ation s
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
THURSDAY. JULY 18 19B3
By ORVAL JACKSON and
LEWIS LORD
United Pr'si International
Spartanburg, S.C. - 0IP1I -As
dawn breaks over the
southeastern United States on
July 21, the U.S. army and
air force will open the na
tion's largest peacetime
maneuver, over 7,500 square
miles of Georgia and North
and South Carolina.
By the time the Swift
Strike III exercise is com
pleted Aug. 16, the inter
service war game will have
involved 75,000 men from
bases throughout the country.
They are members of the
United States Strike com
mand (USSTRICOM), an in
tegrated Army-Air Force com
bat force which stands ready
to meet a military emergency
anywhere in the world on a
few hours' notice.
Swift Strike III will begin
with air maneuvers over an
area bounded by Charlotte,
N.C., Columbia, S.C, Augusta,
Ga., and Greenville, S.C. The
ground phase, involving mass
parachute drops of men and
equipment and mock battles,
will follow across wide areas
of the three slates.
Private Property
Nearly all of the "battle
area" will be on private prop
erty. There will be troops
climbing back fences and
tanks rumbling along country
roads but no live ammunition
will be used.1
The firing of blanks from
rifles and machine guns and
detonating shell simulators
may cause normally peaceful
countrysides to sound like the
Civil War revisited.
Swift Strike III is designed
to test the capability of USS
TRICOM to move combat
ready Army and Air Force
units in an integrated force
to engage an enemy in any
kind of limits of general con
flict. USSTRICOM is this coun
try's only integrated Army
Air Force command.. It in
cludes all combat ready units
of the Continental Army
Command and units of the
Tactical Air command based
in the United States. In com
mand is Army Gen. Paul D.
Adams with headquarters at
Macdill Air Force base, Tam
pa, Fla.
Involve Task Forces
The mass field maneuver
will involve "Red" and "Blue"
joint task forces tactically em
ployed against each other.
The Blue force will include
the Headquarters XVIII Air
borne corps and the 82nd air
borne division from Fort
Bragg, the 101st Airborne Di
vision from Fort Campbell,
Ky., and the 1st Logistical
Command from Fort Hood,
Tex. '
Principal Army units in the
Red Task force will be the
III Corps Headquarters from
Fort Hood, Tex., the 2nd In
fantry Division of Fort Ben
ning, Ga., and the 5th Infan
try Division (mechanized)
from Fort Carson, Colo.
The Red force will main
tain headquarters at Augusta,
Ga.. near the Georgia-South
Carolina border. The Blue
force will be headquartered
at Fort Bragg, some 200 miles
to the northeast.. Where the
two forces will meet within
the 7,500 square miles of red
soiled, pine-forested country
side is now known.
Forces to Participate
Unconventional warfare
forces from the Army special
warfare center. Fort Bragg,
Lara
est
Peacetime
and the U.E.A.F. air special
warfare center, Elgin Air
Force Base. Fla.. will nartioi.
pate in the sham war.
Air missions initially will
be flown bv rpenlar Air Fnivp
squadrons but air reserve and
National Guard planes will
join the exercise Aug. 3.
Air Force units will include
Ninth Air Force groups from
Shaw AFB, S.C, Macdill AFB,
Fla.. Homestead AFR Fla .
Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.,
ana myrtle Beacn AFB, S.C,
while the 12th Air Force will
provide groups from Cannon
AFB, N.M., George AFB,
Calif., England AFB, La., and
McConnell AFB, Kan.
Air Force reserve units will
come from General Mitrhpll
AFB, Wis., Bakalar AFB,
tna., Homestead AFB, Fla.,
Willow Grove, Wash., Clinton
County AFB, Ohio, Hanscom
Field, Mass., and Dobbins
AFB, Ga.
Air National Guard units
will be from Niagara Falls,
N.Y., McConell AFB, Kan.,
Baltimore, Md., Boston, Mass.,
Westfield, Mass., Birming
ham, Ala., Detroit, Mich., and
Louisville, Ky.
Swift Strike III is just one
of many exercises the Com
mand conducts during the
year but by far the largest.
A majority of the exercises
are "no-notice" alerts in
which units of an immediate
ready force (IRF) swing into
action in minutes. The Com
mand has units on immediate
call at all times, usually a
reinforced rifle company.
Members of the IRF are re
stricted to the barracks area
of their baser packed and
ready to load aboard aircraft
rapidly. The duty lasts a week
and is rotated among rifle
companies.
The Division Ready Force
(DRF) is a battle group team
that would follow the IRF
into action. Restrictions on
personnel on DRF alert are
much less and personnel are
allowed to go home at night
subject to recall.
The theory of USSTRICOM
is to get some forces to a bat
tle area quickly, then follow
up with continuous buildup
of forces necessary to get the
job done.
'We can move a combat
ready force on short notice
and then immediately start
reinforcement buildup," Gen
eral Adams said. "It is like
an open faucet, once the move
starts it is a continuing thing."
Men on immediate ready
force status spend duty hours
undergoing as much training
as possible within the com
pany area on such subjects
as hand-to-hand combat and
bayonet practice.
SP4 Milton Kirby of Nash
ville, Tenn., is an 82nd Air
borne Division soldier whose
company is actually on IRF
alert. Kirby lives with his
wife in Fayeteville, near his
Fort Bragg post.
"My wife doesn't like it
much when one of these
Alerts comes along," he said,
"but she realized that it is
necessary and part of my job.
I call her every night and we
train pretty hard during the
day, so the IRF week goes by
pretty fast."
Speaking of the IRF and
Maneuver Starts Sunday in
the DRF, General Adams said
the theory is to "apply the
proper amount of power
enough to get the job done,
but no more. We would cut
off the stream of troops when
the necessary force is com
mitted," he said.
Change in Thnking
A major change in military
thinking with the creation of
USSTRICOM has been to
bring Air Force and Army
units into close working re
lationships. In addition to
eight Army divisions, Adams
has command over three Air
Force composite squadrons,
along with Strike headquar
ters and a communications
element that can tie in in
stantly with the world-wide
communications network.
The close working relation
ship of the two military serv
ices allows closer coordina
tion between air and ground
units during operations and
provides quick transportation
for ground forces to battle
areas.
"In general, we can move
the first reinforced company
in two hours, and in nine
hours have the first rein
forced battle group in action,"
Adams said.
Air Force personnel have
qualified as paratroopers in
order to drop into combat
areas with advance forces to
set up proper air support for
the ground units. Air Force
squadrons also provide vital
reconnaissance for the Army.
Veteran of Fighting
USSTRICOM Commanding
General Adams Is a veteran
of the European and Korean
fighting and commander of
U.S. Forces which landed in
Lebanon in 1958.
Secretary of Defense Rob
ert S. McN'amara announced
plans to organize the Com
mand in September, 1961, and
one month later named Ad
ams to head it. On Dec. 28,
1981, Adams reported the
Command was operational.
"We stress all types of war
fare, including nuclear, but
the stress is primarily on con
ventional warfare where we
confront the enemy with
force," Adams said.
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Eddie Fisher Denies
Rumor of Marriage
Las Vegas. Nev. - IUPD -Singer
Eddie Fisher, es
tranged husband of actress
Elizabeth Taylor, has denied
rumors he plans to marry
New York model Rcnata
Boeck.
"I don't know what my
plans are," said Fisher
Wednesday when asked about
the rumors.
"We are good friends. She's
visiting here in Las Vegas,"
added the singer.
Asked about his marriage
to Miss Taylor, now romantic
ally involved with Welsh ac
tor Richard Burton, Fisher
replied:
"There have always been
divorce plans. As far as any
thing further than that is con
cerned, one thing at a time."
Girl, 15, Drowns
In Ocean Surf
Seavlew, Wash. - IUPD -Joyce
King. 15. of Longvlew,
Wash., drowned and a broth
er and sister narrowly es
caped death Wednesday in the
surf just off a Scaview
beach.
The drowned girl's sister,
Mrs. Sandra King Malvaney,
17 nri hroihpr Jesse King.
1o' were taken td Ocean;
Beach hospital in Ilwaco.
ti,. lie mast Guard said
thf trio were on a rubber
raft in the surf about a half
mile from the beach. The
Coast Guard said the raft ap
parently capsized, dumping
the three into the surf.
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