General Curtis E. Lemay arrives for a fact finding visit to the United States Ship America (CVA-66). Officers and personnel aboard the ship wait for the arrival. A C-2A plane of U.S. Navy lands and taxied with wings folded. Rear ramp of aircraft lowered and General Lemay steps off greeted by Rear Admiral Leroy V. Swanson. The officers leave the deck and walk to island.
General Curtis E. Lemay arrives for a fact finding visit to the United States Ship America (CVA-66). General Lemay, Rear Admiral Leroy V. Swanson and Vice Admiral William F. Bringle in the Chief of Staff cabin. General Lemay holds a coffee and cigar and chats with Swanson. Pictures of naval commanders on cabin wall behind. Plate over door reads 'Chief of Staff Cabin'.
General Curtis E. Lemay arrives for a fact finding visit to the United States Ship America (CVA-66). Officers in a cabin with plaque over doorway 'Command Center' written on it. Books in shelves at the cabin. Name plate over door reads 'Flag Room'. Admiral Leroy V. Swanson escorts General Lemay to the Ready Room and introduces officers to General Lemay. Vice Admiral William F. Bringle watches as Commander Wayne Smith of Air Wing 6, talks to General Lemay, who smokes a cigar. General Lemay autographs some issue from Commander. He listens to Commander Charles B. Hunter, Commanding Officer of VA-85, in ready room. Tag on a wall map reads 'Hanoi is defeated'. General Lemay and officers observe a large board containing display of radar photographs. He shakes hands with other officers in ready room.
General Curtis E. Lemay arrives for a fact finding visit to the United States Ship America (CVA-66). General Lemay in hanger bay climbs up an A-6A aircraft and sits into the cockpit. Commander Charles B. Hunter, Commanding Officer of VA-85 stands up alongside cockpit and briefs him. General Lemay and Rear Admiral Leroy V. Swanson and others walk through hanger bay. Rear Admiral Swanson points out things of interest to him.
Importance of Army being explained in the light of increasing Soviet and Chinese military strength, expanding communism, Cuban missile crisis, Berlin crisis and Korean War. Soviet military parade in Red Square. Chinese Army forces parade in China in review. U.S. Army soldiers in combat in Korean War, with soldier firing machine gun and two soldiers firing a mortar. American tank on streets of Berlin during Berlin Crisis. Fidel Castro speaking from podium at a rally in Cuba. Cuban rebels marching. Still image of Soviet missile sites on Cuban soil during Cuban Missile Crisis. American soldiers and marines in Indochina and soldiers wading in water. A map shows the regions of major conflicts in the world. Three types of wars being enumerated including general war, limited war and insurgencies. A map shows American Army establishments in the country.
Opening scene shows Headquarters, United States Army, Europe (USAREUR) at Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany. A line of U.S. 7th Army M48 Patton tanks contributing to NATO defenses. One backs out of position. A line of M113 Armored personnel carriers proceeding along a dirt field. A tank destroyer followed by M113 APC. M113s of a U.S. Armored Brigade drive in Berlin, affirming allied rights in the city. Bridge in Italy displays logo of U.S. Army Southern European Task Force (SETAF). A Sergeant Missile Battalion of SETAF provides nuclear capable support to NATO. One of its Sergeant missiles is seen maneuvering on its mobile launch platform. Two Italian soldiers are seen being trained in missile operations. A motorized tractor pulls several wheeled containers of military supplies stockpiled at one of NATO's European storage facilities. More supplies are seen being moved outside a warehouse. Army personnel using keyboards and computer tape drives to keep track of war materiel. Yards full of military hardware, including lines of jeeps, provide backup for military operations. A sign at the Headquarters United States Southern Command in Quarry Heights, Panama. A ship is seen moving through the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. U.S. and allied soldiers are seen working with ropes to traverse a river, during Jungle Warfare training. Soldiers seen moving through jungle underbrush during training at the Southern Command School of the Americas. Scene shifts to U.S. Army, Alaska at Fort Richardson, near Anchorage. A U.S. M113 APC is seen driving and firing its weapon on a snowy field. Its stops and soldiers in white arctic gear step from a rear hatch to take up positions. A Piasecki H-21 Army helicopter is seen flying low above the terrain. It is equipped with landing gear skis. Rear view of tank moving in snow.