Engineers and the military

As the world moved closer to war following the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, I could not help thinking about the students I met in New York who were studying engineering as members of the U.S. Army. During the one semester I studied civil engineering in New York, I met many army students. At that time, the war in Bosnia was escalating, and it appeared that the U.S. Army intended to intervene. A friend was afraid, but prepared to be called up for service. Now I am sure that hundreds or even thousands of Army engineering students are waiting for their instructions.

It is natural that many young people who could not otherwise afford the exorbitant prices of higher education in the U.S. choose to join the military to pay for their university degrees. In Australia, even where tertiary education is a fraction of the cost of average U.S. universities, many young men and women choose to join the Army, the Navy or the Airforce for the same reason. In Australia, the role of the military is more that of regional aid worker rather than regional peacemaker. Our advertisements for the military are almost without fail to do with learning new skills, working with people, and helping people in countries less fortunate than our own. The U.S. military advertisements have a very different flavour. Despite the differences in armies around the world, all have a significant need for engineers.

Mechanical engineers are used for military designs, manufacture and maintenance. This may be to do with weapons and even grenades, bombs, and other destructive machinery. However, they also work with less discomfiting mechanisms, including ground transport, air circulation units for underground networks, and so on.

Civil engineers work on military construction, both above and below ground. Their understanding of sanitation in ships, underground networks and other military camps is vital for maintaining the health of the military.

Aeronautical engineers work on the design on new aircraft, landing areas on ground and on aircraft carriers, and on maintenance of helicopters and planes. They must work together with advanced physicists to determine the best possible shapes for achieving high speeds and excellent maneuverability, while avoiding radar detection.

Biomedical engineers work with military hospital workers and doctors. They are not only needed for fixing existing wounds, but for preventing their occurrence. A high standard gas mask will probably have had some design input from biomedical engineers, even if it is not the kind of product we associate with these professionals.

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