"I Can Move Damned Fast"

Maybe even fast enough for NATO to stop a Soviet blitz

The alert sounds. Three minutes later, half a dozen M60 tanks of the U.S. 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment roll out of observation post "Alpha" near Fulda, West Germany, to assigned positions just a few yards from the East German border. Another alert blares at Ramstein Air Base, south of Frankfurt. There U.S. airmen in flight suits jump out of bed and slide down a pole to a hangar as ground crews dash to prepare F-4E Phantoms. In less than three minutes, the fighters are on the runway, ready to intercept approaching Soviet warplanes.

These scramblings of combat units are routine practice drills, but they are being held with increasing frequency and without warning as part of a major effort to upgrade U.S. NATO forces. How this effort is succeeding will be carefully analyzed this week at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where the defense and foreign ministers from the alliance's 15 nations meet at separate annual autumn conferences.

Though serious problems continue to plague NATO, the gloom of two years ago is lifting. At that time, two key Senators warned that the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact alliance was growing so strong that it might be able to launch a surprise attack and sweep to the Rhine within 48 hours. While a number of U.S. officers and military experts dismissed this scenario as too pessimistic, few doubted that NATO was in trouble. Not only had Viet Nam received the Pentagon's top priority for nearly a" decade, but during the 1973 Middle East war, much of the best military equipment assigned to U.S. forces in Europe was rushed to the Israelis as emergency resupplies. Says Robert Komer, Adviser to the Secretary of Defense on NATO Affairs: "We let our capabilities to help defend Western Europe run down badly."

Bolstering the U.S. forces in Europe began during the Ford Administration. The major impetus, however, has come from Jimmy Carter. For one thing, he told the Pentagon to focus on NATO and strengthen the 285,000 U.S. troops deployed in Europe. For another, he persuaded the allies to endorse a Long Term Defense Program designed to meet the needs of the 1980s. As part of this effort, NATO governments have pledged to increase their defense spending by 3% a year, after adjustment for inflation. Carter, in last week's press conference, reaffirmed that "our goal is to increase the real level of defense expenditures."

Higher outlays are considered necessary because NATO remains outmanned and outgunned by the Warsaw Pact in the strategically crucial central and northern European regions. To the 626,000 troops fielded by NATO, the East Europeans have 943,000; to NATO's 7,000 tanks and 2,700 artillery pieces, the East has 21,000 and 10,000 respectively. In warplanes, where NATO once enjoyed a commanding lead, it now lags 2,375 vs. 4,055.

The Warsaw Pact's strength continues to grow. But Washington's new stress on NATO has begun showing such encouraging results that U.S. generals now think that the East's ability to mount a successful blitz is decreasing. NATO Commanding General Alexander Haig told TIME: "You don't do these things overnight. In 1975 we designed a series of flexibility studies to improve our reaction time and enhance the alliance. We came up with about 900 findings and they served as a basis for our program."

The key gains by U.S. forces so far: Newer planes. Some of the Air Force's squadrons are being bolstered with ultramodern F-15 Eagles, widely regarded as the world's best fighter. Many Phantoms, meanwhile, have been fitted with advanced missiles and targeting devices.

One of the most valuable new contributions to the West's airpower is AW ACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). NATO's purchase of 18 of these $128.5 million Boeing 707s cleared a major hurdle two weeks ago when it was okayed by a key committee of West Germany's Bundestag. Designed as an airborne command post, AWACS can detect enemy planes from as far away as 400 miles and then coordinate attacks against them. Says General John W. Pauly, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe: "With AWACS, our air defense becomes about 500% more effective."

Also boosting effectiveness are the 15 additional KC-135 Stratotankers to be sent to Europe next year, which permit more U.S. warplanes to stay aloft longer. Greater firepower. The two U.S. armored cavalry regiments stationed on the East German border have been replacing their aging Sheridan tanks with factory-fresh M60s. These fire faster and more accurately than the Sheridans and carry the latest night-fighting devices. U.S. antitank capability has been bolstered by ten helicopter companies, each with 21 new Cobras, armed with the TOW missile. U.S. ground forces are receiving extra field guns and a new multipurpose artillery shell that combines a large explosive force with armor-piercing ability.

A more forward strategy. To avoid being caught far from the front in a blitz attack, a number of U.S. units have been shifted closer to the East German border. The most important redeployment is the transfer, still under way, of the 2nd Armored Division's powerful "Forward" Brigade from Grafenwoehr in the south to a new base outside Bremen. These are the first U.S. combat units to be permanently stationed in the North German Plain since the Occupation era. In this perfect tank country, through which invaders from the east are expected to come, the U.S. reinforces West German, British and Dutch troops. Some U.S. Air Force squadrons have also moved north onto little-used German bases.

Faster reaction time. U.S. units on the central front no longer have to spend hours picking up and loading ammunition after receiving warning of an attack. Instead, a large portion of U.S. combat vehicles and aircraft are kept permanently loaded, even though this increases the risk of accidents. At the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment's base in Fulda, for example, helicopters, tanks, armored personnel carriers and scout cars are fully armed and lined up for swift departure. Says Colonel Robert Sunell, the regiment's commander: "I won't tell you how fast I can move this regiment out of its barracks, but it's damned fast. And we shave time every day." Because ammunition is now stored in forward areas, combat vehicles no longer have to return to the rear for new supplies. This has cut reloading time by five to ten hours.

Not only are U.S. planes getting into the air faster, but they can fly extra sorties because they are being "turned around" more quickly by ground crews. After extensive practice at reloading and refueling F-4 Phantoms, crews now have the jets ready for takeoff on another mission within 30 minutes, compared with 60 minutes two years ago. More reinforcements sooner. Once hostilities seem imminent or begin, NATO depends on rapid reinforcement from the U.S. In a true blitz, however, resupplies might arrive too late to be of much help. To prevent this, large quantities of equipment earmarked for units that would arrive from the U.S. are being stored in West Germany. In the first days of a crisis, therefore, transport planes could carry troops almost exclusively, rather than bulky weapons, ammunition and vehicles.

"We've still got a long way to go," says General George Blanchard, commander of the NATO-based U.S. Seventh Army, "but we want troops from the States to come here with just their battle gear and personal belongings. The rest would be waiting for them here; much of it already is." As a result, Haig estimates that the number of U.S. combat brigades that could be rushed to Europe within 30 days has doubled.

Safer supplies. U.S. ammunition depots and even aircraft used to sit out in the open in West Germany, vulnerable to attack. Now all U.S. warplanes are tucked safely inside $550,000 concrete and steel hangars. These are capable of withstanding a direct hit from a 500-lb. bomb. Many command posts, ammunition dumps and fuel depots have been similarly hardened. Tougher training. U.S. forces in Europe train more frequently and in more realistic circumstances than in the past. Surprise alerts sound at any moment of the day or night, sending troops racing to their posts. During the exercises, communications and electronic systems are deliberately jammed, just as they would be by the Soviets in a real war.

One elaborate new training aid, using lasers, allows tank crews to practice with live ammunition on their own bases rather than on distant firing ranges. The increased drills have sharpened the skills of tank gunners, who now receive a top rating for being able to hit between three and five targets in 20 seconds.

Pilots train for about ten hours daily. Part of the time is spent in the classroom discussing new combat techniques and the latest intelligence about Soviet air tactics. Much practicing, however, takes place in the cockpit, either airborne or with a simulator duplicating the flight situation. A new program known as "dissimilar training" teaches U.S. pilots to fly in formation with planes of other NATO members, thus providing a versatility that could prove valuable during an emergency.

Closer compatibility. With each NATO member equipping its own armed forces, the alliance contains a myriad of incompatible weapons systems. While nationalistic pride will probably continue to prevent full standardization, there have been gains in what NATO jargon terms interoperability. Two years ago, for example, few of the airbases in NATO countries could service any but their own warplanes. By next year, most bases will be able to accommodate all NATO aircraft. This is being achieved through extensive training of ground crews, stocking bases with a wide range of spare parts and ammunition and doing such deceptively simple things as designing nozzles to fit the gas tanks of all NATO planes.

Equally important has been the integration of some of the alliance's communications systems. Says one U.S. Air Force general: "Previously, we did not even have proper coordination between ground and air units in case of war. It's hard to believe, but it was true."

Other gains in compatibility are planned. After intense and sometimes heated negotiations between Bonn and Washington, the U.S. seems ready to put a 120-mm West German gun on most models of its new XM1 main battle tank. Bonn is considering giving its Leopard II tank an American engine.

Many U.S. Army units, meanwhile, are now "married" to neighboring foreign forces. This means that commanders exchange one another's platoons for weeks. As Private First Class Sam Neighbors of the 1st Infantry Division puts it: "It's a damn good idea to personally know the guys who will be next to you in battle."

These improvements in the U.S. forces have made Haig "cautiously optimistic" about NATO's ability to defend Western Europe. But enormous problems remain. Despite the more integrated communications, for example, NATO's 15 members still use 15 different radio bands. This means that units of one ally cannot plug into another's tactical radio network. Completely unifying the system, however, is a project that could cost billions of dollars. Logistics, especially the resupplying of units after combat begins, is "a horrible mishmash," according to an Administration strategist. While it would be possible, in time of crisis, to strengthen a German division with a Belgian battalion, this unit would continue to be supplied by the Belgians, even down to rations. As a first step toward untangling the potential mess, NATO has created the post of Assistant Secretary General for Logistics.

Chemical warfare is also a worry. Soviet armored vehicles have been specially designed to operate on a chemically contaminated battlefield and Soviet troops have been training extensively to fight on one. Warns a U.S. general: "The Soviet ability to use chemicals to debilitate our forces worries me more than Russian nukes." While the U.S. has begun issuing protective gear to its ground and air forces, General Haig stresses that "we have to do a great deal more. Where we are critically deficient is in our ability to deter a chemical attack because we do not have the capability to respond in kind. We have to face up to this fact."

The most serious threat confronting U.S. and allied troops along the central European front, however, is the Warsaw Pact's simple numerical superiority of men and weapons. Next year the U.S. plans to shift to Europe another 8,000 combat troops, three artillery battalions and additional electronic warfare and communications equipment. But these measures, like those taken so far, are only the start. NATO's long-range success depends upon the willingness of the alliance's members, especially the U.S., to bear high defense costs at a time of economic difficulty.

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