THE EAGLE'S TALON

let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price fair any burden me any hardship support any friend oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty on the presidential coat of arms the american eagle holds in his right talon the olive branch while in his left he holds a bundle of arrows we intend to get the major purpose behind our build-up has been the desire to increase our military flexibility president kennedy has said we intend to have a wider choice than humiliation or all-out nuclear war this does not mean we are downgrading our nuclear power on the contrary we are increasing our nuclear strength we will use whatever forces the situation demands to reach our objective it simply means we have more than one option to use how our nation shall be armed what weapons it needs to meet all crises are the decisions of the president as commander-in-chief of all the armed forces the secretary of defense and the top defense officials determine the needs and make their recommendations the joint chiefs of staff the chairman and the top ranking officer from each of the armed services provide valuable military counsel and judgment to the secretary of defense and the president based on long years of military experience the funds to pay for men and weapons are voted by congress each year after study and debate how we use our defense funds must depend on many significant factors none is more important than judging the plans the strategies and the capabilities of possible aggressors and shaping our forces to meet every challenge we know of course that our opponent has missiles such as these and intercontinental missiles equipped to travel thousands of miles we also know that the united states has a nuclear retaliatory force of such lethal power that an enemy move which brought it into play would be an act of self-destruction on his part backbone of the retaliatory force is the strategic air command and we will rely upon sac bombers into the late 60s and possibly early seventies the us today has hundreds of manned intercontinental bombers capable of reaching the soviet union including over fifteen hundred heavy and medium bombers capable of intercontinental operations because of our highly developed in-flight refueling techniques and worldwide base structure we are increasing the number of bombers already operational that we keep in the air at one time to prevent surprise attack that might destroy them on the ground at the same time our bomber forces on continuous ground alert are being stepped up to 50 percent so in the navy we have 15 attack carriers which can add to u.s nuclear counter punch we're increasing the number of polaris nuclear submarines with the seven seas as a launching base these submarines cannot be eliminated by sudden attack present plans call for us to have 29 of them operational by 1964. our forces are so deployed and protected that a sneak attack could not effectively disarm us also ready and underground missile bases are intercontinental ballistic missiles which can be fired from protected bases in the usa such as titan or the atlas shown here we are investing in another icbm called the minuteman and the belief it will play a major role against aggression plans call for this solid fuel nuclear weapon to be dispersed in a wide variety of places and to be operational by the end of 1962. the destructive power which the united states could bring to bear even after a soviet surprise attack upon our forces would be as great as perhaps greater than the total undamaged force which the enemy can threaten to launch against the united states in a first strike to get as much time as we can to put all our offensive and defensive weapons in action in event of attack we are investing defense funds and improving our ballistic missile early warning system we are also developing a system capable of detecting an enemy missile attack this will increase our warning time to as much as 30 minutes nike zeus the army's anti-missile missile is undergoing tests in the research and development stage like this launch meanwhile already on site guarding u.s cities and other strategic targets from surprise bomber attack are nike hercules batteries of the continental air defense command these are manned by well-trained army and national guard units but safeguarding the capabilities of our military force is not enough because there is nothing upon which we place a higher value than the life of an individual measures are being taken to do much more than has been done so far to protect us on the home front against thermonuclear attack should one come in 1961 the department of defense was directed by the president to assume responsibility for civil defense by the end of 1962 it is expected that an intensified program to protect us against the dangers of nuclear fallout will make its impact by taking advantage of identified shelters and adapting them for nuclear fallout protection we should be able to increase survival chances in population centers most likely to be major targets special signs like this will indicate shelters that have been adapted or relocated to protect from nuclear fallout such shelters will be stocked with food and water additionally each shelter will have first aid and sanitary supplies tools with which to remove debris and radiation meter kits to determine the continuing safety of the shelter area this program does not guarantee survival for all of us in a large scale nuclear attack no program can it does offer is the greatest amount of protection that can be made available now and in the near future because no nation can live work or fight back effectively should its leadership or communications be destroyed steps have been taken to safeguard both against a surprise blow a shore in the pentagon or in another location those charged with the overall counter offensive can direct our worldwide action afloat there is a seagoing command post while in the air sack has a winged command post already manned however preparing to prevent an all-out nuclear attack or to defend ourselves against one is no guarantee of peace in fact such an attack may never come for even the communists recognize that full-scale nuclear war would mean disaster for themselves but that does not mean communism has curbed its ambition for world conquest starting in world war ii the aggressive communist tide has spread in europe and asia to engulf its neighbors communist china even now has plans to dominate asia by mass murder as in tibet destroying ancient civilizations right next door is the nation we freed in 1898 cuba a communist tyranny holds sway and whiskers do not hide the naked face of dictatorship crisis in berlin is another step to extend the iron curtain all along the frontiers of freedom captive peoples are separated from their neighbors by a no-man's land of barbed wire and watchtowers our army is face to face with communism around the world to meet immediate threats on any front we must build up our land forces at home and overseas today we have a strategic army force of six combat-ready divisions all famous fighting units which the u.s strike command will call upon for the land forces of its land air team the national guard and reserves will provide strength and depth for the army by including the army national guard and army reserves and battle readiness plans we will shorten the time in which such units may be deployed the army is also increasing its ability to move and to fire it is being equipped with combat vehicles such as the new m60 tank and with personal carriers with additional missiles of such caliber as the honest john nike hercules and the hawk rifles with improved firing and striking power artillery and anti-tank missiles with helicopters and other aircraft for reconnaissance and added mobility and with vehicles built for better cross-country movement for anti-guerrilla warfare the army's special forces have been increased by more than 100 and include foreign allies who receive their indoctrination both here and aboard in line with other efforts to increase our non-nuclear force we are increasing the strength of our marine corps to 190 000 men marines have traditionally established their ability to move into an emergency situation swiftly and with great striking power to add to these valuable capabilities new equipment will include the fully automatic m14 rifle and a lightweight artillery piece that can be air-dropped amphibious lift will be increased by such a vessel as the landing platform dock the core will also get more amphibious assault vessels and helicopters to be based aboard these new carrier-like floating platforms increasing the firepower and the mobility of our conventional forces is not the entire answer we must be able to move them rapidly to any trouble spot in the world to increase our airlift we are getting more jet transports known as c-135s we plan to retain several squadrons of transport planes now in service we have called up more than three dozen tactical fighter and transport squadrons plus supporting activities from the air force reserves and air national guard we are getting more tactical air power to go along with our combat ready ground forces the navy faces a global job of huge dimensions with 71 percent of the earth's surface covered by the sea it must help protect the lifelines of transport and supply it must meet russia's submarine threat off our shores and must have the sea power to play its role on the defense team in counter-attack as well as defense anti-submarine warfare exercises emphasizing detection and destruction have top priority we're adding new nuclear surface craft to our sea power we are also taking ships out of mothballs for sea lift and patrol we're adding to the navy's air arm with additional attack fighter patrol and search aircraft the united states cannot however meet its worldwide challenges alone our defense is based upon cooperation with our allies through multilateral defensive organizations and through bilateral agreements nato for example continues to be the world's greatest bulwark of freedom a major objective of this administration is to support and strengthen the nato alliance in the pentagon a nato standing group consisting of british french german and american representatives illustrates the nato partnership in operation our plans call for the maintenance and improvement of nato nuclear strength and also for a build up of nato's non-nuclear defensive power to this end we are encouraging our allies to bring their units up to strength and to accelerate the modernization of nato's military equipment our nato allies are increasing their procurement in the united states and a group of european nations has combined their resources to produce such modern aircraft as the f-104 in europe the military committee of sento the central treaty organization meeting in washington shows the close ties between this asian alliance and the united states general lemnitzer for the united states is host to top military representatives of iran pakistan turkey and the united kingdom there are more than 40 nations to whom we give military assistance this soldier guarding one of asia's gateways against soviet aggression symbolizes the determination of free men everywhere to resist communist expansion by force of arms here is the type of training that military aid nations get from native instructors schooled in the united states in the usa or on maneuvers with u.s forces selected military students from many free nations learn what they will teach their countrymen on return to their homelands the cost of military preparedness comes high more than half of every tax dollar goes to defense to get the most defense for every dollar spent command control of money men and material must be simplified and improved to meet the changing needs of our armed forces first our forces are tailored to our needs for a balanced flexible defense then the comptroller provides the secretary with the cost of a proposed program from start to finish so an intelligent command decision can be made the result is a budget that does the job required second the employment of the forces has been streamlined by the creation of a new unified command which operates under the joint chiefs of staff like the eight existing unified and specified commands known as the us strike command it combines forces of the strategic army corps and tactical air command into a land air team capable of speedy action in emergencies third communications the lifeline of modern military operations is now under a single defense communications agency which keeps the top pentagon command in constant worldwide touch with all the armed forces wherever they may be fourth to supply support for the unified commands and all the armed forces there is a new single agency the defense supply agency which handles the combined buying of supply items common to all last but not least in the past year a new agency has been created to streamline the gathering of intelligence in the military field it is called the defense intelligence agency and combines intelligence functions from all services operating under the joint chiefs of staff to ensure greater unity of effort all of us are stockholders and what america is and ever will be we all hold shares in our future and the future of our loved ones but what price would you place on the life of a child of an adult on your own life what is a family worth what value would you truly set on a home your home your job your career your friends your neighbors others you admire and respect how much is freedom worth what price would you place on liberty the right to come and go as you please where you please and when you please how much is freedom worth how much no matter what the future holds there is no need to fear for america the president as commander-in-chief keeps the decade of decision alert to washington's advice still timely today to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace you