The Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) is designed to provide U.S. Army warfighters with a unified intelligence picture at all levels, from the company to the corps. To ensure that DCGS-A is user friendly, which has not always been the case, Redlands, Calif.-based Esri has provided a revised set of customized templates to the Army.
“Esri technology, such as the templates, gives the Army an easy-to-use, technical advantage that helps soldiers optimize GEOINT capability resident in DCGS-A.”
Included in the templates are maps, analytic capabilities, and additional visualization tools. A simple information model for creating geospatial products is also included. The revised templates will be used by geospatial engineers, intelligence analysts, and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) imagery analysts, who use the DCGS-A to respond to requests from Army commanders conducting operations worldwide.
U.S. Army soldiers, assigned to 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, secure a landing zone at the Joint Multinational Training Command’s (JMTC) Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Aug. 13, 2013. One potential application for the revised templates for the DCGS-A are for Army analysts and specialists to identify the safest landing zones for helicopters. U.S. Army Visual Information Specialist Gertrud Zach
The revised templates are a new resource that will allow operators to perform a range of tasks, from crafting sketches of military compounds to making maps showing the safest area for a helicopter to land. Incident analysis will allow for the mapping of improvised explosive device (IED) incidents. Cross country mobility analysis will aid in identifying key terrain elements and approach routes. Intervisibility analysis will identify areas of cover and concealment.
“Esri is pleased to have partnered closely with the staff who work with the DCGS-A to deliver these important and innovative templates and tools for the U.S. Army,”
DCGS-A serves the Army in a variety of ways. It is the main Army system for processing and posting data, providing mapping and weather information, and sharing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) information with units in the field. “Esri technology, such as the templates, gives the Army an easy-to-use, technical advantage that helps soldiers optimize GEOINT capability resident in DCGS-A,” said Col. Ed Riehle, the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Capability Manager for Sensor Processing, in an Esri press release.
The Distributed Common Ground System–Army (DCGS-A) provides unprecedented timely, relevant, and accurate targetable data to the warfighter. The Army is constantly refining and updating DCGS-A, the Army’s main system for processing and posting data, providing mapping and weather information, and sharing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) information. U.S. Army photo
To ease operation, the templates were customized to match DCGS-A workflow requirements. The requirements for the templates were developed by Esri staff working with analysts and specialists at the Army Intelligence Center of Excellence located at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the scene of DCGS-A testing during Enterprise Challenge 2013. “Esri is pleased to have partnered closely with the staff who work with the DCGS-A to deliver these important and innovative templates and tools for the U.S. Army,” said Esri president Jack Dangermond. “We designed them so the analysts can be more productive in what is a very fast-paced operational tempo. We also believe that by adopting these tools, the value of the U.S. Army’s investment in Esri technology will be maximized.”
“We designed them so the analysts can be more productive in what is a very fast-paced operational tempo. We also believe that by adopting these tools, the value of the U.S. Army’s investment in Esri technology will be maximized.”
The templates will be available for use on a variety of Army websites such as those of the DCGS-A, the Intelligence Knowledge Network, and the ArcGIS for the Military – Land Operations, a Esri product. ArcGIS for the Military is an interoperable platform optimized to manage, visualize, analyse, and share geospatial information for land missions. ArcGIS will be demonstrated at the GEOINT Symposium being held April 14-17 in Tampa, Fla.