June 9, 1990
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev put out the call for assistance in converting excess military resources to domestic purposes—and the United States has the expertise to help in this area.
How soon we have forgotten that after World War II, enterprising Americans converted war surplus equipment to take the place of domestic machines for farms, construction and basic transportation. Thousands of U.S. businesses would not exist today had they not been able to start with this readily available and inexpensive resource.
You say it is unrealistic to convert battle tanks into farm tractors? Not when you use your head because you have no other easy alternative. Indeed, a 50-ton battle tank is too heavy and far too expensive to use on the farm as is.
But all the most expensive components in a domestic tractor or large truck are contained in a military tank or missile carrier—the engine, transmission, drive train, wheels and tracks.
In most cases, the only major missing piece is a frame appropriately designed to accept drive-train components that are removed from military machines. And the frame structure is the least expensive, low-technology component of a tractor or truck.
An assembly line to produce domestic machines can be set up in the Soviet Union the minute new frame structures are available. Their spare parts inventories can be utilized immediately without waiting for disassembly of existing machines.
New frame structures for conversion of some of their military machines could be designed and put into production within six months. Our industry giants such as Caterpillar Tractor, Case International, John Deere, Ford and GM know how to do this with their eyes closed.
A tidy new business could be developed in supplying these frame structures from our factories. If we don’t do this first, the Japanese and Germans will.
The basic frame structures for making domestic trucks and tractors out of military components will cost no more than $10,000 to $20,000 each. Compare this with $200,000 for even a mid-sized factory-made tractor or bulldozer. And this new industry will employ thousands of their surplus military people now as well as provide a pool of trained mechanics.
Is there any more fitting way for us to encourage them to mold their swords into plowshares? In the past decade alone we paid out more than $1 million each to defend against each and every tank, missile carrier and truck the Soviets lined up against us in Europe.
There could be no greater bargain now than to spend a few hundred dollars each to help them convert these machines of war into domestic godsends for their farmers.
Such converted machines won’t last more than a few years, but these are critical years during which they will fill a need.
Originally published as an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Copyright © 1990 Dr. Bill Wattenburg
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