OPERATION DESERT ROCK
THE ATOMIC WEAPON TESTS
ON THE COMBAT SOLDIER
ON THE COMBAT SOLDIER
T
US MARINES ARE FERRIED IN BY CHOPPER TO ASSESS DAMAGE YARDS FROM GROUND ZERO |
OPERATION
DESERT ROCK THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION ON THE U.S. SOLDIER
THE 1950s WAS A HOT TIME RUSSIA DEVELOPED THE BOMB ,COMMUNISTS WERE INFILTRATING AMERICA AND THE TESTS IN NEVADA CONTINUED. THE UNITED STATES HAD ONLY HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI AS TEST RESULTS SO WITHOUT THE AMERICAN CITIZENS KNOWLEDGE THEY TESTED MANY ATOMIC WEAPONS IN THE DESERT OUTSIDE LAS VEGAS AND THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WITHIN A FEW HUNDRED MILES OF THE NEVADA TEST SITE WERE GREATED BY EARLY SUNRISES AS FIREBALLS SHOT INTO THE STRATOSPHERE AND THE LIGHT WAS SEEN FROM AS FAR AWAY AS LOS ANGELES AS WAS THE GROUND MOVING BENEATH THEIR FEET. WHAT THEY DID NOT KNOW WAS AFTER EVERY TEST HIGHLY CONTAMINATED RADIOACTIVE CLOUDS CIRCLED THE UNITED STATES BEFORE GOING ON TO THE WORLD RELEASING RADIOACTIVE PARTICLES OF WHAT WAS VAPORIZED AND SUCKED UP INTO THE FIREBALL CALLED FALLOUT. THESE CLOUDS WERE TRACKED AND FOLLOWED BY CHASE AIRCRAFT MONITORING THE RADS BEING EMITTED CAREFUL TO KEEP OUT OF THE CLOUDS AND STAY A DISTANCE AWAY ,.....BUT WHAT OF THE AVERAGE AMERICAN ? DURING THESE TESTS AMERICANS WERE BEING RADIATED BY THESE TESTS, DENTISTS IN ST LOUIS COLLECTED TEETH OF BABYS THAT NATURALLY FELL OUT AND WERE SHOCKED TO FIND HIGH AMOUNTS OF STRONIUM-90 WITHIN THESE TEETH IT WAS FOUND IN THE MILK PRODUCED BY DAIRY FARMS ACROSS AMERICA, KODAK LABS IN ROCHESTER HAD FILM BEING RUINED. NOW, KODAK CHOSE THEIR ROCHESTER N.Y. SITE FOR IT'S LOW NATURAL BACKGROUND RADIATION THAT AFFECTS FILM BUT BATCHES UPON BATCHES OF FILM WERE MARRED BY RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT. EVERYTIME IT RAINED OR SNOWED FALLOUT WAS DEPOSITED AROUND THE KODAK FACILITY RUINING LARGE AMOUNTS OF FILM AND UPON INVESTIGATION IT OCCURED AFTER EVERY DETONATION OF TEST SHOTS AT THE NTS. THE CANCER RATE FROM THAT ERA UP UNTIL THE YEARS MOST OF THOSE UNKNOWINGLY WERE DUSTED WERE HIGH AND ONE OF THOSE HIGH CANCER CLUSTERS HAPPENED TO BE IN THE NYC - LONG ISLAND AREA THOSE THAT LIVED DURING THESE SHOTS AND ARE IN THEIR 70s HAVE AND WERE DYING FROM CANCER MORE THAN ANY GENERATION. COINCIDENCE.......HMMMM LETS LOOK AT THE VETERANS OF THE DESERT ROCK EXERCISES THESE MEN WERE SUBJECT OF A MOVIE SHOWING GROSS NEGLIGENCE ON THE US MILITARIES PART AS THEY SUFFERED FROM DISEASES AND CANCERS THAT WERE HORRIFIC AND YET THE DEPT. OF DEFENSE WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE THEIR SICKNESS AS SERVICE RELATED. EVEN AS THEY MARCHED THESE MEN INTO GROUND ZERO BENEATH A FIVE MILE HIGH MUSHROOM CLOUD AND LOADED THEM INTO TRUCKS AND DROPPED THEM OFF WITH NO FOXHOLES OR PROTECTIVE COVERING LEAVING THEM TO FACE THE BLAST IN ANY WAY THEY COULD FIND. LATER IN THE 1990s AMERICA PRESIDENT CLINTON ADMITTED THAT THESE MEN WERE PART OF RADIATION EXPIREMENTS AND OFFERED A MILKWARM APOLOGY LETS TAKE A LOOK AT THE DESERT ROCK TEST SERIES THE BIGGEST MILITARY WARGAMES INVOLVING ATOMIC WEAPONS EVER CONDUCTED BY ANY NATION.
In 1951, the Army, working with the Atomic Energy Commission, carried out the Desert Rock Exercises, an experiment to "dispel much of the fear and uncertainty surrounding atomic radiation and the effects of gamma and x-rays."
A tent encampment was set up about 27 miles from where the atomic explosions were detonated on the Nevada Proving Grounds. The encampment housed about 5,000 Army soldiers, civilian observers and technicians. Troops spent hours in classes receiving training in radiation and nuclear weapons effects.
The following is a recorded interview between a sergeant and a training officer prior to a blast:
Question. "How many of your men would volunteer to go up and be in the
foxholes?" (one-half mile from ground zero)
Answer. "I guess about half a dozen."
Question. "It's quite a loud noise when that bomb goes off ... would it do
them any harm?"
Answer. "No sir, not the noise, no."
Question. "How about the radiation? Do you think there is much danger?"
Answer. "Radiation is the least of their worries that the men are thinking
about."
Question. "I think most thought radiation was the greatest danger, didn't
they? Where did they learn differently?"
Answer. "They were, prior to our instructions here. We received a very
thorough briefing."
For the Desert Rock I Exercise, the weapon was fired as an airburst. The majority of the troops were out in the open about seven miles away. The soldiers were told to crouch down and face away from the blast. The bomb flash blanked out the troops from view, and the flash was followed by blast winds and the noise of the explosion. Interviews with soldiers were conducted after the test.
Following the test, the troops were trucked toward the stationary military equipment used for experiments. The experiments were set up one-half mile and also at three miles from the blast. At three miles, the gun emplacements and military vehicles were undamaged, but at on-half mile damage was moderate to heavy.
There was a dialog error made in this military film. Near the beginning of the film there was a claim that these tests were conducted 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas, while they really were staged the same distance northwest of Las Vegas.
A tent encampment was set up about 27 miles from where the atomic explosions were detonated on the Nevada Proving Grounds. The encampment housed about 5,000 Army soldiers, civilian observers and technicians. Troops spent hours in classes receiving training in radiation and nuclear weapons effects.
The following is a recorded interview between a sergeant and a training officer prior to a blast:
Question. "How many of your men would volunteer to go up and be in the
foxholes?" (one-half mile from ground zero)
Answer. "I guess about half a dozen."
Question. "It's quite a loud noise when that bomb goes off ... would it do
them any harm?"
Answer. "No sir, not the noise, no."
Question. "How about the radiation? Do you think there is much danger?"
Answer. "Radiation is the least of their worries that the men are thinking
about."
Question. "I think most thought radiation was the greatest danger, didn't
they? Where did they learn differently?"
Answer. "They were, prior to our instructions here. We received a very
thorough briefing."
For the Desert Rock I Exercise, the weapon was fired as an airburst. The majority of the troops were out in the open about seven miles away. The soldiers were told to crouch down and face away from the blast. The bomb flash blanked out the troops from view, and the flash was followed by blast winds and the noise of the explosion. Interviews with soldiers were conducted after the test.
Following the test, the troops were trucked toward the stationary military equipment used for experiments. The experiments were set up one-half mile and also at three miles from the blast. At three miles, the gun emplacements and military vehicles were undamaged, but at on-half mile damage was moderate to heavy.
There was a dialog error made in this military film. Near the beginning of the film there was a claim that these tests were conducted 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas, while they really were staged the same distance northwest of Las Vegas.
Desert Rock exercises
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Desert Rock was the code name of a series of exercises conducted by the US military in conjunction with atmospheric nuclear tests. They were carried out at the Nevada Proving Grounds between 1951 and 1957.
Their purpose was to train troops and gain knowledge of military maneuvers and operations on the nuclear battlefield. They included observer programs, tactical maneuvers, and damage effects tests.
Camp Desert Rock was established in 1951, 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) south of Camp Mercury. The site was used to billet troops and stage equipment. The camp was discontinued as an Army installation in 1964.
Contents
[hide]Summary[edit]
Exercise | Nuclear Test Series | Date | Total DoD Participants | Tactical Maneuver Personnel |
---|---|---|---|---|
Desert Rock I, II, III[1] | Operation Buster–Jangle | 22 Oct. - 22 Nov. 1951 | 11,000 | 6,500 |
Desert Rock IV[2] | Operation Tumbler–Snapper | 1 Apr. - 5 Jun. 1952 | 11,700 | 7,400 |
Desert Rock V[3] | Operation Upshot–Knothole | 17 Mar. - 4 Jun. 1953 | 20,100 | |
Desert Rock VI[4] | Operation Teapot | 18 Feb. - 15 May 1955 | 11,700 | 8,000 |
Desert Rock VII, VIII[5] | Operation Plumbbob | 24 Apr. - 7 Oct. 1957 | 14,000 |
Desert Rock I, II, III[edit]
Observer programs were conducted at shots Dog, Sugar, and Uncle. Tactical maneuvers were conducted after shot Dog. Damage effects tests were conducted at shots Dog, Sugar, and Uncle to determine the effects of a nuclear detonation on military equipment and field fortifications.
Desert Rock IV[edit]
Observer programs were conducted at shots Charlie, Dog, Fox, and George. Tactical maneuvers were conducted after shots Charlie, Dog, and George. Psychological tests were conducted at shots Charlie, Fox, and George to determine the troops' reactions to witnessing a nuclear detonation.
Desert Rock V[edit]
Exercise Desert Rock V included troop orientation and training, a volunteer officer observer program, tactical troop maneuvers, operational helicopter tests, and damage effects evaluation.
Desert Rock VI[edit]
Observer programs were conducted at shots Wasp, Moth, Tesla, Turk, Bee, Ess, Apple 1, and Apple 2. Tactical maneuvers were conducted after shots Bee and Apple 2. Technical studies were conducted at shots Wasp, Moth, Tesla, Turk, Bee, Ess, Apple 1, Wasp Prime, Met, and Apple 2.
A test of an armored task force, RAZOR, was conducted at shot Apple 2 to demonstrate the capability of a reinforced tank battalion to seize an objective immediately after a nuclear detonation.
Desert Rock VII, VIII[edit]
Tactical maneuvers were conducted after shots Hood, Smoky, and Galileo. At shot Hood, the Marine Corps conducted a maneuver involving the use of a helicopter airlift and tactical air support. At shot Smoky, Army troops conducted an airlift assault, and at shot Galileo, Army troops were tested to determine their psychological reactions to witnessing a nuclear detonation.
See also[edit]
Totskoye nuclear exercise of 1954, a somewhat comparable series of Soviet exercises.
Research[edit]
- ^ Operation BUSTER-JANGLE Fact Sheet Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- ^ Operation TUMBLER-SNAPPER Fact Sheet Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- ^ Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Fact Sheet Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- ^ Operation TEAPOT Fact Sheet Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- ^ Operation PLUMBBOB Fact Sheet Defense Threat Reduction Agency
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Desert Rock exercises. |
- Camp Desert Rock Tests on YouTube
- The short film Big Picture: Atomic Battlefield is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- The short film Exercise Desert Rock (1951) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- THIS EMBEDDED MOVIE IS SILENT AND SHOWS SOME GREAT SHOTS OF THE NUCLEAR TESTS THEMSELVES AND HOW UNPREPARED THESE MEN WERE AS THEY WERE WALKED INTO THE SHOTS GROUND ZERO HOURS AFTER THE BLAST LITERALY HOURS SOME CRAZY GENERAL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO PARACHUTE A REGIMENT INTO THE ATOMIC DIN RIGHT INTO GROUND ZERO THESE STORIES AND MORE CAN BE FOUND AROUND THIS SITE ENJOY FSNYC WARDEN
https://www.youtube.com/embed/aH299Mhyyqo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>
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