CHAPTER iti, SECTION 7

per month (including the reproduction work

a cryptographic system was issued for the Con-

RECORDS CENTER

enabled

requested by the Honolulu Office).

The AEC Records Program was immaugurated in Mav. 1952 on a part-time basis. By 1

July 1953, 46 records schedules had been for-

warded to the Santa Fe Operations Office for
approval; 415 cubie feet of records were forwarded to less expensive storage faclities: 220
cubic feet of records were transferred to the
AEC Reeords Service Center at Los Alamos.
New Mexico: and 149 cub’c feet of record. were

destroved.
A full-time Records Officer was
appointed on J July 1953, at which time the
H&N Records Center started operating on a
full-time basis. By the end of 1953. the Records

Center holdings totaled a6t cubic feet. or double

the amount
months.

reported

for

the

preceding

six

Reference services furnished trom Records

Center to the Home Office amounted to o3 in
1942. and 1.086 in 1953. The monthly average
of reference services from 1 July 1953 to the
end of the vear was 166. In 1954, a peak of 994
was reached during the month of April. then
eraduallv decreased to 161 in June 1954.
Investigations

and

~<tudies

regarding

the

passibihty of microtilming all vital records were
made.
However. the space-saving advantage
gained through the use of micrefilm did not
warrant the over-all cost of this undertaking in
view of the fact that storage of vital records,
by contractual agreement, necd not exceed seven
Vears.

COMMUNICATIONS
TELEPHONE. On 24 July 1953, the 120-position PBN in the Home Office was replaced with
a 160-position board. Approximately 45S. long
distarce calls a month were made over a sevenreonth period. including the peak period. and
soe ne

te

CONTA ea

aa

guyty

cere

1.

lat

Gee

atl.

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wae.

Were

waa

lt

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17

the same period.
TELETYPE. Teletype communications between
the Home Office and Emwetok were cffected
by means of the radio teletype facilities installed at the AEC Communications Center at
Los Alamos and fniwetok. All classified and
unclassificd messages were sent over this means
by TWX to Los Alamos, thence over the radio
teletype circuit: direct) to Eniwetok. Incoming
teletypes were relaved by this same means to
Los Alamos. and then im turn relaved un ty
Holmes & Narver, Los Angeles. by TWX collect.
During Operation IVY, classified message s
to Eniwetok were encoded in the Contractor s
Home Office. then transmitted te Los Alame-~.
Los Alamos decoded and re-encoded the me sages for relay to the Task Group Communications Center at Enwetok Atoll. In October
1952, prior to the commencement of CASTLI .

tractors use in Los Angeles, and for the Communications Center at Eniwetok. This system
H&N

to

send

and

receive

messages

classitied Restricted, Contidential, and Secret
without the delay involved in having Los Alamos
decode and re-encode these messages.

“Back-up” communication circuits were
available in the event of failure of the radio teletype circuit. The “back-up” circuit operated
from Los Alamos to the AEC Communications
Center, Sandia: from there messages were sent
over Military circuits to Fort Sam Houston,
Texas, thence through the Sixth Army Headquarters at San Francisco.
From San Francisco, Messages were scat by Military radio teletype to the Communications Center at Oahu
and from there to Eniwetok,
In July 1953. due to continued adverse at-

mospheric conditions resulting in the failure of
the radio teletype circuit between Los Alamos
and Eniwetok, Holmes & Narver was advised
to file unclassified messages with the Army
Conmunications Center in Los Angeles. These
messages were then rclaved to the Sixth Army
Headquarters Communications Center, San
Francisco, where they were sent by Military
radio teletvpe to Oahu, and thence to Eniwetok
and or to HEN’s office in Honolulu.
In March 1953, the Holmes & Narver Message Center in the Home Office was officially

recognized by the Military as a “trained TWK

tributary station of the Las Angeles Communications Center.” As a result of this recognition,
H&N was furnished Military Procedure Publications which enahled the Message Center to
operate efficiently and in accord with other
units of the circuit.
The Army Communications Center at Los
Angeles was unable to accept Holmes & Narver
ol 7
.
rife. do monssag
en tae pricr to & April anr4
4
glasrifled
messages
Laer Chia
Ur
Military reguiations governing encoded mesrages sent over TWX equipment. This equipment was. until that date the type of equipment

installed at the Home Office. The filing

of classified messages continued through Los
Alamos. However, after 5 April 1954 new equipment, formally known as an AKAN circuit, was
installed at the Holmes & Narver Home Office,
and

encoded

messages

were

permitted

via

a

leased line to the Army Communications Center
in Los Angeles.

To expedite procurement. teletvoe facilities
were also emploved between the Contractor and
commercial companies within
the United
States.

The peak in H&N’s teletype traffic was
estabE shed during the months of August and
September. A monthly breakdown of the teletvpe traffic transmitted and received for the

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