Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders
G E O W O R L D / O C T O B E R 2 O O 9 24 Militar y GIS T he U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., founded more than two centuries ago, has pre-served its original mission to inspire cadets to become leaders with outstanding moral character. At West Point, an arts and sciences curriculum paired with real-world problem solving and ethics training is balanced by participation in team sports. Practical experience and an appreciation of the physi-cal environment are considered equally important to intellectual growth. West Point is located 50 miles north of New York City on a plateau high above the Hudson River. The campus is a natural training ground for students who elect to study GIS, which requires gathering, measur-ing and documenting features that characterize the physical environment as well as storing the informa-tion in databases for future reference. GIS and the Military Geospatial data have become an integral part of the operational landscape and establishing situational awareness. Military analysts engaged in disaster relief, humanitarian efforts, reconnaissance, battle-damage assessment and surveillance missions require up-to-the-minute geospatial intelligence to be successful. Increasingly, unanticipated events account for a grow-ing number of military operations. Soldiers are called on to support a broad range of activities that require sharp mental and physical skills. In addition to conven-tional warfare, troops are asked to respond to natural disasters such as tsunamis, wildfires and hurricanes; assist in recovery efforts for hazardous accidents such as chemical leaks and petroleum spills; conduct border-surveillance activities; and patrol airports. To prepare for a wide range of military maneuvers, observing and recording the operational environment are crucial in developing cadets into officers and leaders. For more than 200 years, West Point has placed an emphasis on geographic studies. Core classes taught in the earliest days of the academy included landscape and mechanical drawing, topographic engineering, and surveying. Today, similar studies provide the basic framework for building geospatial awareness. Col. Wendell C. King, former head of the academy's department of geography and environmental engineering, points to the significance and rich history of geographic Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders A Legacy of Geographic Training at West Point BY CAROLYN GORDON ERIC BA TEL T/POINTER VIEW