NS&D Monitor
3/20/2015
IN CONGRESS
National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz, acting DOE cleanup chief Mark Whitney and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Vice Chairman Jesse Roberson will testify before the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee next week. The hearing will be held at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 2118 of the Rayburn House office Building. Adm. John Richardson, the director of the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, as well as NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Don Cook and NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Anne Harrington will serve as supporting witnesses at the hearing.
IN THE NATIONAL LABS
Thomas Zacharia is returning to a key leadership position at Oak Ridge National Laboratory after spending the past two-and-a-half years in Qatar helping establish and develop world-class research capabilities there. Effective April 1, Zacharia will return to his old position as deputy lab director for science and technology at ORNL. The position has been vacant since Zacharia’s successor, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, left Oak Ridge almost a year ago for a position at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “In selecting Thomas to serve once again in this important role, I expect to take advantage of his deep understanding of the Laboratory, his talent for building research partnerships, and his broadened view of the international research landscape,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said.
IN THE NAVY
Six sailors of the USS Wyoming are facing criminal charges for involvement in recording video on smartphones of female sailors undressing aboard the submarine, according to a March 18 Navy Times article. In addition, five more sailors have been implicated and could be charged also. Prosecutors have said crew members shared the videos by bumping their phones. Prosecution began earlier this month with an Article 32 hearing in Mayport, Fla. All of those implicated are assigned to the Trident Training Facility or Submarine Group 10 stationed at Kings Bay, Ga.
IN STRATCOM
U.S. Strategic Command this week conducted Exercise Global Lightning 15, a command and control drill designed to train Defense Department forces and assess operational readiness, according to a STRATCOM press release. The exercise will be conducted alongside U.S. European Command’s Austere Challenge 15, U.S. Africa Command’s Judicious Response 15 and U.S. Transportation Command’s Turbo Challenge 15 to validate current procedures and improve interoperability between each of the combatant commands through a “shared notional scenario,” according to the release.
