e. Requirement.were underestimatedand it waa neoeeaary to
resort to air lift towards the end. The eleotric wire estimate was rood,
but owing to slow delivery improti.sation
and substitutionwas required.
6. Supply Difficultiesat Kwajalein
a.

(1) The first supply diffioultyat the site lsyindetermin-

ing who was supposed to reoeive materials off the ships. There were three
constructionagencies, Navy Public Works, the Byrnes Organization,and
Joint Task Force oonatructionpersonnel, all receiting material from the
same @hips. Much of this material, particularly lunber, lost its identitv
the minute it was lifted out of the hold - even more so if’ it had to be
lightered - and there was then no definite way of determining at dock-uide
to whom it ohould be sent.
(2) Thio dif’fioul~ can be avoided by more extensivemarking
prior to shipment. In the ease of lumber it is believed that the ends of
each pieoe should be painted a distinctive color for each consignee. This
was done in the Petrarca shipnent where contractor’s lumber is painted green
and ours red.
b.

Inadequate descriptions in shipping doc~ents and in lsally

sheets of the nontents of boxes ~rovided a problan. This necessitated
considerableopening of boxes to determine their oontents. Terminology-used
was too general, for example, “mess gear” might be anything from a stove to
a spoon.
c. The basio supply difficulty was the length of the pipe line.
‘fhiscannot be avoided although its effects o~

be ameliorated by careful

pre-planning. Navy and ATC were both helpi’ulin providing anything they
had whioh was needed.
Seotion XVI-A

15

Select target paragraph3