136 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



Establishment and Growth of the Operational Research 



Section in Hawaii 



Dr. Paul E. Klopsteg, Director of Research at the Technological Institute 

 of Northwestern University and Chief of Division 17 of NDRC, w^as named 

 an Assistant Chief of OFS and left for Oahu in March 1944. After a month 

 of intensive consultation with officers of the Army headquarters staff and in 

 the technical services he returned with a program of work and a suggested 

 plan of organization. This called for the establishment of a "balanced team" 

 consisting of specialists who would be constituted as a special group work- 

 ing at GHQ and reporting directly to the Army Chief of Staff. Dr. Lauriston 

 C. Marshall, formerly director of the British branch of the Radiation Labora- 

 tory, was selected as the leader of this balanced team and departed for the 

 theater in May. On the basis of his contacts with the officers and a priority 

 listing of problems for the theater, Marshall soon recommended that his 

 team consist of a permanent staff of twenty-three which would include 

 experts in various named fields. This recommendation was approved by 

 the Commanding General of the Central Pacific Area. 



As the personnel of the group increased, the team was informally divided 

 into groups of experts in the following four fields, each headed by a senior 

 man who became a leader and took responsibility for supervision of the 

 projects undertaken by his group: weapons and analysis; radar, communi- 

 cations and countermeasures; amphibious operations, transportation and 

 cargo handling; and work simplification (until December 1944). Co- 

 ordination was provided through weekly conferences of all members of 

 the team who were not out in forward areas. When additional personnel 

 were brought to the theater on short missions, it was the policy to attach 

 them to Marshall's team for administrative purposes and for co-ordination. 



Soon after the balanced team was formally established in the theater it 

 was designated as the Operational Research Section (ORS) and was assigned 

 for administrative purposes to G-3 (operations), which placed it immedi- 

 ately under the supervision of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, as a sub- 

 section. Although the Section functioned as a part of the Army organization, 

 it worked with both Army and Navy, Throughout 1944 and the early 

 months of 1945 the total personnel of the group increased steadily. By the 

 end of hostilities nearly fifty men had been attached to it, including those 

 assigned for short special missions. The Japanese surrender obviated the 

 need for ORS and its activities were officially terminated on August 17. 



Although ORS was technically a creation of the Army, Lieutenant Gen- 

 eral Robert C. Richardson adopted a generous and farsighted policy in 

 authorizing the use of ORS men on work for the Army Air Forces and the 

 Navy. Policy considerations of these branches dictated that requests for such 



