GPS was developed, designed and built for military use and they remain in complete control over the system.

At little more than a flip of a switch they can turn off all non-military use. They can, and often do, insert various amounts of random error, referred to as 'dither', into any or all parts of the system. From sources in the area I hear that when major parts of the fleet come to Mayport Florida they toss in a dither of 50 to 100 meters for the Jacksonville area readings. High end GPS units, which use more satellites and fold in a considerable amount of computational power and multiple readings over time, can avoid a good bit of the error and give more consistent readings.

Considering the value we, the entire world, are getting from a defense program I wouldn't balk at the taxes paid for it. Some of you are too young to remember a time before GPS and so you might take any inconvenience or inaccuracy as a revocation of a right. I remember the many hours having to hike up hills to get to a point I could take sights on landmarks or backtrack and pace from a known point to verify I was on the right trail.

Sailors used to have to pick their way around difficult shores and a location of plus or minus ten miles was considered good. LORAN was a big step up from dead reckoning, compass and sextant but it was often both inaccurate and unreliable. Sometimes dangerously so.

All that changed with GPS. At first it was only the military but in a few years receivers got cheap and now anyone with a couple of bills can get their location with accuracy unimagined by previous generations. And, except for having to buy a receiver, they give access to this multi-billion dollar system away for free.

It is hard to overestimate how much the GPS system has saved humanity. The people who now have a reliable fix on their position when they need help. Rescuers who can go out blind in fog and storms and find people because they know where they are and where they are going. The ships that don't run aground. The thousands of people and man-hours saved. Just the reassurance and comfort of knowing for-sure where you are alone is worth quite a lot. Yes, if it came down to it, I would willingly pay for the privilege.

But be aware that if the SHTF in a big way, perhaps another world war, the civilian GPS receivers may not work. So appreciate the beauty, simplicity, and reliability of the system we have now.