Editing Army Nuclear Power Program (section)

==Background==
There was interest in the possible application of nuclear power to land-based military needs as early as 1952. A memo from the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], dated 10 February 1954, assigned the Army the responsibility for "developing nuclear power plants to supply heat and electricity at remote and relatively inaccessible military installations." The [[United States Secretary of the Army|Secretary of the Army]] established the '''Army Nuclear Power Program''' and assigned it to the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]].<ref name=Briefbook>''Army Nuclear Power Program: Past, Present, Future''. A briefing document prepared and presented to the Ad Hoc Study Group of the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, 10–11 February 1969</ref>

The [[Atomic Energy Act of 1954]] made the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] (AEC) responsible for R&D in the nuclear field, so that the ANPP then became a joint interagency 'activity' of the [[United States Department of the Army|Department of the Army]] (DA) and the AEC. When the Atomic Energy Act was revised in 1954, Paragraph 91b authorized the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] to obtain special nuclear material for use in defense utilization facilities. The focus of the Army Nuclear Power Program was on power production facilities while the [[Naval Reactors|Naval Reactors Program]] concentrated on nuclear propulsion for submarines and ships. On 9 April 1954 the [[List of United States Army Corps of Engineers Chiefs of Engineers|Chief of Engineers]] established the '''US Army Engineer Reactors Group''' to perform the missions assigned by DA. Essentially, these missions were to:<ref name="Briefbook"/>
* conduct R&D, with the AEC, on nuclear power plant development;
* operate the Corps of Engineers nuclear power plants;
* carry out training in support of the plants;
* provide technical support to other agencies as required;
* develop programs for application of nuclear reactors to military needs.

In a Department of the Army Approved Qualitative Materiel Development Objective for Nuclear Power Plants, dated 7 January 1965, these objectives were stated for the program:<ref name="Briefbook"/>

* Reduction or elimination of dependence on [fossil] fuel sources.
* Reduction or elimination of logistic burden necessary to support conventional power plants.
* Reliable operation.
* Infrequent refueling and maintenance.
* Reduced crew size, with ultimate goal of unattended operation.
* Transportability, mobility, and reaction times compatible with the mission or equipment to be supported.
* Improved cost-effectiveness.

The AEC ultimately concluded that the probability of achieving the objectives of the Army Nuclear Power Program in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost was not high enough to justify continued funding of its portion of projects to develop small, stationary, and mobile reactors. Cutbacks in military funding for long-range research and development because of the Vietnam War led the AEC to phase out its support of the program in 1966. The costs of developing and producing compact nuclear power plants were so high that they could be justified only if the reactor had a unique capability and filled a clearly defined objective backed by DOD. After that, the Army's participation in nuclear power plant research and development efforts steadily declined and eventually stopped altogether.<ref name="Logistic">Pfeffer, Macon, ''Nuclear Power: An Option for the Army's Future'', Army Logistician, PB 700-01-5, Vol 33, Issue 5, Sept/Oct 2001, retrieved from [http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/SepOct01/MS684.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205175502/http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/SepOct01/MS684.htm|date=2009-02-05}} on January 30, 2009</ref>