Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
4/18/2014
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz was sworn in as the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration late this week, formally taking over as the agency’s fourth full-time leader. Klotz’s nomination was stalled in the Senate for more than eight months, but he was confirmed by the Senate April 8 and sworn in by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz in a private ceremony April 17. The NNSA hasn’t had a permanent administrator in more than 15 months, since Tom D’Agostino left the agency in January of 2013.
The NNSA said Klotz met with senior NNSA staff, interagency officials and the directors of the agency’s three nuclear weapons laboratories and the Nevada National Security Site after he was sworn in. The agency said he will visit all NNSA sites in the coming weeks. Bruce Held, who had served as the acting NNSA administrator since last summer, is returning to a position as Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy.
Klotz Outlines Priorities
In a prepared statement, Klotz made note of the NNSA’s mission to keep the nation’s nuclear arsenal safe, secure and effective and to help lock down nuclear material around the world. “NNSA and the entire nuclear security enterprise are at the very center of all of these national security objectives,” he said. “Moreover, the unique talents and skills we bring to each aspect of our mission enable success in all the others. What everyone in the enterprise does—regardless of organization, job, rank, or seniority—is vitally important.”
Klotz retired from the Air Force in 2011 after standing up Global Strike Command, and has worked since then as a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations. During his Air Force career, he commanded a strategic missile squadron and operations group at Grand Forks Air Force Base and a missile wing at Minot Air Force Base. He also headed up Air Force Space Command’s 20th Air Force and Strategic Command’s Task Force 214, and worked as Director for Nuclear Policy and Arms Control with the National Security Council at the White House and as a defense attaché at the American embassy in Moscow. “With his years of service to our country, his vision for NNSA’s nuclear security programs, and his dedication to supporting the men and women of the organization, I am confident General Klotz will bring strong leadership and management to this critical Department of Energy mission,” Moniz said in a statement.
A Crucial Time in NNSA History
Klotz takes the reins at NNSA at a crucial time in the agency’s history. With more attention on the agency than ever, project management, safety and security questions have buffeted the NNSA, and Klotz is expected to play a key role in restoring the NNSA’s credibility among stakeholders, the Administration, the Pentagon, and Congress. “At the end of the day, every organization must deliver on the commitments it makes in order to succeed and to thrive,” Klotz said. “We are no different. We have made promises we must keep: to sustain the nuclear weapons stockpile, to conduct leading-edge scientific research, to help prevent nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists, to support the Navy’s nuclear reactor program, to repair and modernize our aging facilities, and to protect the safety and security of our sites, our employees, and the public. And, we must do all this with a laser-like focus on managing requirements and costs to provide needed capability with less expense to the American taxpayer.”
Klotz said his top priority will be the agency’s workforce. “I am already working to put in place a leadership process that inspires openness, trust, and confidence at all levels and across all boundaries within our common endeavor,” he said. “We also have a special responsibility to recruit and mentor the next generation of leaders in the nuclear security enterprise. Since they will carry on the mission for many years to come, we must proactively seek out opportunities to deepen and broaden their skills.”
