Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Senior Navy Admiral Says Refreshing High Explosive in Warhead Under Consideration Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 The Nuclear Weapons Council is currently examining expanding the scope of the W88 Alt 370, debating replacing the conventional high explosive as part of an effort to replace the arming, fusing and firing mechanism on the warhead, Navy Strategic […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 After five years, Daniel Poneman is stepping down as Deputy Energy Secretary this fall. Poneman’s departure plans were announced in a message Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz sent to employees late this week. “It has been my pleasure to work with Dan in many settings over a couple of decades—from […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 With the nation’s nuclear deterrent facing budgetary pressures, the Air Force and Navy in recent years have ramped up cooperation, and one of the Air Force’s top nuclear officials said this week that the cooperation is already reaping dividends. Speaking at the Capitol Hill Club, Air Force Assistant Chief of […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 With lawmakers raising questions about the Obama Administration’s ‘3+2’ strategy for modernizing the nation’s nuclear stockpile, Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney this week continued to advocate for the full suite of modernization efforts proposed by the Administration. Authorizers and appropriators in both the House and Senate have raised questions […]

70 Incumbent Employees Turn Down Job Offers from CNS Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 With less than two weeks to go before the official transition of contractors at Y-12 and Pantex, Consolidated Nuclear Security is going through a series of final readiness reviews in conjunction with the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office and taking […]

NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 IN DOE Only one team is believed to have submitted a proposal for the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory contract this week. Incumbent Brookhaven Science Associates—a partnership of Battelle and Stony Brook University—is believed to have been the only team to submit a proposal for the contract after interest from groups […]

NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 UPF Procurement Chief on Temporary Assignment in UK With the Uranium Processing Facility project in a lull while the National Nuclear Security Administration and its contractors put together a new strategy for how to proceed, the UPF procurement manager has temporarily left the project. Bechtel veteran Rich Brown, who’s headed the UPF […]

NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 Wind Farm Project Completed Officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy, Siemens Government Technologies Inc. and Pantex Plant M&O contractor B&W Pantex this week officially launched the Pantex Renewable Energy Project (PREP), a wind farm that is expected to generate roughly  60 percent of the plant’s yearly energy […]

NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 Klotz to Make First Visit to Plant on July 8 National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz will continue his tour of the weapons complex when he visits the Kansas City Plant July 8. Klotz’s visit will be timed with the completion of an 18-month move from the plant’s former home, the […]

NS&D Monitor 6/20/2014 LANSCE Refurbishment Meeting Targets, But Risks Remain Los Alamos National Laboratory is generally meeting its management milestones in the $253 million effort to refurbish its aging Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), according to an analysis the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General released earlier this month. But fluctuating budgets and […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Republicans and Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee, who previously have sparred over legislative language about the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, both expressed concern this week about increasing tension and flagging employee morale at the Board that was revealed by NW&M Monitor last week. NW&M Monitor also revealed […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Three senior House Republicans late this week urged President Obama to take action against Russia for violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The New York Times reported Jan. 30 that acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller had met with NATO allies in January […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Timothy Hallman, the Associate Director for Nuclear Physics in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, will serve as the Source Selection Official for the Department’s Brookhaven National Laboratory procurement, DOE officials said at an informational meeting last week. DOE released documents from the industry day this week, revealing the […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 A pair of key State Department arms control nominees were cleared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. Rose Gottemoeller, the President’s nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and Frank Rose, Obama’s pick to be Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 In separate venues this week, a pair of senior American diplomats called for movement in the Conference on Disarmament on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, but the Geneva negotiating body appears to be as stymied as ever in its push to begin the talks. In a speech this week, Israel’s […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 President Obama has nominated a pair of Administration officials to fill key vacancies in the Pentagon’s policy shop. On Jan. 31, Obama nominated Christine Wormuth to be the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Brian McKeon to serve as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Wormuth […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories recently com-pleted the first full-system mechanical environment test ona refurbished B61 nuclear bomb, marking a key milestone in the life extension program for the weapons system, the National Nuclear Security Administration said this week. The test is the first in a series of environmental […]

IG: LAB MISUSED DOE RESOURCES ON DOCUMENTARY NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory inappropriately used Department of Energy facilities and resources when it participated in a 2011 National Geographic documentary on the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, according to a DOE Inspector General report released this week. The lab spent $81,746 in Licensing and […]

POWERS TO HEAD UP ORNL’S RESEARCH REACTORS DIVISION NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 Tim Powers has been named director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Research Reactors Division, effective immediately, and will be in charge of operations at the lab’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. His appointment is part of a leadership reorganization in key areas following Kelly Beierschmitt’s […]

NS&D Monitor 2/07/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Marking the first time a nonfamily member has been selected to lead Bechtel, Bill Dudley has been named the company’s new President and CEO, effective immediately. Dudley, who previously held the position of president and chief operating officer, replaces Riley Bechtel, who is “stepping down for health reasons from […]

NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 IN CONGRESS The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee is looking to mark up its version of the Fiscal Year 2015 energy spending bill next week. The panel has scheduled a hearing June 17 beginning at 10 a.m. to consider the measure. The full Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take up […]

NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 DOE IG Criticizes ORNL Personnel Security Program An inspection report released this week by the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said it could not confirm an allegation that a former senior official at Oak Ridge National Laboratory retained access to sensitive information after becoming a “casual” employee at ORNL. However, the IG […]

NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 Lab Names Permanent Director for NIF Jeff Wisoff, who replaced Ed Moses in the fall as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Principal Associate Director for the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science, is officially taking over the position in a permanent role, LLNL Director Bill Goldstein said this week. “I have every confidence […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 The security of high-risk industrial radiological sources is lacking despite often times meeting Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released this week, drawing concern from the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In a June 12 audit report, the […]

Staff reports NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 New National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz said last week that he’s pleased with the way the transition of contractors is proceeding at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants. “What we’re pleased with is the positive collaboration between the incoming and outgoing contractors, which is our expectation,” Klotz […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 The Department of Defense has underestimated the amount of money it will cost to modernize its nuclear forces over the next 10 years, according to a new Government Accountability Office report that echoes similar findings about the NNSA. In December, the GAO highlighted shortcomings with NNSA budget estimates, noting that […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014    Work underway to set up the Department of Energy’s new Office of Independent Enterprise Assessment (IEA) is slowing down ongoing DOE enforcement investigations, IEA Director Glenn Podonsky said late this week. The new office, which was created as part of a reorganization of DOE’s safety and security functions, contains the […]

Kenny Fletcher NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 House appropriators are looking to rescind more than a billion dollars associated with the privatization of USEC still remaining. The House version of the Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, reported out of subcommittee this week, would rescind the roughly $1.6 billion in the United States Enrichment Corporation […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/13/2014 National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz will visit the Pantex Plant June 17 as his tour across the weapons complex continues. Klotz last week visited the Y-12 National Security Complex, and in May he toured the Nevada National Security Site and Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories. Confirmed in […]