LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Amidst shelves of tapes and compact disks and stacks of external computer hard drives works the four-man team of the library of Air Combat Command Combat Targeting Intelligence Group intelligence geospatial.
Intelligence geospatial is one of the three divisions of CTIG, which is divided into three sections: geospatial library (GPL), the controlled base image team (CIB) and multi-spectral imagery production (MIPS).
All three sections of ING provide tailored imagery products, used in mission planning and training, said Tech. Sgt. Dorothy Barron, range imagery non-commissioned officer-in-charge. The data ING receives and passes on to bases and customers is crucial.
The CIB team maintains images for all of the Air Force, whilst MIPS creates maps. The GPL team is responsible for maintenance of the library. The goal of all three is to provide warfighters with the most up-to-date geospatial intelligence to complete the Air Force mission.
"We house the CIB for all of the Air Force," said Staff Sgt. Christine Uhrinek, ING imagery analyst. "The GPL team also creates maps, baseline tapes and training slides."
The National Geospatial Agency sends monthly updates, which the GPL team uploads into a database. The data is uploaded onto baseline tapes, and distributed to all bases and six or more areas of responsibility. The GPL currently houses five terabytes of data, which grows one terabyte a year, said Sergeant Uhrinek
"We receive satellite imagery from NGA, which is extremely accurate," said Sergeant Uhrinek. "The imagery could be of anything, including terrains and buildings. It's within one, five or ten meters of the subject, close enough to see details."
The U.S. Geological Survey sends imagery to CIB, who creates a 900-by-900 square nautical mile size product from the individual images, said Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Singletary, NOCIC of CIB,
One project takes about a month to complete and contains 16 images, said Sergeant Singletary. This product helps customers with terrain familiarization and mission planning.
According to Sergeant Barron, the goal of MIPS is "ultimately to save lives by providing combat commanders (east of Mississippi and Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.) with information pertinent to the mission," she said.
"Some bases have not updated their data in a year and don't realize that someone's life could be at stake," said Sergeant Uhrinek. "We teach the importance of having up-to-date information. What if a pilot is flying and thinks there's a ravine when it's no longer there? Or perhaps there's cover in a location when it's gone?"