From the archive record
Desert Rock was the code name of a series of exercises conducted by the US military in conjunction with atmospheric nuclear tests. In 1951, the US Army, carried out the Desert Rock Exercises, an experiment to "dispel much of the fear and uncertainty surrounding atomic radiation and the effects of gamma and x-rays." Troops spent hours in classes receiving training in radiation and nuclear weapons effects, living at a tent encampment which was set up about 27 miles from where the atomic explosions were detonated. The encampment housed about 5,000 Army soldiers, civilian observers and technicians. At the time of the first detonation, soldiers were told to crouch down and face away from the blast. The bomb flash blanked out the troops from view, and such flash was followed by incredibly strong