No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-28-4-2-2 i I '' ' OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM TOP SECRET SENSITIVE September 28 1977 MEMORANDUM FOR ZBIGNIEW B RZEZINSKI F ROM WILLI AM E ODOM SUBJECT The IVORY ITEM That Never Was This mO'l'aing we received word f rom DOD that an IVORY ITEM would be conducted lnvolring everyone but the President i e tba t it would come through WHCA switch to Darid Aaron in your absence and me The event was to occur be fore noon but did not Thia afte rnooo I leal Ued lndlrec tly 11 that ffllrhld Brown could not get his CINCa and the Chiefs convened on a secUl e con fe rence call however much be wished Admiral Holloway in New Delhi had no secure voice avail• able and several ol the CtNCs could not reach their secure phones in the• ti me frame allotted This episode does not mean that we could not make the system work in the real event that would be done by non-secure lines and CINCs not answering would be by-passed It does point up sharply however the limits to our secW e voice net It also points up the enormously utility to these IVORY ITEM drill• in giving the NC A a sense o£ com munic ation and timing realities TOP SECBET SENSlTtVE XCDS WEO n m 9 28 77 No Objection Declassification in Full 2013 11 15 NLC-12-28-4-2-2