Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/86

�This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 eign policy, and was of great sigmficance to the USAF. The polmy of containment was carrind still further when Congress passed the Mutual Security Act of 1951 It was the purpose of this act To maintain the security and to promote the ?oreign pohcF o! the United States by authorizmõ raihtary, economic, and tech- nical assistance to friendly countries to strengthen the mutual security and indt- wdual and collective defenscs of the free world, to develop their resources in the interest of their ?ecuri?y and independence and the national interest of the United States and to facilitate ?he effective par- ticipation of ?hose countries in the Urnted Nations system for collective securltyJ ? This measure brought together in one place wftually all the foreign assistance to be considered by the 82d Congress in its first session. it authorized a total expenditure for all programs of not over over six billions being for military md items. ? Insofar as aviation mater[el and the bufid?ng up of friendly air power was volred th?s legislation was of great sigmfi- canoe to the USAF. Among the countries receiving ?et trainers and fighters from the United ?tates in 1951 were Turkey, France, Eng- land, Belõium, and the Netherlands. By the end of 1951 Mutual Defense Assistance (Aid) Program had coranutted the USAF for the delivery of more than 300 Repubhc F-84 fighters to friendly European nations, a figure which was programmed to exceed 800 by rind-fiscal 1953. England was scheduled to get 500 F-86 Sabres by mid- 1952. .? Such commitments would meritably have their effect on the Air Force procure- merit situation It should also be pointed out that the lormatmn of NATO, along with collateral agreements made with other key nat?ons, created a situation which eased the pres- sure on intercontinental bomber buildup. By g?vmg the USAF access to European a?r bases irom which medium bombers could operate well belund the Iron Curtain, these new developments m foreign pohcy made a great change in the over-all strategic and operat]ona! situation of the USAF. ?s By the spring of 1951 the Air Force was building a tight chain of bases downward across western Europe and across the M?ddle Eastern perimeter of defense. It operated from 12 bases in England, 7 m Occupied Germany, and 1 in Occupied Austrm. It a!so had bases m Tr?poh and on the Perstun Gulf, and was negotiating for bases in Morocco and Egypt, and for a base at Amman and one at Habbinaya, Iraq. Negotiations for a base at Cyprus had been completed. There were 20,000 officers and men of the Par Force stationed on these overseas lines of defense ? Congress had already made provision defense at home by the enactment o? Pubhc Law 30, 81 Cong, 1 8ess. (approved 30 March 1949). Under the provisions of this legrelation the Secretary of the Par Force was authorized to establish land-based air warning and control installations within and without the continental limits of the United States for its defense against air attack. Not more than $85,500,000 was au- thorized to be appropriated for the con- struction of buildings, facilities, utilities, etc, to meet the needs of this program. 'ø Authority already existed for the purchase of necessary radar and communications equipment ($26,000,000 worth), and World War II surplus radar eqmpment valued at $42,250,000 was also to be allocated to the system. This legislation was based on a plan and program which the A?r Force had evolved after several years studying of the problem of estabhshmg an aircraft warning and control system to defend this country. This program was reviewed and approved by the Jmnt Chiefs of Staff and the Secre- tary of Defense. It was the minimum pro- gram acceptable from a military point oœ view; also it was economically feasible, and it would give the United States a modest degree of protection which would otherwise be wholly nonexistent. ?* Another s?gnfficant defense measure was enacted by Congress in the following year. T?s was the Federal C?wl Defense Act of 1950. This legislation prowdad for a Fed- oral Civil Defense Admirestraiten headed by a Federal Ctwl Defense Administrator appointed by the President Irom ciwlian THIS PAGE Declasstried lAW EO12958