117 SRES 397 ATS: Recognizing the 25th Anniversary of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
U.S. Senate
2021-09-29
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
III
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 397
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 29, 2021
Mr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Blunt) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 25th Anniversary of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Whereas, in an effort to improve the imagery intelligence, mapping, and geodesy capabilities of the United States, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the predecessor of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (in this preamble referred to as the “NGA”), was founded on October 1, 1996, with the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997;
Whereas the NGA derives from legacy agencies, including the Defense Mapping Agency, the Central Imagery Office, the Defense Dissemination Program Office, the National Photographic Interpretation Center, and parts of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, which played vital roles in the defense of the United States in conflicts dating back to World War II and modernized the discipline of geospatial intelligence (in this preamble referred to as “GEOINT”) through imagery analysis and mapping production;
Whereas, with military and civilian employees serving at NGA headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, the NGA West Campus in St. Louis, Missouri, and additional locations throughout the United States, and personnel deployed worldwide, totaling more than 200 locations in more than 25 countries, NGA produces timely and relevant mapping, charting, geomatics, and intelligence products to warfighters, first responders, civil authorities, policymakers, and the maritime and aviation communities;
Whereas, throughout its 25-year history, the NGA has provided world-class GEOINT support to policymakers and military commanders of the United States, in times of peace and conflict, during significant national security, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief efforts, including—
(1)
the operation that resulted in the killing of former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden;
(2)
operational GEOINT support in the space warfighting domain;
(3)
safety of navigation support for mariners and pilots;
(4)
support to search and rescue, response, and recovery efforts for hurricanes, cyclones, wildfires, and other humanitarian disasters domestically and internationally;
(5)
countering drug trafficking and other illicit activities by transnational criminal organizations; and
(6)
continued mission support to forward-deployed members of the Armed Forces across the globe;
Whereas, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the men and women of the NGA have worked diligently to deter, detect, and prevent acts of terror by providing GEOINT support to United States and coalition forces in support of global counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations;
Whereas the NGA continues to support national security requirements against the strategic competitors and potential adversaries of the United States, using new intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sensors;
Whereas the topographic mission of the NGA traces its lineage to the year 1777 with the Office of the Geography in the Continental Army;
Whereas NGA continues to provide integrated geographic data, products, and services in support of the national security objectives of the United States Government by—
(1)
maintaining more than 51,000 topographic maps in support of global combat operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and military training;
(2)
serving as the official geographic names steward for the United States Government, providing customers with more than 13,000,000 names;
(3)
assisting in the understanding and resolution of sovereignty issues by providing international land and maritime boundaries in coordination with the Department of State;
(4)
generating human geography data that informs a global understanding of the human environment; and
(5)
producing unclassified geospatial information in support of national and partner efforts in the Arctic and to enable scientific research in the Arctic region;
Whereas the NGA is the primary organization responsible for developing, maintaining, and enhancing the World Geodetic System 84 (including the Terrestrial Reference Frame, Earth Gravity Model, and World Magnetic Model), the foundation of all positioning, navigation, and timing systems supporting the Department of Defense, including the Global Positioning System;
Whereas the NGA spearheaded an international project with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to acquire radar data to create the first near-global, homogeneous set of land elevation data;
Whereas, during an 11-day mission in February 2000, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour and collected radar data on more than 80 percent of the land surface of the Earth at 30-meter resolution;
Whereas the NGA carries on the proud legacy of this project with the evolution to full 3-dimensional-elevation modeling;
Whereas the Maritime Safety Office of the NGA, which traces its lineage to the year 1830, collects and analyzes data for and publishes the Notices to Mariners to provide government, civilian, and international mariners with vital, up-to-date maritime safety information that helps ensure safe navigation all over the world;
Whereas the NGA also supports military and commercial vessels worldwide with navigational products and warning messages;
Whereas, in addition to legacy paper charts, NGA provides worldwide digital nautical charts that ensure safety of navigation to a broad base of users;
Whereas the Aeronautical Navigation Office of the NGA, which traces its lineage to the year 1943, produces timely, relevant, and accurate aeronautical GEOINT to support more than 13,000 Department of Defense airplanes and their crew members, allowing them to safely navigate around the world every day;
Whereas the NGA has converted from paper maps to downloadable digital maps and content, reducing the gear that pilots need to carry while also ensuring that the Department of Defense meets global airspace mandates for performance-based navigation;
Whereas the NGA continues to innovate, pursuing new methods of intelligence collection and analysis to inform, complement, and add to the support of warfighter and policymaker requirements by—
(1)
embracing innovative cost-sharing and risk-sharing constructs with the commercial electro-optical satellite industry;
(2)
engaging commercial technology providers, including small satellite companies and geospatial data analytics companies, that hold the promise of rapid technological innovation and potential significant future cost savings to the taxpayers of the United States;
(3)
leveraging emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, automation, and augmentation to enable advanced computational and intelligence capabilities;
(4)
discovering, assessing, and integrating new commercial geospatial data types and services that bring value to solving the complex intelligence problems of the United States and supporting disadvantaged and underserved users operating in austere environments; and
(5)
investing in breakthrough technologies and capabilities that will strengthen strategic warning, mission forecasting, and military intelligence and improve the means of navigation for NGA customers;
Whereas the NGA maintains United States GEOINT supremacy and hold the adversaries of the United States at bay by giving primacy to the core missions of the United States, serves as the world’s premier GEOINT force, and pursues a whole-of-enterprise approach focused on—
(1)
recruiting and training the world-class workforce of the NGA to lead the GEOINT community;
(2)
collaborating with both foreign and domestic partners on co-production of GEOINT;
(3)
leading the GEOINT community through the implementation of governance, standards, and enterprise services; and
(4)
supporting the national security interests of the United States by delivering to NGA customers persistent, accurate, secure, and timely GEOINT data, products, and services; and
Whereas, throughout the years, the mission and commitment of the NGA has remained the same: to show the way by—
(1)
delivering trusted GEOINT for decision advantage;
(2)
protecting the United States by reducing strategic surprises; and
(3)
elevating the understanding of the United States of the world and space to anticipate potential threats: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
congratulates the women and men of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Agency;
(2)
honors the professional women and men, past and present, of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for their selfless service and dedication to the United States; and
(3)
expresses gratitude to all the women and men of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for their past and continued efforts to provide timely and accurate geospatial-intelligence support to deliver overwhelming advantage to warfighters, defense planners, and defense and national security policymakers in the defense and security of the United States.