Operation Alert 1960 was a 3-day nationwide exercise held from May 3 through May 5. Confined to the testing of immediate and short-term response of the people and their governments to a simulated nuclear Attack, the exercise was more realistic than any of its six predecessors. It especially emphasized action on the following fronts: (1) Warning action, including shelter-evacuation-dispersion of key resources and relocation of governments; (2) collection, evaluation, analysis, and presentation of attack data and weapons effects; (3) operational control and use of communications; (4) early post-attack decisions and staffsupported decisions; and (5) use of monitors at all levels to assure correct play of the exercise and to evaluate participation. The President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of OCDM aderessed the public as part of a 30-minute test of the CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiations) system at the beginning of the exercise.. Forty-eight of the fifty State governments took part in the exercise, and local government activities were considerable even in two States not participating. In some States, the National Guard played a substantial role in the exercise. (OCDM, Annual Report 1960, p. 60)