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Planning and Programming
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suggestion was rejected. Field Command continued to pursue the matter.
LTC Hente escorted Mr. Dean Easton, Chief, DPDO, Hawaii, and Mr. R.
Rupert, DPDO, to Enewetak for a physical survey of scrap materials and
excess/surplus equipment on 22-30 June 1976. Both men were impressed
by the quantity and quality of available material and were confident that a
number of companies would be interested and submit bids. It was
estimated that 80 percent (24,000 gross tons) of the material was, in effect,
base support contractor inventory and that any proceedsofits sale, less
DPDO’s expenses, would be returned to H&N-PTDforcredit against the
base support contract. This was confirmed in a DNA-Defense Supply
Agency conference on 2 September 1976.283
At Enewetak, following the 16 September 1976 signing ceremonies
marking formal return of the atoll to the dri-Enewetak, their iroijs and
Planning Council were informed that, due to the change in the law, the
usable material could not be left for them. They were, however, given
permission to dismantle buildings 190 and 544 and take the material to
Ujelang. Their removal of these buildings saved an estimated 400 manhours of cleanup work for DOD forces. 284
In November 1976 a team from Field Command led by Lieutenant
Colonel Manuel Sanches, USA, monitored all of the material for
radioactive contamination and, together with a team from DPDO,Hawaii,
markedit for inspection by potential buyers.285 The scrap sale and removal
operations are described in Chapter 4.
OTHER PLANNING ACTIONS: NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1976
BG Lacy and a few key staff officials embarked on a series of
coordinating conferences in November 1976. Thefirst, at Headquarters
DNAonll November, was to brief the Director on the current planning
status and to establish a new D-Day. Whenthe 2 July 1976 version of the
i
CONPLANwas forwarded to the JCS, a tentative D-Day of | March 1977
had been set forth. However, by November, the CONPLANstill was not
approved by the JCS, the Military Services still had not been tasked to
support the cleanup, and a radiological support pian had not been
prepared. Planning was behind to the extent that BG Lacy felt that the
1 March 1977 D-Day could not be met. He recommendedthat D-Day be
established at least 6 months after the date that the JCS tasked the
Services.286 Instead, LTG Johnson choseto fix a new target D-Dayof15
June 1977 and challenged the planners to meetit.
The next conference was called by the District Administrator of the
Marshall Islands, at Majuro, on 15-19 November 1976. Organizations
represented included Field Command, TTPI, ERDA, H&N, and MLSC.
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