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Gontents

NIMA's DNC 17 Paves Way to New Charting EralAs Head West to Observe Military ExercisesHelgerson is New NIMA Deputy DirectorPromotion Process Reflects Person-Based Approach ofWorl<force2lNIMA, To Coin a PhraseNIMA Milestone Reached with DoD/ClA Memorandum ofAgreementLife After NIMAMS Pilot Project Helps Employees Cope with OutsourcingTask Force Helps Transition to National SystemAero Analyst Obtains NIMA Data On Reserve DutyNIMA School Partnership-A'Capitol' Success

SRTM Hits a Home Run

0n lhe €over

It -w?,s,.r.,brilliant success. ars:in.!he,,making;,'the Shuttle RadarTcpography Mission success-

'. iul,ly 'mapped-in '3D=*mor6, than ,.-1 t9' rnillionsquarekilometers of land in nine days;,t5hours.

. NASAs sh uItle,, E ndeavau r, u,sing a 2 00 -f oot ex -, tendlng' ante.nna (inset) captured.ihe':data as'jtrepeatedly'orbited the' Earth;,, t,

Publkhed by National lmagery and Mapping AgencyDirector . [i. Gen. lames C]Kino0ftice of Public AffiirsActine Director . Laura B. SnowEditol: lohn llerAssociaie Editor: Muridith WinderStaff Writers: Don Kusturin, lennifer FlemingDesigner: [inda Miller

The Edge is an authorized command information publication published periodically in theinterest of llational lmagery and Mapping Agency personnel. Contents of this publicationare not necessarily the official view, or endorsed by the U.S. Government, Department ofDefense or the I'lational lmagery and Mapping Agency. Copy deadlines are the secondFriday of each month. Articles are edited for style, content and length.Correspondence should be addressed to:

IlrC l.dge, Public Affairs 0ffice, 4600 Sangamore Road, Mail Stop D-39, Bethesda, MD208t6-5003Telephone: (301)227.3105, DSI{ 287.3105. or in 5t. louis: (314) 253-4142orDSt{ 693-4142, or e-mail to The Edge.

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xcellence is a habit. I believe thatpeople who perform well do so be-cause they have disciplined themseives

to do their best. They apply an attitude ofpositive achievement to their work product.

This issue of the EDGE is all about excel-lence. Our cover story features the ShuttleRadar Topography Mission, a shining andhistory-making accomplishment, The inspira-tion and creative energy for the missionoriginated right here at NIMA. This issue'scover photo marks the beginning of ourcommitment to a new level of excellence inproviding extremely detailed topographicinformation to our customers. It shows thatNIMA not only is adapting to changes in the 21't Century, it is leading the way.

We cannot fail in our readiness, our modernization, nor our dedication to ourcustomers. Our recent internal reorganization, NIMA-21, creates a more effi-cient work environment that is solidly based on accountability and responsibil-ity. NIMA sustains its commitment to excellence in our Mission, Vision, CoreValues and Strategic Plan. We're on a steady course to the future, and we'teready!

In the pages that follow, you'll read about Dr. John Hamre, the departingDeputy Secretary of Defense who always strived to make things better. He hasbeen a staunch supporter of NIMA and never failed to do his absolute best atwhatever task he set for himself. There is also an article on how excellence isrecognized via the presentation of the "Directot's Coin. " Emblazoned with theLatin Tempestivum Verum Definitum, it states our relentless dedication tobeing "Timely, Accutate, Ptecise." Lastly, there are several articles whichhighlight the extraordinary work NIMA people do everyday.

The outcome of battles throughout history has depended on the united com-mitment of those who fight. NIMA has a genuine commitment to making andfielding exceilent information, products and services. Let us recommit our-selves to the habit of excellence so we can continue GUARANTEEING THEINFORMATION EDGE in imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial infor-mation. Together, we will continue to make a difference in the Department ofDefense, the U.S. Intelligence Community, and in the lives of many Americanswho expect excellence from their government agencies. We can do no more,and our customers will expect nothing less.

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&w Mmw ffifumr€ffimffi ffirmby Howard CohenMarine N avi gati o n D e p artme nt

s NIMA enters the 21't Century, paperproducts continue giving way to digitaldata, A recent example is the release of

Digital Nautical Chart (DNC@) Area 1.7,7rh

Edition of the Eastern United States.

NIMA's Hydro NPC, using cutting edge technology, includes from 1-r: Dave Turnbull,Tom RoJf ffront), Dave Brown, Steve Lewis, Michaela Dufu, lohn Tosh, Bob Lesko,and Ty Marr.

"Quite simply, it will pave the way fortransitioning the U.S. fleet into the modernelectronic charting era," said Walter Kozak, DNCrequirements manager for the Navy Division,Plans and Operations Directorate. "More signifi-cantly, it will provide the modern Navy elec-tronic bridge with enhanced automated situ-ationai awareness, support vastly improvednavigational hazard-avoidance capabilities andhelp reduce staffing requirements on thebridge. "

NIMA plans to showcase DNC 17 as the firstdatabase released to the fleet for safe navigationindependent of paper charts as backups. Thiswill be a significant milestone for both NIMAand Navy because previously-released DNCdatabases on CD-ROM were merely used by thefleet for familiarity, training and monitoring a

ship's position.

What is a ffiNC?

DNC is a database ofnautical features replicatedfrom paper charts to supportnavigation systems andGeographic InformationSystems (GIS). Depictedfeatures are thematicallyorganized into 12 categoriescalled "coverages." Theseare cultural landmarks, earthcover, land cover, environ-ment, hydrography, inlandwaterways, limits, aids tonavigation, obstructions,port faciiities, relief and dataquality.

The database is designedto support electronic chartdisplay and informationsystems (ECDIS) used by

U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships. DNC dataalso support new systems currently underdevelopment by U,S. military-sponsored con-tractors.

"Currently, DNC only supports shipboardtraining, situational awareness, mission plan-ning and GIS applications," Kozak said. UntilDNC data and ship navigation systems arecertified by the U.S. Navy as meeting criteriaestablished for electronic navigation systems, headded, each DNC CD-ROM must carry the

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disclaimer: "DNC IS rrr ' r r r rr. . is to produce one aNor ro BE usED NlMAts HydroVision month, ondreduce theFOR NAVIGATIC)N." number of people who

DNC data will even- "Toprovidecustomersup-to-datetailored handle DNC 17 almosttually replace the data on demand fiom a single digital nauti- to half-to 1b."requirement for cany- cal data maintenance environment focused Area 17 is signifi-ing paper charts tradi- on aggressive data collection and near real cant, McGaughrantionally produced by time information processing by regional said, because it's theNIMA and the Na- teams that leverage the advantages of imag- first testing ground fortional Ocean Service ery,imageryintelligence,andhydrographic one of NIMA's cus-(NOS). In an era of data sources." tomers-the U.S.rapidly advancing Navy.technology, Kozak "We are on the vergesaid, the DNC is a crucial and necessary innova- of revolutionizing maritime navigation as wetion.

Aboard Navy ships, submarines and CoastGuard cutters, this means a savings in money,space and manning requirements on the bridge.

The current DNC vector database is comprisedof zs geographic regions. NIMA already hasdistributed advance data sets on 29 CD-ROMs toits customers. The database will eventuallyinclude coverage of the Great Lakes and globalnavigation coverage between 84" North and B1o

South Latitude."To date," said Kozak, "more than 4,700

charts have been converted since this projectbegan five years ago. Fiscal 1999 was a banneryear as we completed digitiztng 2,2OO charts."

Teamwork and Technology

"DNC's have been produced for years," said

James McGaughran, Data Generation Division's(GID's) inhouse production project leader."What made DNC 17 significant was the coi-laborative effort between two Geospatial Infor-mation (GI) groups."

The collaborative effort was between theMarine Navigation Departrnent's (GIMM's)NIMA Production CelI [NPC) and GID's DataCapture and Finishing Environment (DCAFE).

The Marine Navigation Department used"cutting edge technology" to publish a producton CD that can be updated bimonthly instead ofannually, while the other used an establishedproduction system. "It will be every two monthsfor now," McGaughran said. "However, our goal

know it today," said Navy Cmdr. MichaelO'Loughlin, assigned to the Navy Division,Plans and Operations Directorate. "New com-puter technologies eliminate the Navy's relianceon paper charts, allowing us to take advantageof new digital nautical products such as NIMA'sDNC."

Navigationally Safe Data Set

"We want to create a navigationally safe dataset, keeping it current and accurate," saidHydroVision NPC's branch chief, Mark Sadecki.The production of DNC also was another step inNIMA's HydroVision program which is aimed,Sadecki said, at providing "aggressive datacollection and near real time" regional process-ing. "It means," he added, "that GI will becomean organization consisting of integrated, region-ally-based teams providing optimal upkeep ofdata. "

lust as the Global Positioning System is replac-ing the need for a sextant on the bridge, Kozaksaid, NIMA's DNC will ultimately replace theneed for paper charts on the bridges of U.S,ships. "Isn't this a great way for NIMA and itscustomers to kick off the new millennium?"

NIMA's DNC home page may be accessed viaNIMA's homepage http://www.nima,mil byclicking the "Services online" button and thenthe DNC homepage hotlink. DNCs can be down-loaded from the DNC Website, which is pass-word protected. :;

THE EDGE I APRTL 2000 l 5

fAs Head West to Observe M:litary Exercisesby Liz ShermanImagery Analysis Office

magery analysts arepacking their bags andheading west-to the

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National Training Center(NTC) in California.

Following the annuaitrend for NIMA, 12 analystsfrom the Middle East/Africaand Eurasia divisions of theImagery Analysis Office (IA)spent one week at Fort Irwinin the vast Mojave Deserteast of Los Angeles toobserve military exercises.

Analyst William C. Dabbsof the Iraq Branch, whoheaded the most recent tripin February, said the visit toFort Irwin provides imagery analysts the oppor-tunity to experience a battlefield environment."The deployment of armored forces for offensiveand defensive operations directly relates to whatmany of us do on a day-to-day basis," he ex-plained. "At the NTC, we can observe firsthandthis operational deployment of an actual battle."

Combat brigades garrisoned in the continentalUnited States travel to the Center for one month"rotations," where they engage in simulatedcombat with a highly trained opposition forcecalled "OPFOR." The OPFOR is actually theU.S. 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR)

posing as a motorized rifle regiment from thefictional nation of "Krasnovia."

The equipment used by the "Krasnovians" isanother interest for the analysts.

"This trip provides an up-close and personallook at foreign and U.S. military equipment,"Dabbs said, Such equipment includes theAmerican M-1A1 Abrams main battle tanks,M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs)

and other top-of-the-line armored fightingsystems. OPFOR's equipment was visually

6 | rHE EDGE I APRIL 2000

... ]

modified to resemble the SovietT-72 tanks andBMP-2 IFVs. U.S. Air Force aircraft also partici-pated in the exercises, playing both the role of"friendly" and "enemy" fighters.

Robert J, Omiatek Jr., of the Russia Branch,said that observing the many facets of the battlewould benefit him as a military analyst. "Expe-riencing a force-on-force exercise in real timewas insightful for me as an IA," Omiatek said,"because the battle was a continuous evolutionof events rather than one brief snapshot in timeas I'm used to seeing on the light table."

Although the trip helped the analysts in theirwork at NIMA, the U.S. Army personnel alsogained valuable insight. "We provided intelli-gence briefings to the 11th ACR to give them anidea of what NIMA/IA does and how we canassist them in their training role or a real worldsituation, " Dabbs said.

Members of NIMA's predecessor organizationstraveled to NTC numerous times during the late'BOs and early '90s. This tradition was resur-rected in 1998 and has become a worthwhiletrip for analysts. {"

Helgerson is New NIMA Deputy Director{ ohn L. Helgerson, a career CIA officer and

I fo.mer deputy inspector general, is NIMA'sI new Deputy Director.

/H"lg"rron, who served as CIA Deputy Inspec-tor General since 1998, also was Deputy Directorfor Intelligence. He began his career as an ana-lyst working on the Middle East and Africa, andIater headed units responsible for coveringRussia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.

A native of South Dakota, Helgerson graduatedfrom Saint OIaf College in Northfield, Minn.,and received his graduate degrees from DukeUniversity, Durham, N.C. He was an assistantprofessor at the University of Cincinnati beforejoining the CIA.

Helgerson is the author of Getting to Know thePresident: CIA Briefings of Presidential Candi-dates,1.952-L9s2, published by CIA's Center forthe Siudy of Intelligence in 1996. .i"

I'lamre Receives NIMA's Award For ExcelEeseee

Sohn J. Hamre, Deputy Secretary of Defense,

.$ has joined an extremely small group of recipi-'ents of the NIMA Medallion for Excellence.

The award is issued by the Director, NIMA, torecognize service or achievement. It is given tothose who have contributed to the success of the

NIMA mission and have established a patternof excellence.

NIMA Director Lt. Gen. James C. King pre-sented the medal, a three-inch gold medallionof the NIMA seal, in a special ceremony heldMarch B at the Washington Navy Yard. Kingpraised Hamre for his support of NIMA andcalled him a "significant part of the legacy ofNIMA,''

Hamre stepped down from his Pentagon postMarch 31 to become president and chief execu-tive officer of the Center for Strategic and Inter-national Studies. The award, he said, was to-tally unexpected-he was just stopping byNIMA to thank everyone for their support."There's no one I'm closer to than NIMA," hesaid. "Everybody in this department (DoD) de-pends on what you do,"

Hamre has served as Deputy Secretary since

July 1997 and, prior to that, had served as DoDcomptroller.

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 7

Promotion ProcessReflects Person-BasedApproach of WoRKFoncrZ !by Paul Hurlburt

ith the secondannual Wonxroncn2lpromotion cycle

underway, people involved increating the new humanresources system are upbeatabout the prospects for moreSUCCESS.

Last year, the Director hadspecified that the number ofpromotions offered would becomparable to NIMA's previ-ous "best" year for numbers ofpromotions, which was 1997.

That goal was accomplished,As statistics show, 595 DoDcadre promotions were madein 1999, including career-iadder promotions promisedunder legacy systems. This was43 more than 1997's 552.

Promotions of NIMA CIA-affiliate employees are notcurrently processed underWomroncn21,.

The first Wonxroncn2l. promo-tion cycle also "affirmed thereality of the switch to a per-son-based system," said DaveKraus, chief of the NIMAResearch Division.

Of the 422 employees pro-moted under Wonrc,oncn2l (notcounting career ladder promo-tions), most did not changeassignments, although theymay have assumed moreresponsibilities as a result oftheir promotion.

Unlike legacy systems, Wonx-roncn2l allows people to bepaid for their vilue to theorganiza-tion-what they con-

I I rHE EDGE I APR|L 2000

tribute to the mission in termsof their skills and performance.The concept of a "person-based" system differs fiomlegacy systems in that employ-ees are not paid solely accord-ing to their assignment or theposition they occupy. Legacysystems typically required anindividual to move to a newposition before receiving apromotion, unless the promo-tion was on a "career ladder."

The agency benefits whenemployees are rewarded forwhat they contribute to theorganization instead of accord-ing to the position they occupyand the "step" they are on,officials say. Employees, too,can also benefit in obvious andsubtle ways.

"Anyone who was promotedwithout changing assignmentsprobably benefited from theperson-based concept fofWonrcroncn2l]," Kraus said,because they would not havebeen promoted unless a va-cancy were announced underthe legacy system. Kraus Iedone of the management-em-ployee teams that designedWonrconcn2l. He was later amember of the Wonxroncn2lImplementation Team andcurrently serves as chairman ofthe Information ServicesOccupation Council.

Officials aiso believeWonrconcs2l demonstratedmore impartiality in the pro-motion process than underlegacy systems.

"Impartiality certainlyruled," said Dave Pierce, chiefof the Customer Support Officeadministrative team, whoserved on the promotion panelin the management supportoccupation.

"We went from a legacysystem, typically using a two-or three-person panel to exam-ine two or three candidates tofill a single position, to asystem that uses several per-sons on a panel, examining amuch larger portion of thetalent in NIMA at one time,"Pierce said. "The best werepromoted and duly recognizedfor their skills and perfor-mance."

The Womroncn 2 1 promotionprocess "provides a thoroughreview of a candidate's capa-bilities and how well they meetthe promotion criteria," Kraussaid.

Kraus and Pierce are the firstto admit that, in terms ofpaying people for their value toagency, NIMA has a way to go.But, Kraus says, "we're headedin the right direction. I expectwe'11 leap forward this yearwith another round of promo-tions. "

A ciear example of howemployees have already ben-efited from person-basedpromotions occurred in St.Louis, Kraus said. Due to theexisting grade structure, manyIS employees there were beingpaid less for doing the samework as their counterparts inthe East. But when the promo-tion panel looked at theirskills, according to standardsdefined by the IS OccupationCouncil, these employeesreceived promotions. In fact,more people in the NIMAResearch Division from St.Louis than elsewhere got

promotions last year because ofthe grade-skill discrepancy,Kraus said. "They had beenartificially restricted frompromotions, so WoRxt oncn21leveled the playing field acrossthe occupation."

Research Division employeesin the East have the opportu-nity to get promoted, too,Kraus noted, "if they advancetheir skill set. And Wom-roaca2 1 provides them theroadmap they need to advanceto the next leveJ.," he added,citing the Occupation Guide,which is provided for everyNIMA occupation.

The "person-based" approachto promotions was seen as animportant advantage to severalempioyees, who earned promo-tions last year.

"I believe the person-basedconcept is what opened thedoor for my promotion," saidTammi Kiser-Sparks, a NIMAstaff officer in Public Affairs."I've worked for the govern-ment for a number of years andhave had scant opportunity forgrowth-unless, of course, Iwanted to take another posi-tion. Wonrponcn2l. allows me tostay in a position I like and bepaid for the expertise I'vedeveloped."

Scott Robertson, a member ofthe Central Imagery TaskingOffice, was still officially intraining when he applied forand received his promotion."My master's thesis was aCITO project, and I spent thesummer on site with CiTOwhen I was writing it," he said.

"A person-based system isgood sense in that it allows meto perform my duties with

appropriate rewards," saidFaye Elienburg-Virostek, aformer cartographer as-signed to the Congressionaland Public Liaison Officeon a detail and later reas-signed as a NIMA StaffOfficer. She noted that theSenate Select Committee onIntelligence audit teamhailed Wonxtoncn2l. as "arrinnovative approach topersonnel management. "

Frorno&ions {JnderWonxponcEZX

"The bulk of the promotionprocess rests with the promo-tion panels," said BettyDamker, Woaxroncs21 imple-mentation lead for performancemanagement. OccupationCouncils in each of the NIMAoccupations convene thepanels. Membership of bothcouncils and panels is in-tended to reflect NIMA'sdiversity in terms of gender,race, geography, organizationand technoiogy.

Promotion panels announceopportunities, assess and selectpromotion candidates, notifysupervisors and candidates ofselections, and provide feed-back to all employees whoapplied for promotion.

"The panel members areresponsible for making soundprofessional judgments, main-taining confidentiality, demon-strating their commitment tovaluing differences, and mak-ing effective 'people' judg-ments," Damker said.

In support of the person-based concept of Wonxroncn2L,employees have the opportu-nity for promotion based onassessment of their demon-strated skills and performance,

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THE EDGE I APRTL 2000 | 9

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rather than solely on the levelof their assigned duties.

Employees applying forpromotion should "providespecific examples that reflectthe scope, complexity andfrequency of their use of spe-cific skills," Damker said."They may also address theirwork history through describ-ing major duties, responsibili-ties and accomplishments thatthey believe have preparedthem for promotion to the nextband."

Because assignments andpromotions are not linked inWoaxroncn 2 1, employeesgenerally must demonstratethat they can perform newskills before they are rewarded.One way to obtain new skillsand experience is through adevelopmental assignment,rotation, or detail. Formaltraining should also be consid-ered. NIMA's Career Develop-ment Centers can provideguidance on ways for employ-ees to enhance their careers.

The feedback provided bypromotion panels to thoseemployees not accepted forpromotion is especially impor-tant. Kraus said.

RequlrementsManagerment SystemSteps [Jp toTrainingf rlcrease €ustomer Serviee

by lim StacyNIMA College

n lan. 13, DavidBroadhurst, director ofthe NIMA College,

presented a special certificateand plaque to Derrick Thomas,U.S. European Command.Thomas was the 4000thgraduate of the RequirementsManagement System (RMS)training program since itsinception in 1995.

The Requirements Manage-ment System (RMS) is used byall DoD civilian and militaryorganizations, as well as allmembers of the U.S. Imageryand Geospatial InformationService, to task national imag-ery coliection. Training ismanaged by the NIMA CollegeNational Imagery and AnalysisSchool (NIAS). It's conductedat the Collection TrainingFacility, Mclean, Va., at train-ing sites in the military com-mands and the U.S. ArmyIntelligence Center, Ft.Huachuca, Ariz. NIAS trainsand certifies more than 550students annually.

RMS training initially tookplace only at the CollectionTraining Facility and U.S.Strategic, Pacific, and Euro-pean Commands. A 1998

restructuring of thesystem, enabled alloperational RMS sitesto take part as well,increasing the flexibil-ity to meet customerrequirements. NIASmobile training teamsdeploy to customersites at MacDill AirForce Base, Fia.; Ft.Bragg, N,C,; Norfolk,Va.; and CampHumphries, Korea.

One of the mostsignificant instances wassupport to a time-critical needfor RMS-trained personnel atU.S. Air Force Europe,Ramstein, Germany, during theKosovo operation. The NationalImagery and Analysis Schooltailored the normally two-weekRMS course into an intenseone-week course, certifyingfour students at the RamsteinOperations Center to meetNATO Theater operationalrequirements,

"The Collection TrainingFacility has been called 'theshining star' of the RMS com-munity by NIMA customers,"said Lt. Col. Kathy Parker,deputy chief of the Tasking andRequirements ManagementBranch. "The staff continues toexhibit excellence and dedica-

David Broadhurst presents a special certificate andplaque to Derrick Thomas, the 4000th graduate ofthe RMS.

tion in the quality of instruc-tion and instructional productsthey provide to their custom-ers. "

RMS training is part of theschool's Imagery CollectionManagement Training Pro-gram. It currently offers threecourses: a requirements man-agement course for taskingofficers and collection manag-ers; a research course foranalysts; and a user-assistedseries for all RMS users. Twoof these deal with imagerycollection management. Theyare Imagery Collection Strate-gies, a collection managementcourse, and National ImageryCollection Management,available in the third fiscalquarter as an Intelink web-

l0 | THE EDGE I APR|L 2000

based course. Other Intelinktraining will include MapUtility, Conditional Tasking/Multi-Discipline Intelligence,and Production and Distribu-tion-which will be offered as

online workbooks. (See http://ops-tasking.nima.ic. gov/Intelink/RMS/CTF). The imag-ery collection managementcourses wiil become an in-creasingly more important partof training.

"Much of NIAS success isdependent on its trainingpartnerships with the com-mands," said Jim Stacy, chiefof the Tasking and Require-ments Management Branch."The critical element of thispartnership is the CommandInstructors program, wherebythe College certifies locaiinstructors to deliver itscourses. This gives the com-mands the flexibility they needto meet the constant turnoverof trained personnel whilesimultaneously reducing bothNIMA and command costs."NIAS has trained and certifiedinstructors at the U.S. Strate-gic, Pacific, and EuropeanCommands and is workingwith the U.S. Army Intelli-gence Center to certify Armyinstructors, "This will incorpo-rate Requirements ManagementSystem and national imagerycollection management inArmy imagery intelligencecommissioned warrant andnoncommissioned officer andenlisted imagery analystcourses. "

As a logical extension of thispartnership, the National

Imagery and Analysis School isfurther strengthening its rela-tionship with the U.S, PacificCommand (PACOM) to satisfycritical training requirementsin Korea.

"As a pilot for an on-the-job-training and train-the-trainerprogram," Stacy said, "theNIMA College is authorizingPACOM to certify U.S. ForcesKorea subject matter experts as

on-the-job trainers in lieu ofthe one-week research course.The objective of these pro-grams is to empower the Com-mands to train more users byincreasing course availability,tailoring training materials,and choosing best trainingmethods to meet specificcommand needs while ulti-mately reducing their travel

"The CollectionTraining Facility hasbeen called'the shiningstar' of the RMScommunity by NIMAcustomers. The staffcontinues to exhibitexcellence anddedication in thequality of instructionand instructionalproducts they provideto their customers.tt

costs and time away fromstation. "

In addition to the commandand service school partner-

ships, the NIMA College isworking with the Army Na-tional Ground IntelligenceCenter/Imagery Op erationsDirectorate at the WashingtonNavy Yard to establish theNational Joint Imagery Train-ing Facility (NIITF). It willreplace the Collection TrainingFacility when it closes laterthis year. *

F or questions re gardingthe NIAS training, contactlim Stacy via e-mail or by

phone at(7os) Bos-s202-DSN 6ss.

WORKFORCEzI,continued from page 9

"People in a person-basedsystem can't grow withoutfeedback," he added. "Thewhole intent of W oaxroncz 2 1

is for employees to knowmore about why decisionsare made that affect them, sothe promotion panel feed-back fits in with this ap-proach."

The promotion processshould be easier for appli-cants this year because it isnow more standardizedacross occupations, officialssay. Employees are encour-aged to demonstrate theirvalue to NIMA by submit-ting a promotion applicationin the occupation of theirchoice.

The deadiine for turningin promotion applications isMay B.

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | I I

NIMA, To Coin a Phrasehe concept of special"commandgl'g" 6ging-or in the case of NIMA.

a Department of Defenseagency, a "Director's coin"-issteeped in Army tradition andwas adopted by the Agencyshortly after the arrival ofNIMA's Director, Lt. Cen.

James C, King,Traditionally, they are

awarded by unit commandersto subordinates for outstandingachievement. Each unit has itsown specially-designed cointhat carries a uniform set ofresponsibilities and rules forthe recipients. (See coinholder's responsibilities,p8.13.)

Now NIMA has gone a stepfurther by issuing a commemo-rative coin, one commemorat-ing the Shuttle Radar Topogra-phy Mission (SRTM). Only a

few went into space aboardEndeavour with agency pen-nants, flags and seals. Most ofthe coins are strictly earth-bound and will be given as

mementos to those participat-ing in the project. Each has aserial number and may begiven to those who have aidedor taken part in the SRTM.

The {dea of Coins

Although some disagree onwhere the idea for distributingcoins comes from, Army Col.Michael Thompson, NIMAchief of staff, said he beiieves it

..1..!+1.1:ffiffir;

Col. Mike Thompson displays the enviable collection of coins he's gatheredthroughout his career.

The seal has significance inmapmaking and targeting. Thelaurel symbolizes honor andhigh achievement. The threearrows symbolize the combatsupport mission. The eaglesymbolizes watchfuiness and isthe national emblem of theUnited States. The 13 starsexemplify the principles offreedom upon which the U.S.was founded and underscorethe national security mission ofthe Agency. Black denotesouter space from which a

constellation of defense satel-Iites gather intelligence andgeospatial information. Thedemi-globe represents themapping mission of theagency. Black and white domi-

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goes back to the days of WorldWar II Europe and members ofthe Army's First Division,known as "Big Red One."Before customized coins wereused, soldiers used thepfennig, a German "penny."

NIMA's coins are bronze,with an enameled front sidesporting an eagle's head risingfrom two diagonal crossedgreen laurel branches. En-closed above is a tripartite bluescroll doubled and inscribed,Tempestivum VerumDefinitum ("Timely, Accurate,Precise") and encircled by 13

white stars. Circling the em-blem is a white enameled bandinscribed "National Imageryand Mapping Agency."

t2 | THE EDGE I APR|L 2000

nate in the seal to symbolizenight and day and constantvigilance.

The reverse of NIMA'sDirector's coin is emblazoned"Director's Award for Excel-lence" and sports a three-starflag with the NIMA banner andthe words "Guaranteeing theInformation Edge."

The commemorative coin isidentical, except that the backshows the space shuttle En-deavour with the SRTM an-

tenna fully extended, gatheringdigitai terrain elevation data ofthe Earth's surface. "This wasNASA's first manned missionin 2000," said Dr, EricBerryman, of NIMA's PublicAffairs Office. "SRTM is themost ambitious collection oftopographical data ever at-tempted, to date. The initialsaround the rim of the coinrepresent the partners in themission: National Aeronauticsand Space Administration(NASA), let Propulsion Labora-tory (lPL), German AerospaceCenter (DLR), and the ItalianSpace Agency (ASI),"

Cornmander's CoinHolder R.esponsibilities

The Commander's coin ismeted out especially for "ex-cellence" in performing workin an exemplary manner. Assuch, awardees are usuallygoverned by a number of rulesin keeping with the prestige ofholding a unit or commander'scoins.

Challenges

1. Coin holders must be inpossession of their coin atall times.

2. Coin holders must showtheir coin when challengedto do so. Only coin holdersmay challenge each other. Achallenge is conducted byproducing a coin and re-questing that the challengedcoin holder produce a

NIMA coin, also. Failure toimmediately produce a

NIMA coin constitutes a

grave offense for which a

penalty must be exacted.Immediately producing thecoin when challenged is asuccessful rebuke of the

challenge and allows theindividual to exact a penaltyfor the insult of having beenwrongfully challenged.

3. Challenges may be made toor by more than one coinholder at a time but may notbe repeated. The loser of thechallenge is expected tomake amends to everyonewho issued the challenge.Coin holders who producetheir coins are entitled tocompensation from every-

one who made a wrongfulchallenge.

4. Once a coin holder has beenfound to be without a coin,the disgrace is considered tobe absolute and no furtherchallenge may be issued atthat time or at that event.

5. Anyone obtuse enough toissue a challenge to a coinholder known to be inpossession of a coin de-serves to pay the penalty.

Fenalties

1. Penalties shall be levied onall occasions for failure toproduce a coin or insulting a

coin holder.

continued on page 17

THE EDGE I APRTL 2000

NIMA's coins - The front of both coins is identical The backs shown are the Director's coin (middle) and SRTM coin.

t3

F{ilMA M;les€ome ffieached with$}om/e nA Merrno*-affidum of Ag*'eern'nesl€

IMA's transition to theorganizationenvisioned at its

creation reached anothermilestone with the signing of aMemorandum of Agreement onFeb. tt. The memorandum,signed by Director of CentralIntelligence George Tenet andSecretary of Defense WilliamCohen, addressed keyquestions regarding thetransition of CIA personnel andpositions to NIMA.

The agreement, said Tenet,"resolves important issues thatarose with the establishment ofNIMA." It does not, he added,"change existing relation-ships. "

The MOA states that CIAaffiliates will "retain their CiAaffiliation for the duration oftheir U.S. Government employ-ment if they choose to do so,

even if they occupy DoD/NIMArather than CIA positions." Italso states they will be eligibleto compete for both CIA andNIMA positions.

R.esolves WmrlcfrorceUmcertaimty

"The intent really is to re-solve uncertainty in theworkforce," said KarenNorthart, director of NIMA'sHuman Resources Office andherself a CIA affiliate. "Whatthe MOA will do is take theaffiliates out of limbo, and will

go a long way to establishingconsistency in how all NIMApersonnel are treated. "

At NIMA standup, Depart-ment of Defense cadre employ-ees joined with the affiliatesand uniformed service mem-bers. "You had separate civil-ian personnel systems, separatesecurity processes with differ-ent rules," Northart said.Affiliates also had "legitimateconcerns about their careerdevelopment," retained CIAbenefits and retirement op-tions. "This memorandum,"she added, "answers manyquestions, establishes greaterreciprocity throughout theIntelligence Community andwill assist both affiliates andcadre employees in leveragingour resources. It also will resultin a stronger NIMA and astronger Intelligence Commu-nity, "

Transferred Positions

As part of the agreement,NIMA will obtain 1,o22 posi-tions from the CIA and thefunds-transferred from theCIA's budget beginning infiscal 2001-to support them.Once NIMA has the money, itwill reimburse funds back tothe CIA to support the affiliatesin their current functions.

Under the MOA, affiliateswill retain staff status and CIA

badges. Among other thingsthat won't change:

. How they are paid, theamount they're paid andlhe dates on which they'repaid;

. Procedures for reportingtime and attendance;

. Earnings and leave state-ments;

. The way NIMA operateswith regard to domestictravel benefits and entitle-ments;

. The way NIMA operateswith regard to overseasbenefits and entitlements;

. Polygraphs and drug testrules;

. CIA security requirements;

. Retirement and resignation-affiliates will be

E

cNorthort

14 | THE EDGE I APRIL 2000

reassigned back to CIA imme-diately prior to retirement orresignation for appropriatepersonnel processing;. Security accesses;. Trial period (for new CIA

affiliates);. Career status; and. Grievances involving CIA

processes.

CIA affiliates who desire totransfer to DoD may do so.

trnvclverarerut inWonrcpaa{:E 21-

In the short term, no changes

will be made in the promotionor reassignment processes forCIA affiliates; however, theMOA provides for the partici-pation of CIA detailees inWoarroncr2l. Affiliates also are

eligible to receive NIMAawards allocated in accordancewith NIMA policies and proce-dures.

As affiliate replacementsenter the r,vorkforce as NIMADoD emplo-vees, Northart said,they must still conform to CIAsecuritv requirements. Thisincludes routine and periodiciifestyle poivgraphs and spe-

cial clearances."The National Photographic

Interpretation Center was asuccessful organization com-posed of CIA employees,Defense Intelligence Agencycivilians and DoD servicemembers for 30 years,"Northart said. "NIMA has agreat potential for being evenbetter." Already, other intelli-gence agencies look at NIMA as

a model, she said. "WzRK-

roncn2 1 and other initiativesensure the future of NIMA.When we developed Wom-roncn2l and pay banding, theywatched us, and they're stillwatching."

One NIMA

From NIMA's perspective,the term "affiliate" refers toany CiA employee assigned toNIMA. The MOA means mostaffiliates working at NIMA willnow be detailed to NIMA on areimbursable basis without an"end of tour date." Dependingon some situations, some

affiliates will be on rotationalassignments with specific endof tour dates.

"The MOA takes us one morestep towards the one-NIMAconcept," Northart said. "Itwill allow NIMA to have allpositions under its budget andgeneral personnel authority. "

Under Wonxroncn2l, all em-ployees-both cadre andaffiliates-would have thesame standards for promotion,job consideration and awardswithout regard to background.

To Rick Stakem, deputydirector of the OperationsDirectorate, the MOA meansthat the issue of affiliation has

been resolved. "Even if theaffiliates were told not to wonyabout it, they'd womy about it,"he said. The challenge now isto ensure that CIA affiliates cancontinue to instiil what he callsclassic intelligence values-their own analytical integrity,intellectual curiosity, profes-sional commitment and tradecraft excellence-into NIMA.

lVhat Now?

"Where do we go from hete?"said NIMA Director Lt, Gen.

James C. King in a memo to

continued on page 19

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 15

A-76 Studies

Life After NIMAThis is part of an ongoing series of articleskeeping the workforce informed about thecompetitive sourcing initiatives at NIMA.

By Don Kusturin

n ompetitive sourcing studies at NIMA are

I nothins new. In 1gg7, a cost/benefitU u.r"lyri was conducted on computeroperations. As a result, much of that functionwas contracted out. A number of NIMA employ-ees were affected. Most of them, however, tookadvantage of NIMA programs and have foundtheir initial concerns eased-there is life afterNIMA.

Jimmy Boyd, Chief of the Systems OperationsBranch (SONO), knows too well the unsettlingeffects that contracting out functions can have.

He's had to inform people that their jobs wouldbe making the transition.

"Some were angry," he said. "They werescared, concerned, apprehensive, defensive, andfelt betrayed by the government and managers."

For many, the fears proved unfounded.

Right of First Refusal

NIMA provides a soft landing for employeesby ensuring incoming contractors give formerNIMA personnel "right of first refusal." Thismeans contractorsmust first offer jobs toNIMA employeeswhere vacancies existfor work done insupport ofthe agency.It has resulted in ahigh percentage ofthose affected return-ing as contractors.

"The 'right of firstrefusal' was great foremployees," Boyd Waggoner and Berg

said. "And most have adjusted well." Aftertransitioning to the private sector, these employ-ees "continue to give their best," he added. "Thequality and dedication they show have pre-cluded any negative effect on the NIMA mis-sion. "

Boyd said that approximately 70 percent ofthe people affected by contracting have returnedto work at NIMA for the contractors, some doingthe same job. "Those eligible to retire faredextremely well," said Boyd. "They got retire-ment checks and comparable salaries with thecontractors. "

"Contracting out for me came at an idealtime," said Daryl Berg, who met both the age

and time-of-service requirements. "I was eligibleto retire on Friday and began working for ARTI(Advanced Resource Technologies, Inc.) onMonday. My wife and I felt this was an opportu-nity too good to pass up."

Berg, like many in NIMA, was able to capital-ize on having enough years of service for retire-ment purposes and being able to return tocomparable work on the next business day. Thisallowed him to bring in pay from two sources

with a single decision.

Voluntary Early RetirementAuthority

Vashti Blanchard foresaw the trend indownsizing of the workforce and made the rightdecisions to protect herself. Because she had therequired age, but not the time in federal govern-

a

s

t6 | THE EDGE I APRIL 2000

ment, she was eligible to take the VoluntaryEarly Retirement Authority.

"There had been articles and speakers on thetopic of government downsizing for manyyears," she said, "I had prepared myself longbefore it was presented to me. Therefore, thedecision I made was best for me."

Don Wagoner found himself in a similarsituation. He had time in service without the age

requirement needed for full retirement. Hisdecision was not necessarily one of choice, butof necessity. He felt pride working for the gov-ernment and wanted to stay a NIMA employee,but found himself with no other alternative thanto retire at a reduced benefit and return to NIMAcoilecting a contractor's salary.

"[Things are] better now. ARTI is a goodcompany, pay is good and I'm getting a FederalAnnuity with Federal Health Benefits," he said."The civilian health benefits ate expensive."

-.

Penalties may be agreed upon by thoseconcerned prior to the actual challenge.Other than a previous agreement onpenalties, the following apply:

.:f . If challenged in a restaurant, caf6,office, work space or public house themiscreant who fails to produce a coin orr,vho wrongfully challenges a coin holdershall buy the coin holder a beverage of hisor her choice.

If on an athletic field or in a fitnessfacilitr.. the miscreant will execute 10push-r-rps or an equai number of sit-ups.

If the challenge occurs in some otherarea. the penalty may be deferred orsatisfied at a later date when the condi-tions of ''a" or "b" apply, or anautographed tr,vo-dollar bill may beoffered to satisfu the debt.

Coin holders are expected to uphold thehighest standards of decorum and dignity.

"It is not as painful as one might think," saidVashti. "There are a lot of advantages workingfor the private sector. In a very short time, I haveobtained so much and have been given opportu-nities I had not gained from working for thegovetnment."

All three former NIMA employees said theyare glad they had met retirement eligibility, butacknowledged there were those who hadn't.Their advice to those who might be affected inthe future: be prepared. They recommendeducation, training and the willingness to adapt.

"My advice is that if the inevitable happens,and you're contracted out, Iook at it as a chanceto jump into the 21st century with a new job,

new employer and make the best of it," saidBerg. "Who's to say what opportunities maydevelop in the future?" '*"

Coin challenges conducted under cir-cumstances that violate good order anddiscipline, customs of the service, thedignity of the individual concerned orsimilar circumstances will be declaredinvalid.In cases where the coin challenge isunder question, the senior coin holderpresent (military or civilian), who is notinvolved in the matter, will decide themerit of the challenge.In those cases where ail present areinvolved in the challenge, a decision willbe deferred until an officer, noncommis-sioned officer (NCO) or petty officer (PO)not involved in the case can be located.The decision of the officer, NCO or POappealed to is final and cannot be over-turned.In situations where civilians are so1elyinvolved, a toss of the coin-with a

heads or tails call-will decide the issue.

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 17

IMA Mission Supportemployees subject tooutsourcing are getting

some breathing room to plantheir next career move, thanksto a two-year pilot programapproved by theDirector inIanuary.

Assignmentsheld by employ-ees in many MSfunctions will beshifted to con-tractors on avoluntary basis,as long as at least50 positions are

converted eachyear, said JerryDunbar, director of the MissionSupport Office (MS). Over thenext six years, a total of sOO

MS positions are subject toconversion to contract.

The trial program, whichcould be extended for sixyears, affects MS employeesmostly in Bethesda and St.

Louis, where most of MScommercial activities areperformed. Referred to as the"MS Attrition Model," theprogram is possible because ofBase Operating Services (BOS)

contracts signed in Septemberwith Alaskan Native compa-nies qualifying under thepreferential procurementprovisions of the competitivesourcing regulations. Thesecontracts are a culmination ofexceptional work done by acontract acquisition team madeup of members from MS andPC, according to Dunbar.

"The new BOS contracts willalso consolidate existing MS

18 I THE EDGE I APRIL 2OOO

contracts," Dunbar said. "OMBA-76 regulations generailyrequire competitive sourcingstudies to determine whetherthe function can be performedmore efficiently in house or by

The government retains controlover which modules to award,which also allows control overcosts.

As outlined in a Jan, 31

memorandum to employees byNIMA Director Lt.Gen. lames C.

King, NIMA willrequire that thecontractors hirestaff from currentMS personnel innumbers set bythe contractor."Any remaininggovernmentworkforce will beconsolidated andorganized to work

in modules that have not yetbeen placed under contract."

Giving Ernployees MoreControl

The flexibility provided bythe BOS contracts will benefitboth NIMA and employees,according to Dunbar.

"Say a government employeewith a critical skiil, such as a

boiler operator, suddenlyleaves NIMA," he said. "Withthe BOS contracts, we nowhave the ability to quicklyconvert the work to contractand the contractor immediatelyrecruits for a replacement."

If the pilot program is ex-tended, employees also willhave more flexibility to sched-ule important events, such as

retirement, to take maximumadvantage of the benefits thatthey have earned.

"About a third of all MSemployees are currently eli-

MS Pilot ProiectHelps Ernployees

Gope withOutsourcing

by Paul Hurlburt

contract." These studies, headded, have unknown butdate-specific outcomes. Thesesame regulations also allow fordirect conversion to contract,again, under the preferentialprocurement provisions.

In 1997, MS established a

vision of "One Agency, OneBOS." The MS strategy toachieve the vision calls for aconsolidation of contracts bysite, then by region and finallyby agency, Dunbar said. "TheBOS contracts are now in placeand the next step is to dividein-house functions into mod-ules that will be individuallynegotiated for conversion tothe BOS contracts. The con-tractors will then solicit theworkforce, and upon receivingcommitments from employeeswho wish to transition to thecontract, decisions will bemade on which modules toaward. This entire cycle willthen be repeated next year."

gible for retirement underVoluntary Early RetirementAuthority (VERA)," Dunbarnoted. In the next six years,another third of MS employeeswill become eligible to retireunder VERA. The latter groupis the one standing to benefitmost fiom this attrition model,he added, because "if MS wentthe traditional route of an A-76cost competition, many ofthese folks might or could missthe opportunity to obtain theirretirement benefits."

The BOS contracts allowemployees to choose whenthey depart government ser-

vice, If the pilot program issuccessful, more employeeswill be able to take advantageof retirement benefits. Theremaining third of affected MSemployees are enrolled in theFederal Employee RetirementSystem (FERS). This group has

pension portability from theirthrift plan and social securitybenefits.

"Few people like the wholecontracting-out notion, "

Dunbar said, "but given theoptions available to us, thisattrition model is the mostworker-friendly solution. It'sall about giving employees as

much control as possible bygiving them time to makedecisions about their careers."

Partnership Envisioned

The BOS contracts are withAkima and Chugach, and arerenewable for up to 10 years,which will allow NIMA andthe contractors to build a

strong partnership, Dunbarsaid. "We want the transitionto contract to be transparent toall MS customers, by provid-ing highly responsive cus-tomer service and by livingNIMA Core Values," he said.Incentives are built into thecontracts to encourage qualityperformance.

MS functions availableunder the BOS contractsinclude security selvices,installation maintenance,

space management, safety andhealth and other base supportfunctions. The MS visualinformation function is undera separate A-76 competitivesourcing study. Administrativeservices (i.e., secretarial andclericalJ in MS are covered bya NIMA-wide natural attritionplan.

Plans call for retainingminimum levels of in-housecapabilities in MS, with con-tract augmentation wherefeasible. These include NIMApolicy development, MSpolicy and program manage-ment for core processes,corporate planning, site andcontract management, agencyspace planning and spaceboards, NIMA representation,customer requirements defini-tion, Automated InformationSystems Security certificationand accreditation, securityincident management, person-nel clearance processing,special security access pro-grams, and force protection. *

Agency employees. "First, wewill make every effort toclarify the content, meaningand impact of the Agree-ment." Second, he added, "Ihave chartered a team toprovide counsel and adviceon issues as they arise," Theteam, led by Rick Stakem,includes John Kringen,

director, Imagery AnalysisOffice; Terry Verniet, directorof the Central Imagery TaskingOffice; ]ames Harris, deputygeneral counsel for Intelli-gence; Ed Henson, director ofthe Acquisition Office; andKaren Northart,

"I am pleased we now have a

signed MOA," King said. "I am

confident that it will serve theneeds of all parties and moveNIMA forward in GUARAN-TEEING THE INFORMATIONEDGE to all customers ofimagery, imagery intelligenceand geospatial information. "

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 19

Task Force Helps Transition to NationalSysteln, Wins Directorns Kudosbv Paul Hurlburt

66 he difficult we do right away-theimpossible takes a little longer," \A/as

a popular World War II ditty. Itpersonified how Americans approached the taskof winning the war. That motto could easilyhave been used by NIMA employees whorecently worked to bring a new imagery analysissystem on line.

Deemed vital to national security, the NIMA-led National Exploitation System (NES), whichprovides data used in the exploitation anddissemination of imagery, officially replacedother systems maintained by the IntelligenceCommunity last October.

Facing this daunting task, more than 250

Agency employees, conttactors and IntelligenceCommunity members formed the NIMA Infor-mation System Task Force (NISTF), responsiblefor managing the transition from legacy systemsto NES. Within six months, undet the leader-ship of Betsey MazzeIla, chief of Imagery Analy-sis and Technology Integration, this rapid-response task force tackled-and overcame-all

Betsey Mazzella receives the Distinguished Civilian ServiceAward for her leadership of the National Information SystemTask Force.

challenges of the transition in a manner Kinglikened to Tennyson's "Charge of the LightBrigade."

'Superb Example'

About 70 members of the NISTF gathered Jan.24 in the Washington Navy Yard auditorium toreceive thanks from their director and seniorleaders. Special guests included AssistantDirector of Central Intelligence for Analysis andProduction John Gannon and Craig Baugh, theDefense Intelligence Agency and Commandrepresentative, both who played key roles in thetransition.

Some "fabulous positives" came out of theeffort, King told the audience. Not only wasoperating capability achieved and customerconfidence enhanced, the NISTF membersdemonstrated that "when we work together as a

community, there's just nothing we can't accom-plish."

Members of the NISTF included employeesfrom all the NIMA directorates, but especiallySystems and Technology (ST), which deliveredthe National Exploitation System, and theDirectorate of Operations (DO), NIMA's primaryNES user.

Bill Allder, deputy director for Systems andTechnology, called the task force accomplish-ments "a superb example" for everyone inNIMA of "how we need to operate." Layingaside organizational boundaries," he added, taskforce members "put all the issues on the table tochoose the best course of action as a group."

"You thought you could do it, and you did,"said Bobbi Lenczkowski, deputy director forOperations, describing the group's positiveapproach.

For her leadership of the NISTF, BetseyMazzeIIa, chief of the Imagery Analysis Tech-

20 | THE EDGE I APRIL 2ooo

The "Real Warriors," Mary Ellen Dixon, Ieft, and Vickie Roachreceive NIMA Director's Coins from General King for theirspecial c ontributions.

nology Integration Staff (IACS), received theDistinguished Civilian Service Award. Her"direction and personal example" r /ere cited as

being "critical in making sure that NIMA couldmeet its commitment to guarantee the informa-tion edge."

King presented the NIMA Medallion of Excel-lence to Mazzella and four other members of hermanagement team, Roy Combs, Pat Cribb, KeithLittlefield and Robert McGee. He also presentedDirector's Coins to Vickie Roach and Mary EllenDixon for their contributions to the NISTF.

More than 260 employees from throughoutNIMA, the Intelligence Community and privateindustry received Certificates of Appreciation,signed by King. Their names will appear in theNIMA Connector.

;r| ,,. , ,'-i ,:tl:ri ilt;i iir{,i gl.f i'.j t::ll lr'i.j jr' ,r. il

Comprised of servers at different locations anda database of imagery information, the Y2K-compliant NES runs on existing CIA, DIA andNIMA netrvorks, replacing imagery exploitationsystems formerly maintained by the CIA andDIA, The repository for imagery intelligencereports created on those legacy systems alsomoved to the NES, giving customers worldwideaccess to its database via Intelink.

The transition involved not solely the NES,but the networks it was designed to serve,MazzelIa said. The goal is to consolidate the

separate local area networks by the end of thefiscal year.

"Many of us understood bits and pieces, butfew understood the whole system and thechanges to the workflow that both NIMA andthe Intelligence Community would see,"Mazzella said. As a result, King asked MazzeI).ato report to him daily.

Representing both DO and ST, Mazzella'simmediate challenge was to "build a trustingrelationship, then rank the priorities and workthrough them quickly," working as a team. "Itwasn't DO versus ST," she said. "We workedthrough the issues and priorities together."

Long hours and "daily reprioritization" be-came the routine.

"The first week Roy Combs [NISTF executiveofficer] and I worked almost nonstop," Mazzellasaid. "We had to get the network people and thesystem people together and provide guidance onwhat issues to work." Time also was spentrecruiting members of the NISTF and organizingthem into working teams. But in many cases,"folks just stepped forward," she said.

As the task force patiently and systematicallyaddressed each issue, the National ExploitationSystem incrementally became operational,achieving full capability in October. *

The NIMA Medallion for Excellence is presented by GeneralKing to five members of the NISTF management team, fromleft, Rob McGee, team lead Betsey Mazzella (foreground),Keith Littlefield, Roy Combs and Pat Cribb.

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 2l

Bill NormanAAFIF Pro duction Supp ort

Understanding customers' needs is an impor-tant part of providing relevant and timel_-v data-especially aeronautical data which can changequickly. Gathering that data is sometimes achallenge to collection s)/stems that are ham-pered by rapid tnrnover of personnel. TheAerc-rnautical Navigation Department (GIMA) has

an unusual case where one of its analysts is acustomer, a collector, and an information pro-ducer.

atarina (Kim) Bentler is an aeronauticalarea analyst. She's also a major in theU.S. Air Force Reserve and an aircraft

commander on KC-135 tanker aircraft with the63rd Air Refueling Squadron at Selfiidge AirNational Guard Base, Mich. "I travel to Selfridgeone or more times each month to put in time as a

pilot," she said. "And every time I come back toNIMA, I bring some insight I've gained in theoperational environment. "

Managing a full-time job and flying for the AirForce in Michigan isn't easy. Reserve pilots flyonce or twice each month on a "long weekend,"and they spend several weeks each year onspecial exercises or projects. To join her squad-ron, Kim takes a commercial flight from St.

Louis to Detroit, then a rental car for the last 50

miles to Selfridge. "It gives special meaning tothe term 'long weekend,"' she laughed.

A special mission for Bentler occurred on

January 14 when she flew from Selfridge toAndersen Air Force Base, Guam, and back-some 35 hours of flying time plus a few stops forcrew rest. While in Guam, she was able to obtaindetailed, airfield information she needed toupdate the aeronautical database. "The informa-tion was much more readily released to NIMA as

a result of my being there in person," she said."And it was a unique opportunity for me to

THE EDGE I APRIL 2OOO

€

,1 r4#&rr**Bentler

update an airfield that was within my area ofresponsibility. "

Prior to her trip, Bentler reviewed the airfieldrecords for Andersen Air Force Base to deter-mine what data was needed. She also coordi-nated with NIMA aeronautical imagery analyststo see if any "ground ttuth" photography wouldbe helpful for interpreting what they see ontheir typical "top-down" view of the world.Using this shopping list of data shortfalls, shecoliected information on lighting for the airfieldparking areas and detailed parking plans (whatkind of airplane can be parked where). The dataprovided some ground truth validation for theimagery analysts.

Following her graduation from the U.S. AirForce Academy in 1983, Bentler completed theUndergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) course at

Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., in 1984. As a

pilot, she flew tankers for eight years follou'edby a seven-year stint doing various non-flvingjobs. Her aviation experience qualified her in1997 as an aeronautical analyst in NIMA'sAeronautical Navigation Department, where she

was assigned territorial responsibility for air-

'i

a

s

22.

w*i*4G4-.*.d

fields in the Far East and PacificOcean. She returned to flying statuswith the Reserve in March 1999.

"I'm very huppy to be back in theair," she said. "I think it brings avaluabie perspective to the NIMAworkforce and am always lookingfor ways to enhance the aeronauti-cal information database-thusGUARANTEEING THE INFORMA-TION EDGE!'' 'i'

Bring Your Childto Work Day

Ever wish your childrencould see what you do onthe job? If so, mark yourcalendars for April 27-Bring Your Child to WorkDay, From 6 a,m. to 3 p.m.,children between the ages

of g-ts will be allowed toshadow their parent or le-gal guardian in their day-to-day jobs.

Children will be requiredto sign in. The liberal leavepolicy will be in effect onltre 27th.

Further information willbe provided in a NIMANews release. Or call ErniePeters, 227-7076,

%e

*rq."q:#"

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 23

=+i1:

lVinners ol Hutchison Elenentary School's geography bee with Rep. Davis. [L-R): Brea]1naRebischke, 6'|' grade. Cctrlos Davila and Dee Henson, 1't' p4rade.

24'

"What do you want to be r'tiren vou glo\,v up?"The question came during a tour of Capitol Hillon Feb. 11. Rep. Tom Davis [R-Va.) \\ras meetingwith three young winners of a geography bee

from Hutchison Elementary and three SchoolPartnership Program coordinators.

The three students, Breanna Rebischke, 6th

grade, and Carlos Davila and Dee Henson, 4'h

grade, were accompanied by Julie Mehalik,Hutchison Elementary School; John Liebsch,NIMA; and Kim Roivas, NIMA.

After Breanna and Carlos gave their answers, itwas Dee's turn. Without hesitation he repliedthat he wanted to work for NIMA. Not too sur-prising, since Dee's father, Gleg Henson, is awatch officer in the NIMA Operations Center,Bethesda.

When asked about it later, father Greg chuck-led and said Dee "will likely change his careerplans in a few short years, but for now it seemsto be a good reflection on his feelings aboutNtrMA's partnership with Hutchison School.

THE EDGE I APRIL 2OOO

And his dad works there to bootl" Greg calledDee a "well-traveled kid," often spendingn'eekends r,r,ith the rest of the family exploringVirginia's man\. landmarks he is studying in 4'l'grade historr-.

NIMA's School Partnership Program is par-ticularly successfill at Reston drie to NIMAvolunteer tutors, pen pals and all the emploveesat Reston who contribute through groceryreceipt drives, etc. NIMA Reston renews itsPartnership Agreement with Hutchison Elemen-tary School as part of the School's GeographyBee event. NIMA Reston currently boasts 17

tutors and tg pen pals and has collected morethan $2,500 in grocery store receipts that theschool will use to purchase equipment andsupplies.For information on how to participate in theNIMA School Partnership program callloan Mears (l,lIMA East) at 301-227-3105, orSharon Smith (NIMA West) at 31.4-263-4142.

$ffiTP{ ffi&&s & ffiorv}e Rum;

& Per$@nat View from €fue ffiewsrqpffi$x?by lennifer Lafley

ometimes total success just doesn't seemto be within our grasp-but that's not thestory of the Shuttle Radar Topography

Mission, which blasted into space on Feb. t1.Now that the 10-day mission is over, the sheervolume of information gleaned covers an incred-ible area of more than 119 million square kilo-meters of land. How it will be used is even moremind boggling.

After nearly two years of working together,National Aeronautics Space Administration(NASA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Euro-pean Space Agency and NIMA team membershad progressed beyond collaboration-they hadbecome friends as well as colleagues. By thetime the shuttle was launched, each memberknew the others' work habits, expertise andpersonalities. And though each group had itsown perspective of how events played, theclock-like precision and success of the missionelated all. Together, they contributed to thesuccessful completion of mapping much of theworld's surface in three dimensions-collectingradar images from nearly 48 million squaremiles.

From tire Ne\.&is Rssmt; Kenrgedt/"Space Center

Reporters on the space news beat of vatiousrnedia organizations hung out in front of theNASA news room at the Kennedy Space Center,It's a collegial group, and information is freelyshared. Inside the news center, half of the roomwas dedicated to the public affairs officers fiomNIMA, NASA, JPL and the European SpaceAgency, who interacted and disseminatedinformation. A long counter with a battery oftelephones and hookups for laptop computerswas where we conducted most of our business.

Across the room, a larger bank of counterssporting names such as USA Today, HoustonChronicle, Spacenews, St. Petersburg Times,and Florida Today. Even though the reportersfrom these newspapers and news agenciesweren't partners in the mission, the reportersformed close working relationships with their"sources." Japanese astronaut Momaru Mohriwas especially popular. Much revered in hiscountry, Mohri had more reporters followinghim than the rest of the astronauts combined.

An earlier launch attempt of the mission inJanuary brought the most reporters. The reason:it was raining and cold, The newsroomswarmed with the typically relaxed print report-ers in jeans and sweatshirts contrasted by thecoifed and immacuiately dressed anchormen.Requests for interviews with SRTM team mem-bers and for information about the agenciesinvolved kept everyone busy. Phones and faxeswere ringing. Added to the mix were newlyselected astronauts, signing autographs andgaining experience talking to reporters,

NIMA Director Lt. Gen. James C. King repre-sented the agency at a press conference onNASA television that was picked up by CNNand other stations. Tom Hennig, NIMA's SRTMproiect manager, appeared on all the localtelevision stations and Terry Meehan, formerlyof the Congressional and Putrlic Liaison Office,gave several radio interviews. The warmth ofthe media spotlight was exhilarating, but whenNASA announced that the first launch attemptwas aborted, the room empti,ed within minutes.

It was over, at least for the next 11 days. Theonly sounds in the room were public affairsofficers making plane reservations to returnhome.

Continued next page

THE EDGE I APR|L 2000 | 25

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