CHAPT“R 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND To develop ‘doctrine for employment of and defense against nuclear weapons the Department of Defense (DOD) sustains a program to determine the capabilities.of such weapons. This program, coordinated by the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP), embraces theoretical studies, laboratory studies, field studies employing high explosives, full-scale effects tests/¢conducted specifically for weapons capability study, and full-scale efféets tests incidental to development tests of the Atomic Energy Commission (480) Operation CASTLE falls within the latter category. The broad program for study |of weapon capabilities falls into two major divisions. The first division-has the objective of determining generalized laws which will permitphediction of the blast, thermal, and nuclear radiation fields for ary)point of interest when bomb parameters (yield, burst height, eé are known. The second division has the objective of determining the redction or response of personnel and items of military interest to the blast, thermal, and nuclear radiation fields. In considering projects for the Military,uffects Tests lrogram —t CASTLE in furtherance of the over-all program fér determinationof weapon capabilities the DOD wes guided by the féllowing precepts: 1. The project must be justified on thebasis} of a military requirement. i 2. The project must be such that: test. Grounds. (a) Its objective cannot be attained except ata; full-scale (b) Its objectives cannot be attained at the Nev da Proving (c) Its objectives can be attained at the Pacific Proving — Grounds without unreasonable support requirements. : 3. The project must conform to the shot schedule (yields Aoca- tions, burst heights, and times) established for the developmental program of the AEC.