 Okay, move out. Much has been written on the subject of military history. Army planners of today have learned many important principles of combat operations from military engagements of the past. Regardless of their historical background, all armies shared one common problem. How to get the soldier what he needed to win his battle, when he needed it. The military term for this support is logistics. And from earliest times, this problem was of grave concern to military leaders. Alexander the Great worried about supplying his expeditionary forces, which stretched from Greece across Asia Minor to northern India. Alexander's military campaigns were successful mainly because he was able to hold the Mediterranean coasts of Palestine and Syria. He used these coastal areas as supply bases, or depots as we call them today. From these bases, he was able to replenish his armies with the supplies and assault equipment necessary to win victory. A hundred years later, in a war against the Romans, Hannibal crossed the Alps from Spain and faced a similar problem of maintaining an army stretched far beyond its borders. Unable to obtain mastery of the seas around southern Italy, Hannibal did not have the advantage of coastal supply bases. Supply lines by land over the mountains proved inadequate, and eventually, Hannibal's military efforts in Rome failed. Napoleon's armies marched to disaster when they invaded Russia in 1812, without adequate provision for maintaining the troops through the rigors of the Russian winter. Military history is full of similar examples which demonstrate the importance of logistical support for the fighting man. And the critical role it plays in the outcome of battle. In our own time, U.S. military operations during World War II included a massive logistical support effort in both Europe and the Pacific. With large armies fighting on all types of terrain, halfway across the world from each other, logistical planning in World War II became a task of immense scale and complexity. And again, the lesson of military history was proved. The will to win victory must be matched with the means for achieving that victory. Today, on The Big Picture, we will see an account of another massive logistical effort, providing the combat material and services necessary to support United States Army military operations in defense of free South Vietnam. The major part of the supplies and equipment sent to Vietnam begin their journey at ports on the west coast of the United States. Delivered to the docks for shipment overseas are all supplies, weapons and facilities necessary to equip, transport and maintain our army on its Vietnam mission. Many important supply items are taken aboard in specially developed containers to facilitate loading and unloading. Everything from food, small arms, ammunition and medical supplies to helicopters and heavy weapons must be available in good condition for delivery to our fighting men. Military supplies and equipment are brought into Vietnam through various ports and landing areas. Major ports are Saigon, Newport, Quy Nhan, Da Nang and Camron Bay. Materiel has moved inland from the ports and coastal areas to regions closer to the combat area where support depots are established. With the rapid buildup of U.S. forces in Vietnam in 1965, crowded port facilities at Saigon had resulted in a backlog of as many as 40 ships at a time, waiting in the harbor for a place to unload. Today, an extensive port modernization program has greatly increased the efficiency of cargo handling. Cooperation between the South Vietnamese authorities and the U.S. Army transportation personnel has cleared the traffic jam from the harbor. Methods for unloading cargo have been improved through careful study of terminal management techniques. On Saigon's docks, cargo is shifted quickly and easily by forklifts. Because commercial and aid cargo also arrives at Saigon, the port's facilities are always heavily burdened. Over 200,000 tons of military cargo may be unloaded here in an average month and an equal amount of commercial cargo. Even with improved port facilities, the movement of cargo through Saigon is often hampered by traffic in the city's crowded streets. To help relieve the logistical burden on Saigon, the Newport Transportation Terminal was built three and a half miles upstream from the capital. Four piers can accommodate heavy cargo vessels. Equipment and supplies arrive here from various U.S. Army depots. But it is at Cameron Bay on the South China Sea where the full extent of the United States Army's logistical buildup in Vietnam can be most dramatically illustrated. In 1965, these shores were a sandy wasteland. Army engineers were assigned the job of turning this area into a major service and supply base. Everything had to be built, everything that would be needed for total troop and combat support. A type of docking area was installed known as the De Long Pier. The device was a large, barge-like platform supported on steel piling driven into the bottom of the bay. De Long piers are in wide use at many South Vietnam coastal supply points. By late 1966, a De Long pier for the handling of ammunition was completed at Cameron Bay. Located for safety at the end of a long causeway, the pier is able to handle a thousand tons of ammunition daily. Ammunition arriving from the United States is moved out as quickly as possible by land, sea and air to the various combat sectors. Petroleum products for U.S. Army aircraft and vehicles are handled at specially built facilities. This jetty at Cameron Bay can accommodate large tankers from which petroleum is pumped at the rate of over 400,000 gallons an hour. A few miles inland, a tank farm stores the petroleum for use as it is needed. A variety of general support maintenance units services military equipment. The watchword here is inspect and repair only as needed. They aim, get the equipment back to its combat unit with the least possible delay. What was formerly a sleepy fishing village has become a dynamic modern port, capable of offloading, processing and transshipping immense quantities of urgently needed military supplies and equipment. Nearly 25% of all the military logistical supplies coming into the country enters here. The remarkable development of supply and service capabilities at Cameron Bay is typical of the U.S. Army logistical buildup throughout South Vietnam. Often supplies must be concentrated in areas where port facilities are either inadequate or entirely unavailable. In these cases ships anchor off coast and cargo is unloaded over the side onto lighters. Known as logistical over-the-shore operations, this method of bringing in material adds considerable flexibility to the Army's supply activity. All major logistical centers are strategically located for the most effective distribution of combat and combat support items. The extent of the logistical problem in Vietnam can be readily understood by a look at the average military tonnage per month of key supplies brought into all of South Vietnam in 1967. 45,000 tons of ammunition, 60 million gallons of petroleum, 10 million food rations. By far the greater amount of it coming in by ship. This of course is in addition to the thousands of tons of general military cargo including heavy weapons, vehicles and equipment which must be stored, maintained, distributed and serviced. How does the Army keep track of this vast input of costly combat material? Once at the coastal areas, how do the supplies actually get to the troops in the rice paddies and central highlands of South Vietnam? And what about the many essential logistical support services so necessary to the Army's mission? The answers to all of these questions lie in careful planning and organization of our logistical facilities in the Pacific. Until 1967, these facilities at Okinawa, headquarters of the second logistical command, were the marshaling point for Vietnam-bound military supplies and equipment. But pressing and increased logistical needs required shipment of the vital combat material directly to South Vietnam for more immediate deployment. Much of the heavy duty maintenance on military equipment is still accomplished on Okinawa. An automatic data processing facility handles requisitions from combat units in Vietnam for supplies from the continental United States. Linked directly to the Okinawa command is the first logistical command at Long Ben, South Vietnam. Here, an inventory control center working in conjunction with the Okinawa base keeps records of existing supply stocks in Vietnam and determines future needs. The first logistical command is responsible for the distribution of combat supplies and equipment coming into the country for United States and other free world troops. This is the largest single Army troop command with over 60,000 personnel trained in supply and maintenance operations and servicing American and Allied soldiers throughout Vietnam. From ammunition durations, from gasoline to bridges, from medical supplies to housing, the first logistical command supports the soldier in the field with everything he needs to sustain him in his combat mission. Before setting out in supply convoys, drivers of Army trucks are briefed on possible hazards up ahead. These men carry weapons and know how to use them should the Viet Cong attack the convoy. Most supply items move by truck from depots to forward support areas as close as possible to the combat zone. Road conditions in Vietnam are not always equal to the task. Many combat areas cannot be reached at all by vehicular traffic. Where road access is not available, helicopters touch down on landing pads and bring in the precious cargo. The Army's heavy-duty helicopter, the CH-47, known as the Chinook, can carry everything from heavy construction equipment to an entire troop unit directly to the battle zone. For longer hauls, cargo aircraft make the run from depot to forward support landing fields when they are available. Forward support area keeps a stockpile of all classes of supplies geared for the particular type of unit it supports. Suppliers are kept at levels necessary to support the speed and intensity of the unit mission. At all times, contact is maintained with first logistical command headquarters to make certain that additional material will be on hand as needed. From these stockpiles close to the battle area, combat units will draw what they need to continue the fight against the enemy. While much of our troops' strength can be supplied by vehicles and aircraft, in the southern Delta region, made up largely of wetlands, logistical support must often be accomplished by water routes. Assault craft carry the men to battle, and the combat material they need must be readily available. Assault boats, barges, and other craft are used on navigable waterways to bring supplies and equipment to the men. Everything the soldier needs to do his job goes by water. Floating firing platforms are one of many logistical support facilities that must be provided for the riverine force. Transportation boat companies supporting combat operations in this area have a wide capability for maneuver. Combat support river crafts are moved wherever they will best serve the unit mission. Maintenance barges can repair Army aircraft and military equipment on the spot to avoid taking the vitally needed items out of battle. Support for Army combat activities is performed by another important water-based facility, the Army Aircraft Maintenance Ship Corpus Christi Bay, anchored off the coast of South Vietnam. The vessel carries a team expertly trained for every major aircraft maintenance specialty on rotary or fixed-wing Army aircraft. In battle, time is always critical. Avoid the floating maintenance ship. Valuable hours or even days are saved in repairing equipment that might otherwise have to be sent to U.S. bases in the Pacific or back to the United States for maintenance. The diversified Army forces in Vietnam require this same capability for skillful repair in dozens of other Army specialty. Equipment such as armored vehicles pose a particular maintenance problem. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other combat vehicles may be disabled not only as a result of enemy action, but from the rigors of heat, humidity, and difficult terrain. Literally hundreds of items of essential combat equipment, from the smallest to the largest, must be serviced without delay and maintained or quickly restored to combat readiness condition. Maintenance is one of the foundations of logistical support. The Army's maintenance organization provides this support from field repair close to the combat zone, to the more complete maintenance capabilities at the larger logistical bases. Thorough command and control along the entire chain of logistical support assures that carefully planned combat operations can go forward uninterrupted and with greater chance of success. Though surface transportation accounts for the major supply movement in Vietnam, airlift is vitally important in getting essential repair parts to their destination. At Tansenot Air Base outside Saigon, the Red Ball Air Express operation expedites the flow of repair parts for military equipment of every kind. Like all combat material, Red Ball inventories are kept at level sufficient to meet critical needs. Red Ball shipments are given high transportation priority so that badly needed repair parts may be trans shipped to combat units without delay. Though supply and maintenance of troops and equipment form a cornerstone of the U.S. Army logistical effort, many other support services are indispensable to combat operations. Army engineers pave the way for the creation of logistical facilities. Engineers have developed new and more effective methods of clearing jungle regions for helicopter touchdown zones or landing strips for Army aircraft. Of great importance is clearing jungle growth to reduce the possibility of ambush in areas where our troops are conducting combat operation. Another method of clearing areas where the enemy may hide is by defoliation or chemical spray which inhibits the growth of foliage. Air strips too soft for the weight of heavy aircraft may have to be prepared with specially designed synthetic surfaces. Facilities for preparing construction materials such as concrete or asphalt are operated by Army engineers. Guaranteeing adequate supplies of safe drinking water for the soldiers is an important engineer responsibility. At water purification plants, continuous tests are performed on water resources. With combat troops in remote hard to get to areas, often under enemy fire, feeding our troops in Vietnam is a difficult logistical problem. Food is brought into Bivouac areas by truck wherever possible. When surface transportation can't get through, food and water are airlifted in. If there's no place to land, the chowers airdrop to the combat unit. While engaged in active fighting, soldiers receive combat rations consisting of complete appetizing meals which may be eaten hot or cold. New methods of processing and preserving fresh foods for the troops in the field are constantly being developed. Care for the individual soldier in war or peace has always been a major concern of the United States Army. In Vietnam, medical evacuation of the wounded may call for special logistical support in equipment and operational methods. This rescue foist mechanism can lift a wounded soldier out of a jungle region with the aid of a specially rigged seat. Coordination between rescue units and Army hospitals throughout Vietnam provides quickest possible transportation of the wounded from the scene of battle to the nearest medical facility. Logistical support for the fighting man includes providing for his relaxation as well as his duty assignments. Entertainment is often arranged at base camps and hospitals. Provision must be made for transportation and housing for the casts of traveling shows. This company of entertainers stars Martha Ray in a special performance at the Second U.S. Army Surgical Hospital in Vietnam. To support the fighting man with latest technological advances in combat material is a continuing objective of Army logistics. This air mobile firing platform is being placed by helicopter in a flooded rice field. A 105-millimeter howitzer is brought in and positioned on the platform providing a unique artillery emplacement. An innovation in locating enemy troops is the airborne personnel detector. Operated by men of a chemical detachment, the device is secured to an Army aircraft. Sensory apparatus on the detector will signal the presence of the hostile troops in suspected areas. Many new combat support devices and concepts are tested and proved under actual combat conditions. Inevitably, success on the battlefield depends on total logistical support in every phase of combat operation. Whatever the supplies or services required, wherever they must be available, the need is always urgent. The time is always now. An Army behind the Army. The personnel who back up our fighting men with supply, maintenance and service are indispensable to our military effort. They are, in fact, our pipeline to victory. The famous 19th century Prussian military strategist Carl von Klosowitz summed up the purpose of Army logistics vividly in his famous series of assays on war. To bring every available man, horse and gun to the battlefield in the shortest possible time and with the utmost momentum. In terms of our modern, more sophisticated military ways and means, that is what we are doing in Vietnam today. That we are providing total support for the fighting man is proven by this significant fact. Not a single United States Army combat operation in Vietnam has ever been delayed or canceled for lack of logistical support.