U.S. Army European Command Eucom (1967)

Synopsis

This Is US Eucom” is a circa 1967 Defense Department film that visits the United States European Command, or EUCOM. EUCOM is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military. The film opens by telling us how Europe has grown past the atrocities of World War II to once again become a thriving place to live and visit, while still able to link “the vibrant present to the picturesque past” (mark 01:00 ). There’s a look back on WW2 and how most nations of the world set aside their weapons and worked toward rebuilding a peacetime world. The exception — the Soviet Union — which we’re told starting at mark 02:15 continued warlike and aggressive ways. Despite a blockade of Berlin in 1948, as shown starting at mark 02:50, the Allied forces devoted themselves to assisting the German people via the Berlin airlift, which carried supplies to the people of West Berlin. Even so, the Soviet Union “still threatens an unarmed Europe” (mark 04:04 ). As a result, several countries unite to create North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the development of EUCOM, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, as well as Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the headquarters of NATO’s Allied Command Operations. The film continues with a discussion of the various duties and responsibilities of EUCON and watch as troops participate in various training exercises. Among the responsibilities is border surveillance (mark 08:40 ) including spots “along the line of Communist…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

21 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage