United States Marine Corps to Use GIS

02 Nov United States Marine Corps to Use GIS

We all like to think about the good things in life first. But, take just a moment and then think about the last two wars in which the United States was engaged. If you remember, they were both with Iraq. Trying to achieve the military objectives of both of these theaters of operations not only took a lot of logistics but planning as well.

Think about it. There were literally hundreds of thousands of troops to be moved around and thousands of tanks. Moving troops and supplies across unknown terrains and geographic regions, even for the most trained of military minds, is difficult at best.

Well today, this type of planning is being made a lot easier by using the principles of GIS. In fact, it was announced recently that the United States Marine Corps (USMC) will be deploying Intergraph Computer-Aided Dispatch (I/CAD) technology across 13 USMC military bases around the world.

This new system just received what is known as a “Milestone C” and “Full Deployment Decision” approval for the use of the software package. One of the primary goals of the launch of this software is to help create interactive maps in real-time using GIS tools to help troops find their way in unfamiliar geographic regions.

However, following military procedures, the I/CAD technology had to undergo a very rigorous testing process. This involved examining every software engineering component and use under a live operations environment at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point located in North Carolina.

According to a military testing official, “Our live system acceptance at MCAS Cherry Point proved crucial to gaining Milestone C and Full Deployment Decision approval . . . we’re very pleased with the result and look forward to the continued expansion of I/CAD implementations within the Marine Corps and other Department of Defense installations.” 

In fact, it is highly anticipated that the United States Navy will also make heavy use of the I/CAD technology system.

GeoTel is a telecommunications research and GIS mapping firm that researches and provides telecom datasets for more than 6,000 cities in the United States and worldwide. GeoTel’s expertise includes specialists in economic geography, geospatial engineering, web GIS, and telecommunications GIS Data infrastructure.