l, lssueVol. l, lssue 7 o June 3,

Printing, DistributionPlqn "On Schedule"

A mid-point status report hasbeen issued by the planning teamassigned to the task of developitgthe implementation ptat associatedwith re-engineering the Agency'sprinting, distribution and warehous-ing operations.

The team has been working since

]anuary on a detailed action plan forthe co-location of DMA's printingand distribution operations in a newfacility to be built in the St. Louisarea by 1998.

The proposed co-location andimplementation plan, with appro-priate milestones and annexes, willbe presented to the DlvfA Directorfor a final decision in August.

Louisville Office HoldsCkrsing Ceremony

Several hundred people from theDMA Louisville Field Office's pastand present work force attended aceremony held April 21, ofhciallycelebrating the office's 43 years ofmap making history.

continued on page 7

23 deportments parlicipate

St. Louis EmployeeTours Begin

Ever wonder what all thesepeople at DMA St. l.ouis do?

So begins the introduction, 'T-et's

See DMA St. [.ouis," of the newDMA St,Inub E*ptrynTour Guide,

As the Guide e<plains, thisproject, proposed and developed bythe St. louis Perforrnance Improve-ment Council with the assistance ofthe Administrafive Office (AO),glves all Sr lsuis employees thechance to rdsit otler deparEnentsand offices, irr onds to see fortternseh'es rvhat th€r\r do and howeach employee fits inb the process.

Twenty-ftree different organiza-tions, from AO m SC/TSS, devel-oped their ortTr specifications for thetours, using guidelines prcvided bythe Council's working goup.

Frequenry, for example, variesfrom weekly to once a nronth, andthe length of the tor:r from 15

minutes (GCW) to two hours (HI{S).One deparEnent (MC) offiers thrcedifferent tours, splitting up thekinds of production work to be seen.

continued poge 7

June Is DiversityMoNThATDMA

hr the past DMA has cel-ebrated Unity Month in |une.This year the celebration wiU becalled Dversity Month.

"hr St. Louis, we want Diver-sity Month to be a celebration ofthe best that we can be," ffiysHelen Alexander (HI{SE), who iscoordinating the event here.'lVe would like all employees to

be open to each other and tounderstand and respect ourcultural differences. Ourultimate goal is to continue aspirit of learnin& appreciatingand respectirg each other."

St. Louis Dversity Monthactivities will include a festivalon ]une28 featuring Dee ]oyceHayes, Grcuit Attorney of theCity of St. louis, exhibits andfood offered for sale, all relatingto varied ethnic cultures.

Volurne 1, leeue 7 June 3, 1994

Publbhed by tho Delense Mapping Agency - Office ol Command lnlorrnation

Deputy Dlrector for Gommend lnformatlon - David L. Black

Publlpatlonr Team Ghiol - Susan A. Gonchar

Aerirtent Deputy Dlrector, Command lnformatlon Wect - Jarnes G. Mohan

Editor - Wells Huff, acting

Photography - Jim Stepanik

'DltA Director - Mafor General Raymund E. O'Mara

DMA Aleuc Link Wec,t is an authofized command lnforrnatbn publicatbn published

biweekly in lhe interest ol Delens€ Mapping Agency personnel. Opinions and

comrxrntary expressed ln DMA lVeno Link Wea,t ars not nacessarilythose ol the

Dslense Mapping Agenq or Deartrnent ol Defense.

Send communications to Editor, DMA lVe*s Llnk Wes.t, Delense Mapping Agency,

Command lnlorrnation Ofllce West, Mall $top L-10, 3200 South Second Street, St.

Louis MO 6i{r118-S}99. Telephone (314} ?s,3-4142 or DSN 693-4142.

lnsidethe News Link

DMA News: Printing, Distribution 2

Plon Goes Forword, Louisville Closes

Diversity Month AnnouncedBits ond Bytes from the Director 3

Cover Story: Remeosuring Rivers sRetirements, Service Awords 7

Porlez Vous Quelque Chose? 7

Yeor of the Fomily BockCover

Air Force Maj. Gen. Raymund E. O'Mara

mong the mostinteresting questionstoday is: "How the devil

does one get promoted aroundhere?" Certainly, this is animportant issue in an agency suchas ours, with highly-trained,highly-skilled and highly-dedicated professionals whowork in an ever-changingenvironment.

From my perspective, as

Director, the selection of peoplefor promotion is one of the most,if not the most important task thatI perform. There are two reasonswhy selection is an important taskfor me. One reason is professionaland the other is a mix of personaland professional.

First, who is selected forpromotion defines the futuresuccess of the Defense MappingAgency. Selecting people whohave demonstrated potentialthrough performance willprovide the highest likelihood forsuccess as we approach the turnof the century and usher in theera of Global GeospatialInformation and Services.

Second, there is little I can doto improve my quality of life inthe workplace more, than toruthlessly select the best qualifiedpeople to fill important jobs.

In order to select the bestqualified people based onperformance, I need your help.During the nearly LL monthssince I had the privilege ofassuming duties as the Director, Ihave reviewed a number ofpromotion recommendations.Generally speakit& a board ofexperienced DMA leadersconsiders a large number of

applicants, screens for the bestqualified by reviewing recordsand conducting interviews. Theboard president then provides mewith the names of the three to fivebest candidates accompanied byhis or her recommendation forpromotion. I then review eachrecord looking for potential as

indicated by performance.I specifically look for

professional qualificatiory bothacademic and work associated,evidence of self-improvementthrough government-offeredtrainin& supervisory experience,breadth of experiencc, d mixtureof field and headquartersassignments, and a record of notstaying too long in one place (likebeing assigned t"o theheadquarters for more than fiveyears).

Where I need your help is inproviding accurate objectiveevaluations of the people yourate. If I receive promotionrecommendations for people whodo not have the strongestperformance records, and thereare others (particularly femalesand minorities) with strongerrecords, I will ask toughquestions. It is important that theanswers reflect management'sunderstanding that promotionsare to be based primarily onpotential as indicated byperformance.

Help DMA to become astronger agency by renderingaccurate and objective ratings ofyour people and identify futurepotential as indicated by greatperformance.

WithhelpfromDMA

Employee's iniliotive resulls innqtionol dqlo bose of river poinls

HEUNITED STATES COAST GUAITD hashonored a DMA employee for outstandingachievement in a project he initiated to convert"river miles" on the nation's rivers to latitude

and longitude coordinates. Geodesist Richard LeSage(GGAB) began the project during a two-week period ofactive duty as a lieutenant in the IJ.S. Coast GuardReserve. Assigned to the Marine S#ety Office inSt. Louis, LeSage investigates river spills and otherserious accidents.

Presenting him the Coast GuardCommendation Medal, officialssaid, "Lieutenant IcSage discoveredthere was an aflrte need to identifylocations on the inland river systemwith latitude and longitude coordi-

'nates instead of river miles curentlyused. Casualf and pollution datacould not be entered into CoastGuard automated data systemsunless the locations of the occur-rences were identified by latitudeand longitude. On his own initia-tive, Lieutenant LeSage set up andcoordinated the River Mile Conver-sion Ptoject between the DefenseMapping Agenqy and the ArmyCoqps of Engineers. From topo-graphicul roaps of the inland riversobtained from the C-o{ps'WaterResources Department at FortBelvor, Va., Lieutenant LeSageutilized the automated digitalizationequipment at the Defense Mapping

Coost Guord LieutenontRichord LeSoge

"I was working on a iob involving abarge that hit a bridge, and I couldn'tget a position for the accident. So Icalled DMA."

Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administratiory inaddition to the Coast Guard and the Army Corps ofEngrneers."

RECALLING THE INCIDENT that prompted him toinitiate his proiect, LeSage said, "I was working on a jobinvolving a barge that hit a bridge, and I couldn't get aposition for the accident." The Coast Guard uses chartsproduced by the Army Corps of Engineers with eachmile marked from a zrcro point-the end of the river.

The latitude and longitude of thesepoints, however, are generally notindica€d, which complicates theproblem of providing a geographi-cal reference in a larger context. "Ihad the choice of estimating thelocation from a known positio& orleaving the information out " I-eSagesaid, regarding the accident data heenters into the data base of the CoastGuard's Marine Security Informa-tion System. "To get some help inlocating the accident, I called DMA."

With the personnel and equipment needed to convert river milesto latitude and longitude coordi-nates, DMA was able to provide theassistance l-eSage needed to locatethe barge accident as well as anyother positional information thatmight be tequired in the future.With the approval and support ofDM AAC's Directorate of Programs,Production and Operations, a year-

Agerqf facility in St. Louis to identify river miles withlatitude and longifi.rde coordinates. In less than oney€il, Lieutenant Lesage suc€essfully completed over11,000 miles of 150 navigable rivers and waterways,along with the locations of key waterfront facilities, tolatitude and longitude coordinates. With considerabletinancial and tirne savingp to the government, Lieuten-ant LeSage has developed a database that will bewidely used by numerous goverunent entities, such as

the Environmental Protection Agency and the National

long proiect was initiated to provide positional data forriver-mile markers throughout the continentalUnited States.

Working on an occasional basis, geodetic techniciansassigned to GGC, the Satellite Geophysics Division,digitized river miles that had been transposed by theArmy Corps of Engineers from ib charts to tf.S. Geo-logical Survey quad charts scaled at 1:25,000. With aplotting table that provided geogaphical referencepoints, the positional information for each river mile

was recorded auto-matically each time thetechnician, using amouse connected to theplotting equipment,clicked on the desiredlocation. LeSagsservedas proiect coordinatorand intermediarybetweenDMAACandthe Water ResourcesDept. of the Army C-orps

of Engineers, the organi-zation that plotted theriver miles on the USGSquads.

The data cnllected bythe geodetic technicianswas formatted on floppydisks by LeSage andforwarded to the ArmyCoqps of Engineers forinclusion in a data base.In addition to the riverlocations identified bytheCorys,DMAACprovided latihrde andlongitude information for many locations of specialinterest, such as ports and refineries, LeSage said.

A SPECIAT ACT AWARD wilt be presented by theArmy Corps of Engineers to LeSage and the DMAACgeodetic tedrnicians for their contributiotts. The newdata base of river points will be used to update Corpsof Engineers' charts. At the sarne time the tI.S. Geo-logical Survey has indicated that it will use the newdata base to add river miles to its charts.

A third award-the IJ.S. Coast Guard Humanitarian

River miles, as shown onthis d"y marker used bybarges to center them-selves in the channel, nowhave latitude and longi-tude coordinates, thanksto a proiect initiated byRichard LeSage (GGAB).The Coast Guard workerat top is replacing thebulb for a night marker.Cover: Operations on theMississippi at St. Louis.

COAST GUARD PHOTOS

Medal-has already beenpresented to Lekge forhis perforrnanc€ as awatch officer at theCommand Center forCoast Guard Forcesduring the Great Flood of1993.

'The Marine SafetyOffice takes on addedresponsibilities duringemergencies," LeSageexplained. "Drring the

flood, reservists were called in from throughout the2nd District (Midwest) to support rescue work. Iworked at the Coast Guard Forces Command Centerin charge of flood operations. It was my responsibitityto determine where we needed to send disaster reliefteams and observation aircraft. We have 15 teams thatwe sent out to evacuate people when flood wallsfailed. They saved a lot of property and lives. Inciden-tally, about 90 percent of these teams are composed ofreservists."

continued on nert page

Richard LeSage holds up aprintout of river milesconverted to latitude andlongitude, as geodetictechnicians compare thenumbers with correspond-ing positions on maps.From left are RichardToney, Daniel Reimlerand Bob Krahn. In theforeground, geodetictechnician Lois McGruderenters river miles andtheir geographic coordi-nates into a computer file.

STEPANIK

Coast Guard rescueworkens evacuate awoman as waterscontinue to riseduring the GreatFlood of 1993. As aCoast Guardresenrist, RichardLeSage received aHumanitarianMedal for his role inproviding emer-gency relief.

COAST GUARD PHOTO

Employee's initiqtive resufis in nqlionol dotq bqse of dver pointsconfinued from previous page

It was the flood of 1973 thatinspired LeSage to join the CoastGuard Reserve, soon after his arrivalat DMAAC. "f saw what the CoastGuard was doing, the resflre work,patrolling for looters, even sand-bugg.g, so I enlisted." hritiatly a

radarmary he later converted to portsecurity and in 1985 received acommission as an officer.

At DMAAC, LeSage started out as

a cartographer. A native of Chicogo,he earned his B.S. in foresby fromSouthern Illinois University atCarbondale n1972. Ffe convertedto geodesist in 1984 and enteredpart-time training at WashingtonUniversity, from which he holds adegree i^ geodetic sciences.

Lieutenant LeSage' s introductionto water-based operations came notfrom the Coast Guard but the Naoy.He served as a radarman aboardthe aircraft carrier USS Oriskany in

the Gulf of Tonkin during theVietnamWar.

From his work in the MarineSafety Office, Lieutenant lcS"geknows that accidents and spills onour nation's rivers can never betotally eliminated. At the same timehe can rightly take pride in spear-heading a proiect-with help fromDMA-that will enhance the safetyefforts of all who use the nationaldata base of river points.

4aul Hurlburt

PortingWordshen I came to the Aercnau-tical Chart and InformationCenter, fresh out of

journalism school, as an Air Forcesecond lieutenant in November 1968,1

had no idea what I was getting into. Amonth later, as Americans orbited themoon for the first time during a voyagecharted at this Center, I knew I hadarrived at a special place. The followingsununer, it was exhilarating for me toreport as editor of the Orimtor onACIC's contribution to the Apollo 11

mission that resulted in the first men onthe moon. I left the Center for sevensatisfying years as a teacher in theSt. l.ouis Public Schools"only to returnin 1983 to find the Aercspace Center onthe frontier of a revolution in mappingtechnology. It has ben challenging and

$atifying to be able to write about the

application of computers to theprocessing and intelpretation of spatialdata within the context of DMA. Afterstudying geogFaphic informationsystems at Southern Illinois Universityat Edwardsville, I was convinced therecould be no more exciting area in thefield of computer science,

Mission-related articles have alwaysbeen the top priority of the Orientor andits successor, the DIvIA Link West.It's vital that we understand thesignificance of our roles in the defenseof our nation and its values, as was so

clearly demonstrated during DesertStorm. At the same time, as editor ofthe Orientor I inherited some strong,somewhat distinctive traditions that Ibelieve were a response to the specialculture of our employees.

Recognizing employes for theircontributions, which make this Centerwhat it is, has always been emphasized

in our publications. Or,lr guidingprinciple has ben that not only is theindividual entitled to recognition for anaward but co-workers are entitled toknow that the individual received theaward and why. In the next Link West,you will see once mone an account ofevery DMA award an employee inSt. louis received.

Our publications also have alwaprccognuedthat we are interested in oneanother as human beings-{n and offthe job. That's why whenever spacewas available, attention was devotedparticularly to the contributions ofemployees to the larger scmmunity.

As I leave for assignment at Com-mand Information East, I am grateful tohave had an opportunrty to learn aboutthis special place, to know some of itspeople, and to share our "assets" withyou all. I know the traditions willcontinue. -PauI Hurhurt

RetirementsYears of federal reruice are given

Iune 1

Elaine T. Betschart (SC/TSSHA),maintenance control clerk, 37 years.

lames E. Burnette (SC/TSSSD),

cartographer, 36 years.

Donald L. Hinkle (SC/TSSAB),supervisorylogi stic managementspecialist, 33 years.

Mary A. Hubacek (SC/TSSHA),maintenance support specialist, 20

years.

Amos G. Ing (SC/TSSSC), cartogra-pher, 29 yearc.

Dale W. Ma{ple (SC/TSSCA),computer specialist, 37 years.

Bennie F. Martin (SC/TSSSC),

cartographer, 31 years.

Bernal F. Powers,Ir" (SC/TSSCA),computer specialist, 39 years.

Mav 31+

Maryann A. Onanian (SC/TSSS),

secretag 24 years.

Alva D. Sporer (MCACB), aelonauticalinformation specialist, 38 1re6vt.

Mav 12+

Albert K. Haris (LOA), supervisorysupply management specialist, 12 years.

Mav 4

-FCharles M. Chapman (DPBE),

cartographer, 32 years.

Coleen F. Flood (MCBKA), aeronautical

SeMce Awords

40 YearsWall,WilliamP., AC

30 YearsDeFrancesco, Iotur I" SC

25 YearsLanigan, Patrici? A., AC

20 YearsDrew, Genees€ S., ACDigby, Pamela K., AC

Md(enzie, George E., ACNelson,GaryW.rSC

Renfrow, Sandra E., HQWalden, ]onathan A., AC

information clerk, 20 years.

Audrey L. Keane (MCBKA),aenonautical information clerk, 2l years,

Robert R Martin (MCBD, aeronauticalinformation specialist, 5 years.

Ierrl' A. Stotts (SC/WGPFB),supervisory physical scientist, 30 years.

Shirley E. Sykes (RC/RSP), computerspecialist, 32years.

|oseph M. Tvardzik (SDDA),cartographer, 39 years.

DMANewScontinued from poge 2

The facility is scheduled to closeSeptember 3O but the Aptil datewas a good time for employees toget together before parting ways,officials said.

'This is not a time to hold ourheads low," said Audwin Helton,office director. 'This is a time tocelebrate and go out with a lot ofpride."

The Louisville office was openedby the Army Map Service in 1951,,

and spent its first year in crampedspace over a downtown dime store.It later moved to the FderalBuildin& occupf"s an entire floorconverted to a secure facility.

Pqrlez Vous Froncq'ls (orQuelque Chose)?

Human Resources is attempti^gto identify and document foreignlanguage and other linguistic skillsof the DMA work force.

Through lune HR is requestingemployees identify language skillsother than English, including signlanguage, by contacti.g the appro-priate administrative officer or HRrepresentative.

In addition to this special drive,employees may update theirlanguage skills data at any time,using a new form available fromHR, officials said.

Tourscontinued from page 2

To be part of a tour, the proce-dure is simple. See when it'soffered, then call the department orstaff office point of contact. Remem-ber to keep your supervisor in-formed, and bear in mind thatmission requirements always takeprecedence.

If you have other questions aboutthe tours, contact your own tourcoordinator, listed in the Guide, orthe Administrative Office (AO).

oN fttE M&L'Defense bcretory wliom J. Perry @t rignD wos a vlsltor atlhe DMA boolh ur the Mall ln Wo$lngton durtng Publlc SerulceRecognlllon Week. Look@ on, ftom left, ore D. O. Cooke, dlrector ofodmlnlstrotlon and monogement, OSD; Wllom Bossett, DIvIAHTC; and Brlg.Gen, Pad J. Keone, USA, mllltory osslsfonf to the bcretary of Defemse.

KNl%wTHE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301

MEMORANDIJM FOR SECRETARIES OF TI{E MILITARY DEPARTMENTSDIRECTORS OF TIIE DET.ENSE AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Intemational Year of the Family

The United Nations has designated 1994 as the International Year of the Family.hresident Clinon has lent his support to the Intemational Year of the Family throughproclamation. The President has emphasized that "by honoring families, we areacknowledging the cnrcial role that they play in developing the character of ourcollective communities - on the local, national and global levels."

We, in the Deparnnent of Defense, are proud of our military and civilianfamilies. The deparunent's families contribute to theircommunities wherever they arestationed around the world. Overseas, they are ambassadors of good will in ttreinternational community. In the United States, they are major confributon to a widearray of volunteerefforts in the local community.

The Departrnent of Defense stnongly supports ttre International Year of theFamily. To that end, I urge all leaders and members of the Deparrnent to emphasize theimportance of families, support those programs that contribute to ttre health of familiesand reaffirm our ongoing commiunent to and parrrership with families.

Defense Mapping AgencyClW, Mall Stop L-103200 South Second StreetSt. Louis, MO 63118-3399

Of f icial Business

Bulk MailPostage & Fees Paid

DMAPermit No. G-2