Engineering in Time of War
by Joel Orr

America is at war. I know it, because I've heard President Bush and other government officials say so on TV and radio.

Funny-if they hadn't told me, I don't think I'd know it-although I have noticed that the jets from the nearby naval air station seem to be spending more time in the air lately.

But we are at war, as any of the thousands of American military personnel who have suddenly found themselves learning a whole range of difficult new place names can attest.

What does our state of war mean to an engineering professional? How has your life changed because of this war? How should it change? To answer these questions, we have to understand what "war" means to us today.

"War is the continuation of diplomacy by other means," said von Clausewitz. (My wife has observed that often diplomacy is the continuation of war by other means.)

Society is held together by a complex web of conventions. We try to avoid war by adopting numerous diplomacies to meet difficult situations. People in a particular area agree to behave in certain ways, and avoid behaving in other ways, in the belief that such rules will lead to some measure of general peace and harmony.

However, the best definition I have ever seen of what it is that must be protected in order to have a sustainable, peaceful, and harmonious society may be familiar to you: It is the individual's rights to life, liberty, and property-not only for individuals in our own country, but in others, as well.

Only conventions, customs, and laws which preserve those three things have a chance of preserving a people, and make them able to either avoid war, or to win it. That's because those three things are unalienable rights; that is, they cannot be removed from anyone without completely dehumanizing them.

Consider: Human beings are not free if their lives are subject to being taken from them arbitrarily, and with no chance of self-defense. Human beings are not free if they are allowed to live, but must live without freedom of movement; that is imprisonment. Human beings are not free if they are allowed to live, and allowed relative freedom of movement, but are denied the fruits of their labors that result in private property over whose disposition they have the sole voice.

A state of war inevitably exists when one group of people violates the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property of another group of people.

In The Parable of the Tribes, Andrew Bard Schmookler, who had been dedicated to pacifism, writes of his realization that if there are ten tribes, and nine want peace, but one wants war, there will be war. The peace-desiring tribes only options are surrender, fight, or flight. But they will not have peace as long as one tribe wants war.

America is now at war because of choices made by others. Though many "tribes" want peace, at least one "tribe" wants war: the terrorists who have attacked us, and the countries that support them. Nobody in this country has the right or the ability to ignore this situation.

What does this mean to the engineering professional? Obviously, if your firm is involved in the war effort, you know what it means. But if you are involved in the design and creation of goods and services that are not obviously related to the war in which we have become enmeshed, what should you be doing? Here are some of my thoughts:

• Awareness. Most Americans are "plugged-in" to news sources, at least to the extent that they feel they know what is going on in the world. But consider your sources: Are they all carrying the same message? Are you hearing only one interpretation of world events? Thanks to the Internet, alternate sources of news-and especially, interpretation-are readily available to all. Make it a point to explore some divergent opinions.

• Morale. War is frightening. To avoid participating in the creation of an atmosphere of negativity, make it a point to be positive and to encourage others. Do you have a spiritual anchor? A reason for hope? Now is the time to explore it, and to use it to comfort others, both at work and at home.

• Preparation at work. Is your company, your department, prepared for a terrorist attack? What would happen if your company mail room got a letter that had anthrax spores in it? What if a bomb were delivered to your company? Has someone sat down and made contingency plans? What if computers or your network were damaged? Are there backups? Alternate power sources? Fire drills? Supplies of food, water, and first-aid necessities?

• Preparation at home. What if, God forbid, something happened to affect your family while you were at work? You need to give everyone instructions-how to contact whom, where to meet, what to do if phones don't work, if school buses and other forms of transportation are disrupted. If you ponder this, you will think of many other things you will need to plan with and for your family.

  For example, it is prudent to make the same sort of preparation many did for the "Y2K" threat-just what you would do if there were a threat of a hurricane. Have food and essential medical supplies on hand. Some cash. Alternate sources of heating and fresh water. Warm clothes and blankets. Simple water purification and sanitation devices. You can find check-lists and supplies on the Web easily; search for "survival."

  Hold a family planning session. Don't be macabre. While it should be a serious family undertaking, stress the positive aspects-you are preparing to provide for and protect each other. Make sure everyone understands what to do.

Preparation greatly reduces stress. Knowledge and preparation are antidotes for fear and panic. At work and at home, if you know what to do under different circumstances, you will feel more confident and that very confidence will minimize the effects of any attack.

Engineering professionals are especially well-equipped to prepare contingency plans. Exercise those skills now, on behalf of your organization and your family.

Dr. Joel Orr is a consultant, writer and speaker on engineering automation. Visit his Web site at http://www.joelorr.com.