Between 1972 and 1974, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Howard W. Penney served as the first director of the Defense Mapping Agency, a heritage organization of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that combined and consolidated the worldwide mapping and charting functions of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Under Penney’s leadership, the new agency focused its assets into a decentralized structure with a lean staff to respond to the rising demands for geographic information by a variety of military users.

In 2001 Lt. Gen. Penney was inducted into the inaugural class of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Hall of Fame, where he is credited for “helping the military overcome doubts as to whether or not DMA could meet their needs.”