CHAPTER3
MOBILIZATION: 1974 - 1978
ENEWETAK CAMP REHABILITATION: 1974 - 1976
Before cleanup operations could begin it was necessary
to prepare base
camps for the cleanup forces and to mobilize the requir
ed manpower and
materiel. The military base at Enewetak Atoll had been
placed in caretaker
Status in 1968 by the USAF Space and Missile Test Center (SAMT
EC). By |
ere
January 1974, when the atoll was transferred to
the Defense Nuclear
Agency (DNA), the facilities at the main base camp
on Enewetak Island
required extensive rehabilitation before they could be
used to support a
significant work force.
Operation and maintenance of the Enewetak
Camp had been
accomplished for SAMTECby a contractor, Management
and Technical
Services Company, Inc. (MATSCO). The contract covere
d only minimum
essential life-support systems for a small contractor
force which
maintained a nominal presence on the atoll. The contrac
t was transferred
to Field Command, DNA, which continued it in effect
until a more
dynamic base support system could be developed and finance
d. The Fiscal
Year (FY) 1974 operating funds transferred to
DNA by the Air Force
barely covered the caretaker contract costs. The Air Force
had agreed to
accomplish essential repairs to the runway but had not
budgeted for repair
or replacement of other facilities, such as the water
distillation and
electrical power systems, which were on the
verge of collapse.! Fietd
Command promptlyinitiated several actions to rehabilitate
these essential
facilities (Figure 3-1 and 3-2).
In June 1974, four excess 800-kilowatt diese] generators were
obtained
from Kwajalein Missile Range to replace the turbine genera
tors the
Atomic Energy Commission hadinstalled at Enewetak followi
ng Typhoon
Olga. These were installed by the Corps of Engineers,
Pacific Ocean
Division (POD), and their contractor, American Electric Co.
The
replacement generators provided far more reliable power than
the turbines
though they used half as much fuel. The first of several
new water
distillation units was procured and installed to replace obsole
te and
unserviceable units. Since the communications system was a
mixture of
U.S. Navy and commercial equipment, Fick) Command obtained bout
V.9. Navy and factory assistance in repairing and replacing compon
ents.
These actions were financed by FY 1974 DNA Operat
ions and
Maintenance (O&M) funds. FY 1975 O&M funds were request
ed for
additional projects, including repair of the electrical distribution
system
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