 of the United States. This is the annual report of Our Armed Forces. Your narrator, Peter Hackas, Pentagon reporter, with the ABCs of a year of crisis in Asia, in Berlin, in Cuba, and how our armed forces have met and are meeting these challenges to freedom. For world domination, the communists have identified different levels of possible conflict to exploit. Khrushchev speaks of war and peace in the light of what he calls the new means of mass destruction. And what Mr. Khrushchev calls local wars, he also rejects because, as he puts it, they may grow into a thermonuclear war. Khrushchev recognizes another category, which he calls wars of liberation and popular revolt, but which we prefer to call subversion and covert aggression. It is these wars which Khrushchev says are not only admissible, but inevitable. Tested during a year in Vietnam is counterinsurgency, the quest of the South Vietnamese government. We are helping peace-loving people learn how to defend themselves. Here in a remote setting, there is new emphasis on the importance of the individual fighting man, as a teacher as well as a leader. Our troops are here to advise and train the South Vietnamese, but fight only to defend themselves on assignments which often take them into the midst of a bitter and dangerous struggle. In this conflict, it is harder to find the enemy than to fight him. Reaction time to guerrilla attack has been cut from hours to minutes with faster air transport and improved communications. South Vietnamese troops round up an enemy who strikes quickly and brutally, who already has assassinated countless civilian leaders, teachers, and other villagers who refuse to join them. The plan to protect those who dwell in thousands of rural villages and towns resulted in the fortifying of approximately 5,000 communities in the first year. During an intensive visit to Southeast Asia, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara sees how the fortified Hamlet program is working out. The home guard, like the volunteer fire department, is constantly on the alert against brushfire surprise attacks, which flare up whenever Viet Cong raiders are in the vicinity. Bamboo-spiked parapets may seem a primitive barrier, but are effective against night raiders. Navy has trained South Vietnamese Navy junk patrols, which guard internal waterways too. These patrols halt suspicious vessels for search and interrogation. Distinguishing between friend and communist foe is one of the most difficult problems of guerrilla war. The US Air Force trains South Vietnamese pilots to supply isolated outposts in a land where roads are all too few. Tactical operations, the experience and support of our Air Force trained South Vietnamese pilots give confidence and wings to government troops. And those, like their counterparts in the Army and Navy, are trained for special missions. They also act as instructors and advisors. Teamwork and on-the-spot training call for dedication from the man in the field to the top commander, General Paul D. Harkins. The US effort to our Vietnamese allies is a vast and comprehensive one. It involves political, economic, psychological, and military measures. All of the armed forces of the US play a part. On this side of the world, less than 90 miles from Florida, we faced another communist challenge, one that caused a world crisis. In the president's own words, this government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. To halt this offensive buildup, a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba, from whatever nation or port, will have found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons featuring back. Secretary of Defense McNamara announcing the quarantine order tells the press. Those are the instructions we've been given. Those are the instructions we will carry out. Soviet Chairman Khrushchev decided to dismantle the bases in Cuba and to remove the offensive weapons. After Navy surveillance, the missiles that had threatened the US went back where they came from. The Soviet bombers, which the president listed as offensive weapons, also were shipped home from Cuba. In Florida, the commander-in-chief cited Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps units, which flew the surveillance missions that revealed the communist missile buildup. Again, high and low-level reconnaissance pilots emphasized individual skill and achievement as they flew these important historic missions. The president also inspected the ground forces massed in Florida, ready for any action required. At Guantanamo Naval Base, the US Marines reinforced the local garrison. Again, the individual fighting man became a symbol to the world of America's determination to deter all communist aggression. Because communist attacks in Laos threatened the border of Thailand, the US responded quickly when Thailand called for help. Our seventh fleet landed combat-ready Marines in Bangkok in our biggest military move in the Far East since the Korean War. It's were flown in by the Air Force to reinforce army troops already in Thailand on maneuvers. The soldiers moved in along the Thai frontier, facing communist-infiltrated Laos. The presence of our military forces at a critical moment was sufficient to deter and open communist aggression against peaceful Thailand. Again, in India, when communist Chinese attacked in aggression reminiscent of Korea, US help was prompt. Air Force flew in urgently needed arms at the request of India's government. To curtain to the Berlin Wall, we are maintaining our commitments, standing firmly with our allies against communist designs for world conquest. This wall has become a clear-cut symbol of tyranny in modern times. Our forces hold constant alerts to maintain this frontier of freedom, and each soldier realizes the importance of his own role. Despite periodic delays, our forces maintain their right to travel through communist East Germany to reach West Berlin. The red flag, a constant reminder of the danger that threatens every free man. Global frontiers are the men at the Pentagon. Our $50 billion defense program is explained by Secretary of Defense McNamara. In the past year, we've doubled the rate of building Polaris submarines. We've doubled capacity to produce Minuteman missiles. We've increased airlift and tactical fighter procurement by 100%. We've tripled the Army's special forces, and we've increased the number of Army's combat-ready divisions by nearly 50%. We've streamlined the military chain of command for faster action, and we've made the vital job of recruiting, training, instructing, and equipping our fighting men the primary function of the individual service secretaries. In concluding, I'd like to repeat General Marshall's words, for I believe that today they apply to every service man. General Marshall said, the soldier's heart, the soldier's spirit, the soldier's soul are everything. Unless the soldier's soul sustains him, he cannot be relied on. He'll fail himself, his commander, and his country in the end. It's morale that wins the victory. It's staying power, the spirit which endures to the end, the will to win. The deputy secretary of defense is second in command at the Pentagon. He shares the responsibility for shaping our overall military power with Secretary McNamara on the top civilian management team, which includes the three service secretaries. When Secretary McNamara is away from the Pentagon, the deputy is in charge. The Secretary of the Army heads the department that provides the soldiers we need, whether it be for counterinsurgency, civic action, conventional war, or tactical nuclear response. The Secretary of the Navy has the mission of ensuring that our Navy and Marine Corps are capable of dealing with everything from the Cuban crisis and counterinsurgency to nuclear war. The Secretary of the Air Force, shown here, welcoming home reservists, stresses their individual contributions. His job is to keep our Air Force ready for missions from aerial jungle warfare to deterring nuclear conflict. The top military team consists of the joint chiefs of staff who direct our overall strategy and operations. General Wheeler represents the Army. Admiral Anderson is the Navy member. General LeMay heads the Air Force. And General Shoup is commandant of the Marine Corps. The new chairman is General Maxwell D. Taylor, who assumed office October 1, 1962. I'm looking forward with real anticipation to this, my new assignment in the Pentagon and a service as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. I find in this building the old Pentagon a new atmosphere and a new approach to the problems of defense which, to me, are most heartening. I refer to such things as the rediscovery of the need for conventional forces, the recognition of subversive insurgency as an important form of modern conflict, and the willingness to make hard decisions in the controversial areas of defense. In recent years, the Secretary of Defense through the joint chiefs of staff has directed the far-flung military operations of the unified commands composed of all services. Also, there are specified commands, which means single-service commands such as the strategic air command. There are nine in all. Depending on the military crisis of the moment, the joint chiefs can designate the appropriate command for action. The Atlantic command with headquarters at Norfolk, Virginia handled the Cuban crisis with Admiral Denison at the helm. The Pacific command with headquarters in Honolulu handled Southeast Asia and the Far East with Admiral Felt in overall charge. The European command with headquarters in Paris is closely associated with the Supreme Command of NATO. Both are led by General Lemnitzer. Strike command located at Tampa, Florida, the newest unified command is under General Adams. Combat elements of the Army and Air Force are prepared to strike hard and fast anywhere in the world. The SAC strategic air command is a nuclear deterrent to war with its tremendous second strike or counterpunch capability. Bombers at the strategic air command are constantly alert, ready to respond to presidential command. Protection for civilians on the home front is the responsibility of civil defense. The National Survey, Marking and Stocking Program has located potential shelter spaces for more than 100 million Americans. By 1968, the program is expected to provide shelter spaces for Americans at home or at work. Women's Army Corps and Sister Services, the Waves, WAFs, and Women Marines continue their fine work as an integral part of our defense forces. And a century after Clara Barton of the American Red Cross helped the wounded in this Civil War setting, the traditional role of nurses in war and peace has expended around the world. In the past year, Army nurses went to earthquake-shattered Iran, where US field hospitals ministered to the victims. Since the Berlin crisis of 1961, the nation relies more than ever upon its citizen soldiers, sailors, and airmen. The first reservists returning in 1962 after a year of active duty were greeted informally by the commander-in-chief. 148,000 reservists and National Guardsmen responded to this call. Each realized he was an important individual whose skill answered his nation's need. Reorganization of the National Guard and Reserves, announced in December 1962, will provide more combat-ready units streamlined to meet Cold War requirements of the future. Physical fitness as well as mental alertness is still basic for all who serve in our armed forces. The Air Force includes missile men as well as flyers. Here at Malmstrom Air Force Base, a strategic missile wing controls the most modern Minuteman in its underground silo. The Air Force specialists on this job, by continuous readiness to launch their bird, help prevent rather than start a nuclear war. In addition to missiles, man-flying is still of primary importance in a balanced Air Force. Now and in the foreseeable future, the Air Force is calling for pilots who must have the split-second precision skill of its famed Thunderbirds. Now the services are purchasing the Phantom Jet, the nation's finest tactical plane already in operation. The Navy and Marine Corps call this the F-4B, and the Air Force calls its version the F-4C. The Navy, like the Air Force, calls for scientists as well as flyers and sailors, but insists on individual fitness to meet the requirements of a modern Navy. We are increasing the number of Polaris submarines. By late 1964 or early 1965, we'll have 29 in commission. Two crews, the blue and the gold, alternate on these subs, going out on undersea patrol for 60 days at a time. This year, more fleet ballistic missile submarines increase our nuclear deterrent powers on the seven seas. On station, each is ready to fire Polaris missiles from hidden launching platforms. Today's surface Navy includes nuclear-powered ships like the aircraft carrier Enterprise, now in full operation. The cruiser Long Beach. And the guided missile frigate Bainbridge. The USS Albany, firing three missiles simultaneously, represents a sizable force of cruisers armed with one or more types of missiles. Navy, too, is training small units for lonely and dangerous missions, men who must perform a variety of skills often in more than one environment. Like the guerrilla soldier, the frogman on an underwater demolition team must prove his ability and courage during a long, extensive, and difficult period of training. Great emphasis in 1962 was given to the Army's Special Forces, a select group of individual fighting men. These US guerrilla fighters are twice volunteers, first as paratroopers, then for hazardous duty with special forces. They have been trained, retrained, and cross-trained. They can do everything from parachuting behind enemy lines to teaching school to killing sentries with the heel of their hand. Knowledge and techniques in guerrilla warfare are being shared constantly with our partners in this hemisphere. In the canal zone, the Caribbean Command holds a conference of American armies attended by officers from various Latin American countries. Back at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, our friends from south of the border take high-level staff courses, which range from conventional war to meeting the guerrilla challenges of Castro-type communists. In Asia, in South Vietnam, we are learning as well as teaching. Here, communist infiltration and subversion still are seeking to destroy South Vietnam with guerrilla hit-and-run warfare. As the free Vietnamese fortify their villages against the attacks of guerrillas, this warfare becomes strongly reminiscent of the American past. Then, as now, isolated communities in danger of sudden attack were forced to protect themselves. Once more, fighting is on a primitive level. The techniques are those of the Indian fighter, the scout, move silently, use the concealment of woods, swamp, or jungle, strike fast and hard. Like the warrior of yesterday, the individual fighting man of today must be ready for anything at any time. We cannot forget that behind all of our defense effort is the individual man. In guerrilla warfare, no machine can replace his judgment, his courage, or his will to win. In the peaceful exploration of space directed by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps provide support with equipment, missile boosters, and manpower. While supporting peaceful missions in space, we cannot neglect our military missiles and defense technology on Earth. The Minuteman, which became operational in 1962, has a range of more than 6,000 miles. The latest Army missile for troop use is the Pershing, a chute and scoot missile with a 300-mile range. For every level of conflict, we are maintaining a balanced defense. The Commander-in-Chief in his 1963 message on the State of the Union sums up our military position. This country, therefore, continues to require the best defense in the world, a defense which is suited to the 60s. This means, unfortunately, a rising defense budget, for there is no substitute for adequate defense and no bargain basement way of achieving it. It means the expenditure of more than $15 billion this year on nuclear weapons systems alone, a sum which is about equal to the combined defense budgets of our European allies. But it also means improved air and missile defenses, improved civil defense, a strengthened anti-guerrilla capacity, and of prime importance, more powerful and flexible non-nuclear forces. For threats of massive retaliation may not deter piecemeal aggression, and a line of destroyers in a quarantine, or a division of well-equipped men on a border may be more useful to our real security than the modification of awesome weapons beyond all rational need. It makes little sense for us to assail in speeches and resolutions the horrors of communism to spend $50 billion a year to prevent its military advance and then to begrudge spending largely on American products less than one-tenth of that amount to help other nations strengthen their independence and cure the social chaos in which communism has always thrived. The Nassau agreement recognizes that the security of the West is indivisible, and so must be our defense. There are, in fact, nearly one million Americans serving their country and the cause of freedom in overseas posts, a record no other people can match. I think these are proud and memorable days in the cause of peace and freedom. We are proud, for example, of Major Rudolph Anderson who gave his life over the island of Cuba. We salute Specialist James Allen Johnson who died on the border of South Korea. We pay honor to Sergeant Gerald Pendle who was killed in Vietnam, who in this century, far from home, have died for our country. Our task now and the task of all Americans is to live up to their commitment. With thanks to Almighty God for seeing us through a perilous passage, we ask His help anew in guiding the Good Ship Union. The United States can be proud of our armed forces, alert to meet every challenge. The spirit that safeguards our country is the will to serve and the will to win of everyone in uniform. Knows the mission, defense of freedom everywhere, which means defense of our own America.