I was, during 2nd Iraq war (broadcasting, not fighting)
It was before the days of google earth - and I was quite fascinated by the Keyhole - the original software for Google Earth, because it was so much easier to use than couple of other real-time map softwares.
One was almost like a flight simulator - and another was way too code-heavy to operate. (I think it was called E&S - and cool thing about it was you could import 3d models and make fake battles animations etc)
Back then, Keyhole didn't have a lot of satellite images, especially in a place like Iraq - and very rudimentary terrain information... but I was able to import in custom sat highres photos, in Keyhole, label them and locate where things are - and in the end, we became quite reliant on Keyhole software, because it was so easier to use for anyone, and just faster to work with for breaking stories. So it began as a side-piece, but became the main thing on global map use - and soon after the war, Google purchased it and it became Google Earth.