How has information technology changed the daily lives of enlisted men Research Paper

How has information technology changed the daily lives of enlisted men and women serving in conflict zones overseas - Research Paper Example With the aid of academic literatures, this paper also aims to define information technology as used in this paper to provide a background as to how information technology relates to the US military, and provide a historical background of the utilization of IT in the US military forces to probe on how technology has affected military forces across different eras. 2.0 Information Technology (IT) Generally, Information Technology or IT is the processing of information by the computer systems which are greatly used for communication, data security and storage (Stoyles, Pentland, & Demant, 2003, p. 4). Thus, information technology helps the people in gathering, sharing and storing of data in a convenient and fast manner. Moreover, according to Yadav (2006, p. 2), information technology includes television sets, published works, computers and the Internet (which are common technologies used at home and offices) and any other media platforms where people can acquire information. In the cont ext of the military forces, information technology relates to the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) wherein information technology is used for weaponry, surveillance mechanisms, processing of information, and organizational transformations of different military units (Goldman, 2005, p. 1). These benefits center on the organizational advantage of the force. Part of the utilization of information technology of the US corps is also to provide personal benefits to the military soldiers as privatization of housing through IT, skills development and telemedicine programs. 3.0 IT and the Military: History In the early days of war fighting, various nations have adopted new technologies that brought radical changes in fighting. The end of World War II has marked the birth of atomic bombs where it was later developed to hydrogen bombs (Perry, 2004, p. 235). As people become more knowledgeable on the use of technology, the weapons and war instruments have also metamorphosed to a more advanc ed state. Furthermore, as the Soviet Union and the United States of America are creating war technologies based on fatal situations, both countries have developed missiles (Perry, 2004, p. 235). War weaponry continuously evolved which now includes new systems as satellites, smart sensors and new aircrafts to name a few. However, during the 1990s, as information technology slowly shapes the American society, and likewise, the US military has also acknowledged the importance of such technological advancement to further develop its strategies and principles that will ensure the dominance of the forces of the US military (Dombrowski & Gholz, 2006, p. 1). As information technology in the military forces centers on the war fighting improvement, they have implemented â€Å"network-centric warfare,† thereby providing a centralized infrastructure that allows communication, detection mechanics, commanding and controlling systems, combat information and battleground bearings among other s that can be accessed by various military personnel (X. Wang, Wei, & H. Wang, 2012, p. 573). From the mechanical war instruments, the advent of more advance technologies paved way for the