|
Items in cart [0] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
| Copyright © 2010. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 46
4
Relationship of the
Defense Mapping Agency
to Civilian Agencies
4.1 BACKGROUND
Military and civilian mapping, charting, and geodesy programs are closely re-
lated and, though one serves national security and the other national develop-
ment and their priorities and emphases differ, their products and services are
similar and often identical. The relationships between federal military and
civilian mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G) agencies are documented in
legislation and in interdepartmental and interagency agreements. Since the
establishment of the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) in 1972, interagency
contacts and cooperation between DMA and the civilian agencies have been
simplified and appear to be operating more easily and effectively.
4.2 DEFENSE MAPPING AGENCY EXPERIENCE
Before the formation of the DMA in 1972 the mapping, charting, and geo-
detic groups within the Department of Defense (DOD) exhibited many of the
problems now evident in the federal civilian agencies. The MC&G resources
were spread among the military departments; facilities and capabilities were
unnecessarily duplicated; the coordination of programs and technology was
hampered by organization separation and lack of clear direction; serious
deficiencies existed in meeting defense requirements for MC&G products;
and resources for MC&G activities were being reduced within the military
department budgets. Various management techniques, short of consolidation
into a single agency, were tried to reverse these trends, but none was com-
pletely effective.
46
;
OCR for page 47
Relationship of the Defense Mapping Agency to Civilian Agencies 47
MC&G products and services were freely exchanged between the military
services. For example, Air Force aeronautical charts were often in greater
demand by the Army and aerial surveys by the Air Force and the Navy. Geo-
detic surveys by the Army were used by all three services. This resulted in
each military department controlling resource allocations and production
policy for items of critical importance to another service. To resolve this
problem the Photographic and Survey Branch of the Office of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff was established, but this Branch did not have sufficient management
authority. The functions of this Branch were transferred to the Defense Intel-
ligence Agency, in 1961 at the time of its establishment, and more specific
responsibilities, including validation of requirements, product specification
control, and program management, were added. However, a 1970 DOD study
found that this arrangement was unsatisfactory since it did not provide con-
trol and direction over personnel and financial resources. The study recom-
mended formation of a single military mapping organization. Further study
led to the 1971 decision to establish the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA).
This agency consolidated 80 percent of the DOD MC&G resources (8500
personnel and $305 million in fiscal year 1980~. Those elements not included
in DMA—mainly the hydrographic survey elements assigned to the Navy and
the topographic troop units assigned to tactical commanders—are responsive
to the program management of the DMA Director.
Over the 4 years prior to the formation of the DMA, MC&G personnel and
budget were reduced by more than one fourth, even though the department
resource managers had been advised of serious deficiencies in meeting national
defense requirements. These out-of-proportion reductions were due to the
MC&G programs being organizationally submerged in each of the military
departments, where it did not receive significant visibility.
Within its first 3 years, the DMA achieved $36 million in savings through
consolidations, standardization of procedures, and other management and
technological improvements and reinvested these savings to increase produc-
tivity 18 percent. Improvements continue to be made. In addition, the DMA
now presents its overall resource requirements for national defense directly to
the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of Management and Bud-
get, and the Congress. The result has been that the more-critical requirements
have received budgetary support. Consolidation has resulted in needs being
handled in order of pnority, in greater quantity, and in faster response time
to users.
The DMA is able to focus timely attention on emerging MC&G require-
ments; today, 60 percent of its resources are used to produce digital and
other nongraphical products for trainer/simulators and weapon-systems guid-
ance as compared with approximately 35 percent at the time the DMA was
formed. The flexible reprogramming of resources, procurement of common
equipment and software for the production centers, and standardization of
OCR for page 48
48 FEDERAL SURVEYING AND MAPPING: ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW
the work force have enabled the DMA to respond to the rapid growth in re-
quirements for digital products. Further benefits resulted from DMA'S ability
to establish digital data standards to which the users must conform, thus
avoiding the cost of data-base proliferation.
4.3 GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS
In general, the DMA has responsibility for providing the maps, charts, and re-
lated materials, including geodetic, geophysical, and terrain data, required by
the armed forces and other national security organizations. For areas of the
United States and its territories, the DMA largely depends on products and
services of the civilian MC&G agencies, producing coverage in these areas only
when civilian-agency production cannot be responsive.
Since many foreign areas of national security interest are not accessible to
DMA personnel for conventional surveying and mapping operations, the DMA
supports an aggressive advanced technology program. Technology and data
from this program of use to the civilian agency programs are carefully reviewed
and transferred under procedures initiated by the Office of Management and
Budget some 15 years ago. These include periodic technical exchange meet-
ings and demonstrations for key officials of all federal MC&G agencies.
The DMA maintains working relationships and data exchange with many
foreign government MC&G agencies. Since production problems faced by
many of these agencies parallel those of civilian agencies, the DMA depends
on the civil agencies to provide a part of the technical training furnished
under these agreements.
4.4 CURRENT INTERACTIONS
The DMA interacts with the federal civilian agencies on topographic mapping,
hydrographic and aeronautical charting, geodesy and geophysics, data li-
braries, digital data files and formats, research and development, and mobili-
zation.
Requirements for military mapping of the territorial area of the United
States, at scales of 1 :24,000, 1:50,000, and 1:250,000, are included in the
programs and budgets of the Geological Survey (GS). Special military maps
are occasionally produced by the GS, sometimes with the assistance of the
DMA. Those maps of the United States produced by the DMA are distributed
through the G S.
The DMA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National
Ocean Survey (NOAA/NOS), and the Federal Aviation Administration,
through the Inter-Agency Air Cartographic Committee, develop specifications
OCR for page 49
Relationship of the Defense Mapping Agency to civilian Agencies 49
for joint-use charts and air information publications. For most charts and air
information publications, separate military and civilian versions are required
to fit the different operating environment. The DMA modifies the NOS civil
edition reproducibles for its printings of U.S. area charts and air information
publications, thus keeping DMA'S activities in these areas to a minimum. NOS
distributes any unique DMA air-chart publications.
NOAA/NOS produces the standard hydrographic charts for U.S. waters,
and the DMA produces charts for the oceans; by statute, the DMA is responsi-
ble for the distribution of charts for non-U.S. waters to civilian maritime
users. The DMA (Hydrographic/Topographic Center~andNOAA (NOS)repre-
sent the United States in the International Hydrographic Bureau, which fos-
ters international standardization and exchange of sea navigation data. The
DOD/NaVy, DMA, and NOAA/NOS have formal coordination procedures,
and the Oceanographer of the Navy maintains a full-time staff officer in the
office of the NOAA Administrator. The NOS and the DMA operate separate
public chart-distribution systems but collaborate on procedures and pricing.
The DMA depends on the geodetic and geophysical data (principally grav-
ity and magnetic data) available from NOS programs for U.S. areas. The DMA
carries out limited geodetic surveys in the United States, which are coordi-
nated through the Federal Geodetic Control Committee, pnocipally in con-
nection with ICBM sites or weapons and system development, test, and cali-
bration. The DMA has developed and operated systems for worldwide collec-
tion of data, has organized the data into libraries, and transforms the data
into reference systems to meet weapon-systems needs. The DMA data appli-
cable to U.S. areas are continuously reviewed for security classification and
released to libraries operated by civilian agencies.
NASA, NOAA, and the DMA participate in the Satellite Geodesy Applica-
tions Board, developing and operating national geodetic satellite programs.
Federal civilian agencies as well as the public utilize the Navy Navigation
Satellite System (NAVSAT) operated by the DOD and are expected to have
access to the DOD Global Positioning System for civilian geodetic positioning
when it becomes available in the late-1980's.
The DMA maintains worldwide MC&G data libraries. Over the past 15
years, major parts of the U.S. data library have been discontinued or trans-
ferred to federal civilian agencies. The geodetic control and gravimetric data
files of the United States have been transferred to NOS, and the development,
by the GS, of the National Cartographic Information Center has been encour-
aged. The DMA maintains the foreign geographic names file and provides staff
support to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for foreign areas. The U.S.
geographic names file is maintained by the GS.
The digital terrain data for U.S. areas, initiated by the DMA, have been
transferred to the GS, where they are maintained for joint civilian-military
OCR for page 50
50 FEDERAL SURVEYING AND MAPPING: ORG~IZATIONAL REVIEW
use. The rapid growth in civilian and military applications for digital carto-
graphic data as well as the increased use of computer systems in photogram-
metric and cartographic processes is generating large digital data files. The GS,
NOS, and DMA are working toward standardization in data file formats to
simplify cross-utilization of data files and to ensure rapid response in emer-
gencies.
In addition to the periodic technical exchange programs for key MC&G of-
ficials of the DMA and the civilian agencies noted in Section 4.3, the GS,
NOS, and DMA have formal agreements for cooperation in research and
development. These provide for regular briefings on program plans and status
and encourage cooperation at each phase of any project. Joint funding and
joint working groups are other features. The three agencies recently agreed to
procurement of identical production systems unless serious operating prob-
lems make a specific system impractical for any of them. As the technical
complexity of systems continues to grow, the ability to exchange data and
products at all phases of the MC&G process can be adversely affected by sys-
tem differences. The three agencies have also agreed to regular exchange as-
si~ment of technical staff to improve the transfer of ideas and information
and to assure greater general awareness of the full scope of federal MC&G
activities.
4.5 1973 REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS APPLICABLE TO THE
DEFENSE MAPPING AGENCY
In general, the 1973 report recommendations would continue the basic rela-
tionships currently existing between the DMA and the civilian mapping com-
munity, except that, if there were a consolidated surveying and mapping ad-
ministration, the multiple interactions described in Section 4.4 would reduce
to a single interaction.
Some of the recommendations, particularly those applicable to release of
classified gravity, bathymetric and similar data, and technology exchange in
mapping, charting, and research and development, identified need for in-
creased coordination. Considerable progress has been made since the 1973
report (see Section 2.2.3~.
The conclusion of the 1973 report that independent civilian and military
agencies are in the nation's best interest is still considered to be valid. A case
can probably be made for increased operating efficiencies through consolida-
tion in some production operations. Any cost savings identified, however,
would be heavily outweighed by the importance of maintaining separate and
positive control over program priorities to assure support for the two widely
differing national requirements.
OCR for page 51
Relationship of the Defense Mapping Agency to Civilian Agencies 51
4.6 INTERACTION BETWEEN THE DEFENSE MAPPING AGENCY
AND A SINGLE CIVILIAN AGENCY
The separation between military and civilian agency activities is well defined,
and cooperation appears to be working well but is subject to extenuating
circumstances at any given time. Some areas, for example, hydrographic sur-
veying, charting, and chart distribution, probably need further review to
determine areas where adjustments, such as joint civil-military operations,
may be desirable. Other minor adjustments would undoubtedly result in addi-
tional efficiency. Obviously this can be more easily accomplished if the DMA
could interact with a single civilian surveying and mapping agency.
The DMA is heavily dependent on the civilian mapping community for
MC&G products and services to meet national security requirements for U.S.
areas. The extent and quality of this support can be significantly improved by
the increased emphasis, efficiency, and interactive effectiveness that can be
expected from the establishment of a civilian Federal Surveying and Mapping
Administration .
Representative terms from entire chapter:
mapping agency
