Global Area Reference System (GARS) is a standardized geospatial reference system developed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for use across the United States Department of Defense. It uses the WGS 1984 Datum and is based on lines of longitude (LONG) and latitude (LAT). It is intended to provide an integrated common frame of reference for joint force situational awareness to facilitate air-to-ground coordination, deconfliction, integration, and synchronization. This area reference system provides a common language between the components and simplifies communications. GARS is primarily designed as a battlespace management tool and not to be used for navigation or targeting.