 The latest weapons, coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier, stand 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. To bolster the forces of freedom in a troubled area of the world, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, CETO, was created in September of 1954. Composed of the Asian nations of Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines along with New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, France and the United States, CETO is a powerful deterrent to any future communist aggression. In March 1956, CETO held its first joint defense maneuver, Exercise Firm Link. Designed to destroy the communist propaganda label of Paper Tiger, Firm Link proved that CETO is a tough tiger with teeth. Let's focus our Big Picture cameras on Southeast Asia and Exercise Firm Link. Bangkok in Thailand, a country once known as Siam. In the heart of sensitive Southeast Asia, Thailand today is an area continually under the threat of communist subversion. For centuries, a simple contented way of life has existed here, but now this Buddhist peace-loving people are no longer a part in a world of their own. Today Thailand is caught up in the currents of conflict which touch all peoples. The question here is elsewhere, can this corner of the world remain free? So that the ties and other peoples of Southeast Asia would be able to resist communist pressure, representatives of eight nations met in Manila in September 1954 and agreed that an armed attack against any one of them would endanger the peace and safety of all others. The Manila pack showed clearly a community of interest in Asia by countries of both the East and West. A permanent body was formed capable of meeting the communist threat on political, psychological, economic and military fronts. Capable too of being expanded in the future to include those nations which had remained aloof. Although any military maneuver was very far off, CETO would someday show its military strength, but make clear that it is just as certain of power in Southeast Asia as NATO is in the European area. First time we heard of Bangkok in Thailand, we heard we were going there. We, the second battalion, 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, just 900 of us, but we heard there'd be a lot of others from foreign countries in this operation. Incidentally, airborne with us is not just a word. We get around. For example, a few months ago we moved by air with full combat gear all the way from Fort Camel, Kentucky to Beppu, Japan, our present station. Before we took off, our commanding officer, General Sanford, told us that we had been picked as the first United States Army airborne unit to take part in an exercise with the countries of CETO. Here's a kind of equipment that travels with us on a mission, heavy stuff, fully rigged and ready to be dropped wherever we're going. Off to Thailand for exercise firm link. Why this name? To show that the United States and the other countries of CETO are firmly linked, and if one is attacked, all the others will come to the rescue. On the way across the China Sea, we settled down to a routine that's pretty familiar to us by now. Ramps aboard, relax and stay relaxed in one way or another until it's time to land. Don Wang Airport, where the maneuvers would take place. The weather here was clear and hot, something like the weather in the Philippines. Down came the ramps of our C-124s. It was good to stretch our legs again. We marched over to an area of the airfield where we would bivouac and get ready for the big show the next day. The outfits from other countries would be setting up camp here on the airfield alongside us. Meanwhile, naval units were arriving to take part. The carrier USS Princeton, as well as warships belonging to Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand were steaming into the Gulf of Thailand to be on hand for firm link. Helicopters carrying our marines took off for the short hop to Don Wang Airport. The main point of this exercise was to show how quickly different kinds of troops from many nations could show up at a trouble spot once the trouble started. Gradually, we began to see who was present beside ourselves. There were our marines and we saw some Filipino troops setting up camp in a way that seemed pretty familiar. A lot of their procedures reminded us of our own training. These men showed good style and spirit in the way they went about their work. Someone pointed out the premiere of Thailand, Peebool Sangram, who they say is sort of soft spoken but a firm leader of his people. It's a pretty big deal to fly a few thousand miles to take part in a two day show. But by this time, we had a clear idea of the reason behind it. In the future, if any CETO country was going to need help, other members would be on the spot in short order. Today, American strategy is designed to keep troops and equipment at rear bases, always ready. When the time comes, get them to the scene of action quick. The strategy was being demonstrated right here in Thailand, with other CETO nations joining in. Under cover of American, British, and Royal Thai jets, we jumped and showed the 250,000 people at the airport and all those who would hear about firm link that the new military combination was a fact. No casualties that day and one guy was a hero, saved a buddy in the same stick when his shoots failed to open. Part of our routine, taking the shoot home, a definite technique. The field was cleared so that the supplies and heavy equipment could be dropped. There's nothing like the one-two punch that can be delivered by airborne troops and airlifted weapons. Thai paratroopers hit the silks. These were their own planes, but later the ties flew in some of our equipment. Using United States Marine H-19 helicopters, a battalion of Thai Marines were landed at the airport. All units were part of Joint Task Force 19, whose mission was to demonstrate the mobility and effectiveness with which various members of CETO could cooperate. American troops, 1st Battalion 9th Marines, staged an impressive attack against mock enemy strong points at the airport. In the assault, flamethrowers and satchel charges were used. In the afternoon, after the close of the active part of the show, we let down the ramps to our C-124s so that the ties could look them over. All ground force weapons went on display, too. What we brought, we showed, and stood by, ready to demonstrate if anybody asked us. The one piece of equipment that got more attention than any other was the Honest John Rocket. Two of these had been flown in from Japan and were being seen by people on the mainland of Asia for the first time. The Thais found it all pretty interesting, especially the kids. We've been around quite a bit now, the boys in our outfit, and the Thais seemed to us to be as happy and cheerful of people as we'd ever met. Also, here and there some of them understood English. It's one of the important subjects in school, and some of the teaching is in English. There was a lot of good-natured back-and-forth talk, with about half of it understood on both sides. Not knowing the language can cause a lot more laughs than if you did. One thing we all noticed about Thailand was the heat. Judging from the way the Thais themselves went for cold soda, they feel it, too. Or maybe Soda Pop was just a national institution, like it is with us. After the day was over, we went to work on our equipment. Tomorrow was the parade, and everything was stripped down, gone over carefully, with the hope that later on there'd be some time off for looking around in Bangkok, capital city of Thailand. Turned out that we were in one of the rare spots of the world. Temples to Buddha, called Watts, showed extremely fine craftsmanship in silver, gold, mother of pearl, porcelain, and marble. At entrances, there were stone images of demons, which were supposed to keep out evil spirits. One of the temples, decorated all over in fine detail, went 250 feet up into the sky. We went into one of the temples to Buddha, observing the proper formalities. Part of the time, of course, was spent in finding out what we could buy in Thailand. Star sapphires were well advertised, and the sales clerks, although young, seemed to know what they were doing. Next day, Bangkok got itself as neat and ready as possible for the international parade that would climax the whole firm link operation. In one way or another, the people of this part of the world would find out what was going on in Bangkok. Helicopters from the USS Princeton flying over Bangkok's monument of democracy and over the flags of the Seto countries. Hundreds of thousands of people watched this parade, along with representatives of all the Seto nations. A parade that showed that we could provide plenty of military strength here and wherever communist attack broke out in Southeast Asia. Seto's first military exercise is just a beginning. Because Thailand's troops are not strong enough alone to ward off the kind of attack that overwhelmed the people of South Korea in 1950, the people of this small country welcomed the support of Seto. They know now that if they are attacked, a Seto force can reach their country in a hurry, that if war comes, they will not have to fight alone, a force representing the British Commonwealth. The experience of NATO in the West has been a valuable precedent to the nations that have joined together in Seto. NATO offers a pattern for the future. A knowledge that the hard work and sacrifice of continuous cooperation can achieve the objective of security against communist aggression. Without Seto, there is the ever present danger of several independent countries disappearing behind the iron or bamboo curtain. United States forces, Army, Navy and Marines. A short while ago, all these men were outside the area of Southeast Asia. Now they were here with their equipment ready for action. Seto leaders agreed later that should a real emergency arise, there could be an even swifter rallying of forces. The United States has shown clearly that it is ready to do its part, that it will act immediately to prevent aggression in the area of Southeast Asia, along with the other nations who have signed the Manila PAC. The operation firm link proved that the potential explosion points of Asia can be made safe. Also, the visit of troops and equipment to Bangkok gave many Asians a first glimpse of a modern weapons available for its defense should the need come. The honest John Rocket did not carry an atomic warhead, but this was what it was designed for, and this most of the onlookers were aware of. Quarters of the Secretariat of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization will long remember these exercises, which signify the close-knit ties existing among the countries of Seto. And the communists in Asia too. They will not be able to overlook it. For having called Seto a paper tiger, they have been shown a more formidable tiger than they had guessed was there. They cannot now ignore its teeth, its claws, and its unswerving determination to defend itself. An occasion to talk to you at this moment. Soldier is my business, and has been since I entered West Point in 1918. I want to say a few words to young men and to their parents about the Army as a courier, hoping to interest them in serving in this great military fraternity, which is the United States Army. I would not be here in uniform after 34 years as an officer if I did not love the Army. It has been good to me taking an obscure 17-year-old from Missouri and allowing him to progress to the position of Chief of Staff. I have seen it develop the talents of thousands of others, causing them to grow and to expand in a soul-satisfying career. I have seen the Army itself grow into a big organization with units in many parts of the world. Now, because the Army is big, it needs big men to direct it. Because its mission is important, it needs men with a sense of mission. Because its job is complex, it needs men of versatility, able to adapt themselves to new countries, to new weapons, and to new ideas. Because the Army is big and diversified, there is a job for everybody. We need the skills of the artisan, the carpenter, the plumber, the mechanic. We need five-meter capas to work in our laboratories to develop and maintain the new and complicated weapons, which the modern Army requires. We need bold and adventurous men, sensitive to the challenging call of the time-honored profession of arms. These types and many others are required to perform the manifold tasks of the Army. Now, let us look about the world and see some of these activities. The Army is scattered overseas in 73 different nations. In some countries, such as Germany and Korea, we have large bodies of troops prepared to resist aggression if the Communists should wish to start it. In other countries, like China and Vietnam, we have groups of our best trained and most valuable officers and soldiers engaged in helping to teach those countries how to defend themselves. At home, we have large military units like the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, or like the 1st Armored Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana, also we have great training organizations including schools of all kinds and descriptions. Now, here is the training of recruits at Fort Dix, New Jersey. This is a guided missile school at Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas. This is a radar class for enlisted men at the Signal School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. These young men are learning to fly Army airplanes and helicopters at Fort Rucker, Alabama. This is the most famous military school in the world, West Point. Many of its graduates, when they become colonels, will attend this school, the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Or this one, the National War College in Washington. These senior schools train the top leaders of our national defense. The Army in the United States is composed of more than military units and training schools. It is also a vast business establishment with property worth over $44 billion. It runs ports, depots, arsenals, and laboratories. It takes a lot of good men to run these enterprises and care for these national assets. I think you can see what I mean in saying that the Army has a place for every talent. The Army needs skilled technicians in many fields and has the schools and training experience to develop them from the young men who enter its ranks. At the same time, it will insist that the specialist does not forget that he is first and foremost a soldier prepared to fight for his country. The Army is created primarily for combat and does not let the technician forget the basic fighting aspect of the Army mission, nor the combat soldier to remain in ignorance of military technology. Together, the combat soldier and the specialist form an inseparable team, both essential to a successful Army. I would like to say a word about the combat soldier, because his importance is sometimes forgotten in this age of machines and scientific development. The wireless ship may symbolize the Navy and an airplane, the Air Force. The only adequate symbol of the Army is the combat soldier. He is like the cutting tool moved by a great machine behind him. It is the quality of its edge which determines the performance of the entire machine. The rest, the gears, wheels, belts, which drive the tool are all indispensable. But the decisive job is done by the cutting edge, the combat soldier. He must be a little better than most people, a little tougher, not in an unruly sense, but in the sense of having more character, stamina, fortitude and discipline to assure that our armed forces will be victorious in the future as they have always been in the past. I hope that young men will recognize the Army as a place of great opportunity where they can grow and develop their powers. Now I know that many approach their military service with some misgivings about the life which they are entering. There are many misunderstandings about Army life and Army ways. These false ideas have been encouraged by those who picture the Army as a rough society dominated by overbearing officers and non-commissioned officers. I can assure you that that is not the Army as I know it. The Army, of course, must have discipline. It must be an effective team that works together in harmony and confidence. Such discipline is not arduous or difficult to bear. It is simply the subordination of the individual to the greater good of the team which is the Army. It is the discipline defined on a bronze plaque set on the granite walls of West Point. The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an Army. It is possible to impart instruction and to give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. There is a thought in civilian life that Army people are unduly rank conscious that great formality exists between the colonel and the major, the major and the lieutenant and the lieutenant and the sergeant. I know of no one's concern about rank other than the requirement of appropriate evidence of courtesy and respect of juniors for seniors, of younger for older people. Rank in the Army is not a privilege of an individual to the better things of life. It's rather a badge of servitude and a symbol of responsibility for one's subordinates. Obligation and responsibility are words heard frequently in the Army. This is natural for the Army is made up of men who recognize that they owe something to their country that is citizens they must give, not just receive. The Army needs men dedicated to their country with a sincere vocation for the military service. Fortunately, America has always been rich in such men who are found in the Army of purpose worthy of the dedication of their lives. Look at the faces of our greatest leaders. Why did these men dedicate their lives to the Army? Because then as now, the Army had a mission necessary to the survival of the nation. The Army is a great deterrent force preventing war. Today it stands ready to resist further communist aggression. Employing weapons varying from the MP's pistol to the kiloton blast of its atomic weapons. It has flexibility and adaptability in applying force with measure and moderation. Wherever it is deployed along the iron and bamboo curtains it is a reminder to friend and foe that the United States Army will resist further encroachment in the free world. I hope that the young men and their parents who have listened to my words will give serious thought to the Army as a career. The nation can afford only a first-class Army filled with first-class people. Our slogan is, let's put the best heads of America into the Army Cops of tomorrow. This is Sergeant Stuart Queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at your Army in action on 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 Army Pictorial Center presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station. You too can be an important part of the Big Picture. You can proudly serve for the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today, the United States Army.