 weapons coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier stands ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country you 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 today for the first time in history American military personnel are stationed on the soil of Great Britain in peacetime Americans and Britons are learning to live and work together the American soldier's primary duty here is to protect numerous air bases of the strategic air command today's big picture will tell you the story of their activities in safeguarding your freedom ten years ago the statue of Lord Nelson in London's Trafalgar Square looked down upon a scene of rejoicing American soldiers and British alike were celebrating the end of the most terrible war the world had ever seen the English people and their American allies could relax again after the relentless hammering that their fascist enemies had given them Britain began to clear up war's ruins and to plan rebuilding for peacetime pursuits the American soldier's job was done they had helped Europe to maintain her freedom when imperiled by totalitarian aggression now they were no longer needed they went back home to a land which their valor had kept free and untouched by war but these dreams of peace were rudely shattered by a new aggressor all over Europe agitators for communism tried to capture the minds of the people meanwhile Russia went ahead engulfing lands and peoples just as the Nazis had without resorting to open warfare the Soviet Union gobbled up one small nation after another until her forces encroached directly on the rest of Europe meanwhile in Washington DC in 1949 representatives from 11 of the free nations bordering the Atlantic assembled to form with the United States the North Atlantic Treaty Organization an alliance to protect human freedom against aggression within their area but on the other side of the globe communism was busy making a grab for South Korea once more the great tragedy of modern times was re-enacted simple inoffensive people were crushed by the juggernaut advance of a dictatorial power simply because they happen to be in the tyrant's path in the Orient as in Europe a ruthless and powerful force was sacrificing innocent human beings to its insatiable greed for international power once again as before within our troubled era peaceful people were sent forth as wanderers on the face of the earth the entire civilized world was deeply alarmed by this new threat to international peace the free nations mustered their troops to parry the latest blow of predatory communist aggression years of bitter fighting follow years in which the free nations gave liberally of their manpower and means a bold stand to preserve the liberty of a tiny eastern nation was the best warning that could be offered to communism that its greedy seizure of land and power would not be allowed to continue unchecked finally the aggressor was halted and a truce was signed upon one job yet men of goodwill felt that this truce was but a pause in the hostilities back in Europe the nations of the west still faced the same unpredictable fall watching always for that slight relaxation of defense which would enable him to enslave more people that is why britain age-old champion of freedom and self-government has taken the peacetime step of permitting another nation to build maintain and staff air bases within her borders thus today american and british flags fly side by side all over england and throughout her landscape are scattered our battery billets here army installations staff by soldiers from every state in the union are located for the protection of the activities of the united states strategic air command here in the midst of britain are commissaries that sell every type of american goods like a small department store back home soldiers and their wives go there to shop for whatever a family needs even school buses full of american kids the children of both officers and nco's are now an established feature of british life born off by bus to a strictly american education these children have the additional advantage of learning of foreign countries waves but somehow in spite of everything they remain as american as the kids you know in the next block these kids fathers go to school here too to gunnery school where they learn how to operate the most recent type of anti aircraft gun instructors break down for these rookie gunners the scores of highly involved techniques and practices that must all coordinate and run like clockwork before gunners can hit a target typical of the installations maintained and staffed by us forces is barefoot air base at this b-47 jet bomber base a simulated alert has just been sounding and the post is a hive of activity as each man makes for the truck quonset huts are emptied fast while crews turn out on the double a 24-hour alert is maintained at every airfield and the men expect to be rooted out at any time to protect the base things move fast in these days of highly mobile armies the object is to get there before your opponent no time is lost on the road getting from quarters to the gun installations guns are located at strategic spots around the airfield each crew makes a beeline for its particular gun one of the automatic 75 millimeter sky sweepers which cover the b-47s runways here is a new weapon a grim threat to any enemy sky sweepers can locate and train on a hostile plane a full 15 miles away can hit a target at four miles running a sky sweeper is a complicated operation demanding the close coordination of a number of interlocking units first comes the radar unit continually scanning the skies radar reacts and notifies the gunners of the faintest sign of a distant plane approaching rain or shine clear or cloudy reliable radar sees right through all weather conditions next comes the computer crew their roving periscope latches onto any air target within sight then power controls direct the gun off to one side another observer has his eye peeled the target selector is on the watch along with the other two units other men behind the gun include those who maintain telephonic communication between the various units only in this way can they function smoothly together with each unit playing its part in the total operation of winging an enemy plane when a gun points to a target every member of the team works together as one under the supervision of the crew sergeant it is the sergeant's job to oversee the entire operation and make sure that everything adds up to a hit all these units mesh like well oiled gears catching sight of an enemy plane approaching the whole gun swings around on the target today when the b-47s go down the runway they can feel they are securely covered by the newest kind of a a gun man by picked trained personnel a practice alert is a tense ordeal which helps work up quite an appetite cooks with cans of chow or a welcome sight hungry men don't lose any time in getting into that chow line the american army takes deserved pride in the fact that its soldiers are the best fate in the world our soldiers get a balanced ration more scientifically planned than the diet of most of our civilians and all those calories and vitamins go down well back on the post muscles and nerves grown stiff and rigid during an alert are soon put into condition with a few calisthenics keeping the soldiers fit as a full-time job just as important as feeding them and special instructors devote their energy to doing this at regular intervals mind as well as body needs exercise that's why england's famed universities have worked out an arrangement through our university of maryland whereby american soldiers may avail themselves of the privilege of attending oxford or kimbridge during off-duty hours soldiers find that british colleges are much more formal than ours are professors over here dress in academic robes the way our own scholars dress only at commencement exercises many an american soldier has had his educational horizons widened by this introduction to old world culture so popular are these courses that there is a long waiting list for admission but it is at the traditional games that americans get perhaps their deepest insight into the british national character this game of rugby for runner of american football as played at oxford is the training ground of british courage the source of the famous phrase playing the game this tradition of sportsmanship exemplifies as well as any of the customs which our two nations shared why britain and the united states stand solidly together for the principles of fair play the english-speaking nations have always felt that good sportsmanship is one of their basic principles the important thing is not just to win but to win by fair means but life at an english university is neither all games nor all study the lighter side of things has its place and our men like english undergraduates for the last four or five hundred years occasionally put aside their books and take a holiday from the academic grind soldier students follow the british pattern of a relaxed row on the temps or the camp or some other of england's many beautiful rivers the english universities are happily situated for taking such a pleasure john during the college vacations to paddle on any of these lovely streams is to feel yourself full of that gentle beauty which has inspired so many english poets to penny mortal verse not many of our soldiers go in for poetry but all respond to beautiful scenery for england is full of scenes made famous in song and history and our soldiers when on leave take a change of pace and eagerly absorb an atmosphere as different as possible from the job of guarding air bases no one who has ever seen the english countryside can forget it the peaceful gently rolling green hills the cozy old-fashioned cottages like something in a child's storybook or on a christmas car far off windsor castle remember it as the home of queen victoria city as well as country has much to say to soldiers on tour they get to note trafalgar square center of the city of london the square got its name from a great naval victory in the war against napoleon over a hundred years ago another vast conflict in which england fought against a dictator aiming at world conquest but few give thought to how the square got its name in the pleasure of strolling and enjoying the diversions of the british public britain's are more relaxed than we are and their life sometimes seems much less high pressured than ours but visiting with pigeons and people is as good a way as any to get next to this nation's placid manner of enjoying itself you learn over here how to respond to the simple things many a soldier brings back to his homeland from such quiet and undramatic moments as this a riper knowledge of the mutual understanding that binds two great nations together famous the world over is westminster abbey resting place of england's honor dead for many centuries even the slightest acquaintance with english history and literature makes a trip to the abbey an awesome moment within the visitors thrilled to the busts of distinguished men whose great writings and deeds have become household words wherever english is spoken in the abbey is a bust of milton a statue of the immortal shakespeare along the river tems in london the soldiers glimpse one of the most famous vistas in the world those gothic towers known everywhere as the houses of parliament they are told that here is where representative government started for britain's were the first people of modern times to rule themselves here also stands a great clock the famed big bend its tower dominating the scene big bend has become world famous as a kind of international symbol for the city of london a glance at parliament in session tells the visitors where america got some of her ideas on representative government and on parliament's wall a mural of the signing of the magnet carter lingers in our visitors memories as they walk away for this ancient episode foreshadowed america's much later declaration of independence it's exciting to stroll here realizing that you are in the center of the british commonwealth of nations a group of nations all over the globe held together by mutual consent this is their capital this entire district called west minster is the hub of the british commonwealth and the visitors don't intend to miss any of its points of interest everybody has heard of number 10 downing street official residents of the prime minister a house world famous as the living quarters of such great statesmen as disraeli loy george and winston church no serious visitor to london has ever missed a glance at this famous unpretentious door at which kings and presidents have paid their respects another must among london residences is buckingham palace traditional home of britain's king and queen for generations for all their love of self-government the english people still deeply cherished the traditions of royal pop and ceremony soldiers on guard duty dresses they did a hundred years ago all of which is something of a novelty to today's quietly clad american soldiers but however theatrical they may consider british dress uniforms to be americans somehow never failed to get a kick out of them and to send the folks a picture a spectacle you're lucky to catch is one of those royal appearances the british turnout for these affairs in great numbers they revere their royal family deeply considering it the embodiment of england's many centuries as a leading european power britain's queen is still one of the eminent personages in today's world a great lady ruling a great land it's a fine town london and there are a host of things to be seen in it but every once in a while a man has to slow down and take a breather and maybe think over some of the myriad impressions that have been crowding in on him history literature royalty they're all here contained within a few square miles and you will take these impressions back to the post and back home and remember them all the rest of your life another bit of pageantry that our boys respond to is the changing of the guard at west minster one of the most famous military rituals in the world and one which no visitor wants to miss here again britain's appear in the colorful uniforms of another century with all the stateliness of the historic past guardsmen are used to being stared at some say they like it modern soldiers functioning in today's mechanized world find no military significance in this elaborate ceremony but it's still a swell show something like a parade back home to american eyes the english will tell you that these brilliantly clad troops and their time honored passing to and pro before an admiring public are the official guard of the british king and queen the changing of the guard is one of the paradoxes of britain it has all pomp and dignity of military display yet it is carried out entirely for peaceful purposes to the delight of a free and democratic nation but british life isn't all tradition and ceremony strolling about the soldiers are told that london continues to be one of the world's great banking centers it's a shopping center too where the streets radiate out from piccadilly circus the name this public square was given by the ancient roman's many centuries ago no trip to london is complete without a look at some of those internationally famous british shops each with its own particular specialty now is a fine time to inspect some of the products which britain advertises the world over whose quality and reliability make every man want to possess them soldiers find that british salespeople are more impersonal and less high pressure than ours but in their quiet way they give you service as impeccable as their merchandise you also find the famous london motor buses are as good as they're cracked up to be safe in operation courteously run the conductors on these vehicles are glad to tip you off about points of interest and they'll tell you not to miss seeing london after dark when you watch the crowds gathering in downtown london at night you see the world's largest city at play it's a cosmopolitan town like new york or san francisco and the evening skies are brightened by neon signs advertising all manner of things the signs may not be as big as ours but the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly but while those on lee vacation and absorb english ways men back on such posts as millden hall are fully occupied the army chemical company uses this inactive british airbase as a training ground for practice alerts the chemical company's job is to lay a smoke screen to hide vital points in an air base from enemy bombers they take off of the base in jeeps hauling their smoke producing equipment along with them the smoke generators are mounted on one quarter ton trailers towed by the jeeps during an alert exercise the vehicles move out to predetermine spots on the perimeter of the runway get set up and start to generate a smoke that will envelop it within a few minutes of the alert the entire field can be covered by this smoke screen production of smoke on short order is one of chemistry's contributions to air defense strategically located generators going full force can obscure a target nearly as efficiently as the famous english fog the advantage of a mobile unit is that if the wind changes and blows the smoke away the unit can run to the other side of the field and there lay a new screen a chemical company in action turns a landscape into a scene from don't is inferno in a slight matter of minutes these scenes photograph from the air show how the enemy bombers target may be obscured by one of these smoke screens going full blast northwest of london is yet another link in our chain of air defense bushy hall headquarters of the 32nd aaa brigade located on a narrow strip of land between a golf course and a british boys school it's just a step from bushy hall military reservation to the fence that separates it from this prep school over the barrier you can often see a soccer game in progress soccer reminds the viewer of that famous remark of the duke of wellington that britain's wars are one on the playing fields of england meaning that games like these train english boys to grow up into adults who won't submit to defeat you may have heard that british games are quieter than ours but a look at them will convince you that these kids play just as enthusiastically and earnestly as our own kids do near the 32nd brigade's headquarters is wayburn a british range on an aught sea which we share with them here to keep gunners in fighting trim a new devices recently been introduced when guns at wayburn sweep the skies they are sighting a target that looks like the real thing this is the radio controlled aerial target called by gunners the rcat a model gasoline engine plane 12 feet long so built as to be dropped by parachute when hit by a gunfire the rcat takes off from a long ramp from which it will rapidly zoom skyward to target position the rcat's flight is under electrical control from now on this officer's job is to send the flying target in any and every direction simulating the evasive course that an enemy plane would take in an attack it's up to the captain to give these gunners a tough target to hit now the men behind the gun get a chance to show what those long weeks of training have done for them they're coming closer plummets the rcat from the skies a grim indication of the fate any invading plane will meet saved by their parachutes our cats are repaired for use again once one is down another takes to the sky to keep the crew jumping again a direct hit and the gunners take a bow today quonset huts like these dot the landscape from one end of england to the other and britain's going about their daily tasks may at any time hear an alert and see troops from a friendly nation hastening off to an airbase to blaze away at a target all this is something which no Englishman would have believed possible 20 years ago now it is an everyday occurrence throughout the british isles for the two great english speaking nations are once more standing together to uphold the security of free men on many a windswept english field today american soldiers are cooperating with the british knowing that our aim is the same as theirs to stand ready to defend the peace in these perilous days when an aggressor may strike from the skies without warning that is why american soldiers train in british fields today for our nation has come to realize that america's first line of defense is no longer her coastline but anywhere in the world where human freedom may be imperiled an american soldier has brought back from great britain a better mutual understanding between our nation and theirs but the most vital aspect of the two nations cooperation is that it maintains an ever vigilant defense of government by the vote of the people against the continuing threat of communist encroachment now there's a sergeant stewart queen inviting you to be with us again next week when we will present another look at 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 core pictorial center presented by the u.s army in cooperation with this station you 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