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The past 10 years have hosted an explosion of technology that has revolutionized productivity, shifted priorities and transformed communications from words to keystrokes. The cultures of play, work and even warfare have been redefined repeatedly-so much so that it is hard to remember a lifestyle before Google, the iPod, razor-thin cell phones, voice recognition and personal digital assistants. Ten years ago, most people still used paper maps to find directions and looked up telephone numbers in thick, cumbersome directories.

In the history of the U.S. Defense Department, no date is perhaps more infamous than that of September 11, 2001. On that day, al-Qaida terrorists slammed a jetliner into the Pentagon-exactly 60 years after the day the Pentagon's construction began.

Try to identify the source of the quotes below and the year in which each statement was made:

During the past two years, SIGNAL Magazine has asked military command and government agency chief information officers (CIOs) to share with its readers their insights on technologies that could have the biggest impact on their organizations in the future. This column has been a forum for them to communicate-in their own words-the paths they need capabilities to travel so they will be better able to achieve their objectives.

Among the most pervasive changes of the past 60 years has been the cost of living. No costs or salaries could remain static during six decades of capitalism, as 1946 saw the beginning of the removal of wartime wage and price controls. Major economic growth

Six decades ago, a group of technologists from government and industry established an association dedicated to maintaining "as a contribution to industrial preparedness the splendid liaison and cooperation that existed during the [second World] War." Now, one Cold War and four hot wars later, the association that these visionaries founded has grown into an international organization that is as relevant and as important as ever.

I am certain that every successful military leader in our nation's history would say that people constitute the armed services' most value asset; and perhaps at no other time in history has that been truer. In operations around the world, the United States is relying on fewer people-both military and civilian-to do more with less. This is a spot-on description of service members, government workers, corporate personnel and law enforcement agents alike who are keeping our country safe or responding to those in need after disasters. And sometimes, in the middle of all the hype about technology, we lose sight of the fact that it is human-ware, if you will, that is the centerpiece of every successful operation.

The U.S. Army is expanding the reach of its overarching information network down to the individual warfighter as demands for connectivity increase with the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not only is the Army introducing new systems into the warfighting environment, it also is selecting elements of long-term programs for early insertion into the force.

Military leaders are adept at winning wars with tanks, troops and aircraft. Now the U.S. Army is putting the final touches on a campaign plan that sets the direction for the newest battlefield weapons: bits, bytes and the systems that deliver them. Earlier this year, the service's single authority for information management unveiled a detailed picture of short- and long-term operational capabilities implementation. The plan aims at supporting the force, helping fight the war on terrorism and sustaining transformation. It is on target to be finalized by the end of this month.