Of the entire struggle generated by war, technology has been one of its more beneficial offspring.

Submarines – Perhaps many do not realize that the submarine, in its crudest form, was a product of the American Revolutionary war Americans in the Revolutionary and Civil wars pioneered submarine warfare. It wasn’t until World War I, however, when they became an efficient piece of military equipment.

Germany used the submarine as a means of ending Great Britain’s naval dominance. Though submarines are still commissioned in the naval ranks of several nations, undersea exploration has benefited greatly from the maritime technology.
Locating and studying the Titanic, one of the most famous civilian shipwrecks in history, was made possible, as is the study of sea life living below the depths at which man himself can dive.

Aircraft – From the early days of hot-air balloons and dirigibles, war spurred rapid development of aeronautic technology. When the allied forces in World War I developed functioned planes, the German Zeppelins, a previous innovation, became unable to survive. Subsequent developments in aircraft not only provided advances for civilian use, but made war more tactical in allowing targeted strikes on strategic locations. This may well have reduced human casualties of both military and civilian personnel.

Our medical knowledge has benefited from that learned in treating individuals in battlefield situations. In 1939, Dr. Charles Drew set up a blood bank at the Columbia Medical Center in Maryland. His breakthrough finding, that blood plasma could replace whole blood, was a huge leap in blood transfusion research. Whole blood deteriorated in days while plasma could be stored much longer. This knowledge played a major role in saving lives in World War II and to this day. Dr. Drew set up a program for collecting, processing and transporting plasma that in 1941 became the first American Red Cross Blood Bank.

Electronic communications has been catapulted forward from the early introduction of field radios in World War I. Now Global Positioning Systems are used on everything from tracking shipments nationally and internationally to providing directions while on a family excursion. Satellite based phone and television technologies owe much to military innovation. As certain technologies are de-classified by the government, the commercial sector finds a way to capitalize on these and adapt them for everyday civilian use. How strange to see the once futuristic world of George Jetson and James Bond become a reality.

Unfortunately, some of the innovation generated for use in wartime has only served to make men more ‘efficient’ as killing each other. Machine-guns, chemical and biological weapons, and more recently nuclear armaments all have killing as there one and only purpose. Perhaps more than any one threat is the worry over nuclear action. Everyone worldwide seems to understand the massive destruction capabilities of nuclear weapons and some third world countries have sought it out to equalize themselves on the international playing field. Yet, very few seem to be able to see past the motives of the moment and see the lessons of war taught to us by previous generations.