Last updated 9 August 2004
Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1971
II.
Operational Forces
Operational forces are those elements of a nation's military resources that carry out strategic, tactical, and administrative missions—offensive and defensive—in support of national objectives. The operational area embraces organization, deployment, readiness, mobility, communications, and air and civil defense, along with a variety of other functions and processes that contribute to the general goals.
In fiscal year 1971 the Army pursued its most rapid demobilization since the end of World War II. The active Army force structure was reduced from 17 1/3 to 13 2/3; divisions—2 2/3 divisions less than before Vietnam. There were 5 2/3 divisions in the continental United States and Hawaii, 1 in Korea, 2 2/3 divisions in Vietnam, and 4 1/3 in Europe. Special mission forces continued on station in Berlin, Panama, and Alaska. The active Army's total military strength dropped from 1,511,000 at the end of fiscal year 1969 to 1,124,000 at the close of fiscal year 1971. The forecast is for about 892,000 by the end of the coming fiscal year. The reductions reflect diminished military requirements in Vietnam and elsewhere; savings in operating funds will be applied to essential research and development, modernization of forces; training improvements, and career attractiveness.
National military strategy requires the Army to maintain peacetime general purpose forces adequate to meet simultaneously a major Communist attack in either Europe or Asia while helping allies deal with other threats and while contending with minor contingencies elsewhere. During the past year fiscal constraints have required the Army to develop austere programs to meet this requirement while continuing its role in Vietnam and assisting allies in developing their defensive capabilities. Because of these constraints the Army has had to make adjustments between force structure and modernization. Plans call for a smaller, tougher, high quality Army capable of performing its mission.
The Pacific and the Far East 1
The major withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam served as a basis for the reorganization of U.S. military region command structures in that country. Accordingly, the headquarters of II Field Force was returned to Fort Hood, Texas, and inactivated on May 3, 1971, being replaced by the Third Regional Assistance Group. At the same time, the Delta Regional Assistance Command replaced the Delta Military
1 See chapter 3 for the details on the Vietnam War.
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Assistance Command as the senior U.S. headquarters in Military Region 4. I Field Force was reorganized and redesignated the Second Regional Assistance Group on May 16, 1971. On the same day, Headquarters, United States Army Forces, Military Region 2, was established to provide operational control over U.S. Army units in the region. This headquarters was under the operational control of the Second Regional Assistance Group, while units in Military Region 3 were under the Third Regional Assistance Group. In addition to achieving an over-all reduction in military strength, these reorganizations facilitated the continuation of the redeployment program and the disposition of military equipment.
In addition to the redeployments from Vietnam, U.S. forces in Korea were reduced by 18,403 spaces by the withdrawal and inactivation of the 7th Infantry Division. The remaining U.S. major unit, the 2d Infantry Division, was replaced along the demilitarized zone (except for a 500-meter strip astride the access to Panmunjom) by a Korean division, and moved to a reserve position. This reduction and repositioning of U.S. Army units will not significantly alter the relative military balance between North and South Korea. The latter has shown increasing skill in coping with North Korean infiltration efforts. South Korea's military position will be further strengthened under comprehensive modernization assistance to be provided by the United States over the next five years.
There were considerable reductions in U.S. Army facilities in Japan during the year, due primarily to diminishing support requirements in Southeast Asia. Fifteen logistical-type facilities were transferred to other services or released to Japan. Headquarters, U.S. Army, Japan, remained at Camp Zama and, although operations were significantly reduced, continued to provide diverse logistical support to U.S. and allied forces in the Far East.
U.S. Army forces in Thailand were also reduced during the year as road construction tasks were completed and service support units could be consolidated.
The strategy and forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) received searching review on both sides of the Atlantic in calendar year 1970. The United States participated in a NATO study on Alliance Defense Problems for the 1970s, which concluded that "the commitment of substantial North American forces deployed in Europe is essential both politically and militarily for effective deterrence and defense and to demonstrate the solidarity of NATO. Their replacement by European forces would be no substitute. At the same time their significance is closely related to an improved European defense effort."
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President Richard M. Nixon's message to the North Atlantic council in December 1970 stated: "We have agreed that NATO's conventional forces must not only be maintained, but in certain key areas, strengthened. Given a similar approach by our allies, the United States will maintain and improve its own forces in Europe and will not reduce them unless there is reciprocal action from our adversaries." Army planning for Europe has been keyed to the President's pledge for nuclear as well as nonnuclear forces.
The Army maintains a powerful armored and mechanized nuclear-supported force which is the keystone of NATO's land defenses in central Europe. Major forces are 2 armored divisions, 2 1/3 mechanized infantry divisions, and 2 armored cavalry regiments. Supporting units include an effective group of nuclear-capable artillery units.
Major deployments to Europe during the year consisted of three Chaparral-Vulcan battalions. Two were assigned as divisional anti-aircraft artillery battalions and the other was assigned to the 32d Army Air Defense Command, completing deployments to U.S. Army, Europe, of this type of unit.
Two major units were redesignated during the year. The 4th Armored Division became the 1st Armored Division and the 56th Artillery Group was redesignated the 56th Artillery Brigade. There were also changes in the logistical command and control and organizational structure, refining major modifications made last year. The position of Commanding General, Theater Army Support Command, was redesignated as a lieutenant general's billet. On March 11, 1971, the U.S. Army Medical Command, Europe, and the 15th Military Police Brigade were transferred from the control of the U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR), and assigned as subordinate elements of the support command.
Planning continued on the development of a wartime line of communication in Europe. The operational project authorizing the prepositioning of port equipment was approved; bilateral negotiations continued with the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Luxembourg and were completed with the Netherlands; and requirements for the line of communication and port force were validated. Several unit activations were delayed by budget constraints and congressional reservations.
On August 6, 1970, the United States and Spain signed a five-year agreement authorizing continued U.S. use of four major military facilities in Spain. The U.S. Army was obligated to provide $21.1 million in Military Assistance Program (MAP) equipment and spare parts, and the MAP will fund up to $4.9 million for training over the length of the agreement. The United States also agreed to guarantee $120 million in credits, part of which will fund U.S. Army construction of a territorial command communications net for Spain.
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U.S. Army, Alaska, the Army component of the unified Alaskan Command, continued to be responsible for ground defense in the northernmost state. Of its major forces, an infantry brigade was located at Fort Richardson near Anchorage, while another was at Fort Wainwright north of the Alaska Range. Each brigade had two infantry battalions and a battalion of artillery. Operations of these active Army forces and of Reserve Component forces in Alaska were closely integrated during the past year in order to increase combat capability without increasing costs or personnel.
In the Panama Canal Zone the commander of U.S. Army Forces, Southern Command, had an infantry brigade for ground defense, with one of its infantry battalions on the Atlantic side of the zone and the other plus a mechanized battalion on the Pacific side. Also on the Atlantic coast at Fort Gulick was a reduced-size Special Forces Group to support military assistance training in Latin America and act as a fourth defense battalion in emergencies. At Fort Sherman the Jungle Operations Training Center provided jungle training for command members as well as for personnel destined for Southeast Asia. And the School of the Americas continued to conduct training courses (in Spanish) for Latin American military personnel.
In line with the general reduction of forces and required realignments, Army air defense forces in the continental United States were reduced by twenty-four Nike-Hercules firing batteries and ten headquarters and headquarters batteries in fiscal year 1971. The Army Air Defense Command was restructured into two regional commands and a separate brigade for command and control functions.
Of the 24 batteries phased out of the force structure, 13 were manned by the active Army and 11 by the National Guard. Twenty-seven of the remaining 48 are manned by the Guard. Three active Army batteries in Alaska were inactivated. Under the reduction the Minneapolis—St. Paul defense area was eliminated, while the Seattle area was unaffected. The remaining eight defense regions were reduced by from 1 to 5 batteries each.
As the fiscal year closed, a realignment of Continental Army boundaries took effect that involved the consolidation of two headquarters and the transfer of some activities to a third. The Fourth and Fifth United States Armies were consolidated and their headquarters merged at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The new headquarters, designated
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the Fifth U.S. Army, was made responsible for activities in fourteen states: Arkansas, Indiana,, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin. Army activities in Colorado, the Dakotas, and Wyoming were transferred to the Sixth U.S. Army at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. The consolidation enabled the Army to combine related functions and save on management overhead. Merger of the headquarters, to be effective July 1, 1971, eliminated 621 military and 609 civilian positions with anticipated annual savings of $11.4 million.
In another organizational development, one designed to insure the application of the latest technological advances to techniques and tactical requirements, the Army activated the 1st Cavalry Division (TRICAP) at Fort Hood, Texas, on May 5, 1971. TRICAP is an acronym for Triple Capable, reflecting the combination of armor, airmobile infantry, and air cavalry combat units within the division. The new division was organized from elements of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood and the colors of the 1st Air Cavalry Division redeployed from Vietnam. It replaced the 1st Armored Division in the Army force structure and left the III Corps at Fort Hood with two active Army divisions. The colors of the 1st Armored Division were sent to Europe where they replaced those of the 4th Armored Division, which reverted to inactive status.
The 1st Cavalry Division (TRICAP) is a 13,000-man force consisting of an armored brigade, an airmobile infantry brigade, and an air cavalry combat brigade. While the armored and airmobile infantry brigades are similar to those in other divisions, the air cavalry combat brigade is a new formation that combines the air cavalry squadron proven in Vietnam with a new air cavalry squadron in a highly mobile and flexible antitank force. The air cavalry combat brigade will ultimately be provided with attack helicopters equipped with the TOW antitank missile system.
This new division is the test foundation of the future Army. Its organization will be modified on the basis of extensive tests scheduled for the 1971-72 period.
The personnel readiness of some continental U.S. units and the major oversea commands improved during fiscal year 1971. Intensified personnel management actions were taken to improve the 82d Airborne Division's readiness and to prepare Reforger units (those located in the United States but assigned to reinforcement missions in Europe using prepositioned equipment) for their annual exercises. In midyear a program was begun to improve the personnel status of units in U.S. Army, Europe, and by June readiness ratings there had been raised.
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In U.S. Army, Pacific, meanwhile, redeployments from Vietnam and Korea had made it possible to improve the readiness of remaining units in U.S. Army, Pacific. Toward the end of the year, as the general reduction in Army strength progressed, certain units in the continental United States and the smaller oversea commands reported a decrease in personnel readiness. Unit personnel turnover rates in fiscal year 1971 were generally similar to those of 1970, with the single exception of the 82d Airborne Division, where turnover declined significantly.
Personnel shortages and turbulence, along with austere funding, precluded any substantial improvement in training readiness in fiscal year 1971. In some cases, commanders placed a number of subordinate elements in a standby status in order to conduct effective training within reduced operating strength. The standby elements received no unit training, resulting in a deficiency in planned capabilities. Personnel turnover frequently forced recycling of training at lower levels to insure basic proficiency in primary skills. Particularly in the continental United States, high personnel turnover adversely affected unit training.
Major commands were not able to conduct effective exercise programs in the year because of congressional reductions of $3.7 million in field exercise funds from the Army's operation and maintenance budget. Only in Exercise Reforger II was it possible for a full U.S. division to maneuver in the field.
The Army's logistic readiness improved worldwide almost continuously during fiscal year 1971. Special management techniques were used successfully in stateside and oversea commands to overcome unit and resource problems. Small temporary declines early in the year, particularly in the Continental Army Command, were due to unit conversions and reorganizations, personnel shortages, and funding constraints. By year's end, unit logistic readiness conditions had improved.
The U.S. capability to deploy forces rapidly to any point in the world to support national strategy becomes increasingly important when forward deployed forces are reduced. Such a capability requires ready active and Reserve Component forces combined with airlift, sealift, and prepositioned materiel.
During the past year, controlled humidity storage in Europe for prepositioned equipment for reinforcing divisions and support forces moved ahead to about 50 percent completion. Field testing and production of the C-5A heavy logistic transport continued, with deployment capability expanding as planes entered the active fleet. The capability of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet was also enhanced by the introduction of the 747 aircraft into commercial airline operations.
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The sealift capability continued to decline as the number of ships in the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet declined and with shipping undergoing a transition from break-bulk to container operations. In calendar year 1970 only thirteen oceangoing vessels were completed in U.S. yards, and of these, six were containerships and seven were tankers. Of equal importance is the fact that the Military Sealift Command's fleet of World War II ships is rapidly declining and is no longer capable of supporting the rapid deployment requirements of more recent times. The Army thus continued to support Department of Defense efforts to obtain, through a charter hire arrangement, ten multipurpose ships to transport the Army's wheeled and tracked vehicles and certain types of aircraft that are not self-deployable. The Army also continued to support programs that would insure that American transportation systems are utilized fully and effectively and that would improve the condition of the Merchant Marine.
As the Army's primary command and control hub, the Army Operations Center monitored such diverse matters as the crisis in Jordan, the Sky Marshal program to thwart the hijacking of commercial airliners, and the movement of chemical munitions from Army depots for dumping at sea. In a worldwide command post exercise in January-February 1971 the center provided command, control, and administrative facilities for the Army Staff. To make the center's operational system more effective, new equipment has been added and design and programing have been regularly modernized. The system is closely integrated with other Army automated data processing and reporting systems.
In May 1971, federal forces were employed to assist civil authorities during a civil disturbance for the first time since the riots that followed the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King in April 1968. Task Force Potomac and Task Force Military District of Washington (MDW) were deployed to Washington, D.C., on May 2, 1971, to assist police in countering plans by a group called the People's Coalition for Peace and justice to disrupt traffic and deny access to federal government buildings during the period May 3-5. Federal forces were employed on Potomac River bridges, at key traffic circles, and at other locations to provide security and assist police. The disruptive tactics were unsuccessful, and Task Force Potomac was released on the afternoon of May 4 to return to home stations. Task Force MDW continued to provide security at key locations on May 4 and 5 and was released on May 6 to
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return to home stations. No confrontations occurred between demonstrators and federal forces during this civil disturbance.
Federal forces were not called upon to act in any other disturbance during fiscal year 1971, but they did respond to fifty-four requests for civil disturbance control equipment—protective masks, tear gas grenades, protective vests, and communications equipment—providing such items to civil law enforcement agencies and the National Guard in twelve states and the District of Columbia.
During the year a study was made of the Army's approach to civil disturbances. Policies and procedures, doctrine, organization and training, tactics and techniques, funding, support to civil authorities and the National Guard, and the potential threat through 1975 were examined, leading to 108 recommendations by the study groups for changes in civil disturbance policies, procedures, and equipment.
The Army also continued to support the Secret Service in its role of protecting the President and Vice President of the United States and the visiting heads of foreign states, providing explosive ordnance disposal personnel, helicopters, and other equipment and personnel. Requirements reached a peak in September and October 1970 during the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration at the United Nations and the congressional campaign.
The Army responded to a substantially larger number of requests for explosive ordnance disposal assistance concerning bomb scares, disarming of homemade bombs, transportation accidents involving explosives, and disposal of war souvenirs. Over 5,500 requests were acted upon during the year. In response to the increasing problem raised by the homemade bomb, civil authorities were trained in explosive ordnance reconnaissance, sabotage devices, and safety.
Project MAST (Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic) was undertaken with the participation of the Departments of Transportation, Health, Education, and Welfare, and Defense, to test the feasibility of using military helicopters in civil medical evacuation roles. The project created considerable public interest and support. Field tests were conducted from July 15 to December 31, 1970, at five locations: Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Lewis, Washington; Fort Carson, Colorado; Luke Air Force Base, Arizona; and Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. As the test period was closing, the Secretary of Defense authorized continued support at test sites pending report completion. Stanford Research Institute was awarded a contract to study the MAST concept and develop a cost analysis for use if the program is continued. During the test period 413 medical evacuations were made at the five test sites, for a total of 744 flying hours.
Under the President's program to provide federal resources to aid the District of Columbia government in combating crime, the Army as-
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sisted the Metropolitan Police Department in several ways. Technical assistance was provided to develop a viable police communications network, nine police officers were trained at Fort Wolters, Texas, as helicopter pilots, and helicopters were loaned to the police department for proficiency flying pending receipt of police craft and, during the May 1971 civil disturbances in Washington, for aerial command and control.
Army assistance to state and local authorities in natural disasters reached a peak in late February and early March 1971 as a result of flooding in Nebraska and severe weather in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and North Carolina. More than 300 Army personnel participated in support operations. A total of 2,046 civilians were transported in Army aircraft as evacuees or for emergency medical treatment, and Army aircraft delivered 656 tons of hay and assorted supplies.
Military assistance in varying degrees was provided to state and local authorities to deal with drought, forest fires, and flash floods; to clear debris; and to alleviate utility failures temporarily. Help ranged from the assignment of two men and a tank truck to deal with a water shortage in a small community, to the commitment of 464 men with trucks, helicopters, generators, cots, blankets, and rations in the wake of Hurricane Celia in August 1970.
The Army also provided medical and other aid to foreign countries under emergency conditions in fiscal year 1971, notably in Jordan. The civil war there in September 1970 created a need for medical services that far exceeded Jordanian resources. On September 19, King Hussein addressed an urgent request to the U.S. Ambassador for assistance. The Army's 32d Surgical Hospital and the Air Force's 48th Air Transportable Hospital were deployed from Europe and established a joint facility in the new King Hussein Military Hospital in Amman. As the Jordanian hospital had no furnishings, electricity, or running water when the Americans arrived, tents were erected to house U.S. communications and power equipment, messing facilities, and motor pool, engineering, and carpentry shops. Water purification and laundry units were in continuous operation. In a full month of service, U.S. medical personnel treated 471 outpatients and performed 1,252 surgical operations. The facility had 191 admissions, 101 dispositions, and 90 beds occupied when the patients were turned over to the International Commission of the Red Cross on October 30, 1970. Most of the mobile hospital's equipment was turned over to the Jordanian government when the staff returned to Germany.
The Office of Civil Defense through the Agency for International Development offered one million pounds of Civil Defense fallout shelter food supplies to Dacca, East Pakistan, for relief of victims of the cyclone that struck low-lying areas along the Bay of Bengal in mid-November 1970, drowning hundreds of thousands of persons and displacing hun-
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dreds of thousands of survivors. The canned survival biscuits—normally intended as an emergency ration for public fallout shelters in case of enemy attack—were airlifted and distributed throughout the devastated area by the 182d U.S. Army Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter).
The bulk of psychological operations (PSYOP) programs and activities continued to be centered in Asia in 1971. Units located in Germany, Korea, Panama, Thailand, Okinawa, Japan, Taiwan, and South Vietnam participated in a wide variety of programs to support U.S. national objectives and third country programs and objectives.
As part of an Army PSYOP improvement program, a staff officer course was established at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to supplement the basic officer course by concentrating on instruction in PSYOP functions and duties at the General Staff level.
During the fiscal year a substantial increase in PSYOP reserve forces was proposed; the increases were to be made in conjunction with reorganization of Reserve Component units in the coming fiscal year. Also begun during the year were preliminary tests of a PSYOP automated information system. Conducted by the 7th PSYOP Group on Okinawa, the system is designed to provide the user with information and data needed to make predictions and decisions on PSYOP planning and programing.
Special Forces and Special Action Forces
The decline in the over-all size of the active Special Forces that began in 1969 continued in fiscal year 1971. Active groups dropped from six to five, while elements were maintained in oversea areas such as Germany, Okinawa, Thailand, and the Canal Zone.
One of the more significant changes was the termination of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program in Vietnam. In December 1970 the last of the remote camps that had been manned by indigenous local forces, Vietnamese Special Forces command personnel, and U.S. Special Forces advisers were turned over to the Vietnamese Ranger Command. In March 1971 the 5th Special Forces Group was reduced to a small color guard detachment and returned to Fort Bragg, its home station seven years before. The 6th Special Forces Group was inactivated, and the 5th Special Forces Group was reorganized using the assets and assuming the missions and orientation of the 6th Special Forces Group.
Modernization continued to be a major concern during the year, affected by limitations on the size of the Army in the postwar years and the success of new initiatives to create interest while improving the pro-
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fessional standards of Special Forces. One of these initiatives is a program called SPARTAN, Special Proficiency at Rugged Training and Nation-building. Its goal is to improve training within the constraint of limited funding, expand garrison support requirements, and enhance the motivation of today's young soldiers. The program is designed to maintain the proficiency of Special Forces soldiers through physically challenging work and emphasis on domestic actions akin to internal defense and development missions. As examples of both types of training, a 29-man detachment began retracing the 3,000-mile route through the American Northwest of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early years of the nineteenth century, while other detachments, at the invitation of local officials, have worked in communities near Fort Bragg to help those communities help themselves.
Military training team assistance to friendly foreign countries continued to be a major activity of Special Action Forces. Despite pressing personnel reductions, four of these organizations, each with a Special Forces Group as its nucleus, remained ready to respond to requests for U.S. advisory assistance from countries willing to help themselves. In Latin America, thirteen countries received assistance ranging from communications training in Honduras to a road survey in Panama.
Civil Affairs and Civic Action
The major civil affairs and civic action commitments and responsibilities in oversea areas remained in Southeast Asia. U.S. Army civil affairs units in the Canal Zone, Okinawa, and South Vietnam participated in a wide variety of advisory and operational activities designed to improve agriculture, education, roads, utilities systems, facilities of various kinds, and other activities to encourage host-country counterpart military forces to undertake enterprises that would promote the welfare of their people. The thirteen-man civic action team on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands continued to participate in the program sponsored by the Department of the Interior in the Pacific trust territories.
The relocation of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs School, the only facility of its type in the Defense establishment, from Fort Gordon, Georgia, to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was approved as the year closed. It will collocate related activities at the newly established Army Institute for Military Assistance.
During the year the Army contributed in a major way to sustaining and improving the readiness posture of Free World military forces. In executing the Department of Defense program, the Army recognized
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the continuing trend toward reducing the dependence of foreign countries on direct military assistance in the form of grant aid. Some countries had made the transition from grant aid to become purchasers of military equipment and services such as training, and others were moving in that direction. The changeover was especially noticeable in Europe. However, there was a dramatic increase in funds provided for grant aid and in credits for foreign military sales, reflecting the continued concern for improving the defense capabilities of allied nations.
Greece, Turkey, and Spain remained dependent upon the United States for substantial funding to support their military programs. In Europe, burden-sharing was stressed as a means of spreading the cost of common defense. In Asia the objectives of Vietnamization were being fulfilled as Vietnam assumed a principal fighting role with U.S. forces in operations in Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam. The performance of Korean and Thai ground forces in Vietnam confirmed the soundness of U.S. military assistance policies and programs. The Army continued to study the Nixon Doctrine, in order to assess its military implications, and proposed legislation on security assistance. Application of the doctrine may mean an initial increase in the level of military assistance to offset a reduction in U.S. armed forces in the region, while the new legislation, when enacted, should provide a more comprehensive view of military assistance and related programs in the economic and humanitarian area and enable the Army to manage its part of such programs more effectively.
Grant aid for foreign military training by U.S. Army agencies amounted to $20.5 million. The Army received about $7.2 million for training that supported military sales to foreign customers. From the seventy-one countries represented in the Army instructional program, 18,666 students were trained in continental United States and oversea facilities through formal courses, orientation tours, and observer or on-the-job training. Seventy mobile training teams and sixty-seven field training service personnel were sent into various countries to train foreign personnel in military and technical subjects.
In addition to these Army programs, some 2,215 spaces in Army schools in the United States were allocated to the Air Force and Navy and to the Agency for International Development for foreign military students. Of this number, about 960 Vietnamese Air Force pilots took rotary-wing training under the Vietnamization program in special courses at the English Language School at Lackland Air Force Base and at Fort Wolters, Texas, and Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Communications and Electronics
The Army participated in two military satellite communications programs during the year: the Defense Satellite Communications System
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for the Defense Communications System and the Tactical Satellite Communications Program to support the Army's tactical communications requirements.
The Defense Satellite Communications System is currently operational using twenty-three drifting satellite repeaters and a complex of twenty-nine government-owned ground terminals operated by the three services. The Army operates fourteen of these terminals, including two heavy terminals at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Camp Roberts, California. All terminals are being modified to provide increased capacity and to operate with a new type satellite, the first of which will be launched into a stationary orbit over the equator in November 1971.
All of the services participated in a tactical satellite communications feasibility testing program that was completed in June 1970. Under the program sixty-five advanced development model terminals were built in three sizes: manpacked, mounted in a ¼-ton truck, and mounted in the 1 ¼-ton truck. Designated as the Interim Operational Capability, these radio sets have been used to develop tactical satellite communications operating procedures, and during the fiscal year they supported such major maneuvers as Reforger II in Germany and Freedom Vault in Korea. Terminals were also sent to Yugoslavia to provide communications for President Nixon during his visit there.
The Army, in co-ordination with the Defense Communications Agency, the Joint Tactical Communications Office, and the Marine Corps, prepared and submitted as the year closed a draft Ground Mobile Forces Satellite Communications Development Concept paper that proposes an initial tactical satellite communications capability for the Army and the Marine Corps, to be operational in 1977. Three types of terminals similar to those described above would be developed and produced in quantity under the plan. The system would provide multichannel tactical satellite communications from the field army down through corps, division, and brigade echelons, and would provide high priority net radio (push-to-talk single channel) communications for key mobile users within the field army.
A new joint-services program called TRI-TAC was established during the year to fill the gap in tactical communications development caused by the discontinuation of Project Mallard, the international co-operative development program jointly sponsored by the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In congressional consideration of the 1971 Defense budget, the Senate-House Conference Committee on Authorizations in September 1970 declined to authorize funds for Mallard, recommending that it be reoriented to give priority to U.S. requirements without the complication of active international participation. In October 1970 the United States announc-
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ed its withdrawal, and all participants subsequently agreed that the project should be terminated. Co-operative development ceased in January 1971.
Following the action on the international side of the program, the Department of Defense established the joint Tactical Communications (TRI-TAC) Program. The Army is responsible for administrative and logistic support of the new TRI-TAC office; the military manning level is to be supported on an equal basis among the U.S. military departments. The TRI-TAC program will provide communications equipment of various types for U.S. military forces, using existing tactical systems as starting points leading to common and interoperable systems by the 1980s. As the year closed, preparations were being made for the first TRI-TAC development, a new analog-digital tactical automatic switch. Although not yet formally given the task, the Army anticipates that it will be designated to develop the switch. As the program proceeds, all services will be assigned developmental responsibility for various TRI-TAC items. New equipment developed in the program will eventually replace that currently under procurement for unilateral Army tactical communications programs.
Under the Army's Electromagnetic Compatibility Program, modeling techniques, computer replication procedures, and analysis methods have been used to help the developers of secure communications for the Army of the future. By measuring the communicability of present and proposed links and applying the degrading effects of interference on these links, their susceptibility and vulnerability to interference—intentional or accidental—can be determined. The correlation between the band widths of proposed secure systems with existing secure and non-secure systems is a goal of the compatibility program. Study will reveal the impact on the frequency spectrum of all secure communications and evaluate the trade-offs that must be made, such as an increase in noise and a decrease in available frequency spectrum because of the larger band widths required for secure communications. Eventually, a practical compromise must be reached between secure system improvements and increases in band widths.
Despite continuing efforts to achieve and maintain peace, nuclear attack on the United States is always a possibility. The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is charged with carrying out the federal role in preparing citizens to cope with the effects of such an attack.
There is also a growing awareness that communities prepared to meet the effects of attack are better prepared to deal with peacetime hazards and disasters. The nationwide civil defense system—involving
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federal, state, and local governments—affords an ever-increasing capability for protecting the citizen from environmental hazards and from natural as well as man-made disasters.
During fiscal year 1971, increased emphasis was placed on finding ways and means to increase civil defense capabilities through the dual use of people, equipment, and dollars to meet critical peacetime community needs. Communications, education, and training for emergencies were stressed, and exchange of information on lifesaving emergency operations was encouraged.
In the civil defense program, OCD works with the fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the District of Columbia; and through the states, the office works with more than 3,000 counties and parishes and approximately 10,000 local governments.
An objective of OCD is to provide the population of the United States with protection from radioactive fallout that could result from nuclear attack. In the past ten years, much progress has been made toward this objective.
The National Fallout Shelter Survey conducted for OCD by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command continued during fiscal year 1971 to locate potential fallout shelter space. As in the past few years, survey operations continued to be principally of an updating nature. The operations consisted of adding new facilities to the inventory as well as old facilities that have been improved to meet OCD standards, and of deleting those which had been demolished or would no longer qualify as shelter facilities.
By the close of fiscal year 1971, the fallout shelter inventory showed 210,382 facilities with public fallout-protected spaces for 203.5 million people. About 132.4 million of these spaces were licensed, and 114.4 million were marked with shelter signs. There were 106,398 facilities stocked with federal supplies sufficient to sustain 65.6 million occupants for fourteen days, or 106.7 million occupants for eight days.
Some of the shelter space needed nationwide can be obtained by continuing to identify fallout shelter space inherent in existing structures. There is, nevertheless, a deficit in many areas. The OCD shelter development program has focused on architects and their consulting engineers, who are encouraged to include dual-use shelter in building designs to increase the national shelter inventory. The Office of Civil Defense, with the assistance of universities, institutes, and professional societies, has qualified nearly 21,000 architects and engineers in the technology of fallout shelter design and analysis. These architects and engineers, through the application of appropriate design techniques, are able to provide fallout protection in new buildings at little or no additional cost. The Office of Civil Defense also offers professional
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advisory services to architects and their clients through professional advisory service centers established at forty-four universities.
The Direct Mail Shelter Development System (DMSDS) administered by OCD is a program by which owners and architects of new buildings are offered technical assistance for incorporating fallout radiation protection in the design of new projects. The DMSDS uses direct-mail techniques, combined with personal contact by state or local government authorities and professional advisory service centers to assist the project designers. Contacts are made early in the design phase while there is still time to incorporate fallout protection into the building design through application of radiation protection design techniques at little or no extra cost to the owner. The use of this system has now been extended to forty-four states.
Continued as a key aspect of the civil defense program, Community Shelter Planning (CSP) and preparation of emergency operations plans develop a great amount of valuable data concerning communities. The data pertain to building types and construction, housing, traffic arteries and flow, transportation facilities and equipment, shelters and their availability to the population, locations of monitoring stations, fire and police capabilities, availability of various kinds of immediate-use resources, and many other significant items of information necessary to emergency preparedness. CSP planning is invaluable in over-all community planning to deal with environmental hazards, civil disorders, peacetime disasters, and the effects of nuclear attack. The development of emergency information materials for the public is an important part of CSP. By June 30, 1971, CSP projects completed or in process covered 2,312 counties or planning areas with a total population of 152 million people.
The improvement of the following civil defense emergency operations systems was continued to help assure effective use of shelters and conduct of recovery operations following disasters: a nationwide warning system to alert people to impending disaster; emergency communications systems to keep people informed and to enable officials to direct emergency operations; nationwide radiological monitoring and reporting systems to collect, evaluate, and disseminate information on radioactive fallout resulting from attack; and a damage assessment system to provide guidance for preattack planning and postattack operations.
Direction and control of all types of emergency actions require establishment and maintenance of a protected emergency operating center (EOC). This type of central, protected operating center—in which key officials of government can meet to co-ordinate their efforts in an emergency—is highly valuable to any community in dealing with all types of hazards. Although EOC's are promoted by OCD primarily for use in event of nuclear attack, they are frequently used by local
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governments during peacetime disasters. Some governors and mayors have activated their EOC's during civil disturbances. In many communities, EOC's are also in day-to-day use as the normal headquarters of government units such as civil defense and police or fire departments. Such dual use is encouraged by OCD. By the end of the fiscal year, a total of 3,784 EOC's had been established or were being established. Those centers assisted by federal funds totaled 1,096. In addition, 2,688 centers were established without federal financial assistance.
To permit broadcasting of information to the public from these EOC's, radio connections are being installed at protected commercial broadcast stations in the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS). The EBS was established to provide official information to the public in an attack emergency. As part of this system, OCD has a broadcast station protection program to provide selected stations with fallout shelter, emergency power, and the radio links to EOC's. This service enables key broadcast stations to remain on the air in a fallout environment. At the end of the fiscal year, 610 broadcast stations were included in the program.
During the year, OCD continued to provide state and local governments with financial assistance to help them obtain needed equipment and supplies for emergency purposes, as well as to help pay personnel and administrative expenses and the cost of civil defense training and emergency operating centers. By the close of the fiscal year, 4,333 political subdivisions had submitted the annual program paper required by OCD to qualify for this assistance and to obtain federal surplus property donations for civil defense use.
Public and private sector personnel—trained, educated, and experienced in emergency planning and operations—are vital to the successful development of protective measures for communities. The OCD training and Education Program supports civil defense activity nationwide at all levels of government and provides civil defense education to the public. OCD conducts civil defense training and education nationwide through the OCD Staff College, Battle Creek, Michigan; the Civil Defense University Extension Program operated by extension divisions of state universities and land-grant colleges; the Civil Defense Education Program administered for OCD by the U.S. Office of Education; the Medical Self-Help Training Program administered for the OCD by the U.S. Public Health Service; the Rural Civil Defense Education and Information Program conducted for OCD by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the Community Shelter Planning Training Program conducted by OCD through contract with the Graduate School of Planning, University of Tennessee.
Other programs and supporting activities continued in fiscal year
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1971 included research; emergency public information; information services; liaison services with industry, labor, and organizations; and international activities.
Military support for civil defense activities received continued emphasis during the past year. All services recognize the need for a strong civil defense program and have developed comprehensive survival and recovery programs to assist civil authority in event of natural disaster or enemy attack. As a result of the publication of DOD Directive 3020.35, arrangements were made to assure reciprocity in the use of fallout shelters by the military in adjacent civilian communities and by civilians in military camps, posts, stations, and bases.
The Army has primary responsibility for providing military support. The Commanding General, U.S. Continental Army Command, and Continental U.S. Army commanders provide planning guidance to state adjutants general in the preparation of military support for civil defense plans in each of the forty-eight contiguous states. In Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico similar plans are developed by the appropriate unified command and adjutant general. Current plans call for each adjutant general, when called to federal service as a state area commander, to exercise operational control over military units made available for transattack and postattack military support missions.
At the request of OCD, the Army has recently authorized the establishment of a civil defense support detachment to augment communications and security personnel at each of the eight OCD federal regional centers located at Maynard, Massachusetts; Olney, Maryland; Thomasville, Georgia; Battle Creek, Michigan; Denton, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Santa Rosa, California; and Bothell, Washington, in the event of enemy attack or natural disaster.
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Last updated 9 August 2004 |