 Okay, move out. The United States Army, in war a mighty mobilization of the manpower and skills of the nation, forged together into a military mass of awesome power and capability, peacetime a comparatively reduced army of trained professionals. Nevertheless, the defense of the nation is not in jeopardy. Standing behind the peacetime army are the men and women of the United States Army Reserve, more than one million strong, citizen soldiers from all walks of life, patriotic Americans who give of their time and skills to be ever ready to answer the call to arms in defense of their country. This is their story. It is also your story, for these patriots serving in a dual citizen military role come from your hometown. They are your neighbors, friends, perhaps members of your own family. They are the backbone of the national defense. They are the nation's strength and reserve. Men with a mission. Your host, the distinguished American actor, Ephraim Zimbalist, Jr. Unlike so many other nations, the United States has always been reluctant to sustain an oversized professional standing peacetime army. Instead, it has depended upon citizens to respond to the call to arms in times of emergency. Today, the United States Army Reserve, with a long and proud history, consists of over a million men and women. But they are not just citizens. For year after year, they devote much of their spare time, their evenings, weekends, even summer vacations to intensive military training. As a result, when the regular army is forced to expand, the United States Army Reserve cannot only muster tens of thousands of trained individuals on short notice, but companies, Italians, brigades, even full divisions. The concept, however, of citizen soldiers is not a new one. It goes back to our early revolutionary days, when the embattled farmers of Lexington and Concord exchanged their plows for guns and fired the shots heard round the world. Throughout the American Revolution, the Minutemen were in the vanguard of the struggle for independence. In the War of 1812, the citizen soldier was there. The Civil War. They fought valiantly for both the blue and the gray, or saw citizens in uniform unsheath their swords in Cuba. On the 23rd of April, 1908, Congress established the Medical Reserve Corps, legal predecessor of today's Army Reserve, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 1968. Nine years later, tens of thousands of Army reservists answered the call of Johnny Get Your Gun and Ford and Bled in Flandersfield. At the war's end, many combat veterans joined the organized reserve corps, while a Nazi tide swept over Europe. The American peacetime regular army was at its lowest end. Members of the organized reserve continued to train. They infused themselves with new blood and kept themselves in a state of readiness. When World War II came, 26 reserve divisions rallied to the call. Across the globe, wherever American fighting men saw action, members of the United States Army Reserve were there. On a post-war visit to Washington in 1946, Winston Churchill said, the rate at which the small American army of only a few hundred thousand men created the mighty force of millions of soldiers is a wonder of military history. At the war's end, General George C. Marshall freely admitted that his task would have been insurmountable without the officers and men of the Army Reserve. When 10 million battle weary veterans returned to peacetime civilian pursuits, the greatest military machine ever assembled was rapidly reduced. Fortunately, however, the Army Reserve expanded as tens of thousands of XGIs volunteered for reserve assignments. Over 240,000 army reservists volunteered or were recalled to active duty. In another period of crisis, the Berlin blockade by the Soviets in 1961, almost 79,000 men of the Army Reserve were mobilized in response to the threat of aggression. Today in Vietnam, approximately 75% of all officers hold warrants or commissions in the Army Reserve. You can see then that whenever duty has called, the Army Reserve has responded. Today, one of every 60 American males 18 years and over is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. During an emergency, time is of the essence. Consequently, the Army Reserve is so organized that many men and units could be called up immediately to meet the emergency. Many others are in such an advanced state of training that they could soon be brought up to the required state of readiness. The range and experience in the Army Reserve begins with the newest recruit and reaches to senior commanders whose service covers several decades and more than one war. This is as it should be, but it might surprise you to know that the average age of Army Reserve officers is 35 and of Army Reserve enlisted men, 25. The combat troops of the Army Reserve are backed up by a vast pool of trained professional and technical personnel, doctors and nurses, engineers, policemen, clergymen, truck drivers, you name it, the Army Reserve has it. Dr. Charles Rosenthal, a distinguished physician from Randolph, Massachusetts, is ready to leave his civilian practice on short notice and become Lieutenant Colonel Rosenthal Medical Corps Reserve and bring his professional skill to the aid of military patients. More than 60% of the doctors and 70% of the dentists on active duty are Army Reserve officers. Here, reservist Major Stephanu now assists Dr. Rosenthal in an Army hospital. While in civilian life, she is an instructor of nursing at Newton Junior College, Massachusetts. Richard Sackett, auto mechanic, is an Army Reserve specialist who can quickly transfer his knowledge of automobile engines from civilian cars to military vehicles in his unit's motor pool. The Reverend Elmer Heindl, chaplain in the Army Reserve, is ready to continue his ministerial work in his home parish or when his country calls among the troops at home and abroad. This restaurant chef will leave his civilian kitchen at the end of his working day to report to his local Army Reserve Center. Here, he teaches members of his cooking class the proper way to prepare food. During the week, Mr. William J. Brown is in charge of terminal operations for the Jarcker Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland. On weekends, this stevedoring expert is Lieutenant Colonel William J. Brown, U.S. Army Reserve. His highly developed civilian skills are now at the service of an Army Reserve terminal where transportation dock units are trained in loading and unloading cargo onto ships belonging to the U.S. Army Reserve. Opportunities for training are available the year around. Officers in the Individual Ready Reserve may study at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia, one of a number of Army schools such as the Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Some Army reservists study at home after work to improve professional confidence. They must meet the same rigid standards for promotion as do those in the regular Army. Army Reserve schools are maintained in reserve training centers in key areas across the country where reserve officers desiring to improve themselves can study. The courses are similar to those given to regular Army officers. In fact, regular Army officers attend these reserve schools when stationed in the vicinity. Enlisted men in the Army Reserve train in specialist subjects common throughout the Army such as auto mechanics, driver training, first aid, radio communication, clerical training, and supply. Many patriotic employers grant employees extra leave for training time. One such loyal American is B. Franklin Reinhauer II of Reinhauer Brothers Petroleum Products and President of the Bergen County, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Everyone must know by now that the United States Army Reserve is an essential part of our country's defense team. As a businessman and citizen, it is truly inspiring to me to know that these citizen soldiers are so determined to preserve America's democracy and freedom. Their dedicated response to military service, whether on weekends or for two weeks each summer, deserves the cooperative support of all employers to ease their personal inconvenience. It is a source of pride to me that among my employees are a number of United States Army reservists, for they demonstrate over and over again the very best traits of American citizenship. During World War II, the Army faced the almost insurmountable task of training millions of young men overnight for combat duty. However, should we ever again require full mobilization, the U.S. Army Reserve stands ready to assist the regular Army. To fulfill such a mission, the Army Reserve maintains 13 training divisions. They train themselves to teach others. These training divisions on short notice can administer and operate training centers when new recruits are made combat proficient, thus relieving the regular Army for duty elsewhere. At scheduled drills throughout the year, the members of the Reserve Training Division exchange their civilian clothes for uniforms and report to their local Army Reserve training center. For the next few hours, the Reserve Center becomes the scene of a variety of military activities. Inside, a commanding general brings the same executive skill to bear in the problems of training his unit, as he did earlier in the day in his civilian occupation. In this case, the director of a large children's hospital in Boston. Since the job of a training division is to teach, Army reservists study teaching methods at the center and then take over actual instruction under the guidance of a qualified teacher. Outside, in the motor pool area, Army reservists practice being instructors in auto repair and maintenance. Close by, new trainees are taught how to drill and march by specially trained drill sergeants who are old hands at the game. An indoor weapons range is available to teach the principles of rifle and pistol marksmanship. Training here qualifies the reservists to teach this subject to new recruits at an outdoor range when the training division moves into an Army post and takes over the training mission of the active Army. The weekly drills in the center culminate in a summer program of field training for approximately two weeks, but a regular Army post. The entire training division has an opportunity to work together as a complete unit, as they would under wartime conditions. At last, they are fulfilling their mission to take over recruit training from the regular Army. Before relinquishing their duties to the reservists, the regular Army instructors observe them at work to ensure they are fully qualified to instruct in their subject. The job of making soldiers out of basic trainees is then turned over to the Army reservists. Bayonet training takes real skill. Teaching it takes even more. In the close-up fighting of jungle warfare, a thorough knowledge of hand-to-hand combat can make the difference between life and death. At first, the Army reservist gives hand grenade instruction using practice grenades. Later, live grenades are used, and every safety precaution is taken to prevent accidents. Although these are training mines, the men are taught to lay a minefield as though they were the real article. Each step of the job is conducted with caution as though one false move could mean disaster. Calling under the barbed wire of the infiltration course is tough. But after the trainees are warned by the Army reserve instructor that they are crawling under a curtain of live machine gun fire, they quickly learn to keep their heads close to Mother Earth. In other parts of the training area, other subjects such as driver testing go on under the watchful eye of the reserve instructor. The Army reservists conduct a wire school for the trainees. Here they are taught the tricks of pole climbing and how to string telephone lines. Staying on the ground for field telephone communication is also part of the instruction. The easy living of civilian life has put plenty of soft lard where hard muscles ought to be. Daily periods of intensive physical training will soon get the men into fighting shape. In the mess hall, ample chow is ready for hearty appetites. The meals are well planned and in many cases more nutritional than moms. Through hungry warriors it hits the spot. Of the training cycle, the commanding general and his staff inspect the quality of the instruction. Senior officers of the regular Army are frequent observers in the training areas. The rate of annual active duty is when Army reserve troops pass in review before the discerning eyes of the commanders and civilian guests. While the training divisions are in the field, many other Army reserve units of all types report to Army posts throughout the country for their annual active duty training. What they've learned during the previous year is tested under simulated battle conditions. For example, quartermaster units ever anxious to speed up delivery of supplies to forward areas. Practice air delivery. Army reserve hospital units join the staff of a post-hospital to assist regular Army medical personnel. Some medics spend their two weeks with troops in the field. A unique type of organization in the Army reserve is the Civil Affairs Unit. Composed of selected personnel from civil government, teachers, lawyers, policemen and expert linguists, the Civil Affairs Units move into an area simulating conquered territory and conduct a field exercise in restoring civil order among the population. Herb has its own special forces units. The Green Berets practice air drops behind the lines and infiltrate into simulated enemy territory. During the summer season, annual active duty training takes place all over the continental U.S. and at various overseas locations. When training takes place far from home stations, armor and heavy weapons are procured from equipment pools on the day of arrival. This Army reserve infantry brigade is one of many units capable of backing up the regular Army in combat. Two weeks of hard training will bring the brigade up to a high degree of fighting readiness. By the dawn's early light of their first morning in camp, the sleepy civilian soldiers fall out. Quickly they readjust to Army discipline. Drivers gain additional experience when the troops are transported to Bivouac areas in firing ranges. On route, traffic is controlled by military policemen. It isn't long before advanced infantry training is in full swing. Mortar units learn to drive into position and set up their weapons rapidly to lay down a barrage of fire. Training with live ammunition, the Army reserve machine gunners soon demonstrate proficiency in the handling of their deadly weapons and accuracy in firing. They respect the wallop of the recoilless rifle. The infantryman's close in weapon against tanks. Realistic combat problems such as the taking of a strong point held by the enemy are tackled by infantrymen. Taking advantage of cover available. They move up on the enemy position in the woods. Fixing their bayonets, they rush the woods for the final onslaught. When prisoners are taken, they are brought before the intelligence officer for interrogation. A major war exercise is a realistic river crossing under simulated combat conditions. Smoke screens are laid down to hide the action from the enemy. Aggressor troops hold the opposite bank of the river and must be routed. Then the engineers lay down a pontoon bridge so the main body of troops can cross over. The action builds to a climax when all elements of the brigade are committed. Tough, realistic training such as this is the reason why the Army reserve is ready. At the end of the rugged two weeks training, the brigade in all its awesome might is massed. Major General W.J. Sutton, Chief Army Reserve, is there to inspect them, congratulate them, and present individual awards for jobs well done. Finally, the brigade passes in review. As vital today to the defense of the nation as it has been throughout the history of the Republic. The citizen soldier is ready today to take up arms against tyranny, as worthy embattled farmers of Lexington and Concord in the dawn of our history as a nation. Throughout all our wars, they were there. The United States Army Reserve is an organization with its roots in the past and its eyes in the future. Its major concern will always be its people, their numbers, their quality, their readiness, and their willingness to carry on the tradition of the citizen soldier in the defense of this great nation.