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4. Two-and-a-Half Roles for NIMA
Below we describe
two missions and a supporting function: intelligence production, geospatial
information provision, and acquisition agent, respectively. We distinguish
between the two missions, each of which NIMA has to do, and acquisition,
which could be done for NIMA although the Commission does not endorse
distancing acquisition in this way.
The Commission distinguishes
the mission of intelligence from that of geospatial information by noting
that in the former case, the analyst tries to go beyond the data, while
in the latter, the GIS specialist tries to portray the data with scrupulous
accuracy.
4.1
NIMA as an Intelligence Producer
NIMA inherits a proud
tradition of imagery analysis from its forebears, especially the National
Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC). We can trace the modern era
of national imagery collection to the U2, its successor the SR-71, and
the earliest film-return satellites. Each was a technical marvel in its
own right: the U2, an airplane that could fly so high that no then-available
missile or pursuit plane could reach it; the SR-71, an airplane that could
fly so fast that none could catch it; and satellites still further out
of reach, aloft for years, which ejected exposed film cassettes to be
snagged in midair by a plane that would deliver it to the classified "drugstore"
to be developed. Equally marvelous was the exploitation industry that
grew up to service these reconnaissance assets, especially NPIC--generations
of dedicated men and women at light tables continuously developing their
art and improving their craft.
The information gleaned
from national imagery has informed (and transformed) US policy and operations--it
has, indeed, assured the safety of the republic. To successfully "read
out" the story an image has to tell requires both technical and substantive
experience. Recounting that story in a convincing way to the uninitiated
requires additional expository and illustration skills. Not all imagery
interpreters/analysts have all skills honed to the same degree. Indeed,
one can distinguish between photo interpreters (PIs) and imagery analysts
(IAs), the latter, some would say, being the higher calling. By whatever
name, however, IAs and PI's historically have seen themselves as distinct
from geographers and cartographers--the stuff of a Geospatial Information
Service (GIS). Moreover, the business processes that consume imagery intelligence
are distinguishable from those that consume GIS data.
There is absolutely
no expectation that NIMA's role as an imagery intelligence producer will
decline. If anything, because of the travails of the US SIGINT system--going
deaf, some would say--the role of imagery intelligence will be still more
important.
4.2
NIMA as a GIS Provider
An equally proud tradition,
which NIMA inherited from the Defense Mapping Agency and its predecessors,
is the provision of maps and charts to the Defense Department and beyond.
The mission of mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G) has been, and
continues to be, critical to the national security community. NIMA produces
over one hundred standard "map" products. These remain in high demand.
Indeed, despite the digital revolution, NIMA is distributing more paper
products than ever. Notwithstanding, the mission has evolved rapidly,
apace with information technology, and now we speak more broadly of a
Geographic Information Service/System.
The skills of the
geographer and cartographer need to be honed every bit as finely as those
of the imagery analyst (IA) or photo interpreter (PI). But, they have
not traditionally been fungible. The Commission forecasts the broader
construct of GIS will come to embrace both and foster a convergence of
skill sets.
Despite some encouraging
experiments with collocation of the two disciplines, and encouraging examples
such as that recounted below in Tale of Two Cities, the Commission
has looked largely in vain for real convergence. Interestingly, it found
some, not in Washington or St. Louis, but in-theater, closest to military
operations, where "topographic engineers" are creating fused products.
Both US Army intelligence doctrine as well as US army engineer doctrine
should explicitly articulate how the terrain analysts should work with
imagery and intelligence analysts throughout the force, as well as how
the larger "topo" battalions relate to NIMA.
4.3
The Role of Acquisition in NIMA
NIMA is in the information
business. Therefore, NIMA requires information systems to execute its
core missions of producing imagery intelligence and providing GIS information.
However, the acquisition of those systems need not be considered a core
business of NIMA. Another, responsive, organization could well be the
procurement agent for NIMA systems. This has a certain appeal.
NIMA's forebears,
by and large, did not do systems acquisitions: DMA and NPIC both required
(and received) outside help for their major systems procurements. Consequently,
NIMA has neither the tradition nor the organic assets to conduct major
systems engineering and acquisition activities. It is trying to build
such a cadre. However, the going is slow, and the competition for information-systems
skills fierce. Moreover, building a cadre of systems engineering and acquisition
skills inevitably comes at the expense of the core skills of imagery intelligence
and GIS. There is internal competition for slots and grades, and more
important for upper-management attention.
The Commission wrestled
with the question of how intimate to NIMA must be the systems acquisition
and acquisition activities. The Commission sought external alternatives
but found none satisfactory--none skilled with the "excess" capacity to
take on the NIMA workload. Grudgingly, the Commission concludes that NIMA
must, itself, acquire the skills to acquire. However, the Commission recommends
that NIMA do this in a manner highly unusual for government, and the reader
is directed to those sections of the report that discuss and recommend
formation of an "Extraordinary Program Office" (EPO).
Foreword
| Executive Summary and Key Judgments
| Introduction | NIMA
from the Beginning
NIMA in Context | Two-and-a-Half
Roles for NIMA | The Promise of NIMA
NIMA and Its Stakeholders |
NIMA and Its "Customers" | Is There a "National
vs Tactical" Problem?
NIMA and Its Peers and Partners | NIMA
and Its Suppliers | NIMA Management Challenges
NIMA's Information Systems | NIMA
Research and Development
NIMA and Its Information Architecture | Recommendations
| Appendix A
Appendix B | Glossary
of Terms
Table
of Contents | Home | PDF
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