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Welcome to the Monday Morning New Kick Off post from got geoint? As always, we hope you had a restful weekend and are super charged to take on the second official work week of 2011. Well, the GEOINT sector is backin full force — what holiday break? And, this is a good thing. Following are stories about Defense Secretary Gates boosting military surveillance, NGA transitioning out of Bethesda, and much, much more. As we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on. Happy Monday!

Gates Moves to Overhaul, Boost Military Intelligence
In a little-noticed move, the plan by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to reorganize the Pentagon’s budget includes an overhaul of military intelligence programs as well as increased spending on intelligence and surveillance capabilities. While the plan outlined by Gates on Thursday would cut $78 billion from the Pentagon’s budget over the next five years, it also includes significant actions affecting military intelligence operations and spending. For example, Gates said he wants to consolidate intelligence organizations that are “excess and duplicative” while buying more platforms like the Air Force Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle and the Army MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft. Read the full Government Executive post here.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Begins Transition Out of Bethesda This Month
Businesses in the Shops at Sumner Place mall on Sangamore Road don’t foresee a knockout blow to sales once their next-door neighbor, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, moves its headquarter across the Potomac in coming months. NGA, a Department of Defense combat support agency, is relocating to Fairfax County’s Fort Belvoir this year as part of the federal Base Realignment and Closure process. The site’s 3,000-member staff at the Bethesda location will begin transitioning this month and will be fully relocated by September. The loss of these potential customers didn’t seem to faze business owners in Sumner Place. Many owners said the nearby neighborhood customers drive their sales. The NGA staffers tend to do their shopping around lunchtime during the week, the businesses said. Read the full Bethesda Patch post here.

Driver Beats Speeding Fine with Google Earth
A man won the right to appeal his speeding fine and had his traffic conviction quashed after using Google Earth to allege the police officer may have issued the ticket to the wrong car, the Townsville Bulletin reports. Mustafa Al Shakarji, 24, was ordered to pay a $200 fine and court costs of $71.50 after a magistrate in Bowen, about 1200km north of Brisbane, refused to accept all of his evidence when he represented himself, the Townsville Bulletin reports. But the fourth-year James Cook University pharmacy student will attempt to overturn the speeding fine a second time after the Brisbane District Court ordered a re-trial in the Townsville Magistrates Court. Read the full Herald Sun article here.

GeoEye Names Steven P. Wallach to New Position of Senior Vice President of Product Integration
GeoEye Inc., a premier provider of superior satellite and aerial-based geospatial information and services, announced today that it has appointed Steven P. Wallach to the new position of senior vice president of Product Integration. Mr. Wallach joined GeoEye on Jan. 3, 2011, and is located at the company’s St. Louis value-added production facility. GeoEye’s Chief Operating Officer Bill Schuster said, “Steve was part of the senior leadership group at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and is recognized as a leader in the geospatial industry. At GeoEye, he will leverage his extensive geospatial experience and leadership skills to identify new product opportunities and lead their integration into our portfolio. Steve will work closely with all elements of the business to develop detailed business plans as part of our product rollout strategy.” Read the full GeoEye press release here.

Sudan’s First SMS-Powered Voting Monitor Tracks “Violence,” “Intimidation”
While Sudanese vote about the fate of South Sudan’s independence, one Sudan-born Texan supports the voting process from afar with a historic mobile-powered monitoring tool. Fareed Zein came to the United States from Sudan in 1981 to pursue a college education in computer science. One of the lucky ones, his family could afford his departure and his education, and he left before civil war rattled his homeland. Zein now spends his time–outside of his day job in oil and gas in Houston, Texas–directing the technology committee of the Sudan Institute for Research and Policy, a non-profit research organization started by his sister, a professor at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. Read the full Fast Company post here.

EBay Augmented-Reality App Lets You Try It On Before You Buy
One of the problems with ordering clothing online is not knowing whether it will fit or look good. EBay has a technology fix for that using augmented reality on the mobile phone. Now you will never have to go to the mall! The feature launched in Apple’s App Store yesterday as part of an update to eBay’s mobile app that launched five months ago. There are two options: Try on sunglasses with “See It On” or build an outfit with “Outfit Builder.” “See It On,” iPhone 4 owners can take a picture of themselves using a forward-facing camera and then pinch and zoom to fit the glasses to their face. Users can choose from a small section, including Aviator, Wayfarer or Rimless, in various colors. From there, they can search for matching listings on eBay. Pretty cool huh? Check out the All Things Digital post here.

Tags: eBay Try Before You Buy, GeoEye, Google Earth, google Earth and Parking Ticket, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Bethesda, Robert Gates, Steven P. Wallach, Steven P. Wallach and GeoEye, Sudan SMS-Powered Voter Monitor, Sudan violence