sentences:  During the 1940s and 1950s, the U.S. Navy's need for a deep water test facility became so apparent that in 1958 the Chief of Naval Operations established an advisory group to determine the location and specifications for testing underwater vehicles, weapons, and weapon systems.As a result of the extensive studies of this group, the United States Secretary of the Navy in November 1959 directed establishment of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) under the Bureau of Ships (now Naval Sea Systems Command) to provide a deep water test and evaluation facility for making underwater acoustic measurement, testing sonar, and providing accurate underwater, surface and air tracking data on ships and weapons in support of the U.S. Navy's antisubmarine and undersea research and development programs.The area chosen for AUTEC was the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO) located between the islands of Andros, New Providence, and Exuma Sound in the Bahamas.