Political pressures cause loss of integrity

Many of us who are students in engineering or management often hear of the need to consider the ethical aspects to our decisions and actions. Although this topic is often de-emphasized as a formality of our education, it is nonetheless paramount when high technology is tested and employed.

The controversy surrounding the Marine Corps V-22 Osprey aircraft is a prime example of this. If the alleged altering of the V-22's maintenance records is true, it is a tragic case of how political pressure gets in the way of sound technical and managerial accountability. The Marine Corps owes the citizens and the Congress that supports it to be honest and straightforward about its capabilities and limitations. If this had been the case, the two-dozen lives and the careers of several officers may have been saved. Such open and frank accountability is necessary, so that the citizens and their representatives can determine if this is the best use of their limited tax dollars.

If such innovative technology is to succeed, reality must always precede the need for favorable publicity. No matter how much we might wish it to be otherwise, reality cannot be blindly ignored. As a graduate student who researches flight test systems, it saddens me when engineering concerns are swept under the rug. Everyone remotely connected with such a project feels the fallout when such accidents occur. As the engineers and managers in the next several decades, this is the most difficult task we commonly face: preserving our professional integrity in the face of torrents of bureaucratic and political pressures.

Karl E. Garman

Graduate Student

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Political pressures cause loss of integrity

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