The Trinity test of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrific displays of shock and awe. Yet, at war's end military officials still knew very little about the overall effects of nuclear weapons. The Joint Chiefs of Staff requested and received presidential approval to conduct a series of tests during the summer of 1946. The radiological hazards of atomic bombs were known, and strongly influenced the decision to locate the tests in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Under an agreement with the United Nations, the Marshall Islands were a new trust territory of the United States. The agreement allowed for military use of the islands, along with responsibilities for native welfare. It was hard to make a case that relocating the natives and turning their island into a nuclear weapons test site was to their benefit. Nonetheless, the Bikini islanders were moved to Rongerik atoll, which was too small and barren to support them. The USA did little to help. When the dismal record of American stewardship became known in the fall of 1947, it stirred up worldwide protest. Regardless of the international ramifications, the Joint Chiefs had no good alternatives. Even these islands had serious drawbacks. The distance from the United States made for extraordinary logistical and security challenges, while the humid climate wreaked havoc with the sophisticated electronic and photographic equipment.