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Us. COMMUNICATIONS
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REDWING communications were characterized by a necessity for 24 hour
a day reliability, flexibility to meet changing operational requirements, and
the ability to rapidly handle a large volume of high precedence, classified
radiotelephone and radioteletype traffic with a high degree of security.
Planning began nearly a month prior to the completion of CASTLE (May 1954)
when task force communication officers met to establish estimates of KEDWING
requirements and to make recommendations for an improved communications system.
Within thirty days after the completion of CASTLE, estimated requirements for
cryptographic equipments were submitted to the National Security Agency and by
late November 1955, six months prior to the first REDWING shot, the major portion of task force communication requirements had been submitted to the three
Services for necessary action.
b.
Major communications projects, designed to further improve facilities
in the PPG during Operation REDWING, included: (1) Relocation of the Eniwetok
Island receiver station to Japtan Island to provide noise free reception and
adequate receiver and transmitter station separation; (2) Installations of
later model teletype equipment in the Joint Relay Center, Eniwetok, to handle
the estimated increase in traffic; (3) Installation of short and long range
ciphony (voice encoding) equipment on important scientific circuits; (4) Installations of miti~channel voice and teletype equipment on the ENIWETOK -
USS ESTES command link; (5) Installations of multi-channel voice and teletype
equipment on the ENIWETOK - BIKINI circuit to provide improved inter-atoll
service; (6) Procurement of machine cryptographic devices for eight Central
Pacific Islands to provide more rapid communication service for off atoll
weather, radsafe and scientific projects.
ce.
Especially trained maintenance personnel required for newer or more
complex comminication equipment were provided by the various Services on a
temporary duty basis for the operational period.
d.
ootGe
Radioteletype circuits, equipped in most instances with automatic
encryption (on-line) equipment, were the primary means of communications both
within the PPG and to areas outside the PPG.
The bulk of the scientific
traffic was routed directly to Los Alamos and in turn relayed from Los Alamos
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