Destination USFA
General Information for Personnel Alerted for Shipment to United States Forces in Austria

This booklet was issued to personnel who have recently received orders to ship out to USFA in the early 1950s. We have selected excerpts from the booklet that we hope will be of general interest and can serve as a general overview of the USFA organization and mission at that time.

1. Introduction
The purpose of this booklet is to furnish interesting and useful information to persons newly assigned to United States Forces in Austria and to their dependents, and to bid them welcome to this important and interesting command. The present members of "the USFA team" hope you will join them with pride and pleasure.

2. Your Assignment
Each area of assignment at home and abroad has advantages and disadvantages when compared with other areas. This is true of USFA and the various commands within USFA, but the advantages so far outweigh the disadvantages as to make this one of the choice areas for oversea assignment.

USFA units are located throughout the US Zone of Austria, in Vienna, and in northern Italy. Personnel requirements are constantly changing and both military personnel and civilian employees must be prepared for initial assignment and subsequent transfers to any of these areas.

3. Why we are here
The USFA Mission. The mission of United States Forces in Austria is to "provide a security force capable of supporting the High Commissioner for Austria in his endeavor to re-establish a free, independent, and democratic Austria, with a sound economy capable of insuring an adequate standard of living."

4. Organization of USFA
USFA was established on 5 July 1945. Its insignia is the shield with sword and olive branch (shown at the top of this page). The colors combine the red, white and blue of the United States and the red, white and red of Austria. The sword represents protection and security for Austria in its struggle for complete sovereignty. The olive branch indicates that the most important mission of USFA is the preservation of peace.

There have been numerous changes in the organization and location of United States Forces in Austria since the command was first established. At present the headquarters is located in Salzburg, Austria, with four major subordinate elements organized and disposed as follows:

TACTICAL COMMAND, organized along the lines of an infantry division, is a highly mobile striking force. It is responsible for the training and tactical employment of USFA combat elements. Headquarters, Tactical Command, is located at Camp Roeder, on the outskirts of the City of Salzburg, while units of the command are disposed over a wide area.

AREA COMMAND, with headquarters at Camp Riedenburg in Salzburg, is responsible for the operation of all installations in the US Zone of Austria, except Vienna. Included, in addition to Camp Riedenburg, are Camps Roeder and Truscott in Salzburg, Camp McCauley at Wels, sub-posts at St. Johann, Saalfelden and Lofer. In addition, Area Command is also responsible for the operation of the storage depot in the American portion of Camp Rum, near Innsbruck, which is in the French Zone of Austria.

VIENNA COMMAND is responsible for the administration and operation of United States units in Vienna. In addition, the Commanding General, Vienna Command, is the American representative on the Vienna Inter-Allied Command, which administers the International Sector of Vienna. Military Policemen of the Vienna Command perform normal MP duties in the American sector of the city, but are better known for their participation in the International Patrols ("four men in a jeep"), which maintain law and order in the International Sector. Tulln Airbase, about 15 miles from Vienna in the Russian Zone, is operated by the 12th United States Air Force but receives its logistical support through the Vienna Command.

SUPPORT COMMAND operates the USFA port at Leghorn, Italy, and the general depot at Camp Darby. Nearly all personnel and supplies that come to USFA by surface transportation enter through the port of Leghorn. This ancient maritime city is located on the Mediterranean coast of Northern Italy and appears on most maps as Livorno. In addition to the facilities in the Leghorn area, Support Command is also responsible for the Storage Point at Verona, Italy.

37. Arrival in Europe
Most passengers travel by surface ship from New York to Leghorn, Italy, but some arrive at Genoa, Italy, and at Bremerhaven, Germany. The remainder of the trip is by train. Most air travelers fly to Rhein Main Airport at Frankfurt, Germany, and continue by train to USFA. Some chartered planes land USFA passengers at Munich, Germany, where they are met by USFA busses. The following table shows distances and rail time to Salzburg, Austria, from these various ports of debarkation.

To Salzburg from:	Rail time:	Distance:
Leghorn, Italy	21 hrs 15 min	523 miles
Genoa, Italy	21 hrs 40 min	521 miles
Bremerhaven, Germany	21 hrs 30 min	666 miles
Frankfurt, Germany	10 hrs 26 min	341 miles
Munich, Germany	2 hrs 32 min	92 miles
(Salzburg to Vienna)	4 hrs 20 min	212 miles

U.S. Forces in Austria
By Lt. Gen. George P. Hays, USA

U.S. Forces in Austria, a separate command, are charged with the mission of supporting the U.S. High Commissioner of Austria in his effort to reestablish a democratic Austria with a sound economy capable of insuring an adequate standard of living.

The importance of this small but strategically located country is noted when studying a map of Europe. From the standpoint of Western Europe security, Austria constitutes the Eastern-most salient of the free-nations of West Europe. This mountainous country has common borders with two of the Soviet satellites - Czechoslovakia and Hungary - forms the southern flank of Germany, and extends to the northern boundaries of Italy and Yugoslavia.

Important for its water and trade routes, Austria boasts the Rhine-Danube, main waterway of Europe, which borders the U.S. Zone on the north and flows on through Vienna. The north-south route through the Brenner Pass to Italy is the most important rail and highway route through the Alps. The southwest routes from Russia and Poland intersect with the others to make this a "cross-roads" country.

U.S. Forces in Austria (USFA) are composed of four military posts at Salzburg, Vienna, Linz, and Leghorn, Italy. The latter is USFA's Port of Embarkation from which the logistical support emanates.

The Festival City of Salzburg is the site of the largest concentration of U.S. troops, quartered in various camps around the city. Here USFA headquarters are located.

Traveling eastward, famous landmark in the Linz Military Post area, is the Soviet checkpoint at Enns, last outpost before starting the 110-mile trip through the Soviet Zone top Vienna.

Vienna is divided into four sectors, plus the International zone, which are administered directly by the Vienna Inter-Allied command. This command consists of one city commander and deputy from each of the four Powers, and each has a representative for administering the International bezirk (district).

Each month, a different Power assumes control of the International bezirk. During July, the French administered, with the USSR, US, and British following in that order. In addition to the Austrian police, five colorful International patrols, each consisting of one military policeman from each of the four Powers, police the city. Inspections of the patrols rotate daily among officers of the four Powers.

Tactical Command

Tactical troops of U.S. Forces in Austria are commanded by a Headquarters appropriately named "Tactical Command." Tactical training in USFA begins on the squad and platoon level, working up to combined American and British or French maneuvers. Austria's topography is sufficiently varied to permit training of troops in all types of terrain.

Exercise REBOUND in the summer of 1951 taught infantrymen of USFA how to operate in hot weather on terrain that is fairly level with some rolling hills. During Exercise MULE TRAIN in the French Zone of Austria last fall, USFA infantrymen doubled as mountain troops. Exercise AVALANCHE held this spring in the mountainous Arlberg area of Austria, gave USFA's ski troops a taste of rugged winter warfare in mountains as high as two miles with 20 feet of snow. USFA's artillerymen learned to get their big guns over almost impassable roads and dug-in, surrounded by walls of snow. Other combined French-American and British-American maneuvers instruct USFA's troops in the geographical details of Austria and Southern Germany. These joint maneuvers also give American men and officers practical experience in coordinating their actions with other Allied powers in Austria.

River Crossing Exercises

Other tactical training consists of problems and exercises similar to those taught the soldier in the United States. Because of the many mountain streams and rivers in Austria, river crossing exercises are an integral part of the USFA soldier's training. For unit firing exercises up to company-level, USFA tactical troops practice fire and movement on the maneuvering area at Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Just as in the United States, training is a continuous process in Austria. Training on an individual basis is done by requiring a certain percentage of the command to attend schools, operated by USFA. The Tactical Command NCO Academy graduates a class of intensively-trained soldiers every eight weeks. USFA personnel also may take advantage of the high standard of teaching offered in various Army schools throughout the European Command. The USFA Troops Information and Education program presently is engaged in educating the soldier with courses designed to improve his skill in military occupation.