NS&D Monitor
10/10/2014
IN THE NNSA
The National Nuclear Security Administration has begun searching for a new Associate Administrator for Management and Budget to replace Cindy Lersten, according to an announcement posted on USAjobs.gov this week. Lersten headed up the agency’s Office of Management and Budget since 2012, but NNSA budget director Robert Nassif is currently heading up the office in an acting capacity. The job posting for the Senior Executive Service position is open until Nov. 6. The salary range is $120,749 to $181,500 a year. The NNSA’s associate administrator for management and budget is in charge of human capital, leadership development, financial management, business operations, international operations, performance and analysis, and communications. The official also heads up the creation of the agency’s programming, planning and budget policy and represents the agency on all administrative functions.
IN DOE
Liz Sherwood-Randall, the Department of Energy’s new deputy secretary, will participate in a town hall meeting with DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz for DOE employees on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. at DOE headquarters in Washington. Sherwood-Randall began her DOE tenure earlier this week, replacing former Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman. “We are fortunate to have someone with Liz’s intellect and experience in this critical role at this historic time in our nation’s energy evolution, and I look forward to working closely with her as a key, trusted colleague,” Moniz said in a message to employees this week.
IN THE NAVY
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded a $234 million contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat to cover, in part, daily engineering and technical evaluation, configuration assistance, logistical support and design services for equipment and system upgrades on Ohio-class submarines, according to NAVSEA spokesperson Colleen O’Rourke. While she did specify how much of the $234 million would fund nuclear-capable boomers, O’Rourke wrote in an Oct. 6 email to NS&D Monitor that specific support to OHIO class SSBNs typically consists of 25 percent of full contract amounts awarded by NAVSEA to Electric Boat. The contract, announced Sept. 11, includes options which could boost the value of the contract to $1.5 billion. Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2015. Electric Boat declined to comment on the contract.
IN THE INDUSTRY
Bechtel is combining its government and commercial nuclear businesses into one new business unit, a Nuclear, Security & Environmental group, the company said Oct. 6. The business unit will be headed up by Craig Albert, the president of Bechtel’s government services business, and will include four global business lines. Nuclear Security & Operations will oversee Bechtel’s management of nuclear propulsion facilities, nuclear security sites and national laboratories, while its Environmental business line will deal with environmental cleanup, radioactive waste processing and management, and decommissioning and demolition. The Nuclear Power group will serve the commercial nuclear industry, and the Defense & Security group includes work involving the Department of Defense, NASA, the UK Ministry of Defence, and other allied governments. “This move significantly strengthens Bechtel’s nuclear portfolio and builds an industry-leading organization with capabilities across the lifecycle of facilities and sites for both commercial and government customers,” Bechtel said in a statement.
Retired Gen. Kevin Chilton, the former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, was named to the Board of Governors of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory contractor Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC. “I am honored to be selected to the LLNS Board of Governors,” Chilton said in an Oct. 1 statement. “I look forward to helping the board as well as the Laboratory continue its tradition of success and service to the nation.” Chilton is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, having earned a bachelor’s of science degree in engineering sciences. The former STRATCOM commander is also a Columbia University Guggenheim fellow with a master’s of science degree in mechanical engineering, and he has an honorary doctorate of law degree from Creighton University. Chilton was commander of STRATCOM from 2007 to 2011.
Los Alamos National Laboratory and National Security Technologies (NSTec), the management and operating contractor for the Nevada National Security Site, have both won Star-level recognition through the Energy Department’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), which recognizes safety at locations across the U.S., according to press releases from NSTec and LANL. NSTec earned the Superior Star—reserved for contractors who are 50 percent better than comparable industries—for the fourth consecutive year, as well as the Star of Excellence, which is reserved for operators who are 75 percent better than comparable industries. Los Alamos earned Star Status under the VPP program, becoming the largest DOE site to achieve the honor. The VPP centers around management/leadership, employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, and safety and health training.
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
Four vehicles designed to transport radiological materials were commissioned last week in Kazakhstan after a joint effort between the United States, the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan. The transport vehicles will help Kazakhstan meet international guidelines for protecting radiological materials in transit, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Oct. 3. The transport vehicles were purchased thanks to funding provided by the United Kingdom, the NNSA said. “Our partnership here in Almaty and throughout Kazakhstan underscores a continued, shared commitment to the security of radioactive material that has lasted more than two decades,” NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Anne Harrington said in a statement. “The commissioning of these secure transportation vehicles enhances the level of radiological security in Kazakhstan, whose leadership has done so much to advance nuclear security.”
