Replicating Success
REMOTE REPLICATION SYSTEM SUPPORTS OPERATIONS BY PRINTING UNIQUE HIGH-RESOLUTION MAPS.
The mission of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Remote Replication System (RRS) is to provide custom geospatial intelligence solutions on demand for military and civilian customers across the globe. A deployable system that scans hardcopy or reads digital files to produce and print unique high-resolution maps, the RRS is one of NGA’s most responsive and adaptable support services.
With the reputation of a workhorse, RRS has supported special operations, military exercises, humanitarian efforts, crisis activities and more—all in real time. Fundamental to the system’s success is the expertise and creativity of the analysts who operate it.
A year older than NGA, the RRS celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. The system can stand alone or access and transmit data over networks like the Department of Defense’s Global Broadcast system. Besides printing maps, it creates digital media and provides an archiving capability.
Deployed personnel can reach back to NGA to access its agency-based RRS facilities. Other systems support military operations on site, in the United States as well as abroad. When units deploy, the RRS and its supporting analysts are often tapped for support. RRS teams serve all unified commands, subordinate level units, the intelligence community and many other federal agencies.
The RRS was the first full NGA geographic information system deployed to the field in support of our military. In 1995, it supported the Dayton Peace Accords, printing maps of Bosnia and Herzegovina that helped determine where boundaries should go. In a follow-on to this successful deployment, the RRS deployed in 1996, to Taszar, Hungary, in support of the Bosnia/Herzegovina Stabilization Force.
During this deployment, RRS analysts created land-mine charts, custom-route maps and planning maps and graphics of Implementation Force troops led by NATO, the United Kingdom and the United Sates. They also responded to emergency situations, most notably providing the initial search-and-rescue maps when Commerce Secretary Ron Brown’s plane crashed on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Afterward, the analysts supported the crash investigation team.
An abbreviated list of RRS activities since its introduction in 1995 reads like a “what’s what” of world events.
In 1996, the RRS was called upon to support the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
Shortly after the first shipboard system was deployed on the USS Kearsarge, the ship was directed to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where the RRS was used to support a noncombatant evacuation operation. On May 31, 1997, Marines of the USS Kearsarge rescued 2,500 Americans and foreign nationals from more than 40 countries, relying heavily on the RRS to guide pilots in evacuating helicopters.
From June through December 1997, the RRS deployed to support U.S. Southern Command’s closing of its bases in Panama. Analysts created maps of unexploded ordnance that assisted in U.S. disposal negotiation agreements.
In 1999 the RRS supported the papal visit to St. Louis, and the next year it supported elections in Haiti.
In 2002 the RRS was deployed to Turkey to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. Support for Operation Enduring Freedom continues from the RRS site in Bahrain.
SHUTTLE RECOVERY
When the Columbia space shuttle disaster occurred in 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called for a deployable resource to support recovery efforts. Two RRS operators deployed to Lufkin, Texas, almost immediately and began providing critical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They produced several specialized products and generated approximately 300 plots a day. The total number of hard copies was around 15,000.
The RRS supported a search-and-recovery area of 10 miles by 260 miles, creating a special image map that covered the debris field. Data collected from Global Positioning System receivers was ingested by RRS analysts and used to produce the map. The physical size of the map was over 27 feet long. As a result of the superb support provided during the shuttle recovery, FEMA put the RRS in its emergency-response plan.
In 2004, an RRS analyst deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to provide technical expertise to the NGA team supporting prisoner interrogations.
For the past two years, the RRS was deployed to South Korea in support of the joint military exercise Ulchi-Focus Lens (UFL). An RRS analyst was to again deploy with the system to support UFL 2006.
Deployments in 2005 included Baton Rouge, La., for Hurricane Katrina/Rita relief. Operating as part of a FEMA GIS support team, the RRS played an integral part in supporting the many organizations and first responders involved in the hurricanes’ aftermath. Members of the RRS provided resources to and worked in conjunction with NGA imagery analysts.
When new flight video was obtained, the RRS team added a video editing and image capture capability to their repertoire. VHS and digital videos were copied and forwarded to other NGA and non-NGA assets. Analysis of the videos was performed, still images extracted and preliminary reports generated.
An RRS team was deployed to Guatemala in 2005 to support humanitarian relief provided by U.S. Southern Command. Most recently, NGA used its RRS assets in Italy to support the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The support provided by RRS varies with the customer base at any particular location. At NGA, for example, analysts specialize in preparing packages for noncombatant evacuation operations. A site in Europe supports the map server of the U.S. European Command, while a unit located at a stateside command provides burial-at-sea charts. The memorial charts are made up for presentation to families whose loved ones were buried at sea, and include date and location of the burial.
When the Army’s 309th Military Intelligence Battalion needed a large map for tactics training, RRS analysts created a canvas floor map over 12 feet by 14 feet in size. Instructors use the map in several courses for operation scenarios.
RRS analysts are also active in training U.S. military customers and coalition members on how to use NGA maps and data.
Widely recognized and highly praised by customers, the RRS is a major success story for NGA. The RRS Support Team can proudly look back on more than 10 years of providing innovative, on-demand customer support. ♦
