 The United States Army soldier. His nation abhors war and yet he has not been allowed to lower his guard or relax his vigil for a quarter of a century. In the short span of 25 years, he fought and helped win the world's largest war. He has answered his country's call repeatedly in an age of incredibly complex challenges that defy the simple solutions of the past. The United States Army soldier. The 1960s have brought him here to South Vietnam. He fights a war unlike past wars. A war alien to the direct total military action of World War II, lacking the clear front lines of Korea. A war distinctly a product of its own complicated age. A war that probes new depths while simultaneously it remains within restricted dimensions. But the soldiers serving in Vietnam spend little time analyzing the war for they are too busy fighting it. They are primarily concerned with the fact that their country faces a challenge. They recognize that it is their duty to help meet that challenge. They are supported by the army in which they serve and that support has been underlined by excellence. Though proven army methods are valid in Vietnam, a continuing process of refinement has also been taking place. Innovations have been made. Innovations molded from experience against a particular enemy in a particular war on a particular terrain. The army has taken many forward steps to conduct operations more effectively in Southeast Asia. And to give its soldiers the finest possible support. This war makes unique demands upon the military. But every challenge has also served to polish the army's professional skills and increase its combat power. The army worldwide is benefiting from lessons learned in Vietnam. For even as this conflict tests the steel, it sharpens the edge. You are looking at an instructor who knows the war in Vietnam from first-hand experience. He is a combat veteran. He knows the terrain, the enemy, the demands made upon the soldier who serves in Vietnam. His knowledge is of tremendous value and the army invests it wisely to prepare others for service in Vietnam. Combat veterans serving as instructors in army schools and training centers are an integral part of the feedback approach used in all Vietnam-oriented training. It is training based on what is happening in Vietnam. Built around a steady feedback of battlefield lessons learned, incorporating newly adopted tactical innovations. Training innovations are constantly being introduced. For instance, the fighting in Vietnam is often at very close range with no time for aimed fire. The individual soldier must be able to beat the enemy to the draw. To train soldiers to shoot faster and straighter, the quick kill technique. A system of fast, un-aimed, instinct shooting has been developed and integrated into basic rifle marksmanship courses at all army training centers conducting basic combat training. Quick kill is based on a simple phenomenon. When you point your finger at an object in your line of sight, it will align itself on the point of focus of your eyes with no conscious effort on your part. In quick kill, the rifle becomes an extension of the pointed finger, much like the six-shooter of the old-time Western gunfighter. Training starts with BB guns without sights against aluminum discs thrown into the air. Trainees are amazed to find that within a few minutes they are scoring eight out of ten times. After progressing to smaller aerial targets, the student switches to ground targets. Next come larger targets at greater ranges using standard rifles. Soldiers scheduled for assignment to Vietnam receive additional training with the M16 rifle. Special training and preparation for service in Vietnam is not just for the new soldier. For senior combat arms NCOs who have served for extended periods of time in non-combat arms assignments, a two-week refresher course was established in mid-1967 at Fort Riley, Kansas. It provides Vietnam-bound NCOs with refresher training in leadership, tactics, weapons, map reading, and other subjects important to their overseas assignments. And it is pointed to the specific requirements of the Vietnam War. The newly established Infantry NCO candidate course at Fort Benning, Georgia, is providing skilled junior leaders needed to maintain the 12-month tour in Vietnam and to achieve the objective of a minimum of 25 months between successive tours in that country. At this school, which is similar to Army officer candidate schools, outstanding graduates of infantry advanced individual training are given 12 weeks of additional intensive training. Similar courses have been established for armor, artillery, and certain combat support skills. The Army spares no effort to ensure that each man going to Vietnam receives the best and most up-to-date training possible. After arrival, he also receives approximately 10 days of intensive pre-combat training with his unit. This is followed by periodic refresher training throughout his stay in Vietnam. Here in actual combat operations, our soldiers provide dramatic proof that Army training is meeting the demands of the war, that it is teaching the soldier what to expect, what to look for, what to do, and how to react. In addition to teaching him standard U.S. tactics and procedures, it is providing him with the specialized knowledge and skills needed in Vietnam. Fundamental tasks face the soldier in Vietnam. His primary job is to engage the enemy, but he is also deeply involved in processes that are building a nation. To this second task, he brings his natural friendliness and his traditional willingness to help others. Both tasks have demanded originality of the soldier and of the Army that supports him. The first step in engaging the enemy is to find him, and in Vietnam this is usually not easy. Yet the speed and fluidity of combat operations demand rapid information about the enemy. Here is an area where innovations both in techniques and hardware are paying off. The enemy is being located quicker and with more accuracy, and the forces needing this information are receiving it faster. One such innovation being used operationally in Vietnam is the UH-1B, equipped with a chemical personnel detector or people snipper. It can detect a completely hidden enemy patrol or troop concentration by smelling body odors or effluents. Another intelligence device being operationally used in Vietnam is a transmitter which can monitor the movements of free-ranging dogs in hostile areas. Any unusual movement by the dog is transmitted back to its handler or to an aircraft overhead for quick evaluation and action. The new railroad ambush detector now in service in Vietnam precedes a train and senses any tampering with the tracks. Among the innovations which strip the enemy of the cover of darkness are the spotlight-equipped helicopters called fireflies, which are exposing enemy night activities to gunships. The extensive use of helicopters and the dependence on heliborne operations has been one of the truly revolutionary developments of this war. During 1967, two new army helicopters were introduced into Vietnam. The Huey Cobra is providing a greatly increased capability for armed escort of air-mobile columns and close-in direct fire support for ground forces. And the Army's new Cayuse is a far superior light observation helicopter. Today in Vietnam, another operational concept is coming of age, riverine warfare. In the Mekong Delta region since the early part of 1967, U.S. forces equipped and trained to operate on rivers and canals in conjunction with air-mobile and overland forces have been conducting operations which are distinctly different from normal amphibious warfare. To meet the requirements of the riverine afloat force, which currently consists of one brigade of the Army's 9th Division and the Navy's River Flotilla-1, a number of specialized naval ships have been developed. Barrick ships provide headquarters and housing for an infantry battalion each. Troops are moved to contact aboard smaller armored and armed transport ships supported by heavily plated and armed 60-foot monitors craft which somewhat resemble their forebearers of the Civil War. A variety of smaller craft complete the riverine fleet including barge-mounted artillery which accompanies the infantry providing close, continuous supporting fires from its waterborne platforms. In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, coordinated waterborne, foot, mechanized and helleborn forces supported by artillery, tactical air and armed helicopters are enabling us to conduct operations in areas that have been traditional safe havens for the Vietcong. Psychological operations are being accentuated in Vietnam to influence people to act in a manner favorable to allied goals. To convince an enemy soldier to surrender, a Vietcong sympathizer to rally to the cause of the Republic of Vietnam, a Vietnamese civilian to support his governor. The number of Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers and sympathizers who voluntarily come over to the government side has sharply increased. New and better equipment is being procured and used in support of the program of influencing the Vietnamese people to support their government. The Green Berets, soldiers of the US Army Special Forces, have never been used with such dramatic results as have been recorded in Vietnam. In almost a hundred locations throughout South Vietnam, Special Forces teams working with Vietnamese Special Forces are training members of the civilian irregular defense group, gaining intelligence and advising province and district chiefs and training their regional and popular forces. Serving as a bridge between military operations and the final long-term objective of building a nation free to stand by itself is the Republic of Vietnam's Revolutionary Development Program. Today, Vietnam is engaged in a twofold struggle for existence. On one hand, it is opposing communist forces of the Vietcong and North Vietnamese regulars. On the other hand, it is carrying out a program to build a viable nation. Each of these tasks is difficult enough to perform separately, but here they both must be accomplished at the same time. All US Army personnel in Vietnam are actively supporting this program, consisting of those coordinated military and civil actions to eliminate Vietcong control over people who want to choose their own destiny. These actions must restore public security, law and order, initiate political, social and economic development, as well as expand government authority and win the willing support of the people. The Revolutionary Development Program is a key part of the nation-building process, and the US Army is providing support for this Republic of Vietnam program in three major ways. First, military operations contribute to the security necessary for the Revolutionary Development Program to begin. As military forces establish the requisite level of security in an area, governmental authority can then be introduced in the form of revolutionary development worker teams recruited from the area and specially trained. These workers help establish the local governmental administration and initiate simple social and economic projects to help win the support of the people. Revolutionary Development Worker Strength is increasing rapidly. The second major way in which the Army supports revolutionary development is to provide advisors to the Republic of Vietnam military and civilian organization. As Vietnamese regular forces are increasingly committed to the nation-building role, their US Army advisors are likewise engaged. Army province and district advisory teams advise their counterparts. The province and district chiefs on all aspects of military security, revolutionary development and governmental activities. The district senior advisors in remote districts of South Vietnam have a particularly challenging and rewarding task. The third major way in which the Army assists in revolutionary development is through social and economic improvement programs. With the increase in US units there has been a step up in the number and scope of activities performed by US forces. In addition to combat operations, US units engage in a wide variety of civic activities ranging from simple acts of kindness to the distribution of food and clothing to relatively ambitious construction projects. US Army civil affairs companies assist in such fields as agriculture, public health, education and welfare, and refugee assistance. US military surgical teams provide medical services up to major surgery. Engineer construction advisory detachments assist in such tasks as improvement of water supply systems, sewer construction, and general rural improvement. A facet of the support being provided for the civilian population is the redistribution of captured items to district officials for release to the local populace. Thousands of pounds of rice and salt were distributed, as well as large quantities of food, clothing and medical supplies. The use of the flying crane helicopter in Vietnam has opened many possibilities for innovation in support of nation-building and on the battlefield. This bridge span can be airlifted and installed in a fraction of the time and with far less effort than would be required using conventional bridge-building techniques. Another innovation has been the formation of land clearing platoons, which with their 30 tractors equipped with special tree-cutting blades can clear up to 240 acres of jungle growth a day. These units help deny the enemy jungle concealment and aid economic progress by clearing new land for cultivation and houses. Advances in revolutionary development while not as dramatic as those made against enemy main units are nonetheless encouraging. Successes against major enemy tactical units have created an environment in which revolutionary development is now possible on an expanding scale. Program is moving and in the proper direction. U.S. Army Vietnam's strong and capable first logistical command has grown with the buildup of U.S. forces and supports not only those who wear the Army green but also other U.S., Vietnamese and pre-world forces and activities. Its customers and consumers in Vietnam total over 1.3 million persons. Development and smooth operation of sea and river ports has been one of the most remarkable logistic success stories of 1967. Near Saigon, upstream from the once badly overcrowded civilian port, the Army completed a sixth port facility in Vietnam, appropriately named New Port. The port complex includes four 600-foot permanent piers, two LST slips, and 1,200 feet of barge pier. To assist in the construction effort, these panels and trusses prefabricated at this Cam Ranh Bay engineer site have permitted units to build their own austere cantonments. Some of the more notable innovations in solving the logistical problems in Vietnam have been in the field of containerization. Here we see a sea land ship which transports 500 containers, the size of the 35-foot semi-trailers which deliver them to the ship and onto which they are offloaded at the port in Vietnam. It takes only 750 man-hours to discharge 20,000 tons of cargo from a container ship, compared with 10 to 15 times that amount of manpower for conventional ships. The cargo shipped to Vietnam in connex containers continues to increase. Although designed to protect cargo from loss, damage, and pilferage, they have found countless additional uses in the theater. They are converted into dispensaries, offices, supply rooms, and protected command posts. Meeting the requirement for fast-delivery high-priority repair parts from the United States is the Red Ball Express. Although named for its famed World War II predecessor, the current version utilizes airlift throughout the transportation cycle. Red Ball Express cargo, marked for identification, is shipped to Travis Air Force Base, California, processing consolidation and onward movement. Upon arrival in Saigon, the high-priority cargo is immediately sorted and shipped to its requesters. The nerve center of the first logistical command is the 14th Inventory Control Center. It has modern electronic data processing equipment for control of more than 200,000 different supply and maintenance items. The Army Medical Service in Vietnam is a complex organization of more than 125 medical units, and some 11,000 medical personnel deployed the length and breadth of the Republic to perform the time-honored military medical mission of conserving the fighting strength. With professional help no more than minutes away by air, and when minutes often mean lives, the mortality rate among wounded who get hospital attention is the lowest in history. The versatility of the medical evacuation helicopter has been increased by the development of a special internal personnel hoist, now found in all air-ambulance units. In forested areas where it is difficult to land, it is being used with increasing frequency to extract wounded in a matter of minutes when otherwise it would take hours. In conjunction with this hoist, another device is being used. Here being demonstrated is a forest penetrator. It resembles an anchor in appearance and permits the evacuation of a casualty without the necessity of landing the helicopter. Inevitably, war narrows down to its basic factor, the individual soldier. While his army backs him with all the support that science can muster, it can never totally eliminate the requirement for him to close with the enemy, to move forward if necessary one slow foot at a time. This dirty, rugged, time-consuming and deadly job has been his for as long as warfare has existed, the American soldier. He is fighting a fanatical enemy in an environment which is advantageous to that enemy, and yet it is true that his morale is extremely high. His morale is founded on confidence in his officers and NCOs, in his own ability, and in that of his comrades. It is reinforced by the knowledge that he is the best equipped, best supported soldier in the world. Because that no matter where he fights in Vietnam, he is never more than airborne minutes away from modern medical facilities. The 12-month tour sets a tolerable limit to the demands that are made upon him. And rest and recuperation facilities such as these at Fort Darussi, Hawaii help him to rebuild his energies. Army chaplains are available to satisfy his spiritual needs wherever he may be. Of extreme importance to his peace of mind is the knowledge that the Army takes care of its own. Army community service centers are always ready to provide his dependence with assistance. Such demonstrations of the Army's concern for his welfare all help to maintain high morale. But its fundamental source stems from the fact that he is a man who believes in his country and what it stands for. And he is eyewitness to the fact that his service in Vietnam has purpose and, however slowly, is seeing results. In his willingness to risk his life to meet the challenge to his country and to help defend a nation on the other side of the world, the United States Army soldier is demonstrating courage, tenacity, and integrity. Out of this Vietnam crucible, a sharper sword has emerged. The Army soldiers are better trained as proven by their superb performance in combat. They appreciate the value of nation building and helping people. The Army has developed better ways to do its job and better equipment to do it with. Not only in Vietnam, but worldwide.