COMMUNICATIONS

FACILIT

Communication facilities between the Home Office and the Project

were limited to air mail and teletype service. Airmail was carried by
military planes, being transshipped at several points. During the initial phases of the Project, there was no teletype equipment assigned to

Holmes & Narver, nor was there a radio circuit from Los Alamos to the

Project. It was agreed with CINCPAC that H & N messages would be accepted by the Terminal Island Naval Base, from which point they entered
the Naval Communication circuit and were transmitted from Long Beach to
the Joint Military Communication Center at Oahu, retransmitted to the
Army Communication Station on Eniwetok Island, and thence handcarried
to the Contractor's Resident Manager.

Because of security restrictions at that time, almost all coa-

munication traffic was classified and could not, therefore, be trans-

mitted from the Home Office to Terminal Island by telephone or commercial telegraph. It was necessary to send a security guard at least
once a day, and frequently twice a day, to the Terminal Island Naval

Base as a courier to take and receive the accumulated traffic.
system naturally extended the normal transmission interval.

This

In February 1950, the Terminal Island Naval Base was so reduced in

personnel that it became necessary to discontinue the handling of H & N
communication traffic. H & N was therefore directed to send and receive

messages through the Army Communication Center in Los Angeles, from

which point they were transmitted to the 6th Army Headquarters, San

Francisco, and thence through the Joint Communication Center, Oahu, as

before. This system required the utilization of messenger service between the Home Office and the Army Communication Center, Los Angeles.
In April 1950, a teletype machine was allocated toH&WN.

This

permitted the transmission of unclassified messages between the Home

Office and the 6th Army Headquarters, or between the Home Office and
the AEC Office at Los Alamos. This installation provided considerable
acceleration in unclassified traffic, but it continued to be necessary
that all classified traffic be handcarried to the Army Communication
Center.
"=

On June 30, 1950, a cryptographic machine was allocated to the

firm, and a direct radio link was established between the Santa Fe
Operations Office, Los Alamos and the Army Communication Center,

Enivetok. This permitted the transmission of all communications direct
from the H & N Home Office to Los Alamos and thence to Eniwetok. H & N

was also able to utilize this channel to any other agencies which utilized the same system.

Inasmuch as the military transportation services, both surface and
air, were charged with the responsibility of servicing all military
bases in the Pacific Area, including the war effort in Korea, the demands

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