 Hello, I'm Leonard Graves. Stories from all over the world fill the columns of our daily newspapers with a disturbing reflection of the uneasy times in which we live. Crisis and upheaval are commonplace. Conflict and negotiation absorb the best efforts of men throughout both hemispheres in the continuing struggle with communism. And any one crisis in any one area carries with it the threat of imminent danger to every American. Our government spends its money and directs its skill in many ways for the protection of its citizens. Continued military preparedness is one guarantee against sudden attack at home. Through our economic and military aid programs abroad, we further help to assure the maintenance of peace and independence which other free nations need to develop themselves. In the Middle East, one of the most critical areas on the globe, the United States has long been active in assisting countries directly threatened by nearby Russia. One country in particular, Iran, has become closely identified with us in the Cold War and the major beneficiary of the United States military assistance program. In a moment, a report on that program in Iran. Army presents The Big Picture, an official report produced for the armed forces and the American people. Military assistance and advice from the United States has many direct and obvious results which are beneficial to a nation such as Iran. Without armed forces of sufficient strength and ability to deter aggression and to maintain internal order and stability, Iran might have long since been drawn behind the Iron Curtain. In fact, Soviet troops occupied the northern province of Azerbaijan during World War II and the Soviet government agreed to withdraw them only after loud and forceful protest by the United States. Today, Russian radio propaganda is beamed from powerful transmitters just across the border in an effort to impress rural Iranians with the friendliness and eagerness of their communist neighbors whose real message is conquest. The true face of communism exists somewhere behind the barbed wire fences and armed guard towers that mark the more than 1,000 miles of Soviet border. Communist soldiers have marched south across that border before and every Iranian knows that they would not hesitate to do it again if they thought they could succeed short of war. In the following report narrated by Mike Wallace, you will see how Iran's strength backed by the United States military assistance program has helped to cure the peace in a dangerous and critical part of the world. Iran includes great areas of dry and barren land, as well as land that is lush and fertile. Geographically, Iran is the land bridge between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Strategically, the country is the keystone to free world defense of the Middle East and a member of the Central Treaty Organization. Traditionally under her old name, Persia, she has been a gateway for invasion. The armies of Alexander the Great and the hordes of Genghis Khan have swept through her paths. To the west, her neighbors are Turkey and Iraq. To the east, Afghanistan and Pakistan. To the north, she shares 1400 miles of common border with the Soviet Union. Today, Iran is busy. A new reality rises from the dreams and aspirations of her people. A new world is being built upon the hopes of centuries. Modern, progressive. Sometimes radical changes are transforming the face of the nation and shaping an environment where national independence, individual freedom and social justice prevail. Though modern Iran builds for her future, the heritage she builds upon is preserved in all its beauty, richness, and variety. At this Kurdish tribal wedding, ancient custom is honored and local tradition still respected. Among the ruins of the ancient capital of Persepolis, the story of the first great Persian Empire is engraved forever. 600 years before Christ, the empire reached the peak of its power and influence under Darius the Great and it stretched from Egypt to India. Iran has always been essentially an agricultural country and the crops are often bountiful in spite of light rainfall, the help of American economic and technical assistance, and the introduction of new methods and modern equipment by the Iranian government. Agricultural development has been stimulated over the past decade. The modern Iranian is proud that his country is considered the cradle of western civilization, but he is also aware that for centuries, old Persia failed to keep pace with that civilization. Past years of foreign influence and domination sharpen modern Iran's determination to develop freely and independently. The large oil industry contributes substantially to this development today while also helping other free world countries who are her customers. Textiles and other products of the nation's growing industrial machine find increasing markets in Iran. As the country moves toward a more balanced national economy, plan and American economic programs have injected vital capital and technical assistance into Iran's industry. But the country still depends heavily upon imports. Iran is a constitutional monarchy and the man who guides the destiny of her 20 million people is Shah Mohammed Reza Palabdin. As commander-in-chief of Iran's 200,000 man armed forces, the Shah has long recognized the need for strength if his country is to progress. Inspecting the armored center near Tehran, the Shah gets a first-hand view of United States military assistance. Hardware, vehicles and spare parts, training and know-how come largely from the Americans. But the spirit, skill and incentive are all Iranian, exercise in northern Iran. One crack Iranian unit shows off its knowledge of battle-tested American tactics and involves a two-year tour of duty in the armed forces. These young men are the raw material of the country's manpower who will be trained and toughened and taught. They represent the main source of Iran's strength and her hope for the future. In basic training, first lessons on the rifle are among the most important. Over-training, patterned after that in the American Army, is as tough and rugged as any in the world. The Persian cavalry tradition still survives. There's a trained and equipped under the military assistance program to fight as infantry. Although horses still provide considerable mobility, they are gradually giving way to mechanization for men to perfect their skill until they react with the assurance of veterans. Regular firing exercises under the experienced eyes of American advisors help them develop the kind of deadly accuracy they would need in combat. Anti-tank missiles are among the newest armament furnished through American assistance. Playing in received in the armed forces is not exclusively military. Men learn to use tools and equipment required by the services which will benefit them later in civilian life. The military university in Tehran, trades are taught which will enable the soldier to qualify for broader employment opportunity upon discharge and which will help feed the growing national demand for skilled workers. The health of the army is not overlooked. Here, an American supplied portable dental office is demonstrated for the benefit of soldier technicians at the university. Under the provisions of our assistance program, many Iranian military personnel are sent to the United States for special technical training. At the Imperial Iranian Air Forces Air College, candidates for assignment to American service schools learn the English they will need in the United States. How do we make it? You should know already. But we are going to have some practice about it. First of all, I will give you an example. Listen, I will look at the report. Then I will ask you some questions and we should be able to answer them. Here, the sentence number one. We have an affirmative sentence. Number one. Five. Teacher. Am I a teacher? Yes, you are. Am I a teacher? Yes, you are. From the complexities of jet engine maintenance for advanced students to the simplest aviation orientation, cadets of the Air College receive the finest possible instruction from Iranian officers trained in America. In fighter base near Dezful, Iranian mechanics keep the American furnished planes of the Air Force at combat readiness. Direct aid under the United States military assistance program underwrote construction of the base, but the Iranians themselves defray most of its operational costs. Iranian Air Force pilots are among the finest in the Middle East and each received his wings in the United States. American pilots assigned to the Air Force advisory mission in Iran frequently fly with the Iranians on routine training missions. In this way, our military advisors are kept abreast of both the maintenance level and flying proficiency of the squadrons they advise. Although American advisors are assigned to help the Iranian armed forces throughout Iran, no American bases or combat units exist in the country. In Gulf is the golden door between Iran's rich oil resources and her access to international trade routes. To protect these waters, she maintains with our help a small but modern Navy Swift American built vessels provide the Navy with an effective anti-submarine capability in the event of emergency. These minesweepers, sailed halfway around the world from America by Iranian crews, also stand ready to defend the country's sea waves. The Iranian fleet carries out regular patrols and training exercises in the Gulf and to increase the range of patrolling vessels, this tanker operates as a sea-going filling station. Designed originally for harbor use by the American Navy, the ship has been efficiently adapted for the deep-water needs of the Iranians. Surface gunnery is an old naval art and highly competitive between crews. Though unequipped for any large-scale naval operations, these patrol craftmen are aggressive sub-killers. To range 400 yards is starting to drop the depth charge. As soon as the starboard will be passing Lollezard and then the port will be passing Lollezard and Esther, then seconds of division will be having the same procedure. In the ancient man, caravan routes in use since biblical days are routinely patrolled by the Iranian gendarmes trained to assist in maintaining the internal security of the country. The gendarmes are similar to American state troopers. Although they are organized along army lines, as law enforcement officers. Here, a motor tip is received at a gendarmes output. The gendarmes has waged a successful campaign against opium and heroin smuggling in recent years, and has virtually stamped out this illicit trade. The gendarmes receive equipment and invites under the military assistance program. Their usefulness as an internal security force is increased with our help. They are able to enforce the law more efficiently, no matter where they may be. The beneficial effects of the American contribution to Iran's strength and her future are nowhere more apparent than at the Iranian military academy. The assistance to Iran represent a large American investment over the past 10 years, and some will ask, has it been worth it? In answer, one fact emerges. Without it, Iran might not be the free independent country she is today. What do some of the men directly involved with American assistance think of its results? The Iranian soldier we are equipping is a hardworking soldier and willing to defend his country. If he is properly led, equipped, and trained, he will compare favorably with the average American soldier. And therefore, we are learning many new skills from Americans, skills which will benefit all of Iran. The American equipment that we got is best, but it's not enough. I've worked with the Iranian paratroopers for two years. I've gone to combat with them many times, anywhere. In these critical times, Iran's greatest need, like that of many free countries throughout the world, is to develop her national potential in peace. With her great traditional, her determination and the stimulus of American economic and military assistance, she can maintain her strength and fulfill her destiny. The big picture is an official report on the armed forces and the American people produced by the Army Victoria Center, presented by the Department of the Army in cooperation with this station.