Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XXV, Organization of Foreign Policy; Information Policy; United Nations; Scientific Matters

444. National Security Action Memorandum No. 252¹

Washington, undated.

TO

• The Vice President
• The Secretary of State
• The Secretary of Defense
• The Secretary of the Treasury
• The Attorney General
• The Director of Central Intelligence
• The Director, U.S. Information Agency
• The Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• The Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
• The Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency
• The Administrator of General Services
• The Director, Bureau of the Budget
• The Director, Office of Emergency Planning
• The Director, Office of Science and Technology
• The Director of Telecommunications Management

SUBJECT

• Establishment of the National Communications System

Concept and Objectives

In furtherance of the general objectives stated in NSAM 201, dated October 26, 1962,² a National Communications System (NCS) shall be established and developed by linking together, improving, and extending on an evolutionary basis the communications facilities and components of the various Federal agencies. The organizational arrangements set forth in NSAM 201 are superseded by those established in this memorandum.

The objective of the NCS will be to provide necessary communications for the Federal Government under all conditions ranging from a normal situation to national emergencies and international crises, including nuclear attack. The system will be developed and operated to be responsive to the variety of needs of the national command and user agencies and be capable of meeting priority requirements under emergency or war conditions through use of reserve capacity and additional private facilities. The NCS will also provide the necessary combinations of hardness, mobility, and circuit redundancy to obtain survivability of essential communications in all circumstances.

Initial emphasis in developing the NCS will be on meeting the most critical needs for communications in national security programs, particularly to overseas areas. As rapidly as is consistent with meeting critical needs, other Government needs will be examined and satisfied, as warranted, in the context of the NCS. The extent and character of the system require careful consideration in light of the priorities of need, the benefits to be obtained, and the costs involved.

Although no complete definition of the NCS can be made in advance of design studies and evolution in practice, it is generally conceived that the NCS would be comprised primarily of the long haul, point-to-point, trunk communications which can serve one or more agencies.

The President has directed the following organizational arrangements relating to the establishment and effective operation of the NCS.

Executive Office Responsibilities

In carrying out his functions pursuant to Executive Orders 10705 and 10995³ and under this memorandum, the Director of Telecommunications Management shall be responsible for policy direction of the development and operation of a National Communications System. In this capacity, he shall also serve as a Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications and shall:

a. Advise with respect to communication requirements to be supplied through the NCS; the responsibilities of the agencies in implementing and utilizing the NCS; the guidance to be given to the Secretary of Defense as Executive Agent for the NCS with respect to the design and operation of the NCS; and the adequacy of system designs developed by the Executive Agent to provide, on a priority basis and under varying conditions of emergency, communications to the users of the NCS.

b. Identify those requirements unique to the needs of the Presidency.

c. Formulate and issue to the Executive Agent guidance as to the relative priorities of requirements.

d. Exercise review and surveillance of actions to insure compliance with policy determinations and guidance.

e. Ensure that there is adequate planning to meet future needs of the NCS.

f. Assist the President with respect to his coordinating and other functions under the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 as may be specified by Executive Order or otherwise.

In performing these functions, the Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications will work closely with the Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; he will consult with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, as appropriate; will establish arrangements for inter-agency consultation to ensure that the NCS will meet the essential needs of all Government agencies; and will be responsible for carrying on the work of the Subcommittee on Communications of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council which is hereby abolished. In addition to staff regularly assigned, he is authorized to arrange for the assignment of communications and other specialists from any agency by detail or temporary assignment.

The Bureau of the Budget, in consultation with the Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications, the Executive Agent and the Administrator of General Services, will prescribe general guidelines and procedures for reviewing the financing of the NCS within the budgetary process and for preparation of budget estimates by the participating agencies.

Executive Agent Responsibilities

To obtain the benefits of unified technical planning and operations, a single Executive Agent for the NCS is necessary. The President has designated the Secretary of Defense to serve in this capacity. He shall:

a. Design, for the approval of the President, the NCS, taking into consideration the communication needs and resources of all Federal agencies.

b. Develop plans for fulfilling approved requirements and priority determinations, and recommend assignments of implementation responsibilities to user agencies.

c. Assist the user agencies and the General Services Administrator with respect to the Federal Telecommunications System to accomplish their respective undertakings in the development and operation of the system.

d. Allocate, reallocate, and arrange for restoration of communications facilities to authorized users based on approved requirements and priorities.

e. Develop operational plans and provide operational guidance with respect to all elements of the NCS, including (1) the prescription of standards and practices as to operation, maintenance, and installation; (2) the maintenance of necessary records to ensure effective utilization of the NCS; (3) the request of assignment of radio frequencies for the NCS; (4) the monitoring of frequency utilization; and (5) the exercise and test of system effectiveness.

f. Within general policy guidance, carry on long-range planning to ensure the NCS meets future Government needs, especially in the national security area, and conduct and coordinate research and development in support of the NCS to ensure that the NCS reflects advancements in the art of communications.

Within the framework of the NCS, the Executive Agent will provide for the requirements for survivable communications of the President and civilian agencies. A statement of such requirements is set forth in the report of the Task Group on Survivable Communications Requirements of the President and Top Civil Leaders, dated August 20, 1962⁴ which is approved for planning purposes.

The Secretary of Defense may delegate these functions within the Department of Defense subject at all times to his direction, authority, and control. In carrying out his responsibilities for design, development and operation of the NCS, the Secretary will make appropriate arrangements for participation of staff of other agencies.

Responsibilities of the Administrator of General Services

The Federal Telecommunications System, established with the approval of the President under authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, to provide communications services to certain agencies in the Fifty States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, shall be a part of the NCS and shall be implemented and developed in accordance with approved plans and policies developed pursuant to this memorandum. The Executive Agent and the Administrator of General Services shall be responsible for establishing arrangements to avoid duplication in requests for cost, traffic, and other information needed from agencies served by the FTS.

Nothing contained herein shall affect the responsibilities of the Administrator of General Services under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, with respect to the representation of agencies in negotiations with carriers and in proceedings before Federal and state regulatory bodies; prescription of policies and methods of procurement; and the procurement either directly or by delegation of authority to other agencies of public utility communications services.

Responsibilities of Other Agencies

All agencies are directed by the President to cooperate with and assist the Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications, the Executive Agent, and the Administrator of General Services in the performance of the functions set forth above.

McGeorge Bundy

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, S/S-NSC Files: Lot 72 D 316, NSAM 252. Confidential. An attached memorandum from Bundy to all recipients, dated July 12, indicates that NSAM No. 252 was dated July 11. The memorandum also states that the President’s Special Assistant for Science and Technology would perform the functions assigned to the Special Assistant for Telecommunications.
2. Document 438.
3. Executive Order 10705 of April 17, 1957 (22 FR 2729), delegated authority vested in the President by Subsections 305(a) and 606 (a), (c), and (d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization in time of war. Executive Order 10995 of February 16, 1962 (27 FR 1519), established a Director of Telecommunications Management to be in charge of federal telecommunications activities, policies, and standards. The Director would be one of the Assistant Directors of the Office of Emergency Planning and would assume the functions vested in the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning under Executive Order 10705, as amended.
4. Not printed. (Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Departments and Agencies Series, Office of Emergency Planning, Box 283)