 Okay, move out. When a young man enters the United States Army, he begins a new chapter in life. The familiar surroundings of home and family are suddenly removed, and he's thrust into a strange new world. A regulation haircut quickly changes his appearance. The uniform of the United States Army completes his separation from civilian life. The new soldier's training is intensive and designed to obtain prompt and strict obedience. During a soldier's duty hours, there's little time for personal expression. Each man is too busy fulfilling his role as a member of the Great Army Team. In addition to his military training, however, each man needs recreation if he's to be a well-adjusted soldier. The Army is keenly aware of this need for individual recreation and relaxation. Army Special Services, under the direction of the Adjutant General, is providing the answer to this problem through a great variety of programs, services, and facilities around the world. Wherever American troops are stationed, Army Special Services is finding ways to serve a soldier. The soldier standing in the rain on this induction day may feel that he has left his personal interests and pleasures behind him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here, a Special Services officer is telling the new men of the various recreation facilities and activities available during their off-duty hours at this Army post and other installations around the world. These Special Services, as the Special Services of the other branches of our armed forces, are for the physical, cultural, and mental recreation of each individual. At many Army posts, service clubs with a great variety of activities are available to all personnel. These clubs operated by Special Services provide the soldier a pleasant place to go and relax. Highly trained directors manage the clubs and assist the guests. In many ways, the service club brings a home-like atmosphere to the man in the Army. There he finds quiet and comfort to write letters if he wishes. There are games to be played and new friendships to be formed. The Saturday night dances may be more to his liking. Fine soldier combos provide the music and everyone is a good time. Army service clubs are fulfilling their purpose all around the world, providing all of the services of a good community center at home. Aside from the service clubs, most Army posts today have excellent swimming pools and the soldiers put them to good use during their free time. A greatly diversified arts and crafts program is another major part of Special Services activity. Professional photography instruction is only one phase of this do-it-yourself activity. This worldwide program covers a great range of hand crafts. Tools and supplies for the making of jewelry are popular and can be easily used in any locality. For those who are interested in painting, the program offers every opportunity to develop a man's talents. Artists kits issued by Special Services include everything necessary to capture a lovely landscape on canvas. In painting classes, would-be Picasso's receive free instruction from professional art teachers. Canvases painted by soldier artists are highly expressive of the individual's taste. Public showings of soldier's artworks attract wide interest and more than one Army artist has gained public recognition for his work. Another outlet for creative expression is found in the ceramics classes. Here, students learn to form and glaze all kinds of ceramic objects. Work is a rewarding pastime for many men. From strips of tanned hide, they produce wallets, belts, handbags and other useful and attractive items. In some localities, there are facilities where soldiers may work on their own cars. Learning to repair automotive engines develops useful skills for any man. Interest in woodworking is high among Army men at most Army installations both at home and overseas. Complete shop facilities are available. These offer everything from small tools to the finest power equipment. Special Services hand tool kits have been used widely in Vietnam to improve troop living and recreation. Endless examples of fine cabinet work prove this phase of the arts and crafts program to be an extremely worthwhile activity. Whatever a soldier's personal preference may be, he's sure to find projects of value and interest through the special services arts and crafts program. The need for reading and learning goes on regardless of where a soldier may be stationed. Throughout the Army, libraries are a vital part of the special services function. Many of these modern facilities equal or exceed the civilian libraries available in the soldier's own hometown. Using the reference facilities of these libraries, many men and women in the service carry out research projects for off-duty education courses. Annually, thousands of service men and women earn high school diplomas and college degrees. Extensive listings of fiction including most bestsellers attract a great majority of Army men. Well-appointed reading rooms give the soldier a place in which to enjoy his latest literary choice. The library and service club music rooms provide quality record players and a large collection of the world's finest record albums and singles. There's something here for every person. With individual sets of earphones, each man can listen in private to his own selection. In this room, there's time for serenity and self. Even in remote duty station areas, the soldier is served by the special services bookmobile. The Army sees to it that any person who desires to read the world's great literature or to relax with a good novel has the opportunity to do so. On a miniaturized scale, this special services bookmobile provides the same complete service as the regular Army libraries. It even offers a fine selection of record albums. This system of taking the library to the soldier was devised to reach troop units scattered throughout Europe. The library has proven to be a great success and wherever the bookmobile goes, there are eager readers to be served. Movies. Wherever a soldier may be, there are always movies available to him. The procurement and distribution of motion pictures and the operation of the world's largest chain of movie theaters all on a self-sustaining basis is a responsibility of Army and Air Force motion picture services. Thousands of soldiers attend Army movie theaters throughout the world every day of the year during off-duty hours. Many Army movie theaters in overseas areas are comparable to the first-rate permanent post theaters found in the United States. In remote outposts around the world, it's not unusual to see first-run films playing concurrently with opening night performances in the United States. Entertainment is being brought even closer to the soldier by making him a personal participant. Even in basic training, soldier shows are produced and every effort is made to get the men to take part in them. At Fort Polk, Louisiana, for instance, tryouts for a post-wide musical show are held on a competitive basis. With musical instruments issued by special services, the men not only audition for the big show, but hold their own jam sessions. Soldier-produced entertainment at the unit level is not only fun, but it's great for the morale of the men. The biggest soldier shows are top-flight productions. They feature stars in the making. With 2,200 showings a year of copyright dramatic plays and musicals, the United States Army is the world's largest theatrical producer. All told, there are about 35,000 performances of all kinds of soldier-produced entertainment in a year. For the young man at the peak of his physical energy, athletics in one form or another is a major interest. The Army sports programs are unprecedented in size and scope. Every athletic endeavor imaginable is covered under the special services sports programs. The Army gives a man the opportunity to develop athletic skills through competition. About 56% of the young men entering the Army had never participated in an organized team sport. Spectator entertainment is another benefit of these league games. Here morale is served both on the playing field and off. Success in competitive sports has often begun with a recruits introduction to team sports through special services athletic activities. Men who have never before competed as members of a team find new capabilities and gain confidence in themselves. Every man wants to achieve recognition, and Army sports help a soldier to reach that goal. Now is an Army commander's responsibility. Through special services he's provided with organized sports programs which stimulate, develop and maintain morale, esprit de corps and physical proficiency. These programs are prepared by the special services sports director at each Army post where league games are held. In meetings like this one, these sports programs coordinated through brigade, battalion and company levels. Throughout the individual soldier is encouraged to turn out for various competitive team sports. One of the most popular team competitions is volleyball. The playing field requires minimal space and equipment consists of only a ball and a net. The game is easily learned and yet it demands skill, speed and teamwork on the part of every player. Whether for team sports or for individual use, a wide variety of excellent athletic equipment is available from special services. These sporting goods items are supplied to our soldiers without cost. Athletic equipment is issued to the men upon request and the special services office has these items wherever such an office exists. In overseas localities, athletic equipment is packed up and distributed to the men serving in the field, thus making sports activities possible almost anywhere. Many men in the service are more interested in individual sports than organized team sports. Special services provides opportunities for golfers. Tennis players are issued rackets and courts are readily available. Some men prefer the physical contact type of sports. They desire man-to-man competition in the test of wit, skill and strength. Judo training is ideal for such men. This ancient art offers various stages of achievement from novice to really expert wearers of the black belt. Conventional wrestling is another form of physical contact sport which is popular throughout the army. Hard work, skill and a fighting spirit are required to achieve victory. The successful army athlete may go on to international competitions. Here the U.S. Army's Tyrone Hollins in white defeats Germany's Werner Lohmann during the 1967 boxing championships sponsored by the International Military Sports Council. Special services athletic programs make it possible for the soldier to achieve even international recognition. Tyrone Hollins, the new international military heavyweight boxing champion, is such a man. Army athlete may even represent his country at the Olympic Games. America's Olympic running star Lieutenant Melvin Pender is an example. It was as Sergeant Pender that he competed with distinction in the 1964 Olympic Games. Here is a man who has realized his potential with the assistance of the Army Sports Program. The best coaches in the United States hold clinics for army athletic instructors. Men like Adolf Rupp, University of Kentucky's top-winning basketball coach. Hal Fischer, head coach of many all-army and arm-forces basketball teams. Jess Neely, Athletic Director of Vanderbilt and Southeastern Conference Football Hall of Fame. Rex Peary, formerly the Pittsburgh Panthers great wrestling coach. And on the right, Pat Nappy, coach of Army's champion inter-service boxing team. Special services programs are as flexible as the Army itself following the soldier wherever he may go. In Vietnam, the services offered through these various programs are even more vital to the welfare and morale of our fighting men. Whether providing paperback books or operating rest and recuperation centers, Army special services is on the job with imaginative projects and new ideas. In Saigon, the first logistical command special services library is quite similar to the Army's best in the United States. Here, Vietnamese girls log in books received from stateside. Used by thousands of soldiers, the libraries in Vietnam offer a sanctuary for writing and study. American newspapers from many major U.S. cities are flown in regularly, and the newspapers and magazines are eagerly read by servicemen and women of all ranks. As in stateside Army libraries, there is also a taped music service for the soldier's enjoyment. In addition to these facilities, the library program distributes books and magazines of all kinds to the fighting men. The motto of this distribution center is, we get it to the troops. A modern bowling alley is another special services facility in Saigon. Personnel from all over the surrounding area come here for fun and relaxation. Nurses from the nearby Army hospital find bowling a refreshing change from their arduous duties. The Army camp at Bear Cat was hewn out of jungles which were controlled by the Viet Cong until recently. Despite the raw land there, special services has helped to establish a swimming pool, service club and recreation area for the men who daily go out of this base to fight. Looking at the service club here, it seems like any others back home, except for lack of landscaping, and even that will come in time. WeGolf hardly seems synonymous with Vietnam. Nor does driving golf balls by the bucket load, and yet the soldiers at Bear Cat are able to enjoy these things. Only the terrain, available transportation and relative security of an area may limit the variety of activities which special services can provide in the forward areas. Here at An K, Vietnam soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division, Air Mobile, have created a swimming pond in the local river. As elsewhere, sports programs in Vietnam are very popular. This healthy physical outlet for men living at close range to the enemy offers considerable pleasure and relaxation in a tense situation. Taking part in vigorous sports activities like this volleyball game increases the men's physical conditioning, alertness and reflexes. Soldiers are stationed in Vietnam, short of the battle zone, they receive athletic equipment. Perhaps the best known activity of special services of the armed forces, as far as the public is concerned, is the USO show. Through these shows, special services bring the great entertainment stars to Vietnam. The Bob Hope Show is one of the highlights of the year. Martha Ray is another favorite with the troops. These USO shows make it possible for our soldiers to see such noted performers as Comedienne Phyllis Diller, Songstress Sinita Bryant, lovely dancing singing star Joey Heverton and a great many others. On a continuing day-to-day basis, soldiers in Vietnam are rotated out of the battle zones and sent to rear areas in Vietnam and to other countries in Southeast Asia for rest and recuperation. This process is known as R&R. Here again, Army Special Services takes over by operating the R&R program. For its in-country R&R center, special services operate a beach resort at Vung Tau, only a short distance from Saigon. In this peaceful setting, weary soldiers can unwind and regenerate themselves. To a veteran of many battles in the jungle, R&R means a soft bed with clean white sheets. It means the luxury of running hot water and a lot of it for a professional Lady Barber. Additional activities are available in another recreational area just outside of Saigon. Water sports are enjoyed by those who like boating or water skiing. Dancers help to take a man's mind off the war. And special services arranges R&R trips to Hawaii. This gives many soldiers the opportunity to see their wives and families again, even if for a limited time. Here in the soothing atmosphere of Hawaii, the soldier is refreshed and filled with vigor once again to return to duty in Vietnam. From the first day when each man becomes a member of the U.S. Army, his welfare as an individual is of utmost importance to special services. As time passes, every soldier comes to realize that in the Army, as elsewhere in life, his personal values and what he gives of himself are recognized to the fullest degree. His experience in the Army results in the broader development of a man's knowledge and personal character. The maturity of mind and body are achieved. Whether across the seas or at home, the effort continues as special services of the United States Army seeks more and newer ways to serve a soldier. We're two and a merry month of May. Two and a merry month of May. We're far away.