NS&D Monitor
10/17/2014
In DoD
Air Force Brig. Gen. John Cherrey has been promoted to take Maj. Gen. Michael A. Keltz’s former position of director of intelligence, operations and nuclear integration at Headquarters Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio in Randolph, Texas, according to an Oct. 9 Defense Department press release. Keltz has been promoted to commander of the 19th Air Force at the Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio.
A new Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal will be awarded to airmen for work in nuclear operations, according to a Global Strike Command press release. The medal will be awarded to airmen who were assigned to 120 consecutive days or 179 nonconsecutive days of service in the nuclear enterprise, and eligibility for the award is retroactive to Dec. 27, 1991. "The Air Force continues to demonstrate its support to the most vital part of the nuclear enterprise – the Airmen," Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, Air Force assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, said in a release. "This medal exists as a tangible way to acknowledge the importance of this mission and the dedication and pride that the men and women in the nuclear community show to their country. Having secretary of the Air Force-level interest testifies to the importance of this decoration and impact on nuclear operations."
In the NGOs
Toby Dalton and James Acton have been named as co-directors of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. Dalton’s research focuses on nuclear security in South Asia, and he served from 2002 to 2010 in the Energy Department, serving as acting director of the Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security and senior policy adviser for the Office of Nonproliferation and International Security, where he worked on issues including International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and the nonproliferation regime. Acton is a physicist by training, and he specializes in deterrence, disarmament, nonproliferation and nuclear energy. He is a member of the Commission on Challenges to Deep Cuts and of the Nuclear Security Working Group, is a former member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials and was co-chair of the Next Generation Working Group on U.S.-Russian arms control.
On the International Front
Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo, visited several current and former U.S. officials, including former Sens. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D-N.J.) in Washington last week, attending several meetings where he underscored the importance of the international monitoring system installed for CTBT compliance verification, advances made in the on-site inspection regime and the worldwide support for the treaty. “I am very much encouraged by the wide level of support for the CTBT coming from U.S. governmental and non-governmental circles in Washington,” Zerbo said in an Oct. 13 statement. “I believe the Obama Administration is stepping up its campaign to create the conditions conducive to eventual positive consideration of the CTBT by the Senate. In this regard, I am particularly pleased by the Honorable Ellen Tauscher’s offer to actively support efforts to promote the Treaty.” Zerbo’s visit to Washington marks the third time in a month that prominent U.S. officials met to discuss the potential entry into force of the CTBT.
