PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
May 2017
333
SECTOR
INSIGHT:
.
mil
E
ducation
and
P
rofessional
D
evelopment
in
the
G
eospatial
I
nformation
S
cience
and
T
echnology
C
ommunity
By Frank Avila, Senior Scientist, Office of Sciences and Methodologies, National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency
T
he role of Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) profes-
sionals within the nation’s national security frame-
work rose to public prominence during the Cuban
Missile Crisis, and the impact of imagery and map-
ping data on our nation’s safety have continued to increase rap-
idly over the following 50+ years. As readers of this publication
are certainly aware, the technology explosion of that period
has given rise to the geospatial capabilities that anyone with a
smart phone can access today.
Since 2012, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
(NGA) led the Department of
D
efense (DoD) init
i
ati
v
e
1
to
professiona
l
ize the field of GEOIN
T
anal
y
sts within the
United States Intelligence Communit
y.
In that time, DoD has
issued more than 7,000 credentials to a
n
alysts from across
the breadth of GEOINT occupations as part of the GEO
I
NT
Profe
ssio
n
al Cert
i
fic
at
ion (GPC)
P
rogram. Opportunities
abound for
p
eople to build a career in the highly-s
pe
cialize
d
geospatia
l
informat
i
on and services field.
T
oda
y,
DoD offers 11 pro
fes
sional certifications in
GEOINT
.
Te
n are for speciali
ze
d tradecrafts-
-
Ae
ronautical
Analysis
, A
pplied Science (bath
y
metr
y,
geodetic earth
science
,
geodetic orbital
s
cience, and surve
y
)
, Ca
rtograph
y
,
Collection Management
,
Geospatial Analysis, Geospatial
Da
ta Management, Human Geography, Imagery Analysis,
Imagery Science
,
and Mari
t
ime
A
nal
y
s
i
s
.
The 11th is
the GEOINT Fundamentals certification which veri
fi
es
knowledge, skill,
a
nd
a
bili
ty
across all o
f t
h
e
tradecraft
areas a
s w
ell as an understanding of DoD-specific
GEOI
N
T
con
c
ept
s,
do
c
t
r
in
e,
p
o
licies
,
and the use of G
E
OINT products
and services b
y
DoD
’
s
c
us
t
omers. All profess
i
on
a
ls mu
st
first
ach
i
e
ve
th
e f
undamental-le
v
el certification before pro
v
ing
th
e
ir tradecraf
t
expertis
e, a n
od
t
o DoD
’
s b
e
lie
f
th
a
t th
e
power
of G
E
OIN
T
is onl
y
achieved
t
h
ro
u
g
h
t
he abilit
y
to
effe
cti
ve
l
y
use all a
v
ailable in
for
m
a
tion to sol
v
e comple
x
geospatial
c
hal
l
en
g
e
s.
To date, three GPC programs have earned accreditation
from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies
(NCCA)
2
;
these are GEOINT Fundamentals, Aeronautical
Analysis, and Imagery Analysis programs. All GPC
certifications incorporate a credential maintenance program
that offers certificants the opportunity to “recertify” at the
end of the initial three-year certification window by earning
Professional Development Units (PDUs). The purpose of the
PDUs is to demonstrate the certificant’s effort to maintain
and enhance their continued competence as a GEOINT
professional.
As part of the certification effort, DoD identified the Bodies
of Knowledge specific to those who provide
highly- sens
itiv
e
services to warfighters and policymakers to help keep our
nation safe
. G
EOI
N
T Professiona
l Ce
rt
i
fication ensures that
credentialed G
E
OINT prac
t
itioners have pro
ve
n profic
ie
nc
y
in competencies required to carry out their miss
i
on
. This
certification process f
aci
lit
ates
pr
ofessional
d
eve
l
o
p
ment,
tra
i
ning standar
d
s and efficiencies, promotes better
s
y
n
chr
oniza
t
ion and alignment of individual
c
apabili
t
ies
with the DoD Intelligence Enterprise’s needs through
tr
a
nsportab
l
e credentials and the further professionalization
of the GEOINT workforce across the federal government.
The
GEOINT Professional
Ce
rt
i
fi
cation program achieves
this through recognizable, tr
a
nsportab
l
e credentials that
attest to an indi
v
idual
’
s understanding of the facts
,
concepts
,
a
nd principles that are the core of
t
heir profession.
DoD GEOINT professionals share many skills and work
functions with professionals in related occupations across
state and local governments as well as across industry and
academia, where advances in imaging, processing, and GIS
technology and capabilities are being made every day. The
government’s strategy to advance its GEOINT capabilities
includes a heavy emphasis on unity of effort with industry
and academic partners, and NGA Director Robert Cardillo
has often cited the importance of creating a true professional
field that encourages movement across employers and
Setting the Standard: The GEOINT Pro
f
essional Ce
r
ti
fi
ca
t
ion
P
rogr
a
m for the Department
of Defe
n
se
1
2
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 83, No. 5, May 2017, pp. 333–334.
0099-1112/17/333–334
© 2017 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.83.5.333
