COLLECTION FINDING AID



MARTIN R. HOFFMANN PAPERS, (1962) 1971-1977 (1991)

General Counsel, Atomic Energy Commission;
General Counsel, Department of Defense;
Secretary of the Army



CONTENTS

Summary Description | Biographical Information | Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List


SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Material relating primarily to his work with the Atomic Energy Commission (1971-1973), the Department of Defense (1973-1975), and the Department of the Army (1975-1977). In addition to documents on atomic energy and national security matters, the collection contains information on agency legal matters, the honor code at the U.S. Military Academy, and the work of James Schlesinger (initially as AEC administrator and later as Secretary of Defense). The collection also concerns Hoffmann’s later work (1988) on the Defense Secretary’s Commission on Base Realignment and Closure.

QUANTITY
25.6 linear feet and 9 volumes (ca. 52,000 pages)

DONOR
Martin R. Hoffmann (accession number 94-53)

ACCESS
Open. Some items may be temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Martin R. Hoffmann donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by William McNitt, September 2003
[s:\bin\findaid\hoffmann, martin - papers.doc]


BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


Martin R. Hoffmann


April 20, 1932 - Born, Stockbridge, MA

1954 - B.A., Princeton University

1954-1958 - U.S. Army

1958-1959 - Technical Editor Engineer, Martin Company, Denver, CO

1961 - L.L.B., University of Virginia Law School

1961-1962 - Law Clerk for Judge Albert V. Bryan, U.S. Court of Appeals

1962-1965 - Assistant U.S. Attorney, Washington, DC

1965-1966 - Minority Counsel, House Judiciary Committee

1967-1969 - Legal Counsel to U.S. Senator Charles Percy

1969-1971 - Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, University Computing Company, Dallas, TX

1971-1973 - General Counsel, Atomic Energy Commission

1973-1974 - Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense

1974-1975 - General Counsel, Department of Defense

1975-1977 - Secretary of the Army

1977-1989 - Managing Partner, Gardner, Carton & Douglas, Washington, DC

1988 - Member, Defense Secretary’s Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

1989-1993 - Vice President and General Counsel, Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, MA

1993-1995 - Senior visiting fellow, Center for Policy, Technology & Industrial Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

1996-- Of counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Washington, DC


INTRODUCTION

In 1971, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman James Schlesinger asked Martin Hoffmann, who had previous Washington experience as a congressional staff member, to leave a private sector position to serve as AEC General Counsel. Hoffmann served in this role until 1973 when Schlesinger became Secretary of Defense. Hoffmann joined him at the Department of Defense and served successively as Special Assistant, General Counsel, and Secretary of the Army. Although the collection contains some materials from before and after his service in these two Federal agencies, Hoffmann’s six years in the Nixon and Ford administrations are its primary focus.

The Hoffmann Papers do not contain a complete record of his work in the AEC or DoD. He left the bulk of his files with the agencies when he departed. The collection consists of duplicates of agency records (such as chronological reading files and speech files), personal materials (such as personal correspondence and desk calendars), and selected subject files on topics of special interest to Hoffmann.

Materials from Hoffmann’s two years with the AEC include outgoing memoranda and correspondence in the Chronological File and personal correspondence and topical files in the General Subject File. Most of this material concerns the atomic energy industry or the legal, environmental, or legislative matters on which he advised the members of the Commission.

The collection contains relatively little from Hoffmann’s service as Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. Due to the nature of this position, the materials concern bits and pieces on many topics. There is some significant material on the confirmation hearings for the appointment of James Schlesinger as Secretary of Defense.

As General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Hoffmann played a more major role in the Department and had more focused duties. The collection documents his role as an advisor on legal and legislative matters. Significant files concern such topics as conflict of interest allegations against Deputy Secretary William Clements, possible racial discrimination in the appointment of a military attaché to Chile, disposal of obsolete and excess chemical warfare materials from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a lawsuit involving the appointment of General Alexander Haig to the civilian position of White House Chief of Staff, arms sales to Iran, and surface-to-air missile development. The collection is also useful for examining the role of James Schlesinger as Secretary of Defense and contains many of his speeches, press conferences, interviews, articles, etc.

The most significant portion of this collection concerns Hoffmann’s work as Secretary of the Army. The materials concern fiscal and other management issues, the All-Volunteer Army, reviews of weapons system acquisition processes, resolution of a West Point cheating scandal, possible unionization of the military, and the 1977 transition to the Carter administration.

Hoffmann continued his interest in the Army and other defense matters after he left the government. The collection contains speeches and some folders on defense matters into the 1980s. There is also an entire series of correspondence, briefing materials and meeting transcripts relating to Hoffmann’s service on the DoD Secretary’s Commission on Base Realignment and Closure in 1988.

Related Materials (September 2003)
The Library has only scattered folders on the Atomic Energy Commission and its successor, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Key files are White House Central Files Subject Files categories AT, FG 78 and FG 384 and the Domestic Council files of Glenn Schleede. However, none of this material dates from the period in which Hoffmann served on the AEC staff.

Materials relating to the Department of Defense include Central Files category FG 13, the papers of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs William Greener, the Defense Department News Summaries, and scattered other folders. Collections concerning the U.S. Army include Central Files categories FG 14 and ND and the papers of Secretary of the Army Howard “Bo” Callaway.

The papers of DoD Secretary Melvin Laird (1969-1972) and the many sub-collections created by National Security Advisers Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft and their staffs are currently being processed. Researchers should inquire of their status.


SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

General Subject File, (1962) 1971-1977 (1989).  (Boxes 1-32, 12.8 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting agendas, desk calendars, lists, notes, affidavits, news summaries, telephone call logs, travel vouchers, and newspaper clippings. The bulk of this material dates from Hoffmann’s service with the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense. Topics include: All-Volunteer Force, Armed Forces Policy Council, agency legal matters, conflict of interest allegations against William Clements, Army management, Army transition books, invitations, arms sales to Iran, activities of James Schlesinger, unionization of the military, and weapons systems acquisition. The series also contains a few folders dating from after Hoffmann’s government service, including speech materials and also information on 1988 Republican platform hearings.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Speech File, 1974-1981 (1988).  (Boxes 33-35, 1.2 linear feet)
Speech drafts, reading copies, and version released to the public. For most speeches the collection contains one, but not all, of these versions. The focus is on the Army and defense and national security matters, even for the speeches that date from after Hofmann’s government service.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

U.S. Military Academy Honor Code File, (1971) 1976-1977.  (Boxes 36-40, 1.7 linear feet)
Reports, briefing books, transcripts of press conferences and congressional hearings, working papers, and correspondence. The materials concern cheating in a class at the U.S. Military Academy; the punishments given to the students; and subsequent reviews of the Military Academy Honor Code by the Army, a commission headed by Frank Borman, and congressional committees. After all of these reviews, Secretary of the Army Hoffmann announced his decisions on whether the students would be allowed to return to the Military Academy.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Chronological File, 1971-1977.  (Boxes 40-55, 6.1 linear feet)
Copies of outgoing letters and memoranda written by Hoffmann to colleagues, other government officials, and the general public. Only very occasionally are copies of incoming letters included and no attachments mentioned in the documents appear in this series. Documents from 1971 to 1973 focus on atomic energy and the work of the Atomic Energy Commission; those from 1973 to 1975 concern the Department of Defense legal and legislative matters; and those from 1975 to 1977 relate to the management of the Army. The material gives a good overview of all of the topics on which Hoffmann worked in his various positions, but usually does not provide detailed information on them.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Defense Secretary’s Commission on Base Realignment and Closure File, (1978) 1988 (1991).  (Boxes 55-64, 3.8 linear feet)
Commission meeting agendas, briefing books, and transcripts; activity reports; final report and drafts; memoranda; and newspaper clippings. Also included are hearings transcripts and reports about earlier discussions of base closings in the 1970s and 1980s. The series focuses on Commission meetings and hearings during which they explored the issue of base closing, the decision-making process in deciding which bases to recommend for closure or realignment, and the writing of the final report.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks, 1975-1977. (Vol. I-IX, 9 volumes)
Newspaper clippings, photographs, press releases, trip itineraries, and occasional routine letters (primarily cover letters transmitting other materials to Hoffmann). The focus of the scrapbooks is on trips made by Hoffmann during his tenure as Secretary of the Army.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series


CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject File

Box 2 - Subject File

Box 3 - Subject File

Box 4 - Subject File

Box 5 - Subject File

Box 6 - Subject File

Box 7 - Subject File

Box 8 - Subject File

Box 9 - Subject File

Box 10 - Subject File

Box 11 - Subject File

Box 12 - Subject File

Box 13 - Subject File

Box 14 - Subject File

Box 15 - Subject File

Box 16 - Subject File

Box 17 - Subject File

Box 18 - Subject File

Box 19 - Subject File

Box 20 - Subject File

Box 21 - Subject File

Box 22 - Subject File

Box 23 - Subject File

Box 24 - Subject File

Box 25 - Subject File

Box 26 - Subject File

Box 27 - Subject File

Box 28 - Subject File

Box 29 - Subject File

Box 30 - Subject File

Box 31 - Subject File

Box 32 - Subject File

Box 33 - Speech File

Box 34 - Speech File

Box 35 - Speech File

Box 36 - United States Military Academy Honor Code File

Box 37 - United States Military Academy Honor Code File

Box 38 - United States Military Academy Honor Code File

Box 39 - United States Military Academy Honor Code File

Box 40 - United States Military Academy Honor Code File

Box 40 (Continued) - Chronological File

Box 41 - Chronological File

Box 42 - Chronological File

Box 43 - Chronological File

Box 44 - Chronological File

Box 45 - Chronological File

Box 46 - Chronological File

Box 47 - Chronological File

Box 48 - Chronological File

Box 49 - Chronological File

Box 50 - Chronological File

Box 51 - Chronological File

Box 52 - Chronological File

Box 53 - Chronological File

Box 54 - Chronological File

Box 55 - Chronological File

Box 55 (Continued) - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 56 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 57 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 58 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 59 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 60 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 61 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 62 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 63 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Box 64 - Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure

Vol. I - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. II - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. III - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. IV - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. V - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. VI - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. VII - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. VIII - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks

Vol. IX - Secretary of the Army Scrapbooks