got geoint?

Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post. We hope you had a restful weekend and are ready for the most productive and successful week of your professional careers. We are too. Well, this post is designed to give you all the actionable information you need to succeed. This week’s post features a mix of industry announcements, along an Op-Ed by Leon Panetta who urges Congress to “move on.” And, finally, we point to an article from the latest issue of the NGA Pathfinder from a friend of ours at the NGA who had a life-changing experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. We recommend you read the article. It may change your life as well. Happy Monday!

Congress and the CIA: Time to Move On
Leon Panetta, Director of the CIA, penned an Op-Ed that appeared in Saturday’s Washington Post and the core message? Time to move on. His argument was the there is too much Congressional effort focused on what the CIA did in the past and the more pressing intelligence issues are in the present. While Panetta inherited much of the baggage from the past from the Bush Administration, he makes a very solid point. The only challenge for him is the timing of this Op-Ed. Congress is on recess and many lawmakers are relaxing at their beach houses right now. Surely they read it, but they may forget about it over recess. Thoughts?

July/August 2009 Issue of NGA’s Pathfinder Magazine Now Online
The editorial staff of got geoint? are huge fans of the NGA’s Pathfinder Magazine. And, we are very excited to announce that the July/August 2009 issue is out online. You can access it here. Also, a good friend of ours Heather Cox who is a public affairs officer at the NGA wrote this most compelling article about a life-changing trip to Iraq and Afghanistan to observe NGA deployers. We recommend you read it as well. It will most likely change your life as well.

Where In The World Is The Geospatial Data?
According to a recent FCW article, agencies need to better coordinate their geospatial information needs to reduce duplicative efforts and provide more complete information. This conclusion was drawn from the July 23 hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee’s Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee where witnesses said the federal government’s approach to geospatial data is not well-integrated with state and local efforts. Our question….why is FCW writing about this now? Bit of old news don’t you think? Also, did you see that the Geospatial Revolution Project played a key role in the hearing?

Lockheed Martin and Harris Corporation Deliver Innovative Video, Geospatial Intelligence Tools to USJFCOM’s Empire Challenge 09
Warfighters at Empire Challenge 09 are test-driving next-generation capabilities for managing and analyzing full-motion video feeds, thanks to a set of advanced video and geospatial intelligence technologies delivered by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) , an international communications and information technology company. The technologies are playing a key role in Empire Challenge 09, an annual multinational intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance interoperability demonstration run by the U.S. Joint Forces Command. Read the full press release here.

GeoEye Names Randall J. Scherago Vice President of Investor Relations
GeoEye, Inc. recently announced the appointment of Randall J. Scherago as Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Scherago, with his extensive background in public equities research and investment management, will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive investor relations program and increasing communication with the investor community. Read the full press release here.

Happy Monday!

Tags: CIA, GeoEye, GEOINT, Geospatial Data, Harris Corporation, Leon Panetta, Lockheed Martin, NGA Pathfinder, Randall J. Scherago, USJFCOM's Empire Challenge 09