The Weapons Systems Evaluation Group (abbreviated WSEG) was formed in 1949 to carry out Operational Research work for the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and the

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

. The group oversaw the appraisal of weapons used during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. The group collaborated with Israel in evaluating the effectiveness of Soviet weapons during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

History

The first Research Director was Philip M. Morse, who served a year and a half before returning to

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

in the summer of 1950. From 1957 until 1960 John H. Sides was director of WSEG. Lt. Gen. Harvey T. Alness was director from Sept. 1, 1962 until March 1, 1964. Hugh Everett III worked at the WSEG from 1956 until 1964. Much of his works remains classified. During his time with the WSEG Everett worked on various studies of the Minuteman missile project, which was then starting. Together with George E. Pugh he wrote an influential study ''The Distribution and Effects of Fallout in Large Nuclear Weapon Campaigns''., "The Distribution and Effects of Fallout in Large Nuclear-Weapon Campaigns", in ''Biological and Environment Effects of Nuclear War'', Hearings Before the Special Sub-Committee on Radiation of the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy, June 22–26, 1959, Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959.

References

{{authority control United States Department of Defense agencies