Date

Jan 21, 1963

Description

The Joint Chiefs met with Admiral Roy L. Johnson, the deputy director of the Joint Strategic Targeting Planning Staff (JSTPS), to discuss how to cover the target gap left by the dismantling of 45 Jupiter missiles and also the gap that would be caused by the temporary absence of one Polaris submarine during its transit from Holy Loch (Scotland) to the Mediterranean. Johnson saw the missile shortage as one that would be of “decreasing significance after July 1963” when more ICBMs would be entering the nuclear arsenal. To complete retargeting of the previous Jupiter targets would take 90 days while retargeting of the Polaris submarines, which involved “cutting new cards for the computers,” would take several months. Johnson reviewed in detail the problems involved in providing coverage of the previously targeted bomber bases, military control centers, and other targets.

Handwritten on top of this document is the word “SIOP” [Single Integrated Operational Plan] because the targeting problems that the Chiefs were discussing with Admiral Johnson were directly related to the U.S. nuclear war plan.

Source

RG 218, Maxwell Taylor Files, box 36, Nassau/Jupiter/Skybolt/MLF (Folder # 1)

Document published in following posting(s):

The Jupiter Missiles and the Cuban Missile Crisis Endgame

Apr 20, 2023