National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
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The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a United States government agency responsible for the tasking (collection), exploitation (analysis), and dissemination (distribution) of Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT). NGA is part of the U.S. Department of Defense, but also has responsibilities to customers outside the DoD. NGA is also a member of the 15 agencies that make up the U.S. Intelligence Community.
With its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, it operates major facilities in the northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Missouri, areas as well as support and liaison offices worldwide.
NGA's motto is to "Know the Earth, Show the Way." Its primary mission is to provide "timely, relevant, and accurate Geospatial Intelligence in support of national security."
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Agency history
The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) prior to the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill September-October 2003 State of the Agency was known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). NIMA was established on October 1, 1996, by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency Act of 1996. The creation of NIMA followed more than a year of study, debate and planning by the defense, intelligence and policy-making communities as well as the Congress, and continuing consultations with customer organizations.
The creation of "NGA" ("NIMA") centralized responsibility for imagery and mapping, representing a fundamental step toward achieving the Department of Defense vision of "dominant battle space awareness." It was created to exploit the potential of enhanced collection systems, digital processing technology and the prospective expansion in commercial imagery than its separate predecessor organizations.
In addition, it brought together the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA), the Central Imagery Office (CIO), and the Defense Dissemination Program Office (DDPO) in their entirety; and the mission and functions of CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center. Also included in are imagery exploitation, dissemination and processing elements of the Defense Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office and the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office.
Staff
Employees
The NGA work force is populated by professionals in fields such as cartography, imagery analysis, marine analysis, the physical sciences, geodesy, computer and telecommunication engineering, and photogrammetry.
Directors
- 1998–2001 MG James C. King, USA
- 2001–Present G James R. Clapper, USAF, Retired
(USA, USAF, and USN are the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Navy, respectively.)
Past and present GEOINT activities
9/11 aftermath
"After the September 11, 2001 attacks, NIMA partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey to survey the World Trade Center site and determine the extent of the destruction" NGA History.
Olympic support
"In 2002, NIMA partnered with Federal organizations to provide geospatial assistance to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah" NGA History.
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
While the Space Shuttle Columbia was in orbit during STS-107, NIMA purportedly offered to image the shuttle and its suspected damage from falling debris during takeoff. NASA declined this offer, but has since forged an interagency agreement with NGA to collect imagery for all future space shuttle flights.
Hurricane Katrina
NGA is supporting Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. It "is providing geospatial information about the affected areas based on imagery from commercial and U.S. government satellites, and from airborne platforms, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government agencies" Press Release.
External links
- NGA homepage
- Hurricane (Katrina) Crisis Imagery
- GeoIntelligence: A trade publication covering the uses of spatial technologies for national defense and homeland security by organizations such as NGA
- GNS: database of foreign geographic feature names. Worldwide coverage excluding the United States and Antarctica, containing approximately 3.93 million features with 5.45 million names, and their coordinates.
- September-October 2003 State of the Agency ("Pathfinder") report
- CNN article on NIMA (December 2002)
- Report of the independent commission on NIMA (January 2001)
- U.S. Intelligence Community homepage
