First woman to head major US intelligence agency

The United States has had three female secretaries of state _ but until now has never had a woman lead one of its 16 major intelligence agencies.

Letitia A. Long is being elevated Monday to director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in a ceremony at the agency's half-built, high-tech campus in Springfield, Va.

The "Jetsons"-style rounded wedge of buildings is rising from a vast construction site near Fort Belvoir. The NGA's staff, now spread across the Washington metropolitan area, is slated to relocate there by fall 2011.

Long's 32-year career has led to a series of senior management positions: deputy director of Naval Intelligence, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and, most recently, second in command at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Long represents the vanguard of women in the intelligence community.

Women represent 38 percent of total intelligence work force, according to Wendy Morigi, spokeswoman for the Director of National Intelligence. In six most prominent agencies, 27 percent of senior intelligence positions are held by women.

Long has taken over one of the "top computer geek shops" in the national security world. The NGA synthesizes satellite imagery, using everything from the number of electric lines a city has to the density of the soil, to create three-dimensional, interactive maps of every spot on the planet. They're used by everyone from invading troops gauging whether a country's roads or deserts can handle tank tracks, to oil spill cleanup crews trying to decide where to deploy resources.