Services is a series of military effects experiments designed to increase knowledge of the effects of atomic detonations upon military equipment, material, and personnel. The Department of Defense programs.and projects were planned and coordinated by the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project commanded by Rear Admiral Edward Parker, USN. Regponsibility for the field conduct of these experiments; for coordination of all military participation in the tests; and for providing logistical support to the AEC and the Armed Forces and their laboratories is assigned to Rear Admiral Frank O'Beirne, USN, Commander, Field Command, Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base, New Mexico, Within the joint AEC-DOD test organization at Nevada, Admiral O'Beirne is represented by Colonel H. E. Parsons, USAF, who is Deputy Test Manager for Military Matters. Camp Desert Rock, some five miles from Test Site headquarters at Mercury, Nevada, is the focal point of Army activity. This semipermanent installation of 183 temporary buildings was opened in September 1951 to support observers and troops participating in AEC's test series, At present the camp has a population of some 1,700 support troops. Its population will fluctuate during the series and in troop maneuver periods will hit .a peak of well over 5,000. Indian Springs Air Force Base, some 20 miles from Mercury, also plays an important role in the Armed Forces activities in connection with the Tests. The USAF and the Navy have approximately 1,500 per- sonnel and 120 planes engaged in Operation Plumbbob. Military Effects Experiments Military weapons effects experiments in the 1957 series were designed to extend knowledge of the effects of the damage-producing mechanisms of nuclear detonations on military equipment, personnel, tactics and techniques. Among the military effects experiments are some new during this series, and some that are refinements of previous tests. On some shots, techniques are being tested again for the protection of personnel from the hazards of eye injury or temporary blindness from the atomic flash. Air Force personnel are participating in this program. ._ To insure maximum savings of life in the event of nuclear warfare, participating agencies in this test series again are using animals in their studies. Until now, most biological data has been gathered using small animals such as rats and mice. There are important differences in response to weapons effects between different animal species. Many of the differences are based upon size. For this reason, it is very important to study effects on larger animals, thus permitting a more precise estimate of effects on man. One of the significant tests on animals in this series involved pigs. This experiment was conducted by surgeons and medical specialists of the Armed Forces. LC: “| ~ 8 - 61 - . ° a f