8-16. Based on the Army’s organizational construct, GEOINT is described as intelligence derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery with geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities in the operational environment. GEOINT consists of imagery, IMINT, and geospatial information.
8-17. There are unique characteristics of each Service’s portion (or extension) of the GEOINT enterprise. Each member of the enterprise has unique requirements. Within intelligence, the nature of a Service’s requirements drives the conduct of unique intelligence operations (tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, dissemination, and the ultimate presentation).
8-18. Army GEOINT operations are complementary to NGA and joint operations, and the Army works within the same enterprise (the NSG) to improve the quality of intelligence support to all operations. Both the Army intelligence and engineer communities recognize the DOD GEOINT enterprise—and everything encompassed in the enterprise—and acknowledge GEOINT as an intelligence discipline. However, the Army doctrinal distinction is based on the operational construct of an intelligence discipline that is intelligence-product oriented. The full power of GEOINT for the Army is achieved from the integration and analysis of all three capabilities, which results in more comprehensive and tailored intelligence products for a wide scope of Army requirements and users across all of the warfighting functions.
8-19. The Army implements GEOINT through both geospatial engineer and military intelligence (MI) units. Previously, engineer and MI units worked independently in the creation of GEOINT products. Currently, permanent geospatial planning cells (GPCs) are situated at the theater Army, and the creation of GEOINT cells from the brigade combat teams to the theater Army provides for fully fused GEOINT analysis functions as an inherent capability of the J-2/intelligence officer. The primary GEOINT services each brings to the GEOINT cells are—
z MI units and organizations that provide imagery and IMINT to the enterprise.
8-20. Geospatial engineer units that are located at the theater Army level are the GPCs. The GPC mission is to collect, create, manage, and disseminate geospatial data, information, and products for the area of responsibility. GPCs are responsible for providing geospatial data, information, and products to geospatial engineering units for dissemination to Army Battle Command Systems and for coordinating the acquisition and production activities of geospatial engineering units operating within GPCs’ area of responsibility. GPCs also coordinate with NGA, host or allied nation geospatial support activities, and higher headquarters to create and maintain a geospatial architecture from national to tactical levels.
8-21. The conduct of operations depends on geospatial data and imagery. That geospatial data and imagery is the foundation for the COP, and it facilitates situational understanding for all of the warfighting functions. The COP is a critical tool to integrate all Army operations by providing a common view of operations and the operational environment. One of the primary data managers for the COP is the geospatial engineer at every echelon down to the brigade combat team. The GEOINT cell is responsible for creating and maintaining the GEOINT database of the COP. The GEOINT database establishes the geospatial data foundation for the GEOINT cell. These databases include enterprise databases such as the Theater Geospatial Database and Imagery Product Library.
8-22. The GEOINT cell provides direct support to create GEOINT products. The GEOINT cell is responsible for coordinating GEOINT requirements within the area of responsibility. The GEOINT cell provides the commander visualization of the area of operations (AO) and manages the geospatial and imagery foundations of the COP. GEOINT cells provide a collaborative environment for the geospatial engineer and imagery analyst to achieve maximum development of GEOINT products.
8-23. A cell is a group of personnel with specific skills brought together to accomplish key functions. GEOINT cells are composed of imagery analysts supported by geospatial engineers to provide commanders a more complete picture of the physical environment and infrastructure in the operational environment. The advantages of GEOINT cells include centralized GEOINT production, synchronization of effort, reduction of redundancy, and maximization of the imagery analyst and the geospatial engineer skills.
8-24. There are other differences in the Army construct. The Army—
z Views the current categories of imagery, IMINT, and geospatial information as sufficient and more specific for Army purposes. GEOINT is unique and necessary to describe a value-added to intelligence operations through analysis and integration and/or combination of imagery, IMINT, and geospatial information.
Note. According to NSG: GEOINT Basic Doctrine, Publication 1-0, “Almost any type of
GEOINT can be produced without using intelligence analysis ….”
z Recognizes that geospatial engineers are not the sole providers of geospatial data and information to the enterprise. All Soldiers and units provide this data; the geospatial engineers verify and manage this data for the Army. Geospatial engineers also produce data and GEOINT products, enhance existing data, reconcile data conflicts, and analyze and disseminate data. z Maintains a tactical intelligence architecture and uses systems that are significantly different
from the other aspects of the GEOINT enterprise. NGA develops GEOINT architecture and standards for the GEOINT enterprise. Army intelligence units and organizations do not control all the different forms of data (imagery and geospatial), the different systems, and the tactical command and control network.
z Manages commander’s requirements for information that falls across all of the Army’s warfighting functions and differs from NGA requirements to support DOD.
z Has a doctrinal information hierarchy established in FM 6-0 that builds from data to information, to knowledge, to understanding. In this hierarchy, intelligence (depending on the level of detail) can be resident anywhere from the information to the understanding levels.
8-25. The Army recognizes, as stated in NSG: GEOINT Basic Doctrine, Publication 1-0, that GEOINT’s added value is based on the prerequisite for analysis and the integration and/or combination of all three
elements that result in more comprehensive and tailored intelligence support. Also, just like NGA, Army doctrine recognizes four fundamental aspects of GEOINT:
z GEOINT as an intelligence discipline. The GEOINT discipline encompasses all intelligence tasks and intelligence activities involved in the planning, collection, processing, analysis, exploitation, and dissemination of GEOINT.
z GEOINT as the product defined above. z Unique processes used to develop GEOINT. z Unique data used to develop GEOINT.
8-26. The goal of Army GEOINT operations is to provide tailored products that serve as the foundation for the COP and facilitate the commander’s gaining situational understanding. Just as it states in NSG: GEOINT Basic Doctrine, Publication 1-0, “Advances in technology and the use of geospatial data have created the ability to integrate and/or combine elements of any or all of the areas, along with other elements of information, resulting in many new, more sophisticated capabilities for producing products and conducting analysis.… Advanced technology now provides the capability to use and combine geospatial data in different ways to create interactive/dynamic, customized visual products. It allows the analyst to quickly make more complex connections between different types of data and information than previously possible.” GEOINT is a major step toward improving Army intelligence and intelligence operations.