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  4. Document 510

510. Memorandum From the Secretary of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Wentworth) to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Radford)1

Washington, November 5, 1956.

SUBJECT

  • JCS Actions with respect to the Middle East Situation agreed upon at JCS Meeting on 5 November 1956

At their meeting on 5 November 1956 the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed:

1.
That the Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, would be prepared to provide airlift troops on the order of four or five battalions to the Middle East in the event that the United Nations established an international police force in the Suez Canal area.
2.
That the Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, would ascertain from the Commander, Dhahran Airfield, whether the Arabian-American Oil Company (ARAMCO) is still loading tankers.
3.
That all Chiefs of Services insure that the U.S. military personnel stationed with British and French units will not accompany those units into combat.
4.
That all Chiefs of Services would make sure that foreign officers, particularly British and French, assigned to duty with U.S. headquarters or units are not in a position to obtain access to U.S. military or political plans.
5.
That the Chief of Naval Operations would insure that U.S. naval forces in Suda Bay remain there for at least 48 hours more.
6.
That the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, take action to return C–124 aircraft from the Middle East to Germany upon completion of the evacuation of U.S. nationals.
7.
That the Chief of Staff, Army, and the Chief of Naval Operations, finalize the arrangements for loading supplies and materials on a ship in the Far East and inform the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, as to what ship will be used for the purpose and provide him with a list of equipment to be loaded in order that he may discuss and clear the action with the Secretary of Defense.
8.
That the Deputy Director, Logistics Plans, would attend the next meeting of the Petroleum Committee, headed by Mr. Flemming (ODM), and be prepared to present to the committee the military petroleum situation world-wide.

Wentworth
  1. Source: JCS Records, OCJCS 091 Palestine (Jun 56–Dec 56). Top Secret.↩