This series consists of index card size photographs with information identifying the image on the reverse. The cards reference and document military service combat and non-combat activities, equipment, installations and facilities, aircraft, ships, arms and ammunition, military personnel and other noted individuals, military units, military art, military life, and training from 1982 to 1991. Along with a photographic quality pictorial reproduction, each index card contains the central-file photographic identification number assigned to the image (SDAN), local or service identification number when known, source of the image if other than Department of Defense (DoD), date of the image, name of the photographer when known, and a complete caption.
Of the 19 subject categories the index is divided into, there are a number that provide specific references to subjects relating to the activities of the Department of Defense and the military services between 1982 and 1991. Under the subject heading "Aerodynamics", references to and images of the many types of aircraft employed by the military services, as well as foreign aircraft abound. Images of balloons and airships, attack aircraft, bombers, tankers and transports, fighters, trainers, observation planes, special duty aircraft, and helicopters are all filed under this subject category. Also filed under this heading are index cards pertaining to air facilities and bases, aircraft maintenance, and air operations.
U.S. military activity and participation in several United Nations peacekeeping actions in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Beirut, and other foreign locations are filed under the general category "Behavioral and Social Science". Also filed under this heading are cards for photographs of original artworks created by combat artists and other military service personnel, including images of artworks created by Vietnam prisoners of war.
The largest number of index cards are filed under the heading "Marine and Naval Stations, Bases and Facilities", possibly reflecting the fact that these records were managed by the U.S. Navy for the DoD for the entire time period covered by this accession. Under this heading, are index cards for bases and facilities, but more importantly this section provides an index to U.S. Navy ships and to a lesser extent those of the U.S Coast Guard and foreign navies. Virtually every type of naval vessel employed by the two services is indexed under this heading. Examples of the types of non-combat ships referenced are oceanographic vessels, ammunition ships, surveillance ships, surveying ships, missile range instrumentation ships, hospital ships, cargo vessels, oilers, repair ships, salvage ships (including the salvage ship USS Preserver ARS-8 used in the Space Shuttle Challenger recovery effort), sub tenders and a variety of tugboats. This heading is also where an assortment of fighting ships of the line of the U.S. Navy are indexed by type and numerically by hull number including the battleships (BB) USS Iowa, USS Missouri, USS New Jersey, and USS Wisconsin; the nuclear cruisers (CGN), USS Long Beach, USS Virginia, and USS Arkansas, and non-nuclear cruisers (CG), USS Oklahoma City, USS Leahy, USS Biddle, USS Ticonderoga, and USS Valley Forge; the aircraft carriers (CV and CVN) USS Yorktown, USS Coral Sea, USS Saratoga, USS Ranger, USS America, USS John F. Kennedy, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Theodore Roosevelt, and USS Abraham Lincoln; destroyers (DD) and guided missile destroyers (DDG) including the USS Radford, USS Ingersoll, USS Decatur, USS John Paul Jones, and USS McCain; frigates (FF) and guided missile frigates (FFG) such as the USS Shields, USS Glover, USS Puller, USS Reid, USS Carr, USS Simpson, USS James, and USS Davis; and, submarines (SS) and nuclear subs (SSN) including the USS Bluegill, USS Vallejo, USS Ohio, USS Nevada, USS Houston, USS Pittsburgh, USS Chicago, and USS Cheyenne. Also filed under this category are index cards for amphibious ships, assorted landing ships, counter measure ships, mine sweepers, a variety of patrol and assault crafts and boats, deep submergence rescue vehicles, mini-subs, and deep water drones. Foreign ships indexed include those from Algeria, Australia, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and several classes of ships from the Soviet Union and Great Britain.
National, foreign, and multinational joint military operations and exercises of all types are filed under the heading "Military Science". Some of the many U.S. military service joint operations indexed in this section are Bold Eagle, Combined Amphibious Landing Force Exercise (CALFEX), Gallant Eagle, Nomad Thrust, Ocean Venture, Opportune Journey, Prime Beef, Restore Hope (Somalia), Sharp Eagle (Liberia Evacuation), Solid Shield, and Urgent Fury (Grenada invasion). North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises include Baltic Operations (BALTOPS), Cold Winter, Distant Drum, Dragon Hammer 90, Northern Wedding, Ocean Safari, Oksboel, and Reforger, the multi-year NATO training exercise. Among the numerous multinational operations filed under this category are Bright Star, Ahaus Tara (U.S.-Honduras), Deny Flight (no-fly zone in Bosnia and Hercegovina), Fuerzas Unidas (U.S.-Bolivia), Granadero I (U.S.-Honduras), Kangaroo (U.S.-Australia), Kindle Liberty (U.S.-Panama), Maritime Combined Operational Train (MARCOT 93) between the United States and Canada, Provide Comfort (Kurdish Refugee operation), Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises (U.S.-Japan), Southern Watch (no-fly zone in Iraq), the multi-year U.S.-South Korea joint exercise, Team Spirit, and Unitas (multi-year exercise between U.S.-South American forces). There is also extensive coverage of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Two other significant subjects that are covered under the "Military Science" heading are military insignia, military personnel, and DoD and other U.S. government civilian personalities. There are cards for the insignia of military units of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Navy. Under military personnel are references to general officers, flag officers, and military and civilian personalities, both U.S. and foreign. Civilian personalities cited include Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan, as well as Secretaries of Defense John H. Lehman, Jr. and Casper Weinberger. Other subjects of interest filed under this heading are military birthdays, anniversaries, and other ceremonies (including the interment of the Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War), presidential inaugurations, military religious services, honor guards, and orientation and leadership training. Filed at the end of this main subject category under the heading "Naval Warfare - Persian Gulf", are several boxes of index cards that provide additional documentation of the Persian Gulf War.
References to weapons and weaponry used by U.S. forces are under the major heading "Ammunition and Explosives". Included here are citations to many types of ammunition, explosives, bombs, combat vehicles, tanks, weapon systems, anti-tank weapons, howitzers, grenade launchers, machine guns, mortars, pistols, rifles, shipboard guns and weapons, rockets, and underwater ordnance.
Indexed under "Organizations, Management, and Personnel" are images of military units, installations, and military career fields. There are visual reference cards for units of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, the Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, and foreign countries. Photographs of military installations are also featured in this series including air bases, arsenals, camps, depots, forts, naval bases, and the personnel and facilities of several military commands and organizations for each of the services. In addition, filed under this category are visual references pertaining to a variety of military career fields and specialties from data processing to flight engineer to drill instructor to pilot to yeoman.
The other main subject categories in this index are "Biological and Medical Sciences", "Earth Sciences", "Electronics", "Ground Transportation", "Materials", "Missile Technology", "Navigation", "Communication and Fire Control", "Physical Sciences", "Propulsion and Fuels", "Reprography", "Safety", "Emergency Procedures", "Disaster Procedures", and "Space Technology".
