D-—days, using a different procedure by operating from Fred between shots ia not practical. c. Regularly scheduled flights to the scientific stations should be maintained through all —1 days and should be resumed again on shot days as soon as the Rad-Safe survey and recovery missions are completed. d. The operational limitations of the agency providing light air- craft and helicopter support should be established prior to the operation. Then the operation should be planned within the limitations of the support agency or another agency should be selected which can provide the support required. e, The using agency should not be required to justify its re- quirements to the supporting agency. If justification is required, then requests for support should be routed through JTF 7, which should make the approved requests directive on the supporting agency. Motor Vehicles - All details on the maintenance of vehicles, including spare parts, should be worked out between TG 7.2 and TG 7.5 prior to the start of the operation. Spare parts should be on hand and available for use no later than the arrival of vehicles at the proving ground, J-4 Section, Logistics and Supply. The following recommendations are made by J-4 as a result of occurrences in Operation Hardtack. Some attention and correction along the lines indicated would improve future opera-~ tions. It is felt that the appointment of an APA with contacts in each Task Group did not improve the system in effect on previous operations. Actually it placed one more layer of administration between the users of a necessary service and the operators of that service. It is strongly recommended that the APA office be eliminated entirely and that authorized people from 7.1 and other goups contact the Air Force directly for the services coordinated on Hardtack by the APA The cargo service on MATS was very bad during the formative stage of the operation. It certainly improved after the incident of the C-124 that sat on Johnston Island for a week, but it should be possible to get better service throughout the operation without having to wait for a near calamity to occur before the necessary steps are taken to ensure the kind of service needed. After the many difficulties encountered in connection with purchases through ship's stores made by individuals who expected to be in the Forward Area, it would appear that such purchasing practices should be discontinued. Furthermore, it is apparent that some of the people who expected to be at Eniwetok during the operation did not get there, yet took advantage of purchases through ship's stores even though they had not qualified themselves to make such imports. The actual cases of difficulty came about in receipt, storage, and disposition of the materials received with possible ensuing financial Liabilities, also by obvious and flagrant disregard for customs regulations in having materiala imported for people who had not been an integral part of the Pacific operation. 117