At A Glance: GELF Establishment
- Organization: Geospatial Engineering Leadership Forum (GELF)
- Established: June 2025
- Mission: Integrate geospatial capabilities across all DoD branches
- Key Focus: Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) & Decision Advantage
Sun Tzu’s 2,400-year-old statement, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete” remains an indelible truth.
Today, achievement and sustainment of this knowledge requires digital warriors with specialized expertise to keep up with the rapidly changing battlespace and evolution of warfare’s dynamic decision environment, which has become measurably more complex with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned capabilities.
Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) require unprecedented situational awareness and decision speed to succeed in large-scale conflicts. Achieving this relies not solely on technology, but on the integration of technologies, data, and enhanced decision-making processes. A robust geospatial information ecosystem is foundational to this integration, delivering a competitive advantage through a comprehensive understanding of the physical operating environment across all domains.
For these reasons, geospatial engineering functional leaders from each Military Department (MILDEP) have united under the banner of the newly established Department of Defense (DoD) Geospatial Engineering Leadership Forum (GELF); a collaborative body designed to expand awareness and employment of geospatial engineering capabilities across all branches of the military.
“The GELF is not about creating new capabilities but about optimizing the impact of the capabilities DoD organizations already have operationalized,” explained George Ohanian — a GELF Tri-Chair member. “By fostering collaboration and streamlining processes, we can deliver a more integrated and effective set of digital tools to our warfighters.”
Common Operating Data: Beyond Maps
For too long, geospatial engineering has been synonymous with maps. While creation of maps is a foundational capability, modern geospatial engineering encompasses a far broader range of capabilities: precise positioning; 3D modeling and visualization; data management; remote sensing; spatial and temporal analytics, and increasingly, the integration of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), all key elements enabling the ability to transform data into actionable knowledge as the speed of operations.
This ecosystem isn’t confined to a single service or domain. It’s a complex network of personnel, data, tools, and processes that must seamlessly interoperate across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. The GELF recognizes this interconnectedness and is actively working to break down traditional silos to achieve and sustain the decision advantage.
Multi-Domain Leadership
Modern warfare and global complexities, including that the U.S. homeland is no longer considered sanctuary, have increased the demand for close collaboration between organizations operating in different domains. While roles, responsibilities, and authorities may vary between warfighting and business domains, their missions are interdependent and should not be viewed as discrete from each other; they are co-dependent. This especially rings true for the establishment and sustainment of operating locations around the world no matter their status. In the end, each domain contributes to the ability to fight and win our nation’s wars.
GELF stakeholders from each MILDEP and organizations of the Tri-Chair reflect the need for cross-domain engagement. Since its formal establishment in June 2025, the GELF has worked to expand awareness of geospatial engineering capabilities and to recommend ways to improve and quickly integrate these capabilities across diverse domains. Its mission continues.
The Future: Lines of Effort
Looking ahead the GELF will focus on the following Lines of Effort (LOE):
- LOE 1. Strengthen Collaboration Between Military Geospatial Engineers: Conduct engagements that foster communication, build relationships and define common issues across the geospatial engineering functional community within the business, contingency, and warfighting domains. Develop consensus-based solutions for common issues and facilitate their implementation within the community.
- LOE 2. Increase Visibility of Geospatial Engineering Support Among DoD Engineer Executives and Senior Leadership: Identify current and emerging geospatial engineering challenges and opportunities, and facilitate development of targeted products, services, and recommendations for DoD Engineering executives and senior leaders (e.g. the Joint Operations Engineer Board [JOEB] and MILDEP Engineering governance bodies).
- LOE 3. Expand Mission Partners Employment of Geospatial Engineering Capabilities: Advocate for and support optimal employment of existing DoD Geospatial Engineering capabilities to maximize operational effects and reduce duplicative investments via data that is visible, accessible, understandable, linked, trusted, interoperable, and secure (VAULTIS).
- LOE 4. Develop Leaders for the Geospatial Engineering Profession: Cultivate geospatial engineering leadership and technical talents necessary to effectively and efficiently address Competition Continuum mission requirements.
- LOE 5. Doctrine, Policy, and Procedures: Review current policy and doctrine for gaps or opportunities to incorporate geospatial engineering capabilities and standards; develop and propose revisions or other appropriate inputs through normal DoD channels.
Conclusion: Enabling the Warfighter
Our nation’s success in ongoing and future conflicts, more than ever before, is dependent on the ability to rapidly understand, adjust to, and master diverse and complex operating environments. Establishment of the GELF demonstrates the geospatial engineering community’s commitment to improve the foundational knowledge and context our warfighters need to fight and win in any environment.
Frequently Asked Questions: Geospatial Engineering & GELF
What is “VAULTIS”?
VAULTIS is an acronym for data standards: Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked, Trusted, Interoperable, and Secure. It ensures data can be used effectively across different systems and partners.
Does GELF replace existing organizations?
No. GELF is designed to optimize and integrate the capabilities that already exist within DoD organizations, fostering collaboration rather than creating new, redundant capabilities.
How does AI fit into geospatial engineering?
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) are key elements in modern geospatial engineering, helping to analyze vast amounts of spatial data and transform it into actionable knowledge at the speed of battle.
