During World War II the Army Map Service (AMS), a heritage organization of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, was losing a significant amount of its workforce at a time when demand for its products was surging.
[5] The 60 hour college course that was part of the 3M program was supplemented at the Army Map Service by a four week in-service training.
Edna Eisen was the instructor for Kent State's mapmaking course and encouraged students like Bea (Shaheen) McPherson to participate in the 3M program.
[3] Women that were part of the 3M program worked up to 70 hours per week over the course of three years and assisted in creating more than 40,000 maps of all types.
[6] Reference materials included foreign maps, aerial photos, and other information to chart strategic locations, churches, schools, land contours, bodies of water, and roads.