Office of the Historian

117. Memorandum From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Secretary of Defense McNamara1

JCSM–67–66
Washington, February 1, 1966.

SUBJECT

  • 1966 Military Survey Team—Iran (U)
1.
(U) In response to a memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (ISA), I–20358/66, dated 18 January 1966, subject: “Constitution of a Military Survey Team, Iran,”2 the Joint Chiefs of Staff have requested CINCSTRIKE/USCINCMEAFSA to activate such a team to proceed to Iran by mid-February 1966.
2.
(S) As requested, the team will be tri-Service to permit a comprehensive assessment of the full range of the Shah’s stated requirements in air defense and for improving the Iranian Navy. The team also will be prepared to address other requirements which may emerge during the course of its in-country survey.
3.
(S) The team will be headed by a general officer and such additional technically qualified officers as may be required to examine the following areas:
a.
The air threat to Iran and the minimum essential requirements for meeting that threat by a balanced air defense system, composed of a proper mix of air defense aircraft and missiles, supported by an adequate ground environment.
b.
The threats to Iranian ports, installations, and shipping in the Persian Gulf and the minimum essential naval surface forces required to counter those threats and to assist in the enforcement of Iranian law in its territorial waters.
c.
The minimum essential requirements for meeting other materiel needs; e.g., armor.
4.
(S) The team is setting aside two full days prior to departing for briefings as requested by and at the convenience of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ISA). Additionally, CINCSTRIKE/USCINCMEAFSA has been requested to submit the “U.S. Eyes Only” and sanitized versions of the report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff within ten days after the team has [Page 210] returned to the CONUS, with advance copies of both reports to be submitted concurrently to you and to the Secretary of State. The views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the findings and recommendations of the team will be submitted within three weeks after the team returns.
5.
(S) Detailed terms of reference (see the Appendix hereto)3 for the survey team have been tailored to center on maintaining the primacy of the U.S. military presence in Iran at a moderate cost to Iranian resources. The objective of keeping Iranian military procurement at a level consistent with legitimate military requirements against the spectrum of threats to Iran, while minimizing the impact of military procurement on Iranian economic development, has been emphasized in the terms of reference and is further reflected in the U.S. Government-approved background data provided in the Annexes hereto. Finally, the terms of reference accommodate the fundamental reality that future military equipment assistance to Iran should be related to its ability to absorb and maintain that equipment.
For the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Earle G. Wheeler
Chairman
Joint Chiefs of Staff
  1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, OSD Files: FRC 70 A 4443, Iran 091.3 MAP. Secret.↩
  2. Not printed. (Ibid.) Telegram 992 from Tehran, January 10, reported that the Shah had requested that a U.S. group of experts be sent to Iran to make a long-range air defense study. Meyer urged a prompt affirmative response. (Department of State, Central Files, DEF 1–4 IRAN) On January 20 Meyer and Jablonsky informed the Shah of U.S. readiness to send a tri-service military survey team to make a professional appraisal of Iran’s security needs. (Telegram 1040 from Tehran, January 20; ibid., DEF 19–9 U.S.-IRAN)↩
  3. Not printed.↩