You can debate whether or not we are there, or when we will get there, but there is no doubt and no debate that we will get there and that information technology, both space based and terrestrial, underpins this vision. In fact, all of our visions depend on information technology. The ability to put ordnance on target with speed and incredible precision depends upon information technology. The ability to know precisely where we are, where our forces are, and where the enemy's forces are depends upon information technology. That is what RMA is all about, and information technology is front and center, enabling these warfighter capabilities.
Information technology is a pretty broad term.
It means a lot of things to a lot of different people. At the height of the empire, they could move a message from a battlefront to the Roman senate in a matter of hours. The technologies consisted primarily of horse-mounted couriers and mail wagons using the excellent road system and way stations where they could exchange horses. The couriers could move messages from 200 to 250 miles a day, up to 1,500 miles per week. There are some days I like to see a message or mail get that far that fast in the electronic age.