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Show Earlier this year, Major George Fielding Eliot—a long-time expert commentator on military and polit: al affairs—died at the age of /6 at his homein Litchfield, Conn. He had completed this article for Famity Weex.va short time before his death. Over the decades, Major Eliot gained a reputation as perhaps the finest soldier-journalist of our age. Besides being the author of numer- ous books and magazine articles, he wasfor years a correspondentfor the old New York Herald Tribune and “Young andRomantic’’ Our Exquisite ‘After Five Black Bonded Basic Crepe a military analyst for the Columbia Broadcasting System. in 1962 he was awarded the University of Missouri's Honor Medal for Discinguished Service in Journalism. theperfect ] occasion dress in a Nuclear Age in the fullest sense of the term—which, in the words of the late Admiral “Bull” Halsey, means that when you haveit, you can go wherever you want to go, do whatever you want to do when you get there and stay as long as you needto. Soviet reaction to the news reports about Diego Garciasignifies Soviet inability to unaerstand what sea power is all about. Tass, the official Soviet in our nuclear deterrent program for the next twoorthreeyears. Thefillingin of the Indian Ocean gap in our global communications-electronic capabilities will make a substantial con- tribution to the deterrent restraint of our sea-borne nuclear weapons on the strategy both of Moscow andPeking. It will also, as Tass thoughtfully re- marks, be quite useful in monitoring satellite reports: and oursatellite de- News Agency, is quoted in the Lon- velopmentis another field of military don Daily Telegraphtothis effect: science in which weenjoy a substan- “It is hard to believe that a small island in the Indian Ocean, many thousandsof miles away from Britain and the United States, can play some role in the defense of these countries.” Tass went on to complain that the United States is preparing to use the island for supporting the operations of Polaris submarinesandas‘a station for monitoring spy satellites launched by the United States.’” These latter statements are certainly true. Sea powerin the nuclear age means more to the United States than just setting limits to what the Soviet can do with conventional forces in the Indian Ocean.It also means the use of the oceans for the deployment of submarines armed with nuclear missiles, such as Polaris and the new and more powerful Poseidon weapon. There are a numberofmilitary and industrial targets in Soviet Central tial superiority over the USSR. No doubtthe editors of Tass—and perhaps someof their masters in the Kremlin—find it difficult to believe that a small islandin the Indian Ocean such as Diego Garcia can be so useful to the defense of the United States andits allies. But that is because the Russians havenever really understood the basic principles of sea power. If they did, they would realize that their geographyso limits their freedom of action on the high seas that they should avoid seizing small islands in distant oceans (such as Socotra) and giving the true sea-power nations a good excuse for capitalizing onit. The hard facts of life are simply that anything the Russians can doin thefield of navalstrategy, we can do better. The U.S.-British move to Diego Garcia wasthe inevitable reaction to the Soviet move to Socotra: but the advantages gained by our move are easily far more widespread andrepresent a brought within range of sea-based missiles fired from the Indian Ocean than from other areas of salt water. our capabilities both for conventional Asia which can be more megnificent new Bonded Rayon Crepe, it never loses its shape and makes the mostof yours. Hassleek, slimming, slightly flared “A” ine, see-through “illusion” sleeves and neckline. Beautifully far greater proportional increase in and nuclear warfare than any gains This applies also to the Red Chinese the Soviets can acquire from the occu- missile development in Sinkiang, which is in an awkward region to bring within the targeting scope of missile submarines in waters such as pation of Socotra. Also, as afriend of this reporter in the Defense Depart- ment remarked, it was very thought- ful of the boysin the Kremlin to pro- the South China Sea, but can be much vide us with such a good talking point moreeffectively dealt with from the Indian Ocean. Our Poseidon deploy- for inducing Congress to provide the necessaryfunds toget our Dicgo Gar- mentis the most importantsingle item cia show onthe road. @ only. only39.98 — — Met Howl i Ways 10 ORDER: PREPAID+ C.0.0. » USE YOUR CHARGE CARD! — — | GREENLAND FASHIONS, Dept. 5714 , 4500 N.w. 135th St., Miami, Fla. 33054 | —Dresses (#40003) @ $9.98 plus 85¢ post. 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