devices were developed by the AEC, the civilian agency authorized td perform this activity by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946.
The devices were tested at the PPG by a joint military and civilfian
Organization, designated as Joint Task Force 7
(JTF 7).
This was a
frili-
tary organization in form, but was populated by military, civil service,
and contractor personnel of the Department of Defense
(DOD) and AEC.]
commander of this force was the appointed representative of the AEC
reported also to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC).
(JCS)
The
kknd
and the Commander i
The peak DOD numerical strength at CASTLE]was
approximately as follows:
Uniformed military
9,800
DOD civil servants
250
DOD contractors
60
Total personnel
10,110
Numerous technical experiments were carried out in conjunction with
each of the six detonations.
These experiments measured the power a
efficiency of the devices and attempted to gauge the military effectq
the explosions.
of
DOD personnel participated in this test operation a
individuals whose duty stations were at the AEC design laboratories,
ks
units performing separate experiments, and as units performing variou
support roles.
The CASTLE operations placed almost all of the Navy shp-
port group at Bikini, where its ships provided living space for persofnel
who were evacuated from the islands for the first test and then couldjnot
ret.ucn to live there because of the potential radiation exposure.
An extensive radiological safety program was instituted whose obife"
tives were:
l.
Maintenance of personnel radiation exposure at the
lowest possible level consistent with medical knowledge of radiation effects and the importance of the
test series.
2.
Avoidance of inadvertent contamination of populated
islands or transient shipping.
2