NGA inducts 10 new members into GEOINT Hall of Fame

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency inducted 10 new members into the Geospatial Intelligence Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the agency’s Springfield, Virginia, headquarters on October 26.

“Out of the hundreds of thousands of people who have worked in GEOINT … today … we honor 10 more of our greats,” said NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth. “These GEOINT professionals have always looked beyond the sea – beyond the land, and even beyond the air – out into space – to keep our nation and allies safe.”

Established in 2001, NGA’s Geospatial Intelligence Hall of Fame honors and inducts members each year to recognize those who have profoundly affected the geospatial intelligence tradecraft.

The inductees for the 2020 class are:

Barry M. Barlow
Barry M. Barlow served the defense and space community for more than 40 years, dating back to the inception of the Space Shuttle program in the 1970s. At NGA, he was the first director of Online GEOINT Services, as well as the director for Acquisition. He’s been honored for his service to those operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he oversaw the redesign and delivery of the time-dominant imagery distribution system, which helped service members and intelligence analysts around the globe.

Louis A. Bauer (posthumously)
Louis A. Bauer was the director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, established the first U.S. program to globally map the Earth’s magnetic field in 1904 – aiding navigation and establishing the first World Magnetic Model. We honor him posthumously for dedicating his life to the study and observation of our planet. NGA is better able to know the Earth thanks to his legacy of accomplishment.

Stacy L. Gardner, Jr. (posthumously)
Stacy L. Gardner enabled American superiority on the battlefield during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, setting the standard for the evolution of imagery and spatial product integration for wartime planning and execution. The agency honors him posthumously for providing invaluable years of service to our nation.

John H. (Jack) Hild
John H. (Jack) Hild spent three decades at NGA, serving as the deputy director for Source and the assistant CIO. He created the Multinational Geospatial Co-Production Group, which aids our partner nations around the globe. He also guided our Homeland Security mission after the attacks of 9/11, setting the stage for much of the vital work done at this agency to this day.

James E. Johnson
James E. Johnson served with distinction in the field for nearly 50 years. He was instrumental to the management and technical success of a variety of critical programs and initiatives, including the Navy’s Cruise Missile Program and the digital nautical chart. He also helped integrate government and commercial imagery collection, distribution and application.

Paula Webb Roberts
Paula Webb Roberts began her 33-year career across the intelligence community as a cartographer. She later helped guide the National Imagery and Mapping Agency’s, NGA’s predecessor organization, support to the IC and DOD following the 9/11 attacks. As the IC’s chief human capital officer, she implemented changes to our personnel system that continue to shape NGA’s world-class workforce.

The inductees for the 2021 class are:

Eric R. Benn
Eric R. Benn successfully led, expanded and evolved the GEOINT discipline over his 40 plus year career.  Benn contributed to the advancement of GEOINT and the national security of the United States. He made a difference through his stature as a GEOINT leader, his loyalty and dedication to mission, his hard work and perseverance.

Gerald M. Elphingstone Ph.D.
Gerald Elphingstone, Ph.D., demonstrated a legacy of leadership in technical development that exemplifies NGA’s tradition of world technical development mapping and charting. Elphinstone helped convert NGA from producing hardcopy products from stereo-plotters to digital products; and converting from hardcopy to digital imagery through a series of major program upgrades. He played a critical role in making NGA the technical leader in GEOINT it is today.

Keith E. Littlefield, Ph.D.
Keith E. Littlefield, Ph.D., is recognized for his dedicated service and leadership of cutting-edge acquisition strategies that fundamentally changed the GEOINT environment.  In his 30-plus years of service, Littlefield personally led the development and fielding of major tasking, exploitation, processing and dissemination system at NGA and its predecessor organizations. He delivered some of the most transformative systems in the last two decades, helping NGA and the intelligence community maintain and grow a competitive edge over adversaries.

Dennis Moellman
For over 30 years, Dennis Moellman was a leader in spearheading the development of innovative technologies to advance the science of geospatial intelligence, from creating sensor systems for both imagery and position exploitation, to later developing a state-of-the-art imagery evaluation facility that served as a model for imagery throughout the intelligence community. His work has greatly enhanced the NGA mission for the entire community, including government, commercial vendors and foreign partners.
Source: NGA

Help IC News continue to bring you breaking news from across the IC and IC contracting landscape. Join our paid subscribers today.