NS&D Monitor
11/7/2014
AT THE NATIONAL LABORATORIES
The Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories held its fourth meeting this week, this time gathering at Argonne National Laboratory Nov. 4 for a closer look at the laboratories it is studying. The Congressionally mandated lab commission met with nearly a dozen officials, including Argonne Director Peter Littlewood and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Director Nigel Lockyer. The panel also heard from a handful of industry officials as well as representatives from universities involved in managing Fermilab and Argonne: Michigan State University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
IN THE INDUSTRY
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services this week marked 20 million consecutive work hours without an injury resulting in a lost workday. “This is a remarkable achievement and we are proud of our employees for meeting this goal,” David Del Vecchio, president of CB&I AREVA MOX Services, said in a statement. “Safety is a core value here at the MOX Project, and our employees show that commitment every single day. It is truly a credit to their dedication to safety that we have reached this incredible milestone.”
IN THE UK
The United Kingdom this week selected Bechtel, CH2M Hill and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for a set of four “managed service provider contracts” designed to revamp the way it purchases equipment and vehicles for its armed forces. Bechtel has been offered a contract by the UK’s Ministry of Defense for Air and Fleet areas, while CH2M Hill has been offered a contract for Land and Joint Enabler project areas. A human resources contract has been offered to PwC. The contracts are expected to be signed after a “mandatory commercial stand-still period” of at least 10 days, the Ministry of Defense said. The value of the contracts was not revealed, though they will last three-and-a-half years with two one-year options as the contractors help deliver a 10-year £164 billion equipment plan by bringing project management and acquisition expertise from the private sector to the UK’s defense purchasing organization. Bechtel’s two contracts covering naval and air purchasing programs includes the F-35, an aircraft carrier program, and fast-attack and ballistic-missile submarines. “Helping the Ministry of Defence improve how it acquires materials, equipment, and services is critically important and a tremendous privilege,” Craig Albert, president of Bechtel’s global government services business, said in a statement. “We look forward to working as part of the team to build on the progress of recent years.”
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization on Nov. 3 began its largest on-site test inspection exercise. After starting in Vienna, the Integrated Field Exercise 2014 (IFE14) moved to Jordan today (Nov. 7), and will cover an inspection area of 1,000 square kilometers, according to a CTBTO release. During the fictional exercise, a team of 40 inspectors will search an inspection area to determine whether a nuclear explosion occurred. During inspections, facts will be gathered to find a possible violator of CTBT. The full-scale simulation is the second since an exercise took place in Kazakhstan six years ago.
IN RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 31 said the share of new nuclear weapons in his country’s strategic stockpile has reached 55 percent. The announcement came during the same week that Russia carried out two successful ICBM tests—one land-launched and another submarine-launched. Russia has recently announced plans to modernize its nuclear forces by 100 percent, up from the 80 percent originally planned.
IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT
Amb. Adam Scheinman today wraps up a five-day trip to South America, where he discussed initiatives of the 2015 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference (RevCon). The consultations were part of routine considerations on the RevCon, and covered the three pillars of the NPT: disarmament, nonproliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, a State Department official said in a Nov. 3 email to NS&D Monitor. Scheinman, the Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation, met with South American government officials in Santiago, Buenos Aires and Brasilia, Brazil. UN Headquarters in New York will host the RevCon April 22-May 9, 2015. In recent weeks, U.S. officials have strictly emphasized a balanced “step-by-step” approach to nuclear disarmament, while eschewing disarmament approaches that underscore nuclear weapons’ humanitarian impacts.
IN THE AIR FORCE
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James this week in Bossier City, La., presented the first Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service medals to 25 airmen on the last day of Global Strike Command’s Global Strike Challenge, according to a release. Approved in May, the awards recognize airmen for completing strategic objectives in nuclear deterrence. “The example you’ve set over the last year shows Airmen across the service—in the Combat Air Forces, the Mobility Air Forces, in Space and Cyberspace—that overcoming adversity really is a step on the path to success,” James said. Award recipients comprised six Minot AFB airmen, four F.E. Warren airmen, five Malmstrom airmen, two Whiteman airmen and eight Barksdale airmen.
