In this edition of Ranger… ……we include articles from across the Defence geospatial community, both military and commercial, and indeed from across the world with a view from Colonel Jim Mitchell in the USA and not one but two submissions from New Zealand. All are looking at the issues that are facing the our discipline today and in the future and, despite the global financial situation, all are confident that the future, whilst presenting considerable challenge, does look good from those involved in matters geospatial. To highlight the importance of the defence commercial sector we have included views from three different companies, Envitia (formerly Tenet), Infoterra and a piece from David Swann who is now based in New Zealand where he heads up the ESRI distributor. Not only is challenge a thread running through this issue but so is change. The mantra that the only constant in the world is change has never been truer. Captain Jamie McMichael- Phillips outlines changes at the MOD level and Colonel John Kedar tells us his vision of the next ten years which includes the recent confirmation that JAGO and 42 Regiment will move to Wyton in 2013. This will have a major impact not just on serving personnel but also on those retired from RE Geo/ Military Survey as Hermitage has been their ‘home’ for over 60 years and is to all intents and purposes the current ‘home’ of not only the DSA which holds its Council meetings and seminars there but also the Military Survey (Geo) Branch of the Royal Engineers Association. The senior military and business people who have written the articles in this issue have seen enormous change during their careers. Whilst they now write of integrated systems, web based imagery stored in terabytes and the like, they all started their geo lives by being taught how to make a map or chart which at the time was a very manual process as observers needed bookers and detail and contours/fathom lines were plotted by hand. Great change indeed. DSA Secretary Tony Keeley also writes about amazing change when he describes his two years in the Antarctic as a young man, a place at the time so remote that it is now difficult to imagine. 35 years later he returned in some luxury as a tourist– who would have thought it possible? Alan Gordon