—Mark Watson and Charles Robbins
In the Air Force geospatial community, AFCENT EIGI&S provides policy and guidance related to geospatial technologies for the CENTCOM area of responsibility. The changing technological landscape has been an opportunity to improve IGI&S services through greater information sharing capabilities and enhanced end products. Databases serve as the primary storage device for geospatial information. These geo-databases are used in theater by 3E5 personnel to manage and update base facility and utility information. A larger enterprise geodatabase acts as a central repository for all data under the purview of ACC. This database is the platform for internet mapping services provided on the Air Force Portal. Data must be continually transferred from deployed locations to this repository to ensure end users have the most up to date information possible. The disconnected environment we operate in poses several challenges to these efforts. The evolution of the geodatabase and our growing understanding of how best to exploit its potential has resulted in a more efficient data sharing workflow. The above mentioned technologies, their implementation and resulting benefits will be discussed in the context of past to present and future.