CE mapping goes digital with click of button

KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- Airman 1st Class Shannon Davis watches as Senior Airman Erin Farris uses a Global Positioning System hand-held unit to map a part of the base here during a GeoBase survey. They are assigned to the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by David Blumberg)

CE mapping goes digital with click of button

KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- A 3-D model of horizontal flight surfaces above the Kunsan airfield. Models like this assist planners and airfield managers with maintaining flight safety. These imaginary surfaces are the aviator's equivalent of lines painted on a highway and define how aircraft navigate above the airfield. (U.S. Air Force graphic by David Blumberg)

CE mapping goes digital with click of button

Published Dec. 3, 2004
By Staff Sgt. Kurt Arkenberg
8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) -- Airmen of the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron here are giving new meaning to the term “situational awareness” by mapping the entire base in a digital format. The effort is part of an Air Force-wide program known as GeoBase.

The program uses a “smart map,” said Maj. Dave McClure, 8th CES deputy commander.

“A user can select a building on the map, see a description of the building, what it is for, and what organization owns it. This information is stored in a database that will eventually be linked to information in other databases used for tracking work orders and real property,” he said.

A Web-based mapping tool allows any authorized network user to access non-sensitive data with nothing more than his or her Internet browser, officials said.

For sensitive information, special map reading software is installed on the authorized user’s workstation, and the user is provided with a secure password to access maps tailored to his or her needs.

The program is at a stage now where data can be captured in the field using Global Positioning System equipment, processed, added to a map and viewed by a commander -- all in the same day, officials said. The data is live, and the user-side tools are friendly and easy to use.

“Users at all levels now have a stake in the data that they work with,” said Lt. Col. Gregory Cummings, 8th CES commander. “(They) can participate in making the data as accurate and as useful as possible.”

CE mapping goes digital with click of button

CE mapping goes digital with click of button

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