Geointeresting

Christine Staley, an assistant inspector general for audit at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, describes her experience as one of the estimated 700,000 'boat people' who escaped Vietnam in the 1970s.

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North Vietnamese forces captured South Vietnam's capital city April 30, 1975, and the U.S. formally evacuated all American civilian and military personnel. This is known as The Fall of Saigon.

Five years later, Christine Staley fled Vietnam with her mother and five siblings, risking everything to escape the country they no longer knew, to start a journey toward the unknown.

This is part one of Staley's personal story.

Christine Staley, an assistant inspector general for audit at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, describes her experience as one of the estimated 700,000 'boat people' who escaped Vietnam in the 1970s.

...

North Vietnamese forces captured South Vietnam's capital city April 30, 1975, and the U.S. formally evacuated all American civilian and military personnel. This is known as The Fall of Saigon.

Five years later, Christine Staley fled Vietnam with her mother and five siblings, risking everything to escape the country they no longer knew, to start a journey toward the unknown.

This is part one of Staley's personal story.

Recently, author and journalist Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, visited NGA's Springfield, Virginia, campus and told the story of Brian Regan, a former signals intelligence officer who stole over 20,000 pieces of classified information. Regan's story is anything but typical. He was able to elude and stump and authorities long after he was caught due to nearly unbreakable cryptological code he developed. This is not just a story of code breaking and espionage, but also the human side of Regan.

Recently, author and journalist Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, visited NGA's Springfield, Virginia, campus and told the story of Brian Regan, a former signals intelligence officer who stole over 20,000 pieces of classified information. Regan's story is anything but typical. He was able to elude and stump and authorities long after he was caught due to nearly unbreakable cryptological code he developed. This is not just a story of code breaking and espionage, but also the human side of Regan.

Paul Morin, director of the Polar Geospatial Center at University of Minnesota, talked with Geointeresting about the advances in mapping the Arctic and Alaska through the creation of digital elevation models, and with the help of NGA and the National Science Foundation. Upon completion, this collaborative mapping effort, established following President Obama's Jan. 2015 Executive Order, "Enhancing Coordination of National Efforts in the Arctic," will encompass all land area north of 60 degrees north latitude.

Paul Morin, director of the Polar Geospatial Center at University of Minnesota, talked with Geointeresting about the advances in mapping the Arctic and Alaska through the creation of digital elevation models, and with the help of NGA and the National Science Foundation. Upon completion, this collaborative mapping effort, established following President Obama's Jan. 2015 Executive Order, "Enhancing Coordination of National Efforts in the Arctic," will encompass all land area north of 60 degrees north latitude.

This episode of Geointeresting celebrates the work done by the Defense Mapping Agency, an NGA legacy organization, during the Dayton Peace Accords. On Nov. 1, 1995, President Bill Clinton invited representatives to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to negotiate an end to the ethnic discord in the former Yugoslav Republic between Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. After 18 weeks of shuttle diplomacy and 21 days of intense negotiations, leaders from the contending parties initialed the Dayton Peace accords agreeing to the end of the war on Nov. 21. The ceremonial signing took place in Paris one month later with Clinton in attendance.

A team of 50 DMA technicians brought portable computer systems, digitizing stations and printers to Ohio, allowing them to quickly produce disputed territory maps and to make complex revisions, sometimes within a matter of 30 minutes.

Geointeresting talked with the current NGA historian and a former DMA mapmaker about the legacy of the Dayton Peace Accords. For even more information: http://go.usa.gov/x86hR

This episode of Geointeresting celebrates the work done by the Defense Mapping Agency, an NGA legacy organization, during the Dayton Peace Accords. On Nov. 1, 1995, President Bill Clinton invited representatives to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to negotiate an end to the ethnic discord in the former Yugoslav Republic between Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. After 18 weeks of shuttle diplomacy and 21 days of intense negotiations, leaders from the contending parties initialed the Dayton Peace accords agreeing to the end of the war on Nov. 21. The ceremonial signing took place in Paris one month later with Clinton in attendance.

A team of 50 DMA technicians brought portable computer systems, digitizing stations and printers to Ohio, allowing them to quickly produce disputed territory maps and to make complex revisions, sometimes within a matter of 30 minutes.

Geointeresting talked with the current NGA historian and a former DMA mapmaker about the legacy of the Dayton Peace Accords. For even more information: http://go.usa.gov/x86hR

Alex Kent, Ph.D., professor of cartography and geographic information at Canterbury Christ Church University, and John Davies, a lifelong map lover and collector, recently sat down with NGA’s Geointeresting podcast team to talk about Cold War-era Soviet mapmaking and its impact on modern-day cartography.

Alex Kent, Ph.D., professor of cartography and geographic information at Canterbury Christ Church University, and John Davies, a lifelong map lover and collector, recently sat down with NGA’s Geointeresting podcast team to talk about Cold War-era Soviet mapmaking and its impact on modern-day cartography.