Operation Red Hat

Operation Red Hat was a United States Department of Defense movement of chemical warfare munitions from Okinawa, Japan to Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, which occurred in 1971.

[2] During this deployment, "Unit personnel were actively engaged in preparing RED HAT area, site 2 for the receipt and storage of first increment items, [shipment] "YBA", DOD Project 112."

The company received further shipments, code named YBB and YBF, which according to declassified documents also included sarin, VX, and mustard gas.

[2] In 1969, over 20 personnel (23 U.S. soldiers and one U.S. civilian, according to other reports) were exposed to low levels of the nerve agent sarin while sandblasting and repainting storage containers.

An official U.S. film on the mission says that "safety was the primary concern during the operation", though Japanese resentment of U.S. military activities on Okinawa also complicated the situation.

At the technical level, time pressures imposed to complete the mission, the heat, and water rationing problems also complicated the planning.

[1] The initial phase of Operation Red Hat involved the movement of chemical munitions from a depot storage site to Tengan Pier, eight miles away, and required 1,332 trailers in 148 convoys.

[citation needed] Phase II completed cargo discharge to Johnston Atoll with five moves of the remaining 12,500 tons of munitions, in August and September 1971.