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Sharpened Knives. Around the world, other Army units are on the picket line. G.I.s muffled in cold-weather gear patrol the white wastes of the Arctic. In the jungles of South Viet Nam, guerrilla-fighting experts of the Army's newly formed Special Forces teach villagers how to fire the Mi, then lead them on forays against the Communist raiders that are filtering across the border in increasing numbers. In Hawaii, the 25th Infantry Division is trained in the stealthy art of jungle warfare. During maneuvers, men of the 25th drill on techniques of getting along with native tribes, eat roots and insects served up by their buddies masquerading as witch doctors and chiefs. Dug in on the hillsides of Korea, the ist Cavalry and 7th Infantry divisions guard the battle-torn border.
If the Communists decide to touch off a brushfire in Southeast Asia, the first Army troops to swing into action would be the 2,000 paratroopers of the 503rd Battle Group, which is stationed on Okinawa 1,500 miles from South Viet Nam. Despite the knowledge that they are expendable troops, the spirit of the 503rd men is so high that many were genuinely disappointed that they did not get into action earlier this year during the Laotian crisis. Says Captain Jere Hickman: "We were sharpening our knives. I felt sorry for the enemy." The paratroopers share Okinawa with the rugged 3rd Marine Division, which also would be thrown into a fight in Southeast Asia. "We can go into any landlocked country anywhere," says one 503rd officer. "Every single bit of our equipment is parachutable. Every man jumps even our chaplains. They don't carry guns, but they can pass the ammunition."
Atomic Backstop. But of all the U.S. Army troops, the men most under the Communist gun are those of the Seventh Army in Germany. NATO Supreme Allied Commander Lauris Norstad calls the Seventh "the best-equipped, best-led and best-trained Army the U.S. has ever fielded in peacetime." Says Seventh Army Commander Gar Davidson: "I'm confident we can handle whatever the So viets throw at us, and you can be damned sure there'll be a lot less Russians around if they do."
But if the Seventh Army is strong,
NATO as a whole has real problems. The U.S. is the only major power to come close to fulfilling its troop commitments to NATO. As a result, instead of having the agreed-upon number of 28 divisions, NATO has but 22, and many of these are so undermanned that NATO's fighting strength is equal only to 16 or 17 divisions. Against these, the Soviet Union has 20 Russian and six German divisions poised in East Germany, could throw another 20 or more divisions into action within a week's time. NATO is especially weak on the northern flank of the Seventh Army, where understrength British, Dutch and Belgian units guard the invasion routes across the flat plains.