like another shot island, except that its remoteness allowed very-largeyield tests without endangering the permanent facilities at Enewetak or requiring its evacuation. depended on Enewetak for Bikini was without permanent facilities and its overhead Support. Part of this support was the combination of personnel, equipment, and materials required to assemble the test devices themselves. The new assembly area at Enewetak and the barge-zero stations allowed most of the support functions to remain at Enewetak. JOINT TASK FORCE 7 JTF 7 was established as a permanent organization in 1953 to conduct nuclear weapon testing in the Pacific. It existed through 1958 when it conducted HARDTACK, the last test series before the 1958 through 1961 nuClear test moratorium. JTF 7 was the successor to JTF 132, which had con- ducted the Ivy test series in 1952. The joint task force incorporated into its organization elements of the four services, other governmental agencies including the AEC, and civilian organizations,under contract. The AEC, charged with responsibility for nuclear energy development by the Atomic Energy Acts of 1946 and 1954, designated Commander JTF 7 (CUTF 7) as its representative. JTF 7 was also a subordinate command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific who provided overall security and logistic support. (CINCPAC), The Chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) exercised technical direction of the weapon effects tests of primary concern to the Armed Forces. The complex- ity of these relationships is illustrated in Figure ll. The resulting organization, though complex, worked well enough, as it conformed with the realities of the situation. The realities were that the tests were being conducted to develop nuclear weapons, an activity limited by law to a civilian agency, the AEC. The tests were being con-~ ducted in an area that came under the jurisdiction of the AEC (in the sense that the AEC was the U.S. government agency primarily responsible 53