This film is an episode of the U.S. Army produced television program “The Big Picture” dating to 1968. This particular episode features the role and training of the Platoon Leader and is centered in Fort Benning, Georgia as the men were training to be sent to Vietnam and south east Asia. It opens with shots of platoons marching (:08). Platoon leaders can be drawn from various sources including the Military Academy of West Point or from an ROTC program (:21). Combat troops are seen moving through the jungle in camouflage gear (:48). The film is presented by the US Army (2:04) and was produced for The Office of the Chief of Information by the Army Pictorial Center (2:09). The Infantry Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning (2:24) is pictured as the major source of Platoon Leaders. One of the troops is seen with OCS on his helmet (2:45). The full OCS course is 23 weeks long although a shorter combat platoon leader course was also available (2:50). The men are seen conducting their early morning physical conditioning exercises (3:14) and double timing to class with their study material in an effort to save time as well as increase physical health (3:59). Students are then seen taking a course on leadership (4:15). The men practice hand to hand combat for necessary situations (5:35). A drill follows during which the men learn to give orders to their platoon (6:42). Sergeant Spark meets for counseling with his Tactical Officer (7:49) where he is able to see the remarks from his instructor on his observation report (7:59). The Reaction Course is viewed (9:10) which had been created to test the students in various scenarios. The men are broken off into groups of ten (9:41) and a demonstration follows of what takes place during the training (10:44). The men are ordered to retrieve a drum of gasoline and are broken down into two groups; one is to be the working group and the other is to distract the working group (11:48). The instructor debriefs the men on their efforts (16:10). CT Davis provides students with a Map Reading course (16:47) as well as an Aerial Photo Reading course (17:07). In the Unit Administration course, students learn the proper procedures for army paperwork (17:17). Target practice follows showing the men using various guns including the 45-caliber pistol (17:37), the M14 rifle (17:41), the light high powered M16 (17:47), the M60 machine gun (17:57) and the 50-caliber machine gun (18:05). Men also learn to utilize hand grenades (18:13) and flame throwers (18:20). For heavy gun training the men practice with weapons such as the 90-millimeter recoilless rifle (18:28), 106 recoilless rifle (18:34), 81 millimeter mortar (18:40), the 90 millimeter tank gun (18:51) and the 105 millimeter tank gun (18:57). Both the 105 (19:04) and 155 (19:10) howitzers are also shown in use. Platoon Leaders must also know all modes of tactical mobility available (19:25) and receive instruction on maintenance of standard vehicles as well (19:38). When ground transportation is not possible, the men are instructed to utilize the army helicopters (20:10). Another vital prong of the men’s training is to learn and utilize communication equipment (20:28). Field telephone equipment (20:34), field radios (20:44) and vehicle mounted FM equipment are all looked at (20:53). The men take a course on the specialized language to be used with the equipment (21:28). Future Platoon Leaders are then seen loading into a helicopter for field exercises (22:37). In this demonstration, the objective is a remote village which the men are to search and clear (23:48). One of the men provides a message for the would-be village natives in their own language (24:03). The film begins to wrap up as during the exercise, the men uncover traps (24:53) and use the heads of the house holds in order to safely search and clear residential homes (25:48).

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