ABSTRACT:
This history provides a narrative and analysis of the four successive DOD organizations responsible for managing the United State's nuclear arsenal during the Cold War. Starting with the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, 1947-1959, the organization became the Defense Atomic Support Agency, 1959-1971, then the Defense Nuclear Agency, 1971 -1996, and finally the Defense Special Weapons Agency. 1996-1998. The history explains the Secretary of Defense’s reliance on these organizations technical expertise for scientific judgments on nuclear weapons production, nuclear tests, and nuclear weapons effects.
