GAINS .NEW.ALLY -- THE COMBAT BEDBUG
President Johnson has been: moving from success to success in putting together an "Allied" front in Vietnam. The list includes a quarter of a million U.S. troops, Ky's conscripts and puppet forces, some .23,00Q mercenaries from South Korea, a token contingent from Australia and New Zealand, plus declarations of sympathy from such statesmen, aS Prime Minister Wilson. - ee
“Do! ‘this imposing list has ‘now ‘been added an unstated number of bedbugs mobilized and trained by the Pentagon after much thought and effort... __ oes a: “In ‘a. special dispatch from. Washington, published in tie June 6 issue of the authoritative New York Times, William Béecher ~ provides details about the gain in forces which Commander=in-Chief Johnson now has at. Ais disposal for deployment in Vietnam, . o
"Pentagon weapons experts agree that probably. the. ‘mdst ‘perplexing problem in Vietnam is trying to find the enemy," he writes: Serious thought has béen given to using Geyman police dogs: or ‘ploddhounds. But if they were "let loose in the jungle to seek out hidden soldiers, it would be nearly impossible for their handlers to keep them haa sight. "
“the army is working on a small radio” device to. “Pit: on the dog's collar, enabling the handler to follow the signal. But “dogs are considered a great delicacy in Vietnam and there is a real question how long they would ast. once out of sight of the handler -even with the homing device.
This is where the ‘latest. ‘recruits to the Allied cause in Vietnan . Come. in.
"Since bedbugs det out: a’ Syowl! of excitement ‘when they” sense the nearness of human ‘flesh, “scientists at the Army's Limited War Laboratory in Aberdeen, Md., are working to perfect a sound amplification system that will make the insects' cries audible to human ears.
phe ‘combat’ bedbug, a particulatly large and noisy species =< about the size of a man's thumbnail, is carried in a special Capes sule that allows him to’ smeil out a man about two blocks to’ the. front or ,sides but not the trooper carrying hin.
"A small scouting party ‘could, theoretically at least, precede a large body of troops along a jungle path and smell out any attempts at ambush." The bedbug "would be used to sound the alarm when guerrilla forces bent on ambush moved into position along the jungle trail."
Beecher reports that some Pentagon officials remain unenthusiastic about the new ally. "They are afraid it might be too
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troublesome to keep thé bedbugs both healthy and hungry."
This reaction hardly reflects experience in the field. It sounds more like the carping criticism of Washington desk men, little acquainted with the combat bedbug in a practical way. ;
It could be, however,” ‘that: they have available confidential CIA reports that cast doubt on the anti-Communist firmness of* the insect. In view of the uncertain political climate in Viétnam, the” . appearance of undesirable mutations is not excluded. This could prove to be disconcerting aif not dangerous. ©
The sudden rise of a guerrilla bedbug, for instance; might’ not be noticed until it was too late -- when they turned and bit the hand holding the capsule. The resulting “yowL” could reveal the American. presence, to, “the Vietcong.
Despite the lack of enthusiasm among a minority of the: $ep: American brass, we are glad to note that the qualities of the police dog and the bloodhotind have been: discovered to extend not only to. a good many bipeds , like the types in green berets, but also to a’® _ genus of insect, although one. it should. be observed, > Long. associ-~ ated, with man. .
In any case, the Pentagon strategists are to be congratulated for their success. in proving once again that politics makes strange bedfellows. a