r Planning and Programming 125 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. | a