CVE LEO
DRAFT LETTER TO OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
MARSHALL ISLANDS RESEARCH VESSEL
The Atomic Energy Commission has a continuing responsibility for
severa) scientific efforts fn the Marshall Islands.
Included are
the program for biomedical surveillance of several groups of
Marshallese, the operation of the Enfwetok Marine Biological Laboratory, radiological surveys of Eniwetok and Bikini, and other sup-
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port to the rehabilitation efforts at those Atolls.
Many of these
efforts are conducted jointly with elements of the Department of
Defense.
For some years, the Coamission has been fortunate in
having avaflable the very fine cooperation and support of the U. S.
Arny's Kwajalein Missile Range in pursuit of {ts Marshall Islands
efforts.
With few exceptions, however, our programs have been de-
pendent upon the Trust Territory field trip vessels for inter-atoll
transportation, and thus have been subject to the frustrations and
excessive costs resulting from random and unreliable scheduling.
To enhance the effectiveness of our scientific efforts and to provide them a better level of support, the Comefssion's Nevada Operations Office has undertaken preliminary planning for the acquisition,
outfitting, maintenance and operation of a vessel to be dedicated
to AEC program needs.... Current consideration contemplates an LCUtype vessel with podular fitting-out for each of its several tasks
by means:‘of: a family of ‘semitrailers in a variety of laboratory
configurations. nO
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