Armed Forces: The Airmobile Division

Defense Secretary McNamara sounded like a proud father. "I have," he told newsmen, "today authorized the Army to organize a new division, the Air-mobile Division." To be organized at Fort Benning, Ga., the new 16,000-man outfit will be ready for action by mid-August. Said McNamara: "It places the Army on the threshold of an entirely new approach to the conduct of land battle."

Airmobile combat troops, their artillery and ground vehicles, will be flown into combat by the division's 400 huge LOH, Chinook and Iroquois helicopters. The division will have six twin-engined Grumman OV1 Mohawks with infra-red scanning devices, radar and cameras for reconnaissance duty. One of the division's three brigades will be trained as paratroops.

Based in the U.S., the Airmobile Division will be ready to move at a moment's notice to any trouble spot in the world—and get there within a matter of hours, using Air Force C-130s to carry all men and equipment except the largest helicopters, which will be flown in giant C-133 turboprop cargo planes. The U.S. already has airfields in South Viet Nam and Thailand capable of handling such planes.

The Airmobile Division will have little armor and therefore not much staying power in battle. But it should make up for that with its mobility and fast striking force. It will, said McNamara, be "capable of conducting operations in all types of terrain. It can react quickly and maneuver rapidly over large areas. It can reconnoiter, screen wide fronts, delay hostile forces, and conduct raids behind enemy lines. The division is particularly effective in locating and maintaining contact with the enemy." In other words, it seemed tailor-made for Viet Nam.