For most of humankind's existence large bodies of water have been very effective barriers. But they became waterborne caravan routes starting at least 3,500 years ago. The oldest ship we know about was a merchant vessel that sank off the coast of Turkey about 1500 B.C.
Merchant ships carry cargo - and culture - to all the ports they touch. Cargo means goods that someone wants and will exchange wealth to get. Cultural exchange means communication and the interaction of countries beyond their borders.
Accumulated wealth can mean aggression from a powerful country against another weaker one. The war that comes involves Armies on land; Air Forces mostly over the land; and Navies on, in, over, and near the water. Often the war starts because of the fundamental pressure of too many people on too little land.
The estimate of the Earth's population 10,000 years ago is about 5,000,000 - a recently estimate is: 5,600,000,000. That is more than 1,100 times greater in 100 centuries.
Is it likely that the face of the Earth will be unscarred by warfare on its land or seas during the next few centuries?
So the U.S. Navy needs to have strong ships that sail the many seas with skilled people on board who will project our power, protect our citizens wherever they are on the Earth, and fight in Naval warfare when it becomes imperative to do so.
As Engineering Duty Officers in the Naval Reserve (NRED's) we need to be sure that we are supplying the best possible ships - tools - to our warrior colleagues who will take them into battle. Because we want them to survive any fight they must engage in.
Sometimes the trail seems faint between the calculus you took in college - along with the strength of materials, a/c circuits, organic chemistry, nuclear physics - and our fighting ships and the people who are on them. But the technical connection is very real. The many skills that you as NRED's have developed are well presented in CAPT Bill Kastner's expertise list. It is impressive in scope and depth.
Our slogans give a quick PR sound-bite. "The High Tech Brain Trust" and "Converting the Findings of Science into Navy Tools". But when the chips are down and simplicity matters - we keep the ships of the United States Navy as the best in the World and the people who crew them alive in peace and in warfare: and in the grey area between.
Being a Reservist only means that you are not on active duty for the moment.