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December 27, 1962

JCS Telegram 7947 to USCINCEUR [Commander-in-Chief European Command], CINCLANT [Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Command] and DSTP [Director Strategic Target Planning Staff], Offutt Air Force Base, Info for CINCSAC [Commander in Chief Strategic Air Command]

This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)

This urgent message “of the highest sensitivity” from the Joint Chiefs to top commanders began with a misrepresentation of President Kennedy’s decision: “serious consideration [is] being given to withdrawal of JUPITERS from Italy and Turkey.” The recipients—General Lyman Lemnitzer [CINCEUR], Admiral Robert Dennison [CINCLANT], and General Thomas Power [DSTP]—were to assume that Italy and Turkey had agreed to the decision, that withdrawal of the Jupiters would occur by April 1, 1963, and that Polaris submarines would be in the Mediterranean by that date. Both USCINCEUR and DSTP, who directed work on the SIOP, were to consider retargeting requirements once the Jupiters went offline. CINCLANT was to consider the feasibility of deploying one, two, or three submarines.



Document Information

Source

National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Record Group 218, Maxwell Taylor Files, Box 36, Nassau/Jupiters/Skybolt/MLF (Folder #2). Contributed by Bill Burr and Leopoldo Nuti.

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Original Uploaded Date

2023-04-18

Language

Record ID

300422

Original Classification

Top Secret

Donors

Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)