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The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a
combat support agency Combat support agency (CSA) is a designation by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) of those defense agencies that provide department-level and tactical support to the U.S. military during combat operations. The designation was first ou ...
within the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing
geospatial intelligence In the United States, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is intelligence about the human activity on earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery, signals, or signatures with geospatial information. GEOINT describes, assesses, and vis ...
(GEOINT) in support of
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
. Initially known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) from 1996 to 2003, it is a member of the
United States Intelligence Community United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
. NGA headquarters, also known as NGA Campus East or NCE, is located at
Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fair ...
North Area in
Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs includ ...
. The agency also operates major facilities in the St. Louis, Missouri area (referred to as NGA Campus West or NCW), as well as support and liaison offices worldwide. The NGA headquarters, at , is the third-largest government building in the
Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...
after
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
and the
Ronald Reagan Building The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, named after former United States President Ronald Reagan, is located in downtown Washington, D.C., and was the first federal building in Washington designed for both governmental and priv ...
. In addition to using GEOINT for U.S. military and intelligence efforts, NGA provides assistance during natural and man-made disasters, aids in security planning for major events such as the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, disseminates
maritime safety Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The execut ...
information, and gathers data on
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. The eighth and current director of the agency is Vice Admiral Frank D. Whitworth III.


History

U.S. mapping and charting efforts remained relatively unchanged until
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when
aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...
became a major contributor to battlefield intelligence. Using stereo viewers, photo-interpreters reviewed thousands of images. Many of these were of the same target at different angles and times, giving rise to what became modern imagery analysis and mapmaking.


Engineer Reproduction Plant (ERP)

The Engineer Reproduction Plant was the Army Corps of Engineers's first attempt to centralize mapping production, printing, and distribution. It was located on the grounds of the Army War College in Washington, D.C. Previously, topographic mapping had largely been a function of individual field engineer units using field surveying techniques or copying existing or captured products. In addition, ERP assumed the "supervision and maintenance" of the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...
Map Collection, effective April 1, 1939.


Army Map Service (AMS) / U.S. Army Topographic Command (USATC)

With the advent of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
aviation, field surveys began giving way to
photogrammetry Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...
,
photo interpretation Aerial photographic and satellite image interpretation, or just image interpretation when in context, is the act of examining photographic images, particularly airborne and spaceborne, for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their sig ...
, and
geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
. During wartime, it became increasingly possible to compile maps with minimal field work. Out of this emerged AMS, which absorbed the existing ERP in May 1942. It was located at the Dalecarlia Site (including buildings now named for
John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...
and
Charles H. Ruth Charles H. Ruth (1889–1949) was considered the founding father of the Army Map Service. Ruth was first commanding officer of the Army Engineer Reproduction Plant (ERP). Prior to 1917 the Army Corps of Engineers compiled and drafted maps. ...
) on MacArthur Blvd., just outside Washington, D.C., in Montgomery County, Maryland, and adjacent to the
Dalecarlia Reservoir Dalecarlia Reservoir is the primary storage basin for drinking water in Washington, D.C., fed by an underground aqueduct in turn fed by low dams which divert portions of the Potomac River near Great Falls and Little Falls. The reservoir is loca ...
. AMS was designated as an Engineer field activity, effective July 1, 1942, by General Order 22, OCE, June 19, 1942. The
Army Map Service The Army Map Service (AMS) was the military cartographic agency of the United States Department of Defense from 1941 to 1968, subordinated to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On September 1, 1968, the AMS was redesignated the U.S. Army T ...
also combined many of the Army's remaining geographic intelligence organizations and the Engineer Technical Intelligence Division. AMS was redesignated the U.S. Army Topographic Command (USATC) on September 1, 1968, and continued as an independent organization until 1972, when it was merged into the new Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) and redesignated as the DMA Topographic Center (DMATC) (see below).


Aeronautical Chart Plant (ACP)

After the war, as airplane capacity and range improved, the need for charts grew. The
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
established its map unit, which was renamed ACP in 1943 and was located in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. ACP was known as the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) from 1952 to 1972 (See DMAAC below).


National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC)

Shortly before leaving office in January 1961,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
authorized the creation of the National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC), a joint project of the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
and DIA. NPIC was a component of the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology (DDS&T) and its primary function was
imagery analysis Image analysis or imagery analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from images; mainly from digital images by means of digital image processing techniques. Image analysis tasks can be as simple as reading barcode, bar coded tags or a ...
. NPIC became part of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (now NGA) in 1996. ;Directors of NPIC


Cuban Missile Crisis

NPIC first identified the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's basing of missiles in
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
in 1962. By exploiting images from U-2 overflights and film from canisters ejected by orbiting Corona satellites,NGA History
, nga.mil
NPIC analysts developed the information necessary to inform U.S. policymakers and influence operations during the
Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
. Their analysis garnered worldwide attention when the
Kennedy Administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States, began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he took office following the 1960 p ...
declassified and made public a portion of the images depicting the Soviet missiles on Cuban soil; Adlai Stevenson presented the images to the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
on October 25, 1962.


Defense Mapping Agency (DMA)

The Defense Mapping Agency was created on January 1, 1972, to consolidate all U.S. military mapping activities. DMA's "birth certificate", DoD Directive 5105.40, resulted from a formerly classified Presidential directive, "Organization and Management of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Community" (November 5, 1971), which directed the consolidation of mapping functions previously dispersed among the military services. DMA became operational on July 1, 1972, pursuant to General Order 3, DMA (June 16, 1972). On October 1, 1996, DMA was folded into the National Imagery and Mapping Agency – which later became NGA. DMA was first headquartered at the
United States Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...
in Washington, D.C, then at
Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Wash ...
. Its mostly civilian workforce was concentrated at production sites in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
, Northern Virginia, and
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. DMA was formed from the Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Division,
Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the I ...
(DIA), and from various mapping-related organizations of the military services. * DMA Hydrographic Center (DMAHC) DMAHC was formed in 1972 when the Navy's Hydrographic Office split its two components: The charting component was attached to DMAHC, and the survey component moved to the Naval Oceanographic Office, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on the grounds of what is now the Stennis Space Center. DMAHC was responsible for creating terrestrial maps of coastal areas worldwide and hydrographic charts for DoD. DMAHC was initially located in
Suitland, Maryland Suitland is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prio ...
, but later relocated to Brookmont (Bethesda), Maryland. * DMA Topographic Center (DMATC) DMATC was located in Brookmont (Bethesda), Maryland. It was responsible for creating topographic maps worldwide for DoD. DMATC's location in Bethesda, Maryland is the former site of NGA's headquarters. * DMA Hydrographic/Topographic Center (DMAHTC) DMAHC and DMATC eventually merged to form DMAHTC, with offices in Brookmont (Bethesda), Maryland. * DMA Aerospace Center (DMAAC) DMAAC originated with the U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) and was located in St. Louis, Missouri.


National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)

NIMA was established on October 1, 1996, by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997. 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 NIMA centralized responsibility for imagery and mapping. NIMA combined the DMA, the Central Imagery Office (CIO), and the Defense Dissemination Program Office (DDPO) in their entirety, and the mission and functions of the NPIC. Also merged into NIMA were the imagery exploitation, dissemination, and processing elements of the
Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the I ...
,
National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...
, and the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office. NIMA's creation was clouded by the natural reluctance of cultures to merge and the fear that their respective missions—mapping in support of defense activities versus intelligence production, principally in support of national policymakers—would be subordinated, each to the other.


NGA

With the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 on November 24, 2003, NIMA was renamed NGA to better reflect its primary mission in the area of
GEOINT In the United States, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is intelligence about the human activity on earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery, signals, or signatures with geospatial information. GEOINT describes, assesses, and vis ...
.


2005 BRAC and Impact on NGA

As a part of the
2005 Base Realignment and Closure The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13, 2005. It was the fifth Base Realignment and Closure ("BRAC") proposal generated since the process was created in ...
(BRAC) process, all major Washington, D.C.–area NGA facilities, including those in Bethesda, Maryland;
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...
; and Washington, D.C., would be consolidated at a new facility at the
Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fair ...
proving grounds. This new facility, later known as NCE, houses several thousand people and is situated on the former Engineer Proving Ground site near Fort Belvoir. NGA facilities in St. Louis were not affected by the 2005 BRAC process. The cost of the new center, as of March 2009, was expected to be $2.4 billion. The center's campus is approximately and was completed in September 2011.


Next NGA West

NGA is currently constructing a new facility in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, Next NGA West, at a cost of $1.7 billion. The facility is expected to hold 3,000 employees and open by 2025. St. Louis' city legislature is currently reconsidering legislation to surround Next NGA West with a protection zone that would bar certain businesses, such as gas stations,
hazardous material Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
companies, and foreign government-supported enterprises, from building around the site for security purposes.


Organization


Agency Structure


Executive Leadership Team

NGA is headed by a director, currently Navy Vice Adm.
Frank D. Whitworth Frank Dixon Whitworth III (born June 17, 1967) is an active duty United States Navy vice admiral and career intelligence officer who serves as the eighth director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency since June 3, 2022. He most recentl ...
; the director is followed in precedence by the deputy director and chief of staff, currently Brett Markham. The holders of these three offices comprise NGA's executive leadership team.


Chief of Staff

While NGA's director and deputy director oversee the agency as a whole, the Chief of Staff is tasked with overseeing NGA's executive support staff, administrative services, logistics, personnel security, human resources, employee training and development, corporate communications, and congressional engagement.


Directorates and directorate leaders

NGA is split into various directorates led by directors (D/XX) and associate deputy directors (ADD/XX) with "XX" standing in for each direcorate's two-letter designation. Known directorates and leadership figures include but are not limited to the: * Analysis Directorate, containing the Director of Analytic Operations (D/AO) and Associate Deputy Director for Operational Engagement (ADD/AE) and led by a director, currently Director of Analysis Susan "Sue" Kalweit * Source Operations & Management Directorate (S or "Source" Directorate), led by the Director of the Source Operations & Management Directorate or Director of Source Operations * Enterprise Operations Directorate (E or "Enterprise" Directorate), led by the Director of the Enterprise Operations Directorate * IT Services Directorate * Plans and Programs Directorate * Research Directorate * Security and Installation Operations Directorate (SI) * Human Development Directorate (HD) * Financial Management Directorate (FM) * Unnamed "NGA contracting directorate" * Acquisitions Directorate * Unnamed "A Directorate" (possibly Acquisitions or Analysis) * Unnamed "P Directorate" (possibly Plans and Programs or former Analysis and Production Directorate (see below)) An Analysis and Production Directorate (P or "Production" Directorate) existed in 2011, although NGA presently has a Directorate for Analysis which may be a replacement or separated portion of the Analysis and Production Directorate. The deputy associate director of operations directly oversees NGA Operations Center (itself led by a director and deputy director) the Office of NGA Defense, the Office of Expeditionary Operations, and NGA leadership at the three
National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...
Aerospace Data facilities.


Other internal groups and leaders

NGA contains NGA Support Teams (NST), which work with directorates, are detailed internationally, deploy with warfighters, or liaise with service branches. Multiple NGA Command NSTs also exist. NGA's western operations, such as the construction of Next NGA West campus in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, are headed by the NGA west executive (who can concurrently serve in other leadership roles). There is also an NGA Equality Executive. Other organizations present in NGA, which may or may not be components of directorates, include: * NGA Operations Center * Office of Expeditionary Operations * Office of NGA Defense (OND) * Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), led by NGA's Chief Information Officer * Office of the Inspector General (OIG), led by NGA's
Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
(currently Cardell Richardson, Sr.) * Records Service Office * National Geospatial-Intelligence Committee (GEOCOM), containing subcommittees * National Geospatial-Intelligence College (NGC), led by a director * GEOINT Enterprise Office, led by a director and organized into branches * Office of
Geomatics Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the " discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it ...
* Aeronautical Navigation Office * Office of Corporate Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) * Office of Corporate Communications, led by a director * Office of Strategic Operations-Performance * NGA Cyber Security Operations Cell (CSOC), led by a director and organized into teams * NGA Police * NGA History Department * Office of Maritime Safety ** Bathymetry branch, led by a chief * Office of Contract Services * Office of Future Warfare Systems (MRF) * Office of Diversity Management and Equal Employment Opportunity, led by a director * Custom Media Team (XCMS), containing the Tailored Media support team and CMGS (Custom Media Generation System) team * GPS Division * Historical Imagery Division/Historical Imagery team * Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) Team, community led by NGA containing screened non-NGA users/institutions * Office of Ventures and Innovation * NGA Research, led by a director * Enterprise Innovation Office (EIO) * Office of Strategic Operations * Office of Geography * NGA Outpost Valley (NOV), office of NGA in
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
* Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs * Personnel Security Division, led by a chief * Meteorological Operations Center * Office of General Counsel (OGC) * Records and Declassification Program Office * FOIA/ Privacy Act Program Office Additionally, military Service GEOINT Offices (SGOs) liaise with NGA, but belong to their respective military service branches and represent their geospatial intelligence needs. The
Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...
deploys a liaison team to NGA; that team's operations officer also acts as NGA's
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
liaison. NGA is a member of the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) and the larger Allied System for Geospatial Intelligence (ASG), which includes close allies
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The U.S. and those four nations also form the
Five Eyes The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in sign ...
intelligence alliance.


Employees

NGA employs professionals in aeronautical analysis,
cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
,
geospatial analysis Spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques which studies entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techniques, many still in their early deve ...
,
imagery analysis Image analysis or imagery analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from images; mainly from digital images by means of digital image processing techniques. Image analysis tasks can be as simple as reading barcode, bar coded tags or a ...
,
marine analysis Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...
, the physical sciences, geodesy, computer and telecommunication engineering, and
photogrammetry Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...
, as well as those in the national security and law enforcement fields.


List of NIMA / NGA Directors

This table lists all Directors of the NIMA and NGA and their term of office. The agency transitioned from NIMA to NGA during Lieutenant General King's directorship. *† - Although General Clapper preferred the use of his military rank, he was in fact a member of the Defense Intelligence
Senior Executive Service The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service ...
(DISES) during his term as Director of NGA, as he had retired from active duty as the director of
Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the I ...
in 1995. Clapper was the first civilian to head NIMA / NGA.


Civilian, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community activities

* Osama bin Laden compound raid: NGA was integral in helping the Department of Defense and the U.S. Intelligence Community pinpoint the
compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
in Abbotabad,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
where Osama bin Laden hid for several years and to plan the raid that killed him. * 9/11 aftermath: After the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, NIMA partnered with the
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
to survey the
World Trade Center site The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground zero#World Trade Center, Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounde ...
and determine the extent of the destruction. * Keyhole investment: NGA contributed approximately 25% of
In-Q-Tel In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in high-tech companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with ...
's funding of Keyhole Inc, whose Earth-viewing software became
Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
. * Hurricane Katrina: NGA supported
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
relief efforts by "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.Geospatial Intelligence Aids Hurricane Recovery Efforts
, nga.mil
NGA's Earth website is a central source of these efforts. * Microsoft partnership:
Microsoft Corp. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
and NGA have signed a
letter of understanding A Letter of Understanding (LOU) is a formal text that sums up the terms of an undertakings of a contract which may have been negotiated up to this point only in spoken form or otherwise informally. It reviews the terms of an agreement for a serv ...
to advance the design and delivery of geospatial information applications to customers.Microsoft and NGA Announce Strategic Alliance
, microsoft.com
NGA will continue to use the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform (as it did for Katrina relief) to provide geospatial support for humanitarian, peacekeeping, and national-security efforts. Virtual Earth is a set of online mapping and search services that deliver imagery through an
API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
. * Google and GeoEye: In 2008 NGA partnered with
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
and GeoEye. Google would be allowed to use GeoEye
spy satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...
imagery with reduced
resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
for
Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
. * Open source software on GitHub: April 2014 NGA became the first intelligence agency to open-source software on
GitHub GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous ...
.NGA releases open source code on GitHub
, FierceGovernmentIT, April 07, 2014
NGA Director
Letitia Long Letitia A. Long served as a civilian in the U.S. Navy and the Intelligence Community between 1978 and 2014, retiring as the fifth Director the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the first woman to lead a major U.S. intelligence agency, i ...
talks about NGA's GitHub initiative and the first offering, GeoQ, at the GEOINT Symposium. Her comments start at 40 minutes and 40 seconds from her GEOINT 2014 conference speech. NGA open sources software packages under their GitHub organizational account. * After the 2019 creation of the
United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...
, NGA began working with the USSF "to provide geospatial intelligence to support and identify future needs of the service," establishing a new support team (NST) embedded at USSF headquarters.


Controversies

NIMA / NGA has been involved in several controversies. * India tested a nuclear weapon in 1998 that reportedly took the United States by surprise. Due to budget cuts in defense spending after the end of the Cold War (see
Peace dividend ''Peace dividend'' was a political slogan popularized by US President George H. W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the light of the 1988–1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, that described the economic benefit of a decrease in de ...
), the Intelligence Community was forced to reevaluate the allocation of its limited resources."Secretive map agency opens its doors"
,
CNN.com CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, December 13, 2002
* In 1999, NIMA reportedly provided NATO war-planners with incorrect maps which did not reflect that the Chinese Embassy in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
had moved locations, which some have argued was the cause of the accidental
NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade On May 7, 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force), five U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs hit the People's Republic of China embassy in the Belgrade district of New Belgrade, killing three Chinese state ...
. The
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
countered this criticism by saying this overstates the importance of the map itself in the analytic process. Maps of urban areas will be out-of-date the day after they are published, but what is important is having accurate databases. * On Jan. 17, 2013, USS ''Guardian'', a
mine countermeasures ship A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destro ...
, was grounded on the
Tubbataha Reef The Tubbataha Natural Park, also known as the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park ( fil, Bahurang Tubbataha), is a protected area of the Philippines located in the middle of the Sulu Sea. The marine and bird sanctuary consists of two huge atolls (name ...
in the southern Philippines. While it was determined that the NGA had provided an inaccurate chart that was off by as much as , the Navy primarily faulted the ship's crew, specifically the commanding officer, the executive officer and two junior officers that were standing watch at the time of the grounding, as they had failed to adhere to prudent, safe, and sound navigation principles. The crew relied solely on the inaccurate Digital Nautical Chart (DNC) during the planning and execution of the navigation plan and failed to appropriately
cross-reference The term cross-reference (abbreviation: xref) can refer to either: * An instance within a document which refers to related information elsewhere in the same document. In both printed and online dictionaries cross-references are important because ...
additional charts and utilize visual cues. *From 2013 to 2018, NGA designated the latitude and longitude coordinates of a private residence as a default location for
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, causing the digital-mapping website MaxMind to set it as the location of over one million
IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
es, which in turn caused people searching for missing phones and other electronics (as well as other people trying to track down IP addresses in Pretoria and police officers attempting to track criminals) to show up at the residence. The issue was eventually resolved following a private investigation and a request to both NGA and MaxMind that the default location be changed.


Credit union

In 2011, upon consolidating most Washington DC metro area NGA employees to NCE, the
Belvoir Federal Credit Union Pentagon Federal Credit Union, widely known by its abbreviated name PenFed, is a United States federal credit union headquartered in McLean, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). ...
(BFCU) became the on-site credit union serving NCE-based personnel. In 2016, BFCU merged with
Pentagon Federal Credit Union Pentagon Federal Credit Union, widely known by its abbreviated name PenFed, is a United States federal credit union headquartered in McLean, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). ...
.


Gallery

File:NGA New HQ.jpg, NGA Headquarters File:NGA New HQ - atrium.jpg, NGA headquarters'
atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...


See also

*
Cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
*
Geographic Information System A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...
(GIS) *
GEOnet Names Server The GEOnet Names Server (GNS), sometimes also referred to in official documentation as Geographic Names Data or geonames in domain and email addresses, is a service that provides access to the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency ...
*
Geospatial engineering Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it ...
* GIS use in NGA *
Imagery intelligence Imagery intelligence (IMINT), pronounced as either as ''Im-Int'' or ''I-Mint'', is an intelligence gathering discipline wherein imagery is analyzed (or "exploited") to identify information of intelligence value. Imagery used for defense intelli ...
(IMINT) *
Geospatial intelligence In the United States, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is intelligence about the human activity on earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery, signals, or signatures with geospatial information. GEOINT describes, assesses, and vis ...
(GEOINT) *
Orthophoto An orthophoto, orthophotograph, orthoimage or orthoimagery is an aerial photograph or satellite imagery geometrically corrected ("orthorectified") such that the scale is uniform: the photo or image follows a given map projection. Unlike an ...
*
Remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
*
Satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell ima ...
* Small Sats *
TransApps TransApps (Transformative Applications) was a program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense. The goal of the program was to demonstrate rapid development and fielding of secure mobile ...
*
Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO) is an Australian government intelligence agency that is part of the Department of Defence responsible for the collection, analysis, and distribution of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in ...
, Australian counterpart * Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA), supported by NGA.


References


Further reading

* Explains NGA's capabilities. * Online repository of issues of NGA's magazine NGA Pathfinder


External links

* * *
GEOnet Names Server
(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
Center for Geospatial Intelligence
: University of Missouri - Columbia research center focused on GeoINT
JP 2-03, Geospatial Intelligence Support to Joint Operations, 31 October 2012

Commission Report on the National Imagery and Mapping Agency

''GeoIntelligence''
A trade publication covering the uses of spatial technologies for national defense and homeland security by organizations such as NGA *


Agency Provides More Than Just Maps
* The Center for Intelligence and Security Studies trains new analysts in
Intelligence Analysis Intelligence analysis is the application of individual and collective cognitive methods to weigh data and test hypotheses within a secret socio-cultural context. The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of deliberate ...
{{Authority control United States Department of Defense agencies United States intelligence agencies Military cartography Military geography Military intelligence agencies Military in Virginia Surveillance Government agencies established in 1996 1996 establishments in the United States Intelligence analysis agencies Geographic data and information organizations in the United States Photogrammetry organizations Geographic information systems organizations