In an email sent out to agency employees, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) head Brandon Williams warned of the consequences of disseminating classified or sensitive information.
“It saddens me that this message is necessary,” Williams opened his Nov. 22 email viewed by Exchange Monitor, “but past actions by NNSA-affiliated personnel have undermined national leadership’s confidence in our ability to safeguard classified and sensitive unclassified information related to our national security work.”
A source told the Monitor an NNSA contractor mishandled sensitive unclassified information, prompting the email from Williams.
“The mission of the National Nuclear Security Administration is vital and demands an unwavering commitment to operational security (OPSEC),” Williams said. “Any compromise of information, regardless of its perceived sensitivity, represents a direct threat to our strategic interests, our personnel, and the American people we are sworn to protect.”
The email that was also sent to lab directors and some contractor heads. Williams did not elaborate further or disclose specifics of what prompted the message.
Williams added he expects “each of you to disseminate this message with the gravity it deserves throughout your respective organizations. Ensure that every employee understands their individual responsibility and the severe repercussions of failure to comply. This is not a suggestion; it is an order.”
Williams listed the “severe and far-reaching” punishments for security violations, “whether intentional or through gross negligence,” including administrative penalties, loss of a clearance, civil liabilities and criminal prosecution.
The email distribution list also included lab directors, such as Lawrence Livermore director Kim Budil and Sandia’s director Laura McGill, and some contractor heads, including Kelly Beierschmitt, head of Pantex’s BWXT-led prime contractor PanTeXas Deterrence; Roger Rocha, head of Nevada’s prime contractor Mission Support and Test Services; and Richard Tighe, head of Y-12’s Bechtel-led Prime Consolidated Nuclear Security.