IMAGINE building a 20-metre bridge that can support the weight of a tank 鈥� in just minutes. How about designing a supersonic plane that lands vertically and doesn鈥檛 show up on radar? Or a robot that can clear explosives under enemy fire?
Every day, an elite group of soldiers puts such engineering feats into action, supported by the behind-the-scenes work of thousands of engineers in industry and academia.
Keith Cima is well placed to explain what life is like for the military鈥檚 front-line engineers. He is president of the Institution of Royal Engineers and served for more than 30 years in the Corps of Royal Engineers. 鈥淭he military offers an engineer a unique environment, as well as giving you plenty of opportunity to travel,鈥� he says.
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Cima spent a lot of his early years in Northern Ireland building concrete observation posts and defensive structures from ballistic concrete blocks, steel stanchions and corrugated sheeting. There he learned that being top of the class doesn鈥檛 guarantee success. It鈥檚 no easy task creating store lists 鈥� complicated shopping lists for engineering supplies 鈥� and getting concrete trucks in the right order in a hurry and in an area where an enemy could strike at any time. Logistical skills and thinking on your feet turned out to be as important as technical knowledge. And you had to be ready to move at a moment鈥檚 notice. 鈥淵ou could go from implementing a water supply at Mount Pleasant in the Falklands to fixing the electrical supply at a base in Cyprus,鈥� he recalls.
Good judgement is also invaluable, as Cima found out when he helped build schools and roads in Africa. 鈥淲e鈥檇 be trying to apply British standards to a situation where you had to use local materials, so we had to make compromises to the design without compromising safety,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou must have the technical knowledge to realise what judgements you need to make, and the courage to actually make those judgements in the field.鈥�
For graduates, an army career can progress quickly. After a year鈥檚 training at Sandhurst, plus a six-month young officer鈥檚 course with the Royal Engineers, it鈥檚 off to a unit where you鈥檒l be expected to command a troop of 30 to 40 soldiers. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like commanding soldiers on operations to teach you about leadership,鈥� Cima says. Whether leading a troop into an area devastated by a natural disaster or building a bridge under enemy fire, engineers have little choice but to think laterally. That, says Cima, 鈥渋s the joy and delight of military engineering鈥�.
聯From coping with natural disasters to building under fire, engineers have little choice but to think laterally聰
The home front
Away from the front line, there are plenty of opportunities to provide engineering and technology back-up. At the UK Ministry of Defence鈥檚 (MOD) Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), based at sites throughout the UK, engineers work on cutting-edge research. For example, the lab鈥檚 chemical engineers have developed a colourless spray which becomes coloured as it reacts with chemical warfare agents, clearly identifying contaminated surfaces, while its software engineers are developing missile targeting programs.
Teamwork is key, says Mark Cullen, who is group leader for technology support at the DSTL. His team has been working on gadgets that make military vehicles safer. 鈥淥ur engineers will sit with the technologists who come up with the ideas, then talk to materials scientists and specialists in industry about how to make those ideas a reality.鈥� If you鈥檙e looking for a fast turn-around you鈥檙e in the right place, says Cullen. 鈥淎t times we鈥檙e looking at seeing the results in the field within days.鈥�
Sometimes these projects end up in the civilian world, too. The DSTL has a technology transfer company called Ploughshare whose task it to identify and develop projects with this 鈥渄ual-use鈥� potential. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to see what civilian uses our military technology has,鈥� says Alex Sparks, Ploughshare鈥檚 head of PR. 鈥淚f we can help the public, we will.鈥� And successful patents can mean bonuses for employees through a share in the profits.
DSTL, which already employs some 150 graduates a year, is also starting an apprentice scheme aimed at people with an aptitude for the practical side of making things work. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for enquiring minds,鈥� says Cullen. 鈥淭he enthusiasm to find solutions is just as important as the practical skills and knowledge.鈥�
Another route is to join an academic lab working on defence research. Cranfield University is one of the UK鈥檚 top military engineering institutions, bringing together academics and officers from the armed forces to teach defence science, technology and management. Other institutions, such as the University of Bristol and the University of Durham, offer PhDs and postdoc positions which are sponsored by the MOD and by companies that have a strong interest in defence engineering, such as Rolls-Royce.
If you relish having a foot in both academic and industrial camps, the MOD offers graduate-entry courses. Its defence engineering and science group is now recruiting environmental specialists, surveyors and mathematicians as well as engineers and scientists. The scheme includes in-house work placements, secondments to industry, and formal training courses, ranging from combat, weapons and explosives, to naval architecture and nuclear systems. And if the navy appeals, you can supplement the course with a part-time MSc in marine engineering or naval architecture at University College London.
Even if you鈥檇 rather keep the action at arm鈥檚 length, you might consider encouraging the next generation of engineers for the armed services. The UK鈥檚 newly established Engineering and Technology Board has launched an 鈥淓ngineers Make it Happen鈥� campaign, which offers a route to an invaluable science communication training. 鈥溞影稍磗 are trained by experienced public speakers to give motivational talks to school and college students and inspire them to become engineers,鈥� says project director Martin Thomas.
The British armed services, along with the companies that provide the kit they and other countries need, are recognised as among the world鈥檚 elite when it comes to engineering training opportunities. They also fund some of the most innovative research. So that high-calibre specialist training by top-notch military professionals also gives you a sackful of transferable skills. 鈥淏eing involved with military engineering tests you personally and professionally,鈥� says Cima, 鈥渂ut with a great system of support and advice, anything is open to you.鈥�
Case Study Graham Lee, troop commander, the Royal Corps of Signals
After four years as a communications engineer in the Royal Corps of Signals, Graham Lee has learned a thing or two about expecting the unexpected.
After a maths degree at the University of Cambridge, Graham joined the army as an officer. After 18 months of training, he became a troop commander. 鈥淭he greatest skill I鈥檝e learned is managing people,鈥� Graham says, a skill he hopes will land him a management role the civilian world later on.
During active service, Graham spent seven months in Afghanistan, where his troop was in charge of radio communications. 鈥淲e provided communications in the range 3 megahertz to 90 megahertz, which allowed localised communications between small areas on the battlefield.鈥� Being an engineer in a foreign country, you must be ready to adapt to your surroundings, says Graham. 鈥淲e had to work with satellite systems because communications can be difficult because of the terrain.鈥� And he was never far from the front line, going out with the soldiers on patrol.
Yet Graham鈥檚 most memorable experience was not of danger but of working closely with the Afghan National Army. 鈥淭here was a big initiative to train the Afghan people so they could take charge.鈥� That landed him the responsible new position of communications mentor for the Afghan army in Helmand Province. 鈥淚t definitely departed from the job description, but that鈥檚 what made it interesting. There are hundreds of jobs you find yourself doing so you have to be prepared for a complete change of circumstance. If you like variety, it鈥檚 for you.鈥�