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- BEST COPY AVAILABLE 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 REPOSITORY COLLECTION ay ge ul } “SF l Jf OT gy 1é A BOX No. FOLDER