WEDNESDAY, JULY 12,1967 TIDE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1967 THE MICHIGAN DAILY PA(E L l1 LI L 1111 Ex-Generals Claim US. Will Lose Nuclear Leat WASHINGTON (P) - A report signed by former top military of- ficers asserted yesterday that the United States will lose its lead over the Soviet Union in terms of deliverable nuclear punch this year. And by 1971, the report stated, "it appears that a massive mega- tonnage gap will have developed." Megatonnage is the term used * to describe the atomic force of strategic weapons-the firepower in the nuclear age, as the report put it. One megaton equals one million tons of TNT. The list of those who endorsed the study-which challenged cer- tain policies of Secretary of De- fense Robert S. McNamara in places-reads like a Who's Who of recent American military his- tory. Among the signers were Air Force Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, who was head of the nation's in- tercontinental ballistic missile de- velopment program for 12 years until he retired last August. Schriever served as chairman of a special American Security Council subcommittee which, ac- cording to the report's foreward, prepared the strategic military study for the House Armed Serv- ices Committee at the request of Chairman L. Mendel Rivers (D- S.C.). The council describes it- self as a non-profit association engaged in national security re- search and education. In addition to Schriever, the report was signed by Gen. Curtis E. LeMay ret., former Air Force chief of staff; Gen. Paul D. Adams, U.S. Army ret., former commander in chief, U.S. Strike Command; Gen. Thomas S. Pow- er, USAF ret., former commander of the Strategic Air Command; Adm. Robert L. Dennison ret., former commander of the Atlantic Fleet; and Dr. Edward Teller, the nuclear scientist. In addition to voicing concern over the impending "megatonnage gap," the officers outlined the case for development of a U.S. antimissile system, presented evi- dence that the Soviets may be building orbital nuclear bombs and blamed civilian leaders for a deliberate decision to allow the Soviet Union to slice the U.S. lead in terms of long range offensive missiles. The United States, according to Pentagon figures, presently leads the Soviet Union