The New Reliables

Shivering in their khakis under a Kansas rainstorm, 82 crew-cut recruits piled out of three buses at Fort Riley last week before a three-story barracks emblazoned: WELCOME HOME NEW RELIABLES. It was a proud salutation. Made up mostly of draftees from Los Angeles, the contingent was arriving to help re-create one of the ruggedest fighting outfits of World War II, the U.S. 9th Infantry Division, whose "Old Reliables" laid a trail of blood and glory from Bizerte to the Rhine.

The reincarnation of the 9th reflects what one of its officers frankly terms "a calculated risk": the Administration's resolve to avoid calling up the Reserve or National Guard, to create instead new regular units to meet Viet Nam war needs. The decision was politically prudent. But the Pentagon is also convinced that 1) the reserves should continue to be held in readiness against any bigger emergency, and 2) newly minted outfits, while temporarily depleting none-too-numerous leadership cadres, will ultimately be a net gain for the nation's total defense resources.

Brain Drain. The 9th Infantry, deactivated only four years ago, will be the biggest of the new units (among others planned are three independent brigades). It will also be the first conventional U.S. Army division to be raised from scratch since World War II, bringing to 17 the number of Army divisions on active duty. Since most of the men coming out of regular training centers are going to Viet Nam as replacements or members of existing outfits, the 9th is having to train the bulk of its own recruits and scare up its own officers and specialists (3,301 in all) from other outfits. Major General George S. Eckhardt, 54, a 6-ft. 4-in. veteran of the World War II Pacific Theater, was pulled back from Iran to do the job, starting with one aide and a hunting license.

Eckhardt wasted no time. With a battalion of inductees now pouring in each week from all over the U.S., the division has already assembled one-third of its designated 15,562-man strength. Watched by "Chief," at 34 years the last cavalry horse remaining on the Army's rolls, Fort Riley's recruits run through a speeded-up series of drills designed to make them combat-ready by year's end, when the 9th is to be fully manned.

Cong in Kansas. It is being specifically prepared for Viet Nam. The 9th will not have a single tank battalion; eight of its nine maneuver battalions are to be infantry (the other will be mechanized). Spurred by the 1st Air Cavalry's combat successes, the 9th is determined to give its men predeparture helicopter training. Recruits already receive instruction in Vietnamese lore and jungle warfare, will soon have a replica Viet Cong-controlled village for search-and-clear training. Built along the Republican River, the stronghold will boast thatched-roof huts, a market square, sampan dock and subterranean tunnels--everything but Victor Charlie.

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