Geotactical Solutions

What’s happening with U.S. Army geospatial intelligence? The engineering and intelligence communities are together at last. While some are skeptical, many professionals are celebrating the long overdue union of these two disciplines.

Regardless of perspective, accomplishments and advancements made in the Army GEOINT enterprise in the past year are numerous and tangible.

Last fall the Army formally redesignated its operational imagery intelligence battalion from the 3rd Military Intelligence Center to the Army GEOINT Battalion. This organizational move officially recognized the emerging mission of this unique command as a GEOINT producer and an official contributor to unified GEOINT operations. The new name also reflects the mission it executes on a daily basis.

“Delegating GEOINT production responsibility baseline target analysis to the Army GEOINT Battalion allows us to align more with the newly developed Southern Command joint intelligence staff unified government operations directive,” said Ezell Powell, Integrated GEOINT Division chief at the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade.

The battalion now has more than just military and civilian imagery analysts; a civilian geospatial analyst and a military geospatial engineer work alongside their imagery intelligence partners. Additionally, efforts are underway to include additional GEOINT disciplines within the battalion. Through the foundry program, and in collaboration with the National Geospatial-Intelligence College, the battalion’s GEOINT Sustainment Training Facility provides an adaptable, relevant curriculum for soldiers heading to theater. It ensures proficiency in the most recent and applicable GEOINT methodologies.

Next, the Army is in the process of institutionalizing GEOINT cells from brigade combat teams to Army service component commands, integrating imagery intelligence and geospatial engineering disciplines. The GEOINT cell will synchronize unique and complementary capabilities to meet the needs of the commanders at each echelon without a manning increase. This structural change, along with GEOINT support teams at deployed locations and NGA support teams at stateside Army garrisons, gives tactical commanders a multifaceted approach to leverage all aspects of the National System for Geospatial Intelligence. Meanwhile, the Army and NGA are reviewing the line of demarcation to determine how to best complement the capabilities of each organization.

Efforts are also underway for geospatial engineers and imagery analysts to train together at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., by replicating a GEOINT cell in a training environment. The Joint Intelligence Combat Training Center conducts live environmental and situational training exercises to challenge soldiers to find creative solutions to intelligence problems. With the assistance of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency support team at Fort Huachuca, the center drafts scenarios that mirror the complexities and environment of the current battlefield.

Excerpted from an article by
Lieutenant Colonel Jason Strickland,
military executive, Army GEOINT Office,
that appeared in the May/June 2011 issue
of the National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency’s Pathfinder magazine.