Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise is recommending not only a major overhaul for the National Nuclear Security Administration, but a recasting of how weapons complex contractors are compensated. The 12-member panel this week released its long-awaited report, “A New Foundation for the Nuclear […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Senate is expected to vote as early as today on a Fiscal Year 2015 omnibus spending bill unveiled on Dec. 9 which would allocate $853.3 million for research, development, testing and evaluation for the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine replacement program. The appropriations bill, approved by the House Dec. 11, […]

Most Nonpro Programs See a Boost Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Despite the Administration’s plans for a shutdown of the project, construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility would continue at the $345 million funding level included in the Fiscal Year 2015 spending bill released by Congressional appropriators this week. That compares to the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has prompted the Joint Chiefs of Staff to commission a military assessment of hypothetical threats posed by any Russian deployment of a ground-launched cruise missile in Europe or the Asia-Pacific region, while House Republicans this week pressed the Administration to provide […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration are not adequately employing best practices in the analysis of alternatives (AOA) for major capital projects and may continue to see cost and schedule increases on its major projects, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released this week. […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Chairman Peter Winokur said this week that he is disappointed the Board dropped to the bottom of this year’s list of best “small” federal agencies to work for, but reiterated steps the Board is taking to help improve employee morale and satisfaction. The Board was […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 Less than a month after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Nov. 14 announced oversight and organizational changes within the troubled nuclear enterprise, the Air Force yesterday announced it will combine acquisition and product support management functions into a single two-star command based at Kirtland AFB, N.M. Air Force Secretary Deborah […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 As tensions over the annexation of Crimea and occupation of Eastern Ukraine persist between the U.S. and Russia, the prospective advancement of further economic sanctions against Russia and potential placement of defensive weapons in Ukraine should have no impact on bilateral New START cooperation, according to Steven Pifer, former U.S. […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The Department of Energy is planning to develop a new secretarial determination regarding its uranium transfers to cover cleanup work at Portsmouth and the downblending of highly-enriched uranium, releasing last week a request for information from the public about potential impacts on the uranium markets. The move comes after industry […]

Site Prep Work for UPF on Schedule, Under Budget, NNSA Says NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration says site preparation activities for the Uranium Processing Facility is on schedule and under budget, adding that there’s been no recorded accident or injury over the past 500-plus days. The preparations are taking place on the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 A State Department official during this week’s Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons called on countries, non-governmental organizations and academics to help the U.S. generate the trust and verification tools needed to bring about further worldwide nuclear reductions. Speaking on Dec. 9, the second and final day […]

NS&D Monitor 12/12/2014 IN THE NNSA The National Nuclear Security Administration was ranked 288th out of 314 federal agency subgroups in this year’s list of the best federal agencies to work for, compiled by the by the Partnership for Public Service and released this week. The NNSA was ranked 58th in pay, but 279th in […]

NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 IN THE NNSA As expected, Teresa Robbins has been named deputy manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Production Office. The NPO oversees the work at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants. It was reported in October that Robbins has been selected to fill the position, which had been held by […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 House and Senate authorizers are curtailing the Department of Defense’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program, withdrawing support for the program after Fiscal Year 2015, according to the compromise version of the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act released this week. The CTR program, created by Sens. Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 An Operations Squad Commander with the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Secure Transportation “engaged in unsuitable, reportable behaviors,” the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said this week. The IG did not release its Nov. 24 report on the Office of Secure Transportation, which protects nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 The United States must upgrade its nuclear deterrent and the $600 billion-$1 trillion 30-year price tag to modernize all three legs of the triad included in the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review should be manageable, National Defense Panel member and former Congressman Jim Marshall (D-Ga.) told NS&D Monitor this week on […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 Authorized funding for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in Fiscal Year 2015 would see a significant increase under the final version of the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, unveiled this week. The bill would authorize a funding level of $345 million and would direct that the money be […]

FPU for Cruise Missile Warhead Required in 2025 According to Compromise Bill Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 House and Senate authorizers have agreed to language in the recently completed compromise version of the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Authorization Act that would require a First Production Unit be completed on a new air-launched nuclear cruise missile […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation is moving forward with a reorganization that would consolidate its sub-programs into four offices to reduce overlap between the programs and better align its efforts, NNSA nonproliferation chief Anne Harrington said at an all-hands meeting Dec. 2. Under the reorganization, […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 Former Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director Beth Sellers and her husband, Bill, have been suspended from doing work with the government and have been proposed for debarment, government records indicate. Sellers resigned as Los Alamos’ deputy director in March after an investigation by the Department of Energy’s Inspector General […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 President Obama has tapped former Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, a physicist who oversaw various aspects of U.S. nuclear weapons policy working under two administrations, as outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s successor, the White House said on Dec. 5. Hagel resigned on Nov. 24, 10 days after he announced he […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 House lawmakers voted this week to approve a final version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which would establish a $3.5 billion National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund. The Senate is expected to follow suit next week. One provision of the bill would authorize the Defense Secretary to shift […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 Robert Scher, the Obama Administration’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, will attend a second confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Dec. 8, after some senators requested additional time to ask questions after the first hearing this week. Next week’s hearing will fall […]

$135 Million Sale of G4S Gov’t Solutions to Private Equity Firm Completed Nov. 24 Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 After being acquired by private equity firm Alvarez & Marsal Capital Security Holdings, security firm G4S Government Solutions has a new name, the Centerra Group, and new plans for expansion under its new owners, President and […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 A report recently released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week states that a reduction of the planned nuclear ballistic missile submarine posture from 12 to eight, a delay of the start construction date of the Ohio-class replacement from Fiscal Year 2021 to FY 2025, and a deferral of […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration projects continue to be plagued by cost estimating weaknesses, the Government Accountability Office said last week in a report that criticizes DOE/NNSA for not implementing best practices for cost estimating across the complex. Requirements for implementing best practices are inconsistent, the GAO […]

Watchdog Groups Call for Major Fee Cut For Lab Contractor NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 Two weapons complex watchdog groups are asking Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to slash the Fiscal Year 2014 performance fee for Los Alamos National Laboratory contractor Los Alamos National Security because of the lab’s alleged role in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant radiological […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 Malmstrom AFB has announced that the military will prosecute a missileer in connection with an unreleased criminal drug investigation by the Office of Special Investigations. 2nd Lt. Nicole Dalmazzi, of the 341st Missile Wing’s 12th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom AFB, is the first missileer the Air Force has said it […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 12/5/2014 The U.S. State Department is partnering with the Nuclear Threat Initiative to start an international nuclear forum to increase understanding among nuclear- and non-nuclear-weapon states of the technical problems of and solutions to verifying nuclear disarmament. Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, announced the International Partnership […]