Office of the Historian

389. Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (Sloan) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (Gilpatric)1

Washington, December 29, 1962.

SUBJECT

  • Additional Support for UN Operations Congo

In furtherance of my memorandum on this subject yesterday,2 Colonel Greene, OASD/ISA, was in New York yesterday for discussion of this subject with Brigadier Rikhye, Military Advisor to the Secretary General. Brigadier Rikhye was informed that we are proceeding expeditiously to supply the trucks, personnel carriers, transport aircraft, tanker aircraft, mine removal equipment and necessary spares for trucks and aircraft. The other items on my list of yesterday; i.e., 50,000 gal. POL field storage system, 6 H–19 helicopters and pilots and 37 mine detection sets, have not been requested by the UN. Brigadier Rikhye was told that if the UN would request these, we would be prepared to provide them. Therefore, on these items, we are awaiting UN action.

This morning, Dr. Bunche, Undersecretary General, called Mr. Harlan Cleveland to request 10 F–84 aircraft. At a subsequent meeting with Secretary Rusk today,3 it was decided to withhold action on these aircraft until the situation in Katanga is clarified and until the UN has the necessary pilots and ground support personnel in hand (they have approached the Turkish Government for these personnel). We will request the JCS to alert CINCEUR of the possible requirement of positioning 10 [Page 793] F–84 aircraft at Kamina Air Field. At the same time, Secretary Rusk decided that he would keep the President informed on a continuing basis of the developments in this situation.

At the meeting earlier today, Secretary Rusk also decided that we would not instigate a public announcement of the equipment that we have now agreed to provide the UN. It was his feeling that it would be inadvisable to do this at this time.

Frank K. Sloan
  1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RD 330, OSD Files: FRC 66 A 3542, Congo 381. Top Secret.↩
  2. See footnote 1, Document 386.↩
  3. Records of meetings in the Secretary’s Conference Room at 12:10 and 4:55 p.m. are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 65 D 533, CF 2216.↩