Editorial Note
The basic agreement which emerged from the Sherman-Franco discussions of July 16 was that a Joint Military Survey Team should be organized by the United States and dispatched to Spain for Service-to-Service discussions with Spanish officials to make such surveys as were required to determine eventual United States military needs in Spain. In pursuance of this objective, the Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed a team comprised initially of six officers, two each from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, headed by a senior Air Force general officer, with technicians to be added later up to a total of 30, and the terms of reference. (JCS 1821/44)
Approved by the Secretary of Defense on August 15, the terms of reference among other things specified that the Chief, Joint Military Survey Team, would (a) operate under the general guidance of Ambassador Griffis; (b) insure that in any discussion there would be “no indication of a possible course of action to withdraw United States forces from Germany and France to Spain in the event of war. All discussions will emphasize that the primary role envisaged for Spain is support of the common policy of defending the NATO area”; (c) “make no commitment on behalf of the United States Government”; (d) survey Spanish air, maritime, and supporting logistical facilities with a view to determining those improvements necessary to meet U.S. military requirements and to report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff which military requirements, and the means for meeting them, should be presented to the Spanish Government; and (e) without taking the initiative with regard to Spanish demands for aid, report all indications of such Spanish desires. He was not to discuss economic aid, but was permitted to reaffirm Admiral Sherman’s position on military aid expressed in the Chief of Naval Operations’ conversation with Generalissimo Franco.
The team arrived in Madrid on August 22, and Ambassador Griffis on August 28 informed the Secretary of State that the Spanish Government had approved the sending of the additional members. (Telegram 193, 752.5/8–2851) On November 2, the Chief of the Joint Military Survey Team, Major General James W. Spry, USAF, submitted to the Joint Chiefs of Staff a comprehensive report, dated October 31, on the team’s activities and findings. (Despatch 425 from Madrid, November 2, 752.5/11–251)