the priority for re-entry on hellcopters was (1) ten 7.4 men to activate the
Enyu Airstrip; (2) five 7.1 men tuo establish the J-3 Section ashore; (3)
twenty 7.5 men to begin essential camp serviees ashore; and (4) seven 7.1
men to man Rad-Safe check points. In all cases, this ship-shore shuttle
was completed before the declaration of Re-entry Hour,
Recovery operations varied from shot to shot and conduct of them was
dependent upen the radivlosics! conditions resulttins from the event and upen
the oxtent of partletpatioa,
~
~
The greatest pirticipation was on the DOD effects shot.
J
(Cherokee). A very tight recovery schedule was anticipated for shot day as
the schedule called for a full conmunitment of all available helicopters between
1200 and 1500 hours. The tote] absence of detectable contamination, however,
allovinted the demand for helicopters in several ways.
First, the need for
empty safety airerait, which were scheduled for about 50 per cent c. the
early missions, was obviated, Secor’, 60 per cent of the missions devoted
to recovering fallout samples were cancelled because of the obvious fact that
there was sothing to recover. One carefully rehearsed mission to the intended GZ area to recover neutron threshold samples was greatly simp!ified, ¢@
inasmuch as only one recovery team was required rather than two, as had
been anticipated, Several Cherokee + 1 day missions were accomplished on
Cherokce-Day as a result of availability of heliconters,
Recovery missions for Bassoon were performed more nearly as scho.uled, with one important exeeptiod. Recoveries schuduted from the Eninmoan
complex were delayed for one full day vLecause of initially high redi.tion
readings in the area. Helicopter utilization was at the maximum owing to
the extensive participation cn this shot. The numittr of projects participating onl
hyts about 8&0 percent af the number for.
3
_. Participation on subsequent events was about 50 percent or 'ess thon
on\
.
rnittaat camps on the Bikin{ Atoll were located on the Romuvikku
comp'cx, the Eninman complex, and on Enyu. After the first Etkint event
Cr
J the camp on Romurikhu was not re-established, so re-entry to
that location was not made on a peemanent basis. Following the second
Bikini event |
_Jthe Eninman camp was not re-established, ‘chus,
all subsequent postshot re-entries were made to the camp on Enyw and to
the housebonts.
Once it had been determined that Enyu was not contaminated to a
level which prohibited 24-hour occupancy, general movement of personnel
was initiated. After the re-entry of the USS Catamount (LSD-17) into Enyu
anchorage and the discharge of the LCM’s, scheduled water taxi service was
established. This was generally done by H+ 7 hours. The LCM’s ona
half-hour schedule provided a continuous ship-to-ship-to-shore circuit.
- 105
.