On July 17, 1995, the U.S. Air Force announced the Global Positioning System had reached full operational capability. GPS began as a military technology proving it’s capabilities in 1990 and 1991 during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and were relied on heavily by allied troops to navigate the featureless deserts in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. Since then, GPS technology has been integrated into most areas of modern life. There are approximately four billion GPS-enabled devices worldwide. (U.S. Air Force photo Illustration by Airman 1st Class Rachel Loftis)