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Each year, the Foundation offers its U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award to an individual who has provided an outstanding contribution and longstanding commitment to the geospatial intelligence community.

This person has demonstrated a lifetime of dedication to the tradecraft and whose accomplishments serve as an example to others. And, some highly esteemed members of our community have received this award in the past, including Dr. Leo Hazlewood, Mr. William Allder Jr., The Honorable Jeffrey K. Harris and The Honorable James R. Clapper Jr.

This year, we bestowed this award on Evan Hineman, a gentleman who has a history of leadership roles serving in both private industry and governmental positions that have essentially shaped and established our GEOINT tradecraft.

Prior to serving in the private industry for the past 20 years with companies ManTech and TASC (now part of Northrop Grumman IT), he held positions in the U.S. Government for 33 years. From serving on the National Imagery Agency task force, which established the foundation for what eventually became NIMA, to holding leadership positions at the CIA and NRO, Mr. Hineman has played an influential role in shaping what we do today.

You have had a very distinguished career in the intelligence community. Give us your perspective on the history of the tradecraft and how we got to where we are today?

To really understand where we are today, you have go back to the 1950s and picture the world as it was then. The former Soviet Union was the dominant adversary to the U.S. with its closed borders, and President Eisenhower wanted to understand what was happening behind those borders. So early intelligence work started with balloons that were met with limited success. Then the U-2 came along had much more success in gathering intelligence across those borders, and this was when I started in the business.

Then, we progressed into the space world with the Corona and our intelligence capabilities evolved very quickly. Back then I might add that we had our first version of imagery analysts, which we called photo interpreters (PIs). Then, the vision of combining the imagery people with the mapping people started to take hold in the early 1990s. Then, in the mid-1990s, many entities came together to form a study that basically brought the idea of NIMA to life.

From there, the concept of geospatial intelligence took on a new life. And, when you think about it everything happens somewhere and at sometime on the globe and you can put geospatial intelligence as the focal point to pinpointing these events.

Where do you see the tradecraft heading during, what many say is a time of transition?

We have to get to the point where all the information that comes from the intelligence collection/mapping world is readily and easily available to customers. When I say customers I mean the White House, Congress, military leaders and the actual war fighter. We need to get to the point where we can log into a web service and gain access to information — whether it is a set of coordinates, information on a town or region – as opposed to calling in or sending a message for information. We need to let the information flow to the people who need it, and not worry about dissemination, but have the information at the fingertips of the people who need it most.

What role do you see geospatial intelligence playing in the intelligence community and for national security as a whole?

Geospatial intelligence is the knowledge base for everything and serves as the ultimate foundation, in my opinion. As I mentioned earlier, everything happens somewhere and at sometime, and everything that you do has a place and a time involved with it. Geospatial intelligence is the source for tracking all of this and is imperative to our national security.

You have received a number of awards, including being names one of the fifty Trailblazer awards for your services to the CIA, the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the NRO’s Distinguished Service Medal, and two National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medals. How does it feel to receive all of this industry recognition and what does the USGIF Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?

It is always rewarding to be honored and know that people appreciate what you have done in your career. At the time, each of those awards meant a lot and still mean a lot today. The Trailblazer award was very special because they only picked 50 people, out of many thousands, to honor at the 50th anniversary of the CIA.

I am honored to receive the USGIF Lifetime Achievement Award, and it was very special for me to bring my family to Nashville and accept the award in person. It was really humbling to get this award, and I put this up with the Trailblazer award.

Your acceptance speech at GEOINT 2008 was very moving. Tell us more about the need for young people to be involved in our community.

Thank you. It was very special for me and, as I mentioned in my speech, it is vital to get young people involved in our community. We need to give them the proper training, education and get out of the way, and let them do what they want with their talents. By doing this, we help remove the bureaucracy that happens in our community – and in the private sector — and it allows young people to innovate and be energized about our community.

What brought you into this industry, and why the passion? Why do you wake up everyday and do what you do?

Let me tell you. It just gets into your blood. When I graduated from college, I went to work at Pratt & Whitney and I was going to help build aircraft engines. I worked for three months, then my ROTC commitment came and I went to serve in the military, and I had to go to Aberdeen to train, and I learned that there was a course called Technical Intelligence. They taught you about weapons, and how to speak Russian, and it sounded more interesting than learning how to fix tank engines. I was assigned to Huntsville Alabama and watched the beginning of the space age, and I just got the bug. And I was fortunate to have interesting and challenging jobs with people who taught me a lot and mentored me.

And, when I get up in the morning, I never wish that I was doing something else. It’s something I really enjoy doing…I have told people that, no matter what business they are in, if they if they wake up in the morning not looking forward to what they will be doing, they are in the wrong job. And, I have never felt that way. I have always enjoyed what I do.

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