The Department of Defense (DOD) has seen its mission change since the end of the Cold War. Now, the DOD must respond quickly to smaller actions around the world from fewer permanent forward locations. As a result, the planning phase of the forward deployment from home station becomes more important. To aid in this planning and execution, the separate services have begun to invest in geographical information systems (GIS). This research investigated the armed services' current uses of GIS. It also asked the question whether or not a joint GIS program could benefit the DOD, and an information technology implementation model was presented as a framework to implement a joint GIS program. It was found that all four armed services use GIS for forward deployments. The Army has its Combat Terrain Information System (CTIS). The Navy's digital nautical charts are a GIS.