COMMAflD FILE POST 1 JAN 46 DEPARTMENT O F THE NAVY OFFIC E OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OF'ERATIONS W ASHINGTON 25 D C IN REPLY REFER TO 24 NOVEMBER 1959 PERSONAL - FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY CNO PERSONAL NO 54 To Flag and General Officers Subj Dope THE BUDGET General We are now in the home stretch of the budget The Department of Defense is in the process of putting the 1 61 budget to bed However the re are still s ome thing s that have to be done and s o we don't have the final figures on the budget a nd we don't know exactly what will be presented to the National Sec urity Council o n Wednesday 25 November The SecDef the Se rvice Se c r etaries and the Chiefs of the Services hav e all met w i t h the P r esident The s e meetings did not result in any significan t changes in the budget but did permit us to express our v iews and h ea r the P r esident' s views on the bigger issues in the national budget Not m any details c ould b e disc u ssed For this reason it is belie v e d tha t t he '6 1 budget a s it now s t a nds except for some adj u stments is pretty fi r m It shou ld be in the hd nds of the BuBud not later t h an 2 8 N ove mbe r and w ill s u r ely be wrapped up SECRET SECRET SSBN ULTIMATE PQ_TENTIALS Dqring recent months many authors have written articles on -' ' the POLARIS Missile Sys te ' ' Information has been geared to the general policy of speaking qnly to the capability of the missile that is unde test no w • It is time onored custom for the Navy to fo 1 ow a conserv tiye p licy witl 1 regard to st ting the capabilities of '• ·- _ · i t - ' - weapon systems that are in development stage This is sound practice but ' ust be- _tempered with-- the realization that public vision for weapons · ' - ' _ _ of the future is readity tr a n slated into dollars in defense budgets • • _- • • I • • • •• • '• Since public opinion· can only reflect a desire for economical ·-' and adequate military equipment Hit is accurately and truthfully • -· •• • • i informed• it is impo r tant that people know the honest growth • -· •• • _ • ·- ··- pote ntials of our weapcm systems• when they can be determined and to do so does not impair security ' Vor example we are now • 1 adhf ring to the Navy tradition of sober conservatism by speaking of POLARIS as a 1200-1500 rpile missile We have proposed attaining t anges exceeding 2500 miles and this has received some publicity It appea r s feasible that POLARIS could provide a m ssile L ECLASSIFIED IAW E O 12958 OPNA t'INST 5513 16 SERIES · ' I -••A• v• - • • f_' '7 • • Af•'• • • •· • • •• _ •• • • • • • • • • t · • that would be effective against any Soviet bloc target from almost any ocean launching spot that we might choose Increased funding and a resumption of warhead testing could probably provide such a missile before the first POLARIS submarines have completed half their life perhaps by 1965 One of our justifications for the initial cost of the SSBN system is the long submarine life We should remember the potentials that exist for missiles of expanded capability during this later life The development potential of POLARIS into a longer range missile is important to the American people because a It will permit eventually the United States to move its deterrent missile forces many many miles from any land Such distances in the light of fallout fixed site attraction for enemy missiles blast destruction and nuclear holocaust are important and very impressive b It enlarges the possible launch area for ballistic missiles to tens of millions of square miles - - the whole North Atlantic much of the South Atlantic and the Pacific and most of the Indian Ocean -- many times the area of the U S would become available 30 f s EI JECLASSJJt'lED JAW E O 12958 OPNA 'INST 5513 16 SERIES The SSBN is a superior deterrent system that will be available in the near future and useful for a long time c It assures beyond any question the invulnerability of the SSBN system Who could hope to surprise and destroy a fleet of submerged submarines dispersed over such a vast area d It shows the SSBN as a warfare instrument to insure peace with a rising long term usefulness to warrant its initial cost e It shows the long term visions of Navy planning The Navy is and should be recognized as a far-sighted branch of our Armed Services Other areas with bright futures are also worthy of public viewing and knowledge - - communications and navigation satellites oceanography developments nuclear powered ships are but a few topics that the average American is not very aware of although he is paying for them n JECLASSIFIED IA W E O 12 58 OPNA V1NST 5S15 16 SERIES'