 Okay, move out. He climbs down the side of a mountain. In Denmark, as the military exercise reaches its decisive moments, he fights off a counter attack. He experiences the tedium of repair and maintenance work essential to Okinawa's logistic services and the breathtaking sensation of the pre-fall high above the jungles of Panama. He also knows that same country at ground level where he fights its heat and humidity and adds the machete to his equipment requirements. The snowshoe is another of his essential tools for he is no stranger to the frigid winter of Norway. At the edge of a placid German field, he polishes his skills, seeking professional self-improvement while at the same time, deep within a rugged German forest, he tests his own ability to survive and function in a rugged environment. On a Berlin street dressed for show, he knows pride as he parades alongside his allies. But it is here that his actions are most significant, most symbolic. For here, he serves at freedom's outermost perimeter within yards of a border etched in barbed wire. Here, his eyes must never close. He is the soldier of the United States Army and he is accepting responsibilities that have global dimensions. For whatever demands history may make of him, he is ready round the world of the many, many places where this story might begin. The West German town of Fulda is perhaps as appropriate as any. Here, the Army's readiness is evidenced by the presence of the 14th Armored Cavalry. Soldiers serving in the 14th are well aware that their zone of operations is a potential front line, but they're also aware that their presence diminishes that possibility. There is little excitement in this job, but they bring to it the essential ingredients of thoroughness. Their professionalism is motivated by doctrine as old as our nation. Doctrine best symbolized on a spot some 8,000 miles to the west. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln. South Dakota's Mount Rushmore National Monument is a reminder of words they spoke decades and even centuries ago, but which are no less alive and pertinent today. If we desire to secure peace, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Speak softly and carry a big stick. I think the necessity of being ready increases. Look to it. Look to it. In Kaiserslautern, Germany, the crew of Battery A, 6th Battalion, 59th Artillery, 32nd Army Air Defense Command is looking to it. Evaluators test their readiness constantly, measuring it against a scale as exacting as the sweep second hand. There is only one acceptable performance level, and that is superior. Practice and repetition are a way of life here, for perfection is something they must not only achieve, but also maintain. Elsewhere in Germany, radar men of the 3rd Armored Division are about to take a test described as the ultimate of its kind. The patches and trophies to be awarded will do much for their morale, but the test has much more purpose than a pat on the back. What will really measure is readiness. Called the Ground Surveillance Qualification Course, it puts the radar man through his paces so that a realistic evaluation of his capabilities can be made. He must demonstrate that he can select a suitable site for operation and get his equipment into action with a minimum of time loss. The installation of the radar equipment is just one part of the picture, for he must also prove that he is skilled in its operation, evaluating the electronic information it feeds to him. His targets are varied, tanks, and small infantry patrols. A variety of targets and a variety of distances moving at varied speeds in varied directions. He sees them only with electronic eyes, but he is able to develop and report pinpointed data, the specifics that in combat can be vital to victory. In the 3rd Armored Division, the readiness of manned equipment is not assumed, it is verified. Verified readiness is a mandatory condition for all elements of the United States Army in Europe. Though that army is still the largest nuclear-supported force of its kind that we have ever put into the field, its leaders know that readiness is not solely a numbers game. That it is not achieved by a static stockpile of men and materiel. This army is a living force kept vital by movement and activity. It is an army on the go. Near Leheim, Germany, its engineers try their talents on a river. Rivers can be serious obstacles for a swiftly advancing armored force, but when men such as these stand ready to bridge them, they can be crossed. Equally ready to bridge space and obstacles with communications networks of the officers and men of the 7th Army's signal units. This is one of their field exercises called dusty roads. In this exercise, the equipment is set up not in convenient sites, but when and where needed for tactical purposes. This makes the job of putting up a radio antenna a bit more exact. And the job of laying cable for telephone networks a lot more exhausting. And to round out fully the soldiers experience an unpredictable element of that. Aggressors. For men of the 10th Special Forces, the assignment is even more rugged. It starts with a parachute drop into an area that has been designated as enemy territory. The location is southern Germany. And the season is winter. This is the area they will call home. From this base of operations, they will infiltrate, harass, observe, and perhaps most difficult, survive. These are men who face two enemies. One of which is nature. To fight effectively, they must first conquer the elements. Where skis can be used, troop movement is sometimes effortless. But in the heavily wooded areas which offer concealment, and thus are the soldiers preferred habitat, progress is slow and difficult. Here forward movement is a matter of pure muscle power. During this winter training exercise, they will live under roofs of snow or within crude walls of their own construction. Above all, they will be functional. They will maintain communication lengths. They will plan and execute a variety of missions demanding a variety of skills and techniques. They will obtain information. In this case, photographs of a simulated enemy prisoner of war camp. They will cripple the enemy supply lines. They will fight him on his own ground. The 10th Special Forces Label them ready. Elsewhere in Germany, another aspect of readiness can be illustrated. Below, a student body of 410 soldiers enrolled in the 7th Army's Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. Here the challenge of tomorrow was being met. For here, new leaders are being developed. The Army's non-commissioned officers have traditionally set a high standard of excellence. And this school's four-week program of training and instruction is just one way in which 7th Army is ensuring that same high standard for the future. The training is comprehensive and the emphasis is on leadership. While the student is offered the occasional comfort of the classroom, much of the training qualifies as hard work. Subjects range from the correct way to lead a physical training exercise to the use of the map and the compass. Tactical problems in the field are covered with much animation. In this class, students serve as both defender and aggressor. Nobody really loses this skirmish. The objective, tactical knowledge and experience is achieved by all participants. The airfield below in Oberschleishheim, Germany is used by the 7th Army's Aviation Training Center. On this field experienced Army pilots are making a lot of bad helicopter landings. But this is not cause for alarm. Here they are students fixed wing aviators who are being taught to fly the rotary wing helicopter. Thus the pilot doubles his capabilities and increases his value to the Army. The contribution to readiness is obvious. The instruction runs the full course from basic to advanced. Field service representatives from the manufacturer of the aircraft detail everything from the mechanics of the rotor blade assembly to the recommended pre-flight routine. Equipped with newly acquired knowledge the pilot used to traveling behind a propeller gets what to him as a novel experience being off the ground without going anywhere. His training is not limited to one aircraft and he is given abundant practice at lifting and transporting sling suspended cargo an operation that demands sophisticated handling. In many areas of the world readiness must also be a collective concept. An image incorporating not only our own Army but also those of our lives. This is Northern Italy. These military vehicles and weapons are participating in an exercise called Paulex. Paulex tests the ability of the Southern European Task Force to provide advanced weapon support to the Italian Army and the test is passed. For the participating American soldier Paulex provides valuable experience another opportunity to polish his professionalism and evaluate his own ability to do his job. It also serves another practical purpose. It gives the American soldier an impressive view of the professional talents of a fellow soldier who wears a different uniform but has pledged to the same objectives. In Italy, the American soldier is meeting his Italian ally and affirming a common bond with him. Far to the north he's teaming up with the Norwegian military and his introductions include one to Norway's King Olaf. Here he is part of NATO exercises involving elements of United States Army airborne and infantry divisions and an aviation company. This terrain, as rugged and as challenging as almost any found on the earth becomes his theater of operations. He goes where his NATO obligations take him. As part of a defense organization that spans many miles and frontiers he operates in any environment and operates successfully surviving and fighting in knee deep snow in temperatures that turn thermometers white with cold it also allows him to sightsee in more accommodating areas. This is quiet Danish countryside or what was quiet Danish countryside before 900 American soldiers of a third infantry division simulated a beach landing on the coast not far from here. They are Task Force 130 aggressors advancing toward an objective the role is an unusual one for the United States Army soldier but he will play it effectively it is pre-established that his attack will meet with defeat. This Danish American field exercise is primarily designed to give valuable experience to selected units of the Danish Army and Task Force 130 serves as the testing block against which the Danish soldier can test his skills. The Danish victory is guaranteed but it will not be unearned. Task Force 130 suffering defeat in Northern Europe hard and heavy work for some American soldiers. Particularly when compared with these men seated comfortably in a classroom not doing anything more than paying attention for the moment we've jumped several thousand miles to the canal zone in Central America the students are all highly qualified hand-picked United States Army parachutists the seemingly easy subject of study HALO a new technique of parachute jumping that equips participants with an oxygen supply and an altimeter as well as full combat gear later they'll make good use of all three. HALO trainees even get to go swimming an activity well appreciated in the Central American climate but there is a serious purpose behind it all the instructors are special forces soldiers their work is not usually associated with fun and games and HALO training eventually proves to be no exception an adult adolescent might try this for kicks but the Army risks no soldiers neck without good reason these men are perfecting the proper exit technique for leaving an aircraft with a body position for free fall HALO stands for high altitude low opening these soldiers will when fully trained jump from almost three miles up breathing oxygen so that they can survive until their chutes are opened approximately one mile above ground this will mean a free fall of about two miles HALO jump techniques allow an aircraft to come in high enough to avoid visual detection and because of the low altitude chute openings the chutes stand an excellent chance of reaching the ground unobserved the theme as always is readiness the unconventional war has become the norm and HALO's unconventional approach to airborne infiltration may well help win a battle tomorrow this is Grizzly Bear Country the Chugatch Mountain Range in Alaska it is wild and rugged but no wilder and no more rugged than many areas of the globe which are occupied by unfriendly nations so like the Grizzly the United States Army soldier must call this hold this mountain and glacier training center adds still another piece to the total picture of army worldwide readiness the training given here hones the soldier's ability to fight over mountains and glaciers if need be the army can match the Grizzly's ferocity on his own home ground in this school the old label of foot soldier is once again applicable as early as the second and third days the trainee is building rope bridges across rivers and learning how to put them to use there are no school books no blackboards they begin simply by walking over boulders and crags to develop confidence later they will cross snow bridges cut their own footholds in ice and learn to travel confidently over areas of great potential danger here they are learning how to move cargo which might include wounded fellow soldiers down slopes no wheels could safely negotiate far from Alaska's Chugatch Range these mountains are strangers to cold snow and ice here the norm is sunlight and balmy breezes for this is Hawaii but for the soldiers of this infantry brigade Hawaii is not a mid-Pacific dreamland it's a training ground a place where they can practice and perfect the business of fighting a war this is the conventional slug it out move it forward work of the infantry not exotic not unusual not colorful but if readiness can be said to have a backbone this is it the army is faced with the age-old combat task of taking ground foot by foot inch by inch these men will be ready for the job Okinawa 350 miles east of the China mainland it has been accurately labeled as the army's supermarket of the Pacific here the soldier performs a vital mission he is an important part of a repair and maintenance program that returns material to use and he is one of those contributing to the logistical lifeline that extends from the continental United States to all locations where American soldiers are serving in the Pacific north of Okinawa is Korea where the American soldier has been keeping a watchful eye on the sharp edges of the communist world for almost two decades United States Army readiness it is a big picture it spans the globe from green Korean grass to brown flat African plains this is Asmara, Ethiopia where a station in the army's strategic communications network is maintained this network gives unity to a vast worldwide military giant bringing its many limbs under the direct control of the commander in chief we are back in the continental United States and these are the sights and sounds of America an army chief of staff has said that all the benefits that our citizens enjoy exist behind the defense barrier that is manned by the members of our military establishment if peace and security exist here and elsewhere in the world if we are free to work and live as we will in these locations it is because in other places in other climes the United States Army soldier is doing his job and doing it well his is around the world and round the clock mission and no moment passes when he is not in action he is proud of the talents and skills he possesses but he is not resting on his low when not fighting he is training when not training he is learning he knows that he serves a freedom's outermost perimeter and that he will be among the first called upon to defend his country from any challenge he knows the importance of readiness he is ready