CHAPTER VI OPERATION TEAPOT: CONTINENTAL SAMPLING _ Planning for Operation TEAPOT began early in November 1953 while preparations moved ahead for Operation CASTLE. In July 195), the Air Force Special Weapons Center directed the 925th Test Group (Atomic) to prepare itself for the operation and Colonel Harry L, Donicht organized a “semi-official" field test office to do the work, Colonel Donicht leaned heavily on Colonel Fackler's studies of Air Force nuclear test requirements, In November 195), the Center issued a mission planning directive and indicated that Field Test Group S (Provisional) would be commanded by Colonel Donicht and would represent the Center during the test series a ok Sampling Preparations By now, the Atomic Energy Commission considered cloud samples so important that without sampler aircraft ‘the firing of a device was largely useless for test purposes. This information could be gathered from a study of the growth of the fireball or from study of measurements and miltiplications of the neutrons produced by the explosion.. However, these methods of calculating the yield usually gave an unreliably high value and were not favored,- The most accurate manner for determining what happened during the detonation was derived from radiochemical analysis of the fission and fusion products left in the cloud, + Colonel Fackler was appointed the Air Operations Officer, making him the only Air Force Officer to hold a key position on every nucleartest operation Since CROSSROADS in 19]6, 121 SWEH-2-003, ye