Rosie the Riveter and Homeland Security

Everyone knows of Rosie the Riveter. During World War II, she represented America’s “real” secret weapon–the U.S. private-sector defense industry and the hundreds of thousands of dedicated and intelligent people who work for it. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, Rosie rolled up her sleeves and outfitted the nation’s war fighters with the equipment needed to ensure a successful outcome of that terrible conflict. Today, Rosie is still hard at work, innovating the cutting-edge technologies, systems, and equipment that will be required to win the global war on terrorism.

Last week, the DomPrep.com T.I.P.S. team exhibited at Equity International’s Homeland Security Summit at the new convention center in downtown Washington, D.C., where there was on exhibit a dazzling array of products, some of them already fielded, based on the several new technologies that can be used to protect the nation’s land and sea borders, U.S. ports, nuclear plants and other “high-interest” facilities, and the American people. In addition, America’s first responders are being equipped for their roles in consequence management as they prepare to respond to an attack.

Interestingly, Rosie and her co-workers are being helped by products offered from Finland, Israel, Russia, and the United Kingdom, all of which also were represented at their own pavilions in this important trade show. The lesson was clear: The global marketplace is hard at work developing the solutions needed to win this new global war.

Genius is obviously at work, as has been clearly demonstrated by the hundreds of thousands of hardworking engineers, technicians, scientists, office workers, and other members of the defense-industry teams designing, testing and bringing to market products that not only will be used in war, but also can serve a dual purpose in a broad spectrum of peaceful uses.

DomPrep.com plans to bring T.I.P.S. readers’ periodic updates and special reports on this new bow wave of technology in the company’s WebChannels of Industry Update, Online Exhibit, WebConference, and soon-to-be-relaunched Buyer’s Guide. These reports will not endorse any specific product, but it is obvious that that there will be some winners and some losers as the marketplace develops and as standards evolve. It will be DomPrep.com’s mission to report these competitions to you, sometimes with an accompanying analysis, but at other times raw.

America’s economy continues to grow at record pace by building products that are cheaper, better, faster, and delivered just in time. Now, as the nation retrofits “security” into the equation, some adjustments are being made. The National Response Plan, international and national cargo-security strategies, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security, all are being offered what the market place refers to as “product solutions.” In addition, there are numerous management, training, and interoperability issues that must be addressed when integrating this technology into the system. This brings even more new opportunities to those companies known for their best practices, strong marketing skills, innovative sales programs, and reliable business plans.

The DomPrep.com T.I.P.S. team plans to attend and exhibit at future trade shows and similar events, and looks forward to providing more technology reports, focused on those shows, to T.I.P.S. readers. To learn more about these exciting developments, visit the Online Exhibit, register and attend the WebConferences, and click on the web banners, all of which present an innovative array of solutions.

Footnote: After World War II, the fall of the Iron Curtain over Eastern Europe, and the Cold War buildup, Rosie worked for many Department of Defense contractors. As the requirements for ships, planes, tanks, and armament changed, the builders and suppliers grew, merged, partnered, and acquired one another. Today there are only a few giants supplying what is still a major and continuing demand. Similarly, it is expected that, as the Department of Homeland Security and its numerous state and local counterparts define, then refine, their equipment requirements, the same evolutionary process will occur in the homeland-security sector. Watching and reporting on the winners and losers will be interesting, indeed. DomPrep.com looks forward to sharing new developments, as they occur, with its readers.

Finally, a personal note from the publisher: Please let me know by reply email, mmasiuk@domprep.com, not only if you think we are on track but also, and of greater importance, how you suggest we might improve and be of even greater value to you, the reader. Thank you. Marty