 The time May 1965, the place Fort Craig, North Carolina, the action men of the 82nd Airborne Division standing by on red alert were suddenly ordered to board waiting military airlift command aircraft. Even as the planes and men were airborne, the president of the United States was speaking on television. The United States government has been informed by military authorities in the Dominican Republic that American lives are in danger. I have ordered the Secretary of Defense to put the necessary American troops ashore in order to give protection to hundreds of Americans who are still in the Dominican Republic and to escort them safely back to this country. This same assistance will be available to the nationals of other countries, some of whom have already asked for our help. Hours later, the United States Joint Task Force was in business on Dominican soil. Men of the 2nd Battalion of the 6th United States Marines were rolling into Santo Domingo. At the same time, a battalion of the United States 82nd Airborne Division moved out of San Isidro Air Base to link up with loyal Dominican forces on the other side of the city. This quick response to the crisis in the Dominican Republic pointed up the fact once again that the United States cannot always be sure just where or when a new trouble spot will erupt, where or when we will be called upon to use our deterrent military power to restore peace with the help of friendly allies. It was only one in a series of crises around the world. The peoples of the United States have had to face since the end of World War II. In Southeast Asia, guerrilla warfare in Vietnam. In Southwest Asia, conflict between India and Pakistan. In the Middle East, continued raids and counter raids on a number of different borders. Over the past two decades, few corners of the world have been spared from aggression in one form or another. This is of concern to every thoughtful American because the United States is committed to participation in collective defense arrangements the world over. Such widespread and complex defense commitments have called for new thinking and planning in our military services. During the term of the late President Kennedy, a new military organization was created called the United States Strike Command. It represents the nation's newest means of focusing our military power in a hurry in just the right amount to deal successfully with specific emergencies wherever and whenever they occur. At military camps and bases from coast to coast, men of this strategic reserve force receive constant intensive training. At one spot, it may be a thorough course in anti-guerrilla warfare. Be studies in the care and maintenance of the giant M-60 tank. Everything from air photo reconnaissance to tactical low-level bombing and rocket strafing techniques. Instruction training and learning tools for the men in all our military services are unquestionably the best in the world today. But short of actual combat, how do you prepare a man for action in a genuine shooting war? The answer, the joint exercise. And to prepare men to function at peak efficiency in every corner of the world, such joint exercises are held under as many different conditions of weather and terrain as possible. Moments noticed the men of our strategic reserve forces may be called upon to fight a mock war in the harsh lands of the Arctic. The aim of such exercises is to make the men as versatile and adaptable as possible. Recently, the biggest exercise of its kind since World War II was put on the drawing and plot boards. Its name, Exercise Desert Strike. This exercise was designed to cover the entire spectrum of warfare from the employment of conventional weapons through escalation to simulated nuclear conflict. To provide background and motivation for Desert Strike, two imaginary countries were created on paper with the Colorado River dividing them. West of the Colorado lay the fictional country of Colonia. To the east of the river was the imaginary country of Nozona. Into this vast area of sand and barren mountains, the United States Strike Command sent 1,000 tanks, 7,000 vehicles, 100,000 men, and 800 aircraft of all shapes and sizes. The exercise had an enormous effect upon the entire civilian community. Members of the reserve forces were suddenly parted from their families because of unscheduled moves for the exercise. The massive flow of heavy army traffic on public highways held up regular traffic from time to time. But wherever the military interests met, the army did its best to protect the public's interest in every way possible. This scope is bound at times to upset somebody's everyday routine. So the job of the military community relations specialist was vital in gaining civilian assistance and understanding. Because the battle area set by the planners covered nearly a quarter of the country, Corps of Engineers leasing agents had to seek the cooperation of hundreds of ranchers and farmers, promising to compensate them immediately for any damage done to private property. Like genuine wars, exercises are not comprised of raw combat alone, men against men, machines against machines. For every man on the battle line, there has to be a support element, men to bring up the ammo, men to guard the prisoners taken. As in a real war, Desert Strike required a lot of logistical support. This was directed from Needles, California by a neutral force of 10,000 men. At Needles, too, was the headquarters Joint Control Center for the military forces of the fictitious countries of Colonia and Ozona. From here, the briefers, umpires, and analysis teams would guide and judge the flow of battle. The situation created for the two imaginary countries, a conflict of interest to water rights of the Colorado River. Under cover of darkness, the Colonian forces prepared to attack and capture a dam vital to the Nozonans. This force seized the approaches to the dam and Nozona responded by declaring that a state of war now exists. Even before this mock war was declared, tactical air elements of the Nozona Joint Task Force team were attacking Colonia's forces on the west bank of the Colorado. Under this umbrella of air cover, the Nozonan Army made its move, which had been planned for just such an emergency. While the aggressors had been plotting to destroy the dam vital to Nozona interests, the Nozonans had been preparing an invasion to meet such a contingency. Every piece of equipment had been prepositioned to move as soon as the order to counter attack came down from the top. Colonian planners and observers had miscalculated. They had figured that the Nozonan reaction would be a counter thrust in the area of the dam they were attempting to capture. This landing 100 miles to the south came as a surprise. It was an unorthodox move. As a result, the Colonian forces were not in a position to oppose the landing of the enemy. Most of the Nozonan ground forces landed on Colonian territory, unopposed. Aggressor Colonian reaction was immediate. Send tactical air squadrons to attack the ground troops of Nozona. Send other attack fighter bombers to blast the enemy's airfield. Even though this was a theoretical war, the experience gained by the pilots might well prove invaluable if they should be called into genuine combat. Within seconds after the information was flashed electronically that Colonio was committing its air wings to battle, the Nozonan pilots were ready to fight. The war then switched chiefly from the ground to the air. Components of the two fictitious countries, Nozona and Colonia, battled in the air with gun cameras over both the communication, supply, and combat zones. Fight of stubborn resistance, the action was going badly for the Colonian forces as the war progressed. And by military strategists in the Pentagon, the Nozonan side had been given a two to one advantage on the ground and superior air power. The aim now was to drive hard and fast to the theoretical capital of the aggressor's country. The hardware moved as fast as desert conditions would permit. The war situation looked critical. They would have to blunt this drive by Nozona. The first commitment, additional air elements from forces held in reserve until now. New Colonian air power was directed immediately against the invading Nozonans. It slowed only briefly their advance across the desert. The war in the air was still undecided. Modern search and find equipment employed by the Colonians, Nozonans on the ground superiority and manpower was paying off. So casualties ran high, but superior manpower prevailed. Morale of the Colonian forces was running low. Nozona was capturing prisoners and gaining ground, but at the same time, they had lost the impetus of their drive. The reconnaissance became of prime importance. Where is the enemy? Which way will he move next? How can we hit him best? Both air arms of the warring countries were flying these scouting missions at the same time. Visual photographic and electronic information on men, hardware and troop movements of the opposing task forces. When the Colonian reconnaissance aircraft returned, the film was immediately rushed to the developing rooms. While the film was being processed and interpreted by photo intelligence specialists, the pilots were debriefed for additional detailed target information. In cases where there was an urgent need for photo intelligence information in the field, prints were placed in canisters, which were swiftly loaded into modified Zuni launchers. The jets then sped the canisters to the front lines where they were parachuted with pinpoint accuracy to the area occupied by the commander in the field. Selection through photo reconnaissance, landing zones for assault airlift operations were constructed by the Army's Corps of Engineers. Each strip was constructed at an average time of a day and a half. Throughout the exercise, Army and Air Force men worked side by side. In joint exercises like this, the men of the different services familiarized themselves with the other's jobs, learned the problems and capabilities from firsthand experience. The men had a chance to get better acquainted with desert life. Getting along with rattlesnakes was just part of the job, their creatures around. A dog from a nearby ranch found himself the company mascot and started eating better than he had in months and getting more attention too. These dry and barren wastes, even a small touch of beauty was appreciated by the most combat hardened soldiers of the United States Army. A little water for the flowers, a little more water from the lister bag for the sergeant. After weeks in the field, a USO show was as welcomed to the men as it would have been if they were not just hundreds, but thousands of miles from home. Because luckily, such shows have become part of military life, religious services for men of all faiths. All were held in the great outdoors with the chaplains of the different religions, moving from area to area to conduct their services. Here again, an element of reality was given the exercise. But even on Sunday, the mock war went on. Under actual combat conditions, no psychological warfare specialist would take a day off. Printing presses turned out propaganda leaflets and appeals for surrender to the enemy side. Radio bombarded the troops with threats, misinformation and inducements to surrender. In some cases it was effective and proved interesting to these GIs who had to ask this grizzled prospector where in the world they were. The lost and bewildered advanced recon team of Nizonas forces was a clue to the state of the war. Onia's aerial intelligence reports indicated that the enemy had overextended himself in trying to penetrate too far too fast. He should be vulnerable to a swift concerted counter blow. The question, how to take advantage of Nizonas reported weakness. When all conditions had been analyzed, the decision was made. Commit by paradrop, the army's crack 101st Airborne Division which Colonia had been holding in reserve. At dusk on the eve of the planned airborne assault, a specially trained diversionary force was air-dropped. Unaware of this counter thrust, Nizonas ground forces were firming up the bases on the enemy territory they had taken earlier. But the men on the opposing team, the so-called Colonian army, were beefing up their operation. Men were committed and they would have to be supplied and supported. Even while the loading went on, air crews were being briefed on details of the mission. The fate of the war may well have hinged on this single operation. Before dawn, paratroops of the 101st division were airborne. In the sky above the awakening desert, the transports turned to the east, toward the encamped Nizonen forces. At first light, an air force combat and army assault team jumped together into a dropped zone close to the enemy's heaviest concentration. Split second timing, in support, giant air force transport planes were dropping hundreds of tons of hardware the ground troops would need. Next wave, more airborne fighting men were dropped, the basic assault group. In a matter of minutes, the airhead was saturated with heavy equipment and more than a thousand men of the Screaming Eagle Division. During the drop, not a single man was hurt, nor a single piece of equipment damaged enough to require immediate repair. Most at the same time, a second combat control team set up the gear for an extraction zone. Here, supplies and more equipment were delivered with max efficiency. Dropped with every package were the tools to set up for more ground proximity extraction. And with every drop, the delivery potential of the area was multiplied many times over. Soon, supplies were arriving by air every 30 seconds. Despite their earlier setbacks, the tide of battle changed for the counter-attacking forces of the Colonian Army. Theirs was the initiative now. The punch of the 101st Airborne Division and the addition of a new tactical fighter force were enough to tip the scales in favor of the fictitious country of Colonial. The Nazonan troops were pushed back, then forced into quick retreat back across the river in a mock war, one called Desert Strike. It was designed to give our Joint Task Force teams a chance to test their skills in a desert environment. Similar exercises have challenged American fighting men in hostile swamps and jungle areas. Only realistic training like this can prepare men for the rough duties they may have to face tomorrow. Other exercises have put our men to test in the bitter wastes of arctic ice and snow. These training missions are given different codenames. Coolie crest, big lift, swift strike, gold fire. But in the vocabulary of our armed forces, an exercise is not something you do on a weekend or first thing out of bed on a spring morning. American industry can and does produce the finest weapons and equipment for our fighting men. Our men in military service can and do receive the finest instruction and training. Country's military leaders and planners can and do design the finest, most effective battle plan. Concepts and plans, operations and execution. Not one can become bat-tested short of actual war. The closest approximation of battle demands can be found in a realistic exercise, an exercise like Desert Strike. In the early days of World War II, they were called war games. Americans know that they are anything but games of the battles we may have to fight tomorrow in any corner of the world, with or without notice. As is such as Desert Strike, both airmen and ground troops gain not only combat-like experience but new confidence in their skills. Affirm knowledge that in real battle they would be able to do the job demanded of them. Able to fight and win whenever and wherever any enemy might force a confrontation. Thanks to exercises like Desert Strike, the United States today possesses a fighting machine unparalleled in our peacetime history. We need to respond instantly and forcefully to any challenge to freedom anywhere in the world.