Engineering A Secure Nation
Technological innovation is a cornerstone of military superiority, and national tragedy has only served to galvanize engineers from every discipline in their efforts to defend our land. Engineers provide terrain analysis essential in formulating military strategy, develop intelligence-gathering equipment, and design the vast communication networks required to coordinate multilateral coalitions. They supply starting materials, manufacture state-of-the art weapons, refine computer guidance systems, and create the infrastructure for lightning-fast troop deployment. Our nation is forever indebted to the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who risk their lives for our freedom. Similarly, our armed forces owe a debt of gratitude to the dedicated engineers whose efforts contribute to the safety and effectiveness of their mission. Other engineers, while not directly involved in military support roles, nonetheless comprise an integral component of our nation’s response to terror. They will design industrial facilities that are less vulnerable to saboteurs and restructure our power grid. Buildings will be constructed to withstand violent trauma, and careful materials selection will enhance structural integrity in the event of disaster. Biomedical engineers will develop diagnostic kits for early detection and containment of biological attack. Civil engineers will streamline the flow of traffic in urban areas, thus ensuring that the citizenry has sufficient escape routes. Innovations in airport security based on biometric technologies, such as computerized face recognition, will allow us to proactively identify security threats.
Engineers will be needed to heal the wounds of war. Our military has liberated Afghanistan; now we must prove that we have come not to set ourselves up as a new oppressor, but to bring them into the light of freedom. Eloquent words and empty gestures will not suffice. Infrastructure improvements are needed to allow the flow of humanitarian aid to those in dire need. Wells must be dug for a people suffering from years of drought. Irrigation systems must be designed and healthy crop strains introduced, both to ensure the future self-sustenance of the nation and to wean Afghan farmers from their cash crop, the opium poppy. Engineers who undertake such humanitarian missions fulfill the first dictate of the Engineer’s Creed, “As a professional engineer, I dedicate my professional knowledge and skill to the advancement and betterment of human welfare.” Furthermore, they advance the cause of Notre Dame, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Mt 5:9).”
As Notre Dame engineers, we have a moral obligation to consider the ramifications of our future relationship with the military. Few engineers complete their undergraduate studies with a full year of philosophical and theological training. Our university is unique in both its strong Catholic character and its proud ROTC heritage, which affords us several viewpoints on the ethics of war. Once we enter the workplace, and throughout our professional lives, we will represent Notre Dame. Our colleagues will look to us for moral leadership, and the world will expect us to take a stand for what is right. Simply put, we are equipped with the tools, and we carry the responsibility to form an ethical code of behavior.
If we feel that we are in over our heads when grappling with such weighty issues, there are people who can help. They are our friends and classmates, our rectors and professors. Ask a friend in ROTC about how he views his moral obligations. Ask a priest about “just war theory” as expounded by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. Ask a respected professor about how our professional code of ethics compares with the mission of the military. Talk to your family members, especially grandparents who may have served in World War II. Talk to the pacifist liberal arts major down the hall. Most importantly, listen to what your heart tells you. Remember the Engineer’s Creed that we will adhere to as professional engineers, “I pledge … to place service before profit, honor and understanding of the profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations. In humility and with need for divine assistance, I make this pledge.”
CHEG '02
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