 The mission of a tactical fighter is very exacting. More is required of these jets than any other weapon in the air force. We expect it to be an air superiority fighter, day or night, a dive bomber, and a low altitude attack aircraft. We let it range over the entire tactical field, that of close air support, interdiction, and air superiority. In the art of tactical aerial reconnaissance, there have been many dramatic developments since the Cuban missile crisis. Then our reconnaissance, as effective as it was, was pretty much limited to daytime photo and visual coverage. Today, with multidirectional sensors and cameras of unbelievable sensitivity, we can practically read the enemy's mind. Tactical airlift forces have been modernized and greatly expanded. We can deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment on a sustained or emergency basis. As far forward in the combat zone as the tactical situation permits. Any potential aggressor contemplating an attack on any part of the free world with any kind of weapons, conventional or nuclear, must know that our response will be suitable, selective, swift, and effective. Words chosen carefully to describe the reaction of America's fighting forces to any armed threat that could, in a matter of hours, shatter world peace. Yet to those who can be called upon to deliver a nuclear device on a major target, or destroy a small guerrilla force in a dense jungle, words have special significance. They are embodied in the philosophy and in the doctrine of tactical air power. Tactical air power, it is reflected in many ways. In the package, strike forces capable of spanning oceans and continents in hours prepare to fight anywhere in any climate, at any time, and at any level of conflict. Tactical air power is reflected in missiles, rockets, cannons, and bombs. And in the aircraft that carry them, supersonic platforms from which to launch awesome weapons of destruction, should this be necessary for our survival. Tactical air power can be seen in many vital support activities. And in the ground crews who perform crucial and complex tasks with dedication and competence to be certain that the weapons are always ready to go. These are the elements of tactical air power. Elements which have been produced by the tactical air command. For it is TAC, which develops, trains, and deploys forces around the world in support of United States Air Force operations. Wherever tactical air power is deployed in war, the first order of business is to control the skies over the combat area. Blast his surface to air missile sites and gun emplacements on the ground becomes an accomplished fact. The other classic tasks of tactical air power are simplified. Designed to prevent the enemy from supplying the necessary resources when and where he needs them. Target list, everything he requires for sustained military operations and every means he employs to move in. Disrupting the enemy's lines of communication, destroying his supply depots, and harassing his troop movements, dramatically increases the odds of success for friendly ground forces. Hopefully the immediate situation demands more direct action, demands close air support. Then airmen join in battle ground forces in close infighting. The concentrated firepower of rockets, missiles, bombs, and cannon reinforces that of rifles, machine guns, mortars, and grenades to defeat the enemy. Strikes are directed by Air Force Forward Air Controllers, facts as they are called. Pilots who live with army units in the heart of the battle, or who fly above it in light unarmed patrol planes, where you are on this day in October 1965. In the dense jungle below is Play Me Vietnam. For six days in fierce fighting, two regiments of the North Vietnamese army have been attempting to overrun a strategic outcome manned by mountain yards, and the United States Army's Special Forces team. Hundreds of fighter sorties have been flown, and the strikes continue. White mats have been thrown over the barbed wire of the outer perimeter by the enemy to gain access to the garrison. The red banner marks the target location for the delivery of close air support. It is only 40 yards from our own forces. At Play Me Tactical Airpower, broke the enemy's siege, and proved beyond doubt the effectiveness of air ground teamwork in pursuit of a common purpose. This kind of cooperation is clearly evident in every role assigned to our tactical air forces. It is evident in aerial reconnaissance that provides a vital link between air ground operations. What exactly is the enemy's position? What is the strength of his forces? What are his movements, now, and what might he be expected to do in the future? Discovering the answers is a matter of interpretation by skill technicians on the ground, and by seasoned pilots and systems operators in the air. Reconnaissance is a task for professionals who can man a variety of electronic sensors, yet use the human eye, the human mind, to best advantage. Professionals who can analyze their actions Professionals who can analyze what they see in a split second, one time only pass over the target. Then, expertly relay the details to the ground, or record them on tape. What is beyond human capability to detect becomes a job for the devices that man invents and perfects. Panoramic cameras that sweep enemy terrain from horizon to horizon. Oblique cameras that register construction features. Vertical cameras that isolate pinpoint targets, and radar that can look through clouds. Reconnaissance is a 24-hour surveillance activity regardless of the weather. And the information delivered to the battlefield commander becomes a weapon in his hands. Delivery is a word used frequently when describing the broad responsibilities of tactical air power. Delivery of the facts on which to act. Delivery of fire power to give ground forces the edge. Delivery of the men and tools of war directly into a combat area. This is tactical airlift, often performed on a massive scale. Air dropping is one way, and all that's required is space. In an emergency, troops arrive fully equipped and ready to fight. But at any time, tactical airlift is ready to resupply them, as well as tactical air forces, which are part of any rapid reaction assault echelon. Anything from a jeep to a howitzer can be released from an altitude as low as 1,500 feet. Loads up to 26,000 pounds can be dropped from one aircraft. Assault landing is another way to move in. Little more is required than a crudely prepared runway or a dirt strip. A long supply arm of tactical worldwide deployments. This means anywhere. And anywhere can mean areas without landing strips of any description. Areas where extreme weather presents unacceptable risk. Tailored for such operations are a series of unique cargo delivery systems. The low altitude parachute extraction system is one of them. It's a small drogue parachute deployed behind the aircraft pulls the roller loaded cargo out of the rear door. Three 6,000 pound platforms per sortie can be delivered from an altitude of six feet. Quick response to the request for supplies at the front line. Another technique. Plans. Parachute low altitude delivery system. Parachute is dropped into the slipstream in a semi-open position. At release time, an electrical actuator fully deploys the canopy which extracts the palletized load from 200 feet. 3,000 pounds of cargo float toward an impact area of only 60 by 40 feet. On this run over the drop zone it's container delivery. A system designed to drop four, eight or 12 supply canisters weighing more than 2,000 pounds each. Research to improve tactical airlift capability. Is a continuing process. In this off-loading technique the aircraft's engines are left running. And as one pallet rolls out the plane moves up the line to allow room for another pallet to roll up. Offloading time for 36,000 pounds is three minutes. Flexibility is a characteristic of tactical airlift just as it is of all tactical air operations. Commitments change on very short notice. They did a great job on very short notice. They did in late April 1965 and tactical airlift crews responded to the emergency in the Dominican Republic. During a 35 day period tactical air command, military airlift command and continental air command transports airlifted 19,000 passengers and over 37 million pounds of cargo which included food and medical supplies. More than 2,000 sorties were flown making this operation one of the most impressive humanitarian airlifts in the history of Air Force. On a smaller scale in the Republic of Chad in West Africa tactical airlift was used in the fall of 1966 to deliver grain to a population plagued by drought. Using delivery methods developed for combat, taxi 130 delivered grain furnished by the United States aid program to villages so remote that other means of transportation were not available. Swift reaction of tactical airlift for humanitarian goals supplied vital food until the next harvest would fill the granaries. Here in Vietnam requirements for tactical airlift are fulfilled under the most adverse conditions imaginable. For this is a land where you fly with a minimum of radio aids over mountain peaks reaching 9,000 feet. Before you make a steep approach in thaw or dust to avoid the rifle fire of the Vietcong where primitive airstrips carved in remote jungles turn into quagmires in the monsoon rains yet they come in. You call, we haul is the motto of the airlift crew. They haul the fighting men and the implements of war needed to defend the Republic. They haul the necessities of life of the people. They carry the wounded to hospitals and refugees to safety. A good part of the in-country airlift responsibility rests with special air warfare forces saw forces they are called. Saw forces are specially organized and trained to meet the challenge of communist inspired incidences that threaten the survival of small pre-world nations. What missions they performed depends on their needs. Leaflet and loudspeaker missions to disseminate the truth in a psychological warfare campaign curbing a contagious disease in a remote village. For there are requirements for civic action projects, air power plays a critical role. For in many areas susceptible to insurgency surface transportation is all but nonexistent. If assistance is to come at all it must come by air and it does. Everywhere special air warfare forces and their native counterparts work side by side in the medical technical and educational fields to better the lives of everyone. And they encourage the people to help themselves to erase the causes of the satisfaction on which communist subversion thrives. But the primary undertaking of Saw forces is that of training and advising the air forces in countries which have requested our help. It is a matter of strengthening defenses against a common enemy. A matter of shaping forces that can react immediately and applying the tactics best suited for a highly specialized kind of warfare. The insurgency is the communist design for the future. They have told us this. But their choice of the method of conquest does not dictate the limits of our preparedness. Weapons continue to be developed and tested to answer every possible requirement for tactical air power. The F-111 multipurpose tactical fighter represents a totally new concept in a weapons system. One which incorporates a variable sweep wing. The variable sweep wing and other innovations permit the F-111 to cross oceans without refueling. To accomplish short field landings and to operate at supersonic speeds at low level or at altitude. Each new technological advance holds the promise to enhance the potential and performance of tactical air power as developed by tactical air command. United States tactical air power tested by time recognized through achievements in moments of crisis which reflect a pattern of advance to come. What means an aggressor will use to extend his areas of domination can be anticipated yet no one can be certain. But of this they can be. The military strength of the United States will remain as the primary deterrent with its powerful tactical air arm prepared to strike anywhere with any amount of force required. Ready to make the difference between intent and accomplishment.