Roger Ray, DPO, NV W. J. Stanley, Dir, PASO B. -2- PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED Rongelap Atoll About seventy-five people attended the opening community meeting at which time we introduced the mission personnel and described our objectives. There were several, heckling-type questions by two, young adults (one of whom appeared to be inebriated) having to do with eligibility for BNL ID card © which BNL attempted to answer satisfactorily. Nonetheless, the two questioners remained disgruntled, along with one elderly Marshallese (again, unhappy that the mission would not provide “community feeding” for the entire population, Be that as it were, the as apparently had been done in the days of yore) meeting was reasonably good and several Marshallese expressed their pleasure with our coming and the pediatric nature of the mission. The medical and dental staff were very busy. Dr. Ferguson treated , with eye damage from a recent. 80 children and adults. One patient accident, was recommended for referral to RMI facilities. Majuro Health Services authorized the radio-referral and we transported the patient to Kwajalein for REPMAR treatment. I add that the residents of Rongelap responded freely and fully to the mission. The vessel support during the outer island visit was excellent. ; Captain Coberly and his competent crew responded to our needs and kept everything functioning smoothly. Even a balky dental drill was repaired on site several times by the Liktanur engineer. C. Other Comments 1. We Tost one “baby ICOM" walky-talkie overboard during the mission because it was unsecured and fell out of a crew member's pocket into the water. I discussed with Captain Coberly various ways to secure the radios, including the use of holsters, plastic lanyards, etc. He will choose and implement the most convenient system to secure the radios in the future. 2. Discussion should be initiated with mechanics to determine what long-term repair or overhaul is needed (if indeed it is) to restore the dental drilling unit to trouble-free operation. But for the skill and flexibility of the Liktanur engineer, the dental portion of the mission would have .been seriously jeopardized because of a balky drill. - -. W. D. Jackson Program Liaison Specialist OP-547:WDJ ~ ’