 The latest weapons, coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier, stands ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country, view the American people against aggression. This is the Big Picture, an official television report to the nation from the United States Army. Now to show you part of the Big Picture, here is Sergeant Stuart Queen. Formosa has become the hot spot of the world. Aggressive moves toward the tiny Pacific island by communist China have once again created an air of tension in the far east and have caused free peoples to look with dismay at the prospect of being plunged into another global war. Perched on the lip of the communist world, Formosa contains the last spark of hope for free China and the first line of defense for the United States. On the island in what may be a race against time, members of our army are helping the Chinese nationalists to become a potent fighting force, a helpful ally ready and able to cut off the spreading tentacles of communist aggression. That's China, communist China. Through the binoculars you see it close up when you visit some of the island outposts of Formosa, the last refuge of free China which the communists want to smash. Every Chinese nationalist soldier on guard looks in only one direction, the mainland. The tremendous contrasts were the things which first impressed me when I was first assigned to Formosa as a member of the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group. In the middle of this primitive culture you find a modern army being trained. Forward elements of the nationalists whose headquarters is at Formosa. Taiwan is its name in Chinese. The busy city of Taipei, it's capital. It once belonged to Japan but since 1949 it's been the last hope of a lot of people who will not be communist dominated. Keelung Harbor is usually the first contact for new arrivals if they arrive by boat. But it's the airport that's the busy place in these 10s times. Maybe back home people wonder why all the fuss about Formosa. Well when you're right here and can see the faces of the VIPs like Admiral Robert B. Carney and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles you can sense its importance. You feel all the tension of two parts of the world at odds when you see our seventh fleet operating in the South China Sea under the most difficult conditions helping to maintain our security. It was the seventh fleet that stood in protection of the evacuation of Tashen Island when nationalist forces tightened their defenses consolidated their core of strength by bringing their men back to Formosa. We're in a race against time out here and it's comforting to know that those are our fighter planes who patrol the seas. Give us the air cover needed to train free China's fighting men. Our rocket firing dive bombers are capable of stopping anything in the air on the surface or under the China Sea. When you first start working with these men you wonder if you're getting across to them. Everything is said twice once in English and then again in their native tongue. But it doesn't take long to find out that you're working with a bunch of eager beavers. Now we don't have control over any soldier in the Chinese army. When it comes to telling them to do something all we can do is tell them the way we do it in the army of the United States. We have no position in their army official or unofficial. We tell them how it's done and give them as much equipment as we can. Supplies are coming in a bit more frequently now that the situation is beginning to get really hot. Complicated stuff like new radio and electronic components but the real job of aiding in the training of an army begins at the bottom. Basic stuff such as explaining the meaning of road signs to men who are learning to be truck drivers. We take things like this for granted back home. We take our time about learning. But here on a small island surrounded by hostile communist forces these elementary parts of a modern war machine take on added meaning. Yes they're mighty important and you can teach them too quickly. These soldiers are part of a nation that was bypassed by the industrial revolution. These men have to catch up with 100 years of mechanical progress and they have to do it fast. Out here there are no gas stations at every corner and it's vital that a driver knows much more than the elementary facts involved with keeping his vehicle in motion. They have to know a great deal more how to make repairs, how to keep the motors serviced. When the mag mission first arrived back in May of 1951 we found that the Chinese just didn't understand the importance of proper maintenance. But they're eager students. Teaching a soldier to drive a six by six truck is not too difficult. He knew about them before but it's a different story when it comes to highly specialized equipment such as the latest types of road building machinery. That's a grader. In the manual it's called grader Austin western model 99h. Sergeant Houston is explaining how it works. He's a member of the 507 field artillery maintenance company. His explanations get translated into Chinese. He and the translator had to coordinate before they tackled the complicated phrases needed to describe this special earth leveling machine. Learning to use heavy equipment is vital to an expanding army especially when that army is in the situation of the nationalists. These tremendous machines help provide a broad base for increasing the capabilities of the Formosan force. The ability to handle new projects such as bridge building. Each man handles a short piece of steel and their total effort becomes a bridge. A Bailey bridge. Master Sergeant Schmidt a veteran combat engineer is on hand to give assistance as the prefabricated units are pulled together to form the span. 45 men do the job in less than three and a half hours. Then the 120 foot structure is pushed across the problem arena. This bridge was received from the U.S. under the mutual defense assistance program. But there's also a self-help program taking shape on the island. A guard directs the way into the area which contains part of that self-help. An arms manufacturing depot which our ordinance officers are helping to increase production. Building up the free world strength aligned against the red aggressors. Some of this equipment dates from the pre-World War II days when the Japanese were in possession of the island who were organizing their industrial strength. But just as the weapons of war changed quickly so did the machines that make them. And the Japanese machines had to be modified. Women are employed wherever possible. There's a great deal of test equipment used and MAG technicians are training classes in the use of the sensitive instruments. These circuit testers and voltmeters will be used to check equipment in the field. An important function of the arsenal is reconditioning of arms. Chinese craftsmen make old rifles useful again. When it comes to a rifle there's no army that was ever better equipped than the army would use the M1. It's the basic weapon issued to the fighting men of nationalist China. The armors on Fremosa have a great deal of talent in working with firearms. It's part of a heritage that goes back many centuries and includes the discovery of gun powder as far back as the ninth century. Constant inspection keeps the standards high. There's rarely a second chance when the situation involves a rifle in combat. And the MAG inspectors make certain that a reconditioned rifle is as good as a new one. A load of rifles is on its way to the last step in the rebuilding process, the test pits. Here each piece is fired before it is reissued. I came all the way across the Pacific just to watch a bunch of Chinese soldiers eat. I'm part of a survey team from the U.S. Army Medical Nutrition Laboratory. We're here at the request of the chief of the MAG mission and our job is to determine the actual food intake of each soldier and find out how much good that food is doing. We have two control groups with about 600 men in each. One group eats the regular ration while the others are fed an enriched diet. Control of the food is in the hands of our nutrition team which consists of nine Americans and six Chinese. One of us is always on hand to supplement the daily ration of rice with riboflavin, niacinamide and thiamine. Sounds like double talk, but it all adds up to good vitamin B intake and makes it possible to decrease the rice allowance and more than pay for the cost of enriching the diet. Biochemical tests measure the rates at which these test group soldiers are burning up their food and help to accurately measure the rate at which the Chinese soldier uses his energy. The physical condition of free Chinese soldiers is of vast importance to the world. There is no doubt that they are completely outnumbered by the Chinese Reds and their best chance for victory if the Reds attempt to invade Formosa will come from their ability to out-fight them. So when we were asked to design an obstacle course that was really tough we came up with one that didn't leave a single muscle unused. This course has more ups and downs in the scenic railway at Coney Island and in addition to strengthening muscles it's designed to sharpen balance and agility. It helps a lot on some sections if you're part mountain goats. The toughening process never ceases on Formosa. Some of these men are veterans of many years of uninterrupted fighting on the mainland but they still move along with spirit. The first time around this course is comparatively easy just top speed from beginning to end. It's the second circuit that counts. This time it's done with a rifle and a bayonet still keeping the same pace but with more obstacles. Bayonet training with a vengeance. These hard driving offensive tactics are part of the basic training designed to charge the nationalist soldier with confidence. The ability to read a map accurately is something every efficient soldier has to know. Classes are held out in the field where the students can match up what they see in front of them to the marks and symbols on the chart. Being based on Formosa has given the Free Chinese Army new problems regarding conduct of a campaign. One of the most important being efficient amphibious operations. The old Chinese army never had to know much about amphibious assault. Most of their fighting was done in the interior. Combat exercises are held from time to time. They're under the supervision of veteran naval and marine officers. Teamwork is what we've been stressing in these landings. That was the principal reason for our successes in recent wars and it's something these soldiers had to learn. American boys grow up in an atmosphere of athletics that emphasized working with the other fellow. It's different in China but these soldiers have come a long way since the first days of our assistance program and now they can come up with a beautifully executed amphibious landing. Commandoes are expected to play a big part in the plans for striking back at an invader. This exercise simulates a swift strike at night, paddling into shore on a rubber raft for either a harassing raid or probe for information. Super-efficiency and surprise are the key tactics of the commandos. There is an urgency about this training that increases with each change in Formosa's position in the boiling political pot of the east. Another type of modern operation concerns airborne troops and equipment. The correct way to load a C-46 is described to an attentive class. It's a complicated operation in which a load must be placed with care so that the correct center of gravity is maintained by the aircraft while in flight. A jeep goes up the loading ramp first. The next item rolled aboard is a field piece. The establishment of coordinated operations such as this one involving the infantry and the air force has come about through the insistence of MAG for close cooperation between the services. Combat training on this island is serious stuff and it never stops. Each day long lines of troops move out along the country roads to engage in practice problems. No detail is too small when it involves the making of a soldier who can fight and win and it is in these large-scale maneuvers that the rough edges of the rookies are polished. Outfits move into Bivouac for a last check before the start of the exercise. Everything is inspected making sure that all is in order. MAG personnel are available for consultation in case anyone has a last minute question but before the outfits move out it's chow time and the advisors eat the same chow as the rest but not everything on the menu especially when the daily special is rice and grasshoppers. There's only one purpose to these maneuvers. Reproduce combat conditions as closely as possible. Ammunition is issued not all of its live stuff but it's just about the amount a man would carry into battle. Each unit works on a different problem part of a general plan which ensures that every soldier will get to practice all the things he'll be expected to do in battle. This group is setting up a recoilless rifle. A last second check by the MAG advisor before the members of the team load the piece. In other sections other weapons are fired. The armored divisions have their place in the exercises. Their training also stresses teamwork. Working with a complicated war machine such as a tank imposes a great responsibility on the average oriental soldier who is by nature an extreme individualist but they are very willing and work extremely hard to grasp the technology of today's combat conditions. Vehicles taking part in the maneuver are on the move. Tanks rumble down the roads then off across the fields to take up firing positions. The tempo of the exercise is constant. Keep moving at a fast clip through all kinds of terrain. Use every weapon of the infantrymen. Cross a river under fire. Advance up a hill at top speed. Tanks keep pouring the fire and moving forward. In another sector the problem is to get the unit across a shallow stream in a hurry. Planks and bamboo are used to form the structural members of a bridge. The long logs are tied together with rope. The sections are then assembled into place and pushed out across the stream. In a short time the river is spanned and the outfits are on their way. A great deal of attention is paid to teaching engineers to improvise in the field or whenever possible be prepared for any tactical situation that might come along. But the engineer's handiwork is just a prelude to a mock attack. Capturing a village. The whole operation takes place under enemy fire. These Chinese soldiers use the same methods developed by our armies in World War II when they streamed across the densely populated cities of Europe. It's a quick dash for the protection of a doorway. There's a special technique to house-to-house fighting. Once again it involves that important ingredient known as teamwork. Cover another man while he moves forward and then be covered on the advance to the objective. The MAG effort extends into every phase of training the nationalist soldiers. Officers are given the details of the radar detection system now in effect around the island. This protection from surprise attack is considered one of the first lines of defense for America. In addition to the quick warnings of the radar network other means of communications include an efficient teletype system. Machines have been adapted for use by the nationalist forces. To keep the messages secret special code room practices have been devised. They're based on Chinese characters which cannot be easily broken down into code groups. And there are other protections coming in constantly. At a nationalist air force base on Formosa US Ambassador Carl L. Rankin and Major General William C. Chase chief of the MAG mission are on hand to welcome the arrival of increased power for the forces allied against the communists. Sleek swept wing f-86 saver jets which streak into a Formosan airfield to bolster free China's air strength. These latest type jet fighters become part of the nationalist defense under provisions of the United States Mutual Defense Assistance Program. They can match anything that the communists put into the skies. The Chinese pilots who will fly them are trained in America and will now be equipped with a best fighter in the east. The changing of the guard on a lonely beach on an island in the Pacific has great meaning for the free nations of the world who stand committed to act against aggression. In the shadow of the constant threat of attack members of the United States Army Military Assistance Advisory Group are in a race against time. Lending American knowledge and materials to a small fighting army which will not be bent to the doctrine of the communist horde. To keep the flag of free nations flying over Formosa. The front line of freedom. As the bullies of communist China wave their red flag of aggression in the east and attempt to disrupt the peace and harmony of the free world our army continues its work on Formosa. Helping the Chinese nationalists to become a useful addition to the total pool of strength alert against communism. This is Sergeant Stuart Queen. Be with us again next week at this same time for another look at your army in action on The Big Picture. The Big Picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas. Produced by the Signal Corps Pictorial Center. Presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station. You too can be an important part of The Big Picture. You can proudly serve with the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today the United States Army.