CHAPTER Ill, SECTION 6

SECTION 6
SECURITY
GENERAL

Atomic Energy Commission, Los Angeles Secur-

The security requirements for OPERATION CASTLE were essentially the same as
those established for OPERATIONS GREENHOUSE and IVY. The Contractor’s Security

Liaison with governmental agencies, both
local and national, resulted in the execution of
a tighter security program than would other-

Department was responsible for formulating
policies and implementing procedures on a company-wide basis to insure compliance with ex-

isting Atomic Energy Commission security directives, and for safeguarding the mission of the
Proving Ground by educating employees in
security consciousness.

Reporting to the General Manager, the

Holmes & Narver Chief Security Officer was responsibile for all phases of the security program,
both in the Home Office and at Jobsite, and
was aided in carrying out this responsibility by
an Assistant Security Officer.
A full-time Holmes & Narver Security
Officer, reporting functionally to the Project
Manager, and technically to the Chief Security
Officer, was assigned to the Pacific Proving
Ground and was responsibile for the security

of all Holmes & Narveractivities at the forward
area. The Chief Security Officer, however, was
responsible for selecting qualified Security personnel, properly indoctrinating them, and providing complete and comprehensive material
relative to Security procedures and processes.
As the

Operation

progressed,

two

Assistant

Security Officers were assigned to the Jobsite
Security Officer; one at Bikini Atoll and one at
Eniwetok Atoll.
The Honolulu Office Manager was selected
as the Security Representative for Hawaiian
Island activities. Although he reported to the
Chief of Operations, technical guidance in security matters was provided by the Security
Officer and his staff.

All personnel clearances were processed and

all identification media were produced in the

Home Office Security Department. Every ap-

ity Branch, for security clearances.

wise have been possible.

Information secured

from these various sources proved to be of spe-

cial value in the personnel security program. The
favorable security record maintained by contractual people during the Operation was at-

tributable in large measure to the expeditious

processing and broad cooperation afforded to
Holmes & Narver by the Los Angeles Security
Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission.
Operational security arrangements in existence
prior to the commencement of OPERATION
CASTLE provided that AEC’s Los Angeles
Security Branch undertake the responsibility of
processing all Holmes & Narver employment

applicants under the personnel clearance program. The Los Angeles AEC Security Branch
also provided the Eniwetok Field Office with
security surveys of the various facilities and
premises of the Holmes & Narver Home Office.
PERSONNEL SECURITY
Because security is one of the most impor-

tant considerations in conducting an Operation,

every effort was made to employ only those

individuals who could be trusted not to disclose

classified information to unauthorized persons.
To accomplish this, each applicant was processed in accordance with AEC standards. There
were two basic types of clearances: the “P”

Approval, which authorized access up to and
including Secret-Defense Information, NonRestricted Data; and the “Q’ Clearance, which

authorized access to information classified Restricted Data, as defined in the Atomic Energy
Act of 1946. The “P’”’ Approval was predicated

upon the results of a name and fingerprint check
of the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other national agencies, as applicable.
The “Q” Clearance was granted upon the results of an exhaustive background investigation

plicant processed was photographed and fingerprinted. The Security Department prepared all
identification forms, cards, and badges as well
as requests to the Port Control Director, Long
Beach Naval Station, for the issuance of Gov-

which was conducted by either the FBI or the
Civil Service Commission.

Department, was used as a basis for obtaining

so urgently needed that the Operation would

ernment travel orders. Pre-employment information, provided by the Industrial Relations
a limited non-governmental background inves-

tigation. In addition, Security was responsible

for maintaining, coding, and disseminating all
derogatory information received, and for pre-

paring all papers which accompanied the Per-

sonnel Security Questionaires submitted to the
Page 3-32

There were a few deviations from basic
clearance mechanics. Wherelittle, if any, access
to classified information would be had by a
potential employee, and where his services were
suffer without them, provisions were made to
grant the applicant either a Local “P” Approval
or a “Q” Emergency Clearance. The Local “P”’
Approval was based on the results of a name
check of local law enforcement and Federal Agencies and could be obtained only if the appli-

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