staff, an influential proponent 

of airpower in these early years of military aviation. 

The colonel took Darley to a Neuve Chapelle planning 

meeting where he met the commander of the French 

Army, Gen. Joseph Joffre, who immediately adopted 

the collection, combination and interpretation of aerial 

photographs as essential to battle planning.

Gen. Douglas Haig, appointed to command the British 

forces in the Neuve Chapelle assault, became a convert 

due to the intercession of his intelligence officer Brig. 

Gen. John Charteris, who pushed the RFC to revise and 

update the photo mosaic regularly as planning proceeded. Building on these orders, the RFC aviators began 

composing actual maps of the German trench system 

from the constantly improving mosaic. The British Army’s 

professional cartographers soon took over this innovative combination of map and photo, producing 1,500 

professional trench maps at 1/5000 scale and distributing them through the forces involved in the attack. This 

may be the first, true common operating picture ever 

taken into battle by a modern army.

Although voice communication and telegraphic shortcomings left the British to snatch defeat from an initially 

successful campaign at Neuve Chapelle in March 1915, 

the intelligence lessons from the battle proved monumental to the British and French as well as the American 

newcomers in 1917. Gen. Billy Mitchell, considered the 

father of the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Lt. Gen. Lewis Brereton, photographer Eduard Steichen, military historian 

James Barnes and other photographic veterans of the 

U.S. Army Signal Corps matured in this environment and 

helped the United States learn from the best European 

experience. While the habits of generals would prove 

hard to break, aerial photography allied with more effective cartography provided the planning-table intimacy 

they sought with both their soldiers and conditions on 

the ground. 

20Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Dr. Gary E. Weir is the NGA Historian. 

Photographers and observers receive 

instruction on using a Type A camera.

Photos provided by the Medmenham 

Society Collection. 

A vertical photographic image reveals 

World War I battlefield trenches. 
21Pathfinder ›› July/August 2009 

Operation Warfighter, sponsored by the Department of Defense, places injured servicemembers who are 

undergoing treatment in temporary, volunteer work assignments during their recovery. The program provides 

servicemembers with meaningful activity outside the hospital environment and offers them a formal means to 

transition back into the workforce.

As part of Operation Warfighter, NGA is proud to host fellowships for wounded warriors interested in gaining 

experience in NGA’s mission. Fellowship hours and length of time 

depend on the wounded warrior’s availability. Medical treatment and 

the road to recovery are the first priority.

n Warfighter Support

n Intelligence Reports and Analysis

n Source Collections Analysis

n Imagery Analysis

n Acquisition

n Finance

n Human Resources

n Staff Officers

Examples of NGA fellowship positions include:

For more information contact 

NGAWoundedWarriorProgram@nga.mil
www.nga.mil