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Declassified record · U.S. Department of Energy

Note by the Secretary, Subject: Information Plan for Operation Ivy (Encl: Staff Study Public Inforamtion Plan - Operation Ivy; Press Release, Subject: JTF132 to Conduct Test Series at Enewetak)

Dated
Oct 24, 1952
Document type
Aec staff papers/reports; report
Length
11 pages
Open the original scanArchive record OSTI ID 16382349 · public domain

Document text

Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.

Page 1

INFORMATION PLAN FOR OPERATION WY Note by the Secretary 1. Attached for the information,of the Commission is an information plm for 03er2tion IVY. The Plan has the concurrence of the Division of Militzry Application and Information Services ?.ndthe Office of Classification, and the Department of Defense Office of Public .Information. 2, The Division of Information Services has advised that the attached plsn conforms in all respects with’the September 1’7, 1952 directi~reof the Nztional Security Council, and has been approved by the staff of JTF-132 and submitted to the Commander, JTF-132 for his approval. DISTRIBUTION COPY NO. DISTRIBUTION COPY NO. Santa Fe Operations 29 - 31

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PUBLIC INFORMATION PLAN 1. Determinatiofiof policy and.procedure for the handllng of inquiries and ?ublic ?mouncements relatlve to the IVY test c. The handling cf Dress inquiries. including FACTS BEARING ON THE PROBLEM 2. Public information released on Operations SANDSTONE and GREENHOUSE inclucied: 4.. Two joint AEC-DOD announcements concerning plans for the tests. 5. A joint AEC-D02 announcement of completion of the test series. c. A post-operation press conference by the D. A publicly releasable film. 3. Agencies concerned in the clearance of public information msttter in SANDSTONE and (GRSZN1{OUSEwere: 11. The Atomic Energy Commission. B. The Department of Defense.

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Januarv 1950. the President directed the Atomic Energy Commission to proceed tiithz determination of the feasi.- billty of construction of a so-czlled H-Bomb in the interest of 5. Two announcements have keen released jointly by AEC-DOD concerning Operation IVY: Plans for z new test series and the organizatlo~”of JTF-132 were announced on 18 February 1952. B. Plans for the tests to be held, “in the autu~ ment of c.tGrfiicweapcns” were anr,ouncedon 9 September 6, There has been spc?adically hezvy press speculation on the IVY tests, centcrlng principally upon the possibilit.lesof 7* Preliminary efforts at f’orrnulationof a plan for the release of public information for Operation 1V% resulted in the early realization that fin~l.determination of a plan would be made at a government level higher than that at which the information plans for previous oper~tions were resolved. This conclusifinwas lxsed upon the kelief tkzt the outcome of the thermonuclear experiment Liill. exert greater irnps.ctupon U.S. Foreign P.clations~nd Domestic Opinion than the results of pre8. The National Secur<ty Coancil, acting on a detailed ~... study conducted by Zn Ad Xoc Pcnel of the Psychological StrategY Board, ztioptedthe following course for the release of information on Operztion IVY: A. Aside from the two announcements previously issued by AEC-DOD on Operation IVY, no additional information will be released prior to the tests. be issued by the Cklaim:r!.nof the LEC ~ m ann=cement is deemed neczssary as & result of heavy rumor or speculation In the United States, or of foreign powers detecting tiletest and commenting upon it. completion of the test program will be issued by the Chairr.anof the Atomic Energy Commission. D. There wL1l he no press conference following

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c1,. In the interests of preserving the security oj’informatj-on,steps snou>d be taken to Insare that Official Observers afid A: The Security Acknowledgment Stztement for Official Observers should include a“resumei of the information plan, inclctiingcopies of the two previously-issued announcements. This guidance in public information mstters should be delivered to the observer sir,ultmeously with his original nctificztion of selection. Personnel should ‘oedisseminated within the task force prior to completion of the tests, in the (1) The gener:’.lplan for release of information to be aisseml.na~edto Task Group Commanders and to Key Officer Per- (2) A letter from the Coinmc.nder,JTF-132, list of subjects for d~sc~~~ion of the operaPersormel has ‘oeenplmne~ m 2 limited basis for key JTF-132 Hesdquzmters and subardin?.teTask GPOUP Personnel. Bec2use of it appesrs prudznt to keep this progrzm on a limited bzsis,. vJill terminate after completion of the IVY Tests and before the 11. The rclezse of’~r,otographsor motion pictures of Operation IVY h?.snot been zpproved and will not be anticipated 12. During the per;od when the JTF-132 Public Information Officer is in the test zrez, AEC, by zgreement with the task force, will zppoint an information officer to act for JTF-132 on IVY decisions, has indicz.teclthat it will: (I) Only if necesscry, issue jointly with DOD, m announcement.on the MIKE shot.

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(3) Act as agent for the clearance of (4) Apprise CJTF-132 of plans for all annou~cer,entsOP the IVY tests, including (1) l:hendeemed appropriate as a result of unforeseen circumstances or events, make recommendations to AEC for modification or (3) Apprise Key JTF-132 Officers of the ment Statement for offici~l Observers, a

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ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION INMEDIATE RELEASE Washington 25, D.C. NO. 180-52 FEBRUARY 18, 1952 LI 5-6700 Ext. 53201 TESTS AT ENrJETOK PROVING GROUNDS \ Commission announced today thzt preparations for a new series of tests at the Co,mmissionlsEniwetok Proving Grounds are being carried out by Joint T%sk Force 132. Full secur:ty restrictions of the Atomic Energy Act aPPIY to preparations for znd zime of the test. Joint TJsk Force 132, composed of personnel of the AFC, Dep’utyCommander, Cnited Scstes Army Forces in the Pacific, is Dr. Alvin C. Graves, Director of tileTest Division for the Los who commanded ground forces during the 1951 test operations at Generzl Clarkson served zs Deputy Commander of Joint Task Force 3 during the 1951 Eniwetok tests. He became Commander of Joint Task Force 132 in July 1951. He is c native of San Antonio, majored in Electrical Engineering. General Clarkson entered the Army at the outbreak of ‘Jol’ldiiarI. Most of his service in World War 11 was in the ?z.cific,where he \iasCommander of the ~3rd Infantry Division, later Commander of the X Corps and also served as Deputy Chief of St:lffto General MacArthur. At Eniwetok, construction m~intenar,ceand improvement of facilities are performed by Iiolr.~esznd Narver, Los iingeles engineering and construction firm, under a contract with the Atomic Energy Commission.

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION FOR RELEASE AT 1900 lHOURS,EDT, 9 SEPTEMBER 1952 The Department of Defense and the f~tomicEnergy Commission today a.nnoumcedJoint Task Force 132 will conduct tests in the autumn months of this year looking toward the development of atomic weapons.,... The tests will be held Gt the Commissionts Pacific Proving Grotindson Eniwetok ;!tollof the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. They will be conducted under full security provisions of the ;.tomicEnergy Act. Only official observers of the United Stztes government ?.ntimer,lbersof the,task force will be present ?t the tests. The organiz~tion of Joint Tzsk Force

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IVY INFORMATION PLf,N- LETTER TO ALL JTF-132 PERSONNEL SUBJECT: Discussion of Operation IVY Outside Joint Task Force TO: All JTF-1~2 Personnel 1. It is natural that upon return to your normal duty stations >1OGwill be questlonetiby friends, relatives, acqtiai tances and possibly by me~Lbers of the ppess, all of whom will want to knovrL%There>-o’&were, whzt yoLl were doing or what you saw out here. Their cur~osi.tywill probably be ~roused by 1 rumors and speculation in the newsgcpers on what we did here.‘. By the time you return, ariofficial :.nnouncementwill probzbly have been made in Wzzhington telling the public that we conduc atomic tests and thz.cthey have been completed; but no other information will be nc.depublic. AS you know, the tests which we conducted were held under the full restrictions of the Atom Energy Act of 1946, ?ublic Law #5~5. This law was enacted to protect the atomic sccrecs of our country from falling into th hands of unfriefidlypowe?s, and hea~’ypenalties can be imposed upon persons who viol~te the provisions of the ‘lcw. In the Interests of our country’s security, then, ‘~iemust all be very careful to guard Wh>te’derV:eknoti,mcl to prevent any informa 2. Following 1s a krief guide which will assist you in discussion of our operatior.after its f conclusion with person A. You are authorized to stzte the following: (1) That you were assigned to JTF-132, which conducted atomic tests in the Pacific at Eniwetok (2) Your meti]odof transportation, your itinerar to and from Eniwetok, but not your official movement during the operation. — (3) That you witnessed =n atomic test, but not how many if you szw more thzn one. (~) How long youwcre away. (5) Names cf friends and unofficial ?.ctivities, scch as recreation, vacztion travel, ch~rch activity

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B. You me not atithorizedto discuss any subjects not included a-oove,aridparticularly not the following: (1) Preparation for the tests. (3) Physical characteristics of the tests, includLng size of the flash, size of the cloud, damage, precautions for personnel protection,etc. (4) Zxact dc.teor t$me of any test. (5) That ycu were evacuated or any informa- (6) Numbers of ships, planes, or types of equipment, either fiiobileor stztionzry, used

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IVY INFORMATION PLQN - LETTER TO KEY PERSONNEL SUBJECT: Public Information For Operation IVY Liaison Officers, Chiefs, J-Divisions 1. The Nztional Security Council has approved the follo ing plan for the release of information on the IVY Tests: be issued jointly by !,EC-DOD,if deemed necessary as a result of w;des?re~d rumor or speculc.tionin the United Stctes, or if a foreign power has detected B. Following “KING” Shot, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission will issue ~.nannouncement on con~letion of the test progrcm. and represents the sum tot~.1of effort to be made on public reporting of the tests. 3. As indicated in the plan, pu’olicstatements by memb of Joint Tssk Force 132 h:lvenot been authorize. All a.nnou medts will be coordinctetiwith JTF-132, but will be rele~sed AEC or DOD, or both. 4. At a.later date, a letter will be prepared by this hezidqtiartersfor distribution to all personnel, outlining the limits of discussion of Operation IVY ootside the Tzsk Force. Eriefly, care must be exercised by all gersonnel to insure th public comment is restricted to the substance of official 5. The text of all official announcements will be trms mitted to YOU as early 2s possible and if feasible, Prior to

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Unfriendly powers ai”ecapzble of interfering compromising, Operation IVY by espionage, sabotage action including observzt~on or rzids by vessel or Concentrated on the small Eniwetok Atoll are of dollars worth cf the very latest znd most secret atomic devices and equipment, plus many of the nation!s key Etomic scientists. Your arrival in the test arez will further intration of taler,tin the test area. Operation IVY is one of the most importz.ntmd hl:hly guzrded classified laboratory Forei&n gov:ers m:.y be expected to have zgents in the United Stztes and Hawaii. ‘Thetdentity of offlc~al observer groups, their itineraries or other information on their movements or actions could contribtitcto the compromising of the,.+ion ~.lsocOnstitLtessec>urityof the tests. ?ress SP5CUAL:. a definite security thre:fiif l:nowledgeof observer movements To safeguard secur~ty of iriformationand to serve the interests of ?JnltedStztes intermtional relations, the N2tional Security Council has specif?eu that after September 9, 1952, no public statements shell be issuetinor background information furnished to correspondents or other uncle~red persons. After completion of the sei’iesc brief announcement zpproved by the N~tional Security Council will be the only official statement issued on the tests. For your information, co~ies of two press relezses on this operation are attached. They constit~te the only official information which k,~sbeen rele?.sedon Operation IVY. All other news articles were unofficial and purely speculative. All other information given you in connection with your invitation should be considered ~.sclassified security information. It is especi~lly imp?r~ti.~etl-.ztthe time of test be kept secret. I hereby certify tnzt I hz.verezd the above and am fullY par. 5, of the Ir.forma-