HE.DQUARTERS on TaéMs APO 137, c/o Tostmaster San Francisco, California 400 SUBJECT: TO: . TASK GROUP 7.4, PROVISIONAL 18 March 1954 Weather Island Ecuipment Commander Air Weather Service andrews Air Force Base Washington 25, D. C. 1. During Operations IVY and CASTLE, detachments of your command have been utilized on isolated islands in the Pacific Proving Grourds area for the observa-.tion and recording of weather data. After IVY, the property with which these detachments had been equipped was returned to Hickam Air Force Base, T.H., for storage. - = 2. Indications are that no specific agency was given the responsibility surveillance and general maintenance of this eovipment. There were aprrox? for tély three hundred (300) long tons involving some one thousand (1,000) measurement tons. During the planning of CASTLE, it was necessary to request the Commander, FPACDIVMAT to cause his Base Supply Officer at Hickam Air Force Base to segregate, inspect and inventory these so-called packages in preparation for future operations. Since the property had not been maintained, a considerable portion of the items had to be condemned and salvaged. Replacements were then ordered by the Commander, 6th Weather Squadron, Tinker Atr Force Base, Oklahoma, through Headquarters, Task Group 7.4, in accordance with Task Group 7.4 Operations Order 1-53. 3. Iam of the opinion that handling the packages in this manner is unacceptable since the replacement factor on equipment was extremely high. In an cffort to avoid this in the future, it appears appropriate to recommend that some agercy accept primary responsibility for these weather island packages since weather observations in these isolated locations will be a continuing recuirement for future oper ations. This being a mission which normally would be laid on your commard in the future, I would appreciate your consider tion of an outline of a plan which, IT bolieve, has merit. Bricfly, it is as follows: av The property now in use by your dstachments xt four (4) isolated isltan: b. Such a plan would achieve 2 number of desireable results: locetions be returned to Tinker Air force Base and made the responsibility of whetever agency you desire for use in this or any other similer type operstion in which you are cnsaged in the future. 277