Office of the Historian

58. Briefing note for 367th NSC meeting1

Washington, May 29, 1958
[Facsimile Page 1]

ITEM 3

1.
The next item is a Progress Report by the Department of Defense, relating to the Military Mobilization Base Program.
2.
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.
3.
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.
4.
Defense was then requested to prepare at the earliest practicable date an outline—using this new concept—of the Military Mobilization Base Program, force structure, and annual costs in order of magnitude.
5.
Today we will hear from Defense a report of difficulties encountered and progress made in meeting this request. Later, in the 1958 Defense annual status report, we shall receive a statement of the actions taken by Defense up to June 30 to develop the Military Mobilization Base Program, using the new concept. Still later, hopefully in early fall, Defense will present to the Council its proposed Military Mobilization Base Program for FY 1960.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY McGUIRE

  1. Source: Status of military mobilization base program. Top Secret. 1 p. Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records.↩