
           WARNING NOTICE - INTELLIGENCE SOURCES OR METHODS INVOLVED
                                    (WNINTEL)		

NEON AZIMUTH #1 - maps - May 29, 1994
___________________________________

Maps are useful for locating U.S. military facilities and learning about
their layout. They can also be useful for finding vantage points to look
into the facility.

For information on military facilities, military maps are the best source. The
Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) has a series of maps, for aeronautical,
nautical, and land (topographic) use. I highly recommend the DMA aeronautical
series, because they include ground features of military installations, and
topographic details. They are very colorful and of very high quality. 
Aeronautical and nautical DMA maps are sold by:
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  National Ocean Service
  Distribution Branch, N/CG33
  Riverdale, MD  20737-1199
  USA
  telephone: (301) 436-6990
DMA land maps are sold by the U.S. Geological Survey and will be discussed
below. Unfortunately DMA "range charts", such as NRCXX01 (Nellis AFB) are not
publicly sold, according to a conversation I had with DMA. However, I have not
tried requesting them under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) yet.

You should ask for NOAA's free catalogs "Defense Mapping Agency Aeronautical
Charts and Publications" and "Defense Mapping Agency Nautical Charts and
Publications - Region 1 United States and Canada". The free catalogs show
how to find the stock number of the area you need a map of.

Here is a list of DMA aeronautical charts that I recommend. Each map listed
below is U.S. $4.50 apiece. International orders should be paid for in the form
of a check drawn on an American bank, or in an international money order, drawn
in U.S.dollars, and made payable to NOAA. There is no charge for postage.

Detail maps (these cover 1 degree of latitude X 2 degrees of longitude, and are
about 56 x 86 cm). The order number is shown first, followed by a
description.
JOGNI1310 -- southern part of New Mexico. Includes Holloman AFB and White Sands
  Missile Range.
JOGNJ118 -- shows the secret test facility at Tonopah, Nevada.
JOGNJ119 - Groom Lake, Nevada. This one's rather odd -- it just shows a blue
  circle with a line in it indicating the direction of the runway, but there is
  no descriptive information about the length of the runway, or the name of the
  place. In fact, the line length is not to scale like other runway indicators
  on these maps. Even stranger -- other maps, such as the Geological Survey map
  mentioned below, show just an empty dry lake bed.
JOGNI115 -- shows Edwards AFB and Edwards North (where the B-2 was tested)
  in California.

Wide area maps (covering several hundred miles -- large, about 104 x 147
cm. Military operating areas are shown in blue boxes. Military only areas have
"R" (Restricted) numbers, such as R-2515 (Edwards AFB))
TPCG18R -- shows central California and Southern Nevada. Includes Edwards
  AFB, and the Nellis Range (where both Groom Lake and Tonopah are
  located).
TPCG19C -- shows New Mexico.

A useful DMA publication that can be bought from NOAA is "Special Use Airspace
- North and South America", U.S. $5.25, that lists all areas that the
military flies in (including restricted areas) in the U.S.

Another source of maps is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). There are various
types of maps available from USGS, but the most widely used are the 7.5 and
15 minute topographic maps (so named because they cover 7.5 or 15 minutes of
latitude). The 7.5 minute series cover a smaller area, but are more useful
because they are more recent. Most of the 15 minute series are 30 to 40 years
old. However, recent DMA topographic maps are also included in the 15 minute
series. The way you can identify DMA topographic maps is by a special mark the
USGS uses in their catalogs (the section mark, that resembles the letter "S")
and by the suffix -TM-050-00 on the map. For example, the DMA map of Cane
Spring, Nevada shows the control area overlooking Yucca Flat, where nuclear
weapons were tested at the Nevada Test Site. The USGS reference code for this
Cane Spring map is 36116-G1-TM-050-00.

You should ask for the free "Catalog of Published Maps" and "Index to Map
Coverage" for the state you are interested in from:
  Map Distribution
  U.S. Geological Survey
  Box 25286, Federal Center
  Denver, CO  80225
The Catalog lists reference numbers and prices for maps for sale by USGS,
while the Index is a set of maps showing the area that each USGS map covers.
If you are unfamiliar with topographic maps, you might also want to ask for
the free brochures "Topographic Maps" (symbols used in the maps) and 
"Topographic Maps-Tools for Planning" (how to use "topo" maps). Using their
materials, you can find that the 7.5 minute map of Groom Lake, Nevada is
37115-C7-TF-024-00 (titled "Groom Mine Quadrangle"). This is the infamous
map I mentioned above that shows an empty dry lake bed.

There are also other maps out there, that might be useful. For example, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) owns vast areas of western U.S. desert that
border military facilities. Here in California, the BLM has a series of
"Desert Access Guide" maps that show some items that other maps don't show,
such as who owns the land and desert tips. On the BLM maps, BLM land is
shown in yellow, state of California public land is shown in blue, military
land is shown in red, and private land is shown in white. These maps do
not have as many topographic details as the DMA or USGS maps. For California
BLM maps, you could contact:
  Bureau of Land Management
  California Desert Information Center
  831 Barstow Road
  Barstow, CA  92311
  telephone: (619) 256-8617

You can also buy USGS and BLM maps from private dealers, who cater to hikers.
These kinds of places also carry other maps and guide books, and are a
valuable information resource. (Look in the yellow pages of your phone
book under "Maps). An example of such a private dealer, with a very large
inventory is:
  Allied Services
  966 North Main Street
  Orange, CA  
  telephone: (714) 637-8824
You will pay a bit more for USGS maps at a private dealer, but you also have
a chance to look at the map before you buy it, to see if it is what you need.


As to where some interesting places are (in case you check other maps):
Groom Lake -- located near 115 deg. 49' West, 37 deg. 15' North
Tonopah -- located near 116 deg. 46' West, 37 deg. 47' North
Edwards AFB -- located near 117 deg. 53' West, 34 deg. 53' North (look for
  Rogers dry lake)
Holloman AFB -- located near 106 deg. 6' W, 42 deg. 52' North
White Sands Space Harbor -- located near 106 deg. 25' West, 32 deg. 57' North

Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com / trader@shell.portal.com
                paulmcg@aol.com / 76056.201@compuserve.com

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[Note: this publication was originally called NEON AZTEC, but the code name
was changed at the request of Native Americans. It's one thing to offend
the U.S. military, but I didn't realize I was offending people who have
suffered far too much in this country.]

------------------------------------------------
(This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the
Patriot FTP site by S.P.I.R.A.L., the Society for the Protection of
Individual Rights and Liberties. E-mail alex@spiral.org)

