Rear Adm. Brett Heimbigner, director of intelligence for the North American Aerospace Defense Command-U.S. Northern Command, compliments the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command's G-2 Geospatial Intelligence Divis...

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Members of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command's G-2 Geospatial Intelligence, or GEOINT, Division were recently recognized by the director of intelligence for the North American Aerospace Defense Command-U.S. Northern Command.

Rear Adm. Brett Heimbigner, director of intelligence, or J-2, NORAD-NORTHCOM, presented "flag officer" coins to the team for "outstanding support" provided during an operation in April and May.

The presentation was made at the SMDC's operations headquarters on Peterson Air Force Base. Members of the GEOINT Division supported 24/7 operations for more than four weeks for NORAD-NORTHCOM's J-2 as well the U.S. Strategic Command J-2 and the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense.

During this period, division personnel completed 1,105 GEOINT reports in support of this operation.

The support included providing rapid, time-critical, analytical reports plus more detailed follow-up reports of fused intelligence information. The division, which includes imagery scientists and analysts with advanced skill levels, used multiple types of advanced geospatial intelligence technologies to provide an overall GEOINT picture in support of the operation. The reporting provided NORAD-USNORTHCOM, USSTRATCOM, JFCC-IMD, and other units with important situational awareness during this time frame. Division reporting results were provided directly to the NORAD-USNORTHCOM commander and were also used in daily briefings by the J-2 of another regional combatant command.

GEOINT Division analysts were able to transition from normal day-to-day operations to 24/7 operations in coordination with, and support of, NORAD-USNORTHCOM to develop timely, accurate analytical products in a collaborative environment. The SMDC G-2 GEOINT Division met this ad hoc requirement while minimizing the impact on its other support requirements in other areas for its five combatant command customers that include USSTRATCOM, NORAD-USNORTHCOM, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. European Command, and U.S. Africa Command.

Heimbigner, who engaged with the division's analysts on a daily basis during this period, said that their support of this operation was critical to his command. He complimented the unit's timeliness, accuracy and reliability.

The mission of the GEOINT division is to gather and analyze imagery such as that gathered from satellites in both a literal and non-literal methods. This information is then provided to combatant commanders and boots on the ground as well to civil authorities in disaster relief efforts.