◆ SpookStack

administrator was an absolute necessity, James A. Cunningham, Assistant Chief, DPD, approached Col. L. K. White, the D~puty Director for Support, early in December 1960 to discuss the appointment of a qualified support officer to be the base manager. Cunningham stated: We were keen on having a Chief of Base who would effectively control the management and base operating end of the effort so as to avoid criticism arising from unpredictable changes in the scope and cost of the facility. 81/* The concern regarding the choice of a COB for JMTIDE paid off for, short lived though it was, at no time during the operation of TIDE was there the sort of friction between the Chief of Air Operations and the COB that occurred at MAnD. The JMTIDE crypt was assigned on 10 December 1960 and four representatives from Headquarters went to Nicaragua in January 1961 to negotiate with Presi- . \ dent Somoza concerning the renovation, use, and opera- tion of the JMTIDE base. With the full cooperation of the Nicaraguan Government, the construction activity * In his discussions with Col. White, Cunningham also noted that it would be beneficial if the appointee to be COB were fluent in the Spanish language. - 153 - ----_._._----'----~....---------------------