Operation Buster-Jangle, Nevada Proving Grounds, October - November 1951, Staff Reports

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY This document consists of 46 pages No.J_ 5 205 copies. Series TA Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Los Alamos, New Mexico

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Part I—Personnel and Administration 5 RECEPTION OF PERSONNEL 6 TRAVEL AND HOTEL RESERVATIONS 7 MAIL AND RECORDS 8 SHOT AREA CONTROL . 9 OFFICE SPACE AND EQUIPMENT . 12 SUMMARY OF COSTS, BUSTER-JANGLE Part II—Plans and Operations 3 ORGANIZATION OF THE SECTION......................................................................................18

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY 6.3 Radiological Safety and Health 6.4 Special Instructions for Each Shot 6.5 Firing Party Plan 9 JOINT ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER STAFF SECTIONS Part III—Engineering and Construction Part III—Engineering and Construction 2 Frenchman Flat Area............................................. 4 Control Point Area............................................. 6 Yucca Flat Area...................................................... 8 Station Layout, Area 7.................................... 9 Trench-Layout, Trough Details for Coax Line Ditch

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION The principal functions of the J-l Section during Operation Buster-Jangle were personnel administration of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) staff and the supporting techni cal organizations, coordination with the AEC regarding camp operations and contractor support of the test organization, and accounting for all personnel prior to each test. Presented here is a summary of J-l activities, including a review of significant problems with suggestions and The personnel strength is presented in the following tabulation: *Support units include Radiological Safety (Rad-Safe), Weather, Special Phe nomena, Strike Aircraft, Assembly, and Documentary Photography. Of the sup port units personnel, 228 were quartered at Indian Springs Air Force Base. ^Not included in this tabulation are AEC personnel and personnel of construc tion, operation, and maintenance contractors. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY VJT 3 SALARY AND SUBSISTENCE POLICY 1. Military organizations adopted a 54-hr maximum work week for civil service employees and used their normal policy on subsistence payments, which provides $9 per day for the first 30 days of temporary duty and $7 per day thereafter. 2. The Santa Fe Operations Office (SFOO) adopted a 48-hr work week and recommended that SFOO contractors and other organizations do the same. In accordance with this recommen dation LASL started operations on a 48-hr week for exempt employees, but experience proved that the longer hours actually worked, as well as unsatisfactory living conditions, justified additional compensation, and a special compensation equal to 30 per cent of base salary was authorized in addition to the 48-hr salary for all time spent at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Employees at the site for less than 14 days did not receive the special compensation. LASL nonexempt employees were paid for hours actually worked. 3. The costs of subsistence and quarters at the site were set by AEC at $3 per day for meals and $0.50 per night for quarters, and AEC adopted a subsistence allowance of $6 per day with the recommendation that other employers use a similar figure. Except for the military organizations, employers in the test group adopted the $6 per diem. 4. In general, there was little uniformity in the policies of various employers concerning extra compensation and subsistence payments. Within the limits imposed by general policies of the several employers, an effort should be made for future operations to establish a measure of uniformity in the additional compensation received by civilians and in the subsistence al lowance to all personnel. The mess policy was originally designed to meet the requirements of camp operations during the construction period. A charge of $3 per day for meals was paid by the employer for each employee, and no allowance was made for meals not taken. Transients were charged $1.00 for breakfast, $1.25 for lunch, and $1.50 for dinner. Upon the arrival of the test groups, it was proposed that weekly meal tickets be issued at the rate of $3 per day, with no allowance made if meals were missed. Individuals would have the alternative of buying meals at the transient rate of $3.75 per day. Because of the irregular working hours and the necessity of frequent trips away from the site, it was not practical for test group personnel to buy meals a week at a time, and, on the other hand, it seemed unjust to penalize test personnel by charging a higher rate for meals, especially since the subsistence allowance had been determined on the basis of a $3 per day cost of meals. Only after much discussion, involving top management, was the meal rate changed to a set sum of $ 1 per meal. The effort and time involved in estab lishing a satisfactory charge for meals illustrate once again the necessity of coordination be tween the Field Manager and the Test Director’s staff before policies are established. 5 RECEPTION OF PERSONNEL A reception office for the weapons development and effects tests groups was established early in the operation to handle personnel records, housing assignments, instructions to person nel regarding issuance of bed linen, payment of subsistence and quarters, etc. The wide sepa ration of other offices for personnel administration, passes, housing assignments, payment for quarters, and linen issue proved inconvenient and inefficient during Operation Buster-Jangle. All these matters could and should be handled in a centralized office. It is therefore recom mended that for future operations a reception office be established in one centrally located building which will perform all functions concerned with reception of personnel, issuance of passes, assignment of quarters, and collection of charges for subsistence and quarters. If a central office for the issuance of bed linen and blankets is proposed, it should be either in the BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY same building as these offices or in an adjoining building. However, it is suggested that a barracks control system, making use of the barracks attendants, be established to relieve personnel of the duty of checking out and returning bed linen and blankets. The centralized and consolidated office would, of necessity, be staffed with one or more individuals from each of the various organizations concerned. During Operation Buster-Jangle the organizations represented would have been (1) the AEC Field Manager’s office, (2) the Test Director’s office, (3) the Military Effects Test [Special Weapons Command (SWC)] office, and (4) Haddock Engineers Ltd. and Associates, camp management and collections. The advantages of the consolidated reception office would be manifold: (1) All personnel, except the construction and camp management personnel, would be processed upon arrival and departure in one building without the inconvenience of visiting five widely separated offices. (2) Centralized records would be kept and would be available for all groups concerned, thus eliminating duplication of records by each group. (3) The reliability of such records would be greatly increased through unified administration of personnel. 6 TRAVEL AND HOTEL RESERVATIONS Most hotel and travel reservations for the Test Director’s staff and weapons development personnel were made by the J-l office. The Haddock office in Las Vegas was of great assist ance with reservations in that city. The AEC Field Manager’s office has suggested that the AEC handle the entire reservation service, including travel on military aircraft. It would be advantageous if the reservation bureau could be included in the centralized personnel office recommended, for two reasons: (1) All matters related to arrival or departure would be handled in one office, and (2) military orders for travel on military aircraft would be cut in the same office used by the travel reservation clerk. 7 MAIL AND RECORDS An official mail and records office was established in the J-l Section to handle the corre spondence of the technical groups. Personal mail was likewise handled by J-l. With the establishment of an official branch of the United States Post Office at NTS, much of this ac tivity can be turned over to the AEC’s post office. Since the handling of both official and per sonal mail of the weapons development and effects tests groups is somewhat involved, it is recommended that detailed planning for the establishment of a ceitralized post office be co ordinated with the J-l Section to ensure that the various problems of the official and personal mail for the test group will be resolved prior to the next operation. 8 SHOT AREA CONTROL Control of personnel in the test area on —1 days was handled by the J-l Section. A check point at the entrance to the danger area was established, and all entrances and departures were recorded, beginning on the morning of shot day -1. This control, together with patrols of the area, ensured that no personnel would be left in the danger area. The AEC Security Service established a post at the same location as J-l’s check point to limit entrance to the area to authorized persons as indicated by the badge. It is believed that the security and personnel control functions can be consolidated, and the entire operation can be performed by the Security Service in the future. Moreover, better use can be made of the identification badge in facilitating the muster and control of personnel. These possibilities will be discussed by J-l and the AEC Field Manager’s security staff. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY The number of persons in the test area for the 12 hr preceding a test was limited to those having functions which could not be performed earlier. The security guard at the control station was given a list of persons authorized entry after approximately—12 hr. Such a list was prepared by consultation with test groups and approved by the Deputy Test Director. Access lists were prepared by J-l for the first Buster test and thereafter by J-2. Inasmuch as the J-2 position in future operations is undetermined and since J-l maintains close liaison with all test groups during operations, it is recommended that J-l assume responsibility for the co ordination and preparation of access lists for future operations. 9 OFFICE SPACE AND EQUIPMENT Requirements for office space and equipment were determined by J-l in consultation with the test groups. In addition to the Control Point (CP and Rad-Safe buildings, four Quonsets were requisitioned at the base camp. Lists of equipment were furnished to the AEC, and J-l supervised the placing of equipment upon arrival. Deliveries were delayed, and much equip ment arrived late for Operation Buster-Jangle, but, since it is planned to re in furniture and other items at the site, this problem should not be so serious in the future. J-l will determine requirements of the test groups in future tests and will work with the Field Manager to supply adequate space and equipment. During test operations personnel are required to be on duty at all hours. It is imperative that reasonably quiet sleeping quarters be provided. The present barracks have proved un usually noisy. To alleviate this situation it is recommended that the walls and doors of the rooms be extended to the floor and ceiling. It is also recommended that full-sized mattresses be supplied •' all beds in the barracks. Likewise the use of short or abbreviated sheets should be discontinued, fleets furnished during Operation Buster-Jangle merely covered the mattresses and did not tuck in adequately for Planning for special services, recreation han, post exchange, theater, etc., was late in getting under way for Operation Buster-Jangle. Lack of liaison, coordination, and early plan ning resulted in inadequate provisions for these facilities at the test site. Test personnel are now spending from 3 to 8 months per year in the field. It is imperative for good morale that adequate facilities be made available for recreation. Specific recom mendations for Operation Tumbler-Snapper are as follows: 1. A 35-mm theater should be set up. 2. PX facilities should be expanded; lack of magazines, pocket books, and toilet articles was most noticeable during Operation Buster-Jangle. 3. A recreation building, free from camp operations and services, should be set up to provide a library, writing facilities, and a game room. This building would also be available for briefings, visitor indoctrination, etc. 4. Recreation planning should be coordinated with the Test Director prior to building and establishing these facilities. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY 12 SUMMARY OF COSTS, BUSTER-JANGLE Through November 1951 to completion to completionlocated 15 October 1951

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PLANS AND OPERATIONS A report of the activities of the Plans and Operations Section of the Test Director’s staff is presented here. The purpose of this report is to record the responsibilities of the Sectioc. and the discharge of these responsibilities; the recommendations for improvement of the methods employed; and general recommendations for planning, operations, and administratfoc in future test operations. Detailed treatment, as appropriate, of the various topics listed in Sec. 2 makes up the major part of this r< The activities of the Plans and Operations Section of the Test Director’s staff fall into ne following general categories: 1. Preparation (in conjunction with J-l Section) of (a) the Administrative Order, (b) the chart of organization of the test organization, (c) the security procedure in conjunction with AEC, and (d) Control Point (CP) organization. 2. Determination and publication of program and project participation. 3. Establishment of a system of status report^. 4. Determination of operational requirements: (a) vehicular and (b) aircraft. 5. Determination of communications requirements: (a) line, (b) radio, and (c) frequency. 6. Determination of support requirements: (a) Radiological Safety (Rad-Safe) and (b) pho 7. Allocation and management of vehicles assigned to the Test Director’s organization. 8. Coordination of test requirements with Special Weapons Command (SWC): (a) deter mination of test requirements and transmission to SWC and (b) scheduling of special planes and helicopter flights. 9. Preparation of operation plans, orders, and annexes thereto, as follows: (a) basic pin. 10. Preparation of a firing party plan. 11. General supervision of the execution of plans and operation orders and their annexes. 12. Coordination of operations with Rad-Safe. 13. Representation of the Test Director in detailed planning and execution of operations pertaining to test activities. 14. Establishment of liaison with the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA). 15. Preparation in cooperation with the Field Manager’s representative of the communi cations plan for the Nevada Test Site (NTS), including a frequency-allocation chart.

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY 3 ORGANIZATION OF THE SECTION The Plans and Operations Section consisted of six personnel, including the group leader of J-3, the group secretary, a Navy lieutenant assigned to J-3, one Air Force major on tempo rary duty from SWC, and two military clerks. Except for the clerical personnel, all were present at the site throughout the operation. Recommendations. The J-Division Plans and Operations Section at NTS should con sist of at least one civilian staff member and two officers, at least one of whom should be ex perienced in test operations. Two full-time clerks are required, at least one of whom should be male and should not be restricted regarding working hours. For tests involving extensive military participation, the Section may be augmented by a few military officers on loan from SWC for plane participation and from the military organi zation conducting the military effects tests. A system of status reports was instituted by a letter, SD-9860, dated 26 July 1951. These reports were required on the first and fifteenth of …