Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Volume III, National Security Policy; Arms Control and Disarmament, Microfiche Supplement

118. Briefing Note for the 391st NSC Meeting¹

Washington, December 16, 1958

PRESENTATION OF MILITARY MOBILIZATION BASE

1. In March, 1957, the Department of Defense presented to the Council a new Military Planning Concept to Govern Planning and Development of the Mobilization Base.

2. That concept was reflected in our 1957 and 1958 Basic National Security Policy statements. The significant new features of this concept were:

(1) Meeting the requirements of only those forces which would be mobilized by M┼6 months (instead of M┼36 months).

(2) Taking account of the possibility of substantial bomb damage to the U.S.

(3) Covering the eventualities of cold war, military conflict short of general war, and general war.

(4) Positioning pre-D-Day stocks overseas sufficient to insure reasonable effectiveness of forces there surviving enemy nuclear attack.

3. Defense was then requested to prepare at the earliest practicable date an outline—using this now concept—of the Military Mobilization Base Program, force strcture, and annual costs in order of magnitude.

4. Last May, the PB and the Council received a progress report. The report, however, was more a listing of difficulties encountered and assumptions made in working on the military mobilization base program, and did not fulfill Action 1680–b with respect to “an outline of the military mobilization base program, force structure, and annual costs in order of magnitude”. Neither did it show what OCDM needs for its work: how we stand item-by-item with respect to a military mobilization plan.

5. In the military status report there was a brief statement of the actions taken by Defense up to June 30 to develop the military mobilization base program, using the new concept.

6. Today we are expecting to hear from Defense about its proposed military mobilization base program.

Attachment

Briefing Note for the 391st NSC Meeting

Washington, December 17, 1958

ITEM—FALLOUT SHELTER IN EXISTING FEDERAL BUILDINGS

An additional item before the Council today is some unfinished business concerning the provision of fallout shelter in existing Federal buildings.

At the Council meeting last week, we had before us a proposal by Governor Hoegh upon which the President deferred action for a short period pending further consideration.

Since then, Governor Hoegh and Mr. Stans have prepared a joint memorandum on the subject (copies of which have been circulated around the table.) In essence, their proposal is that contained in the recommended draft record of action which is also before you and which reads as follows:

(READ)

1. Source: Military mobilization base, July 1, 1961; fallout shelters; Top Secret; Confidential attachment. 2 pp. Eisenhower Library, Whitman File.