NS&D Monitor
5/29/2015
IN NNSA
The National Nuclear Security Administration announced this week the successful removal of three unused radioactive sources from the Armenian capital of Yerevan. The effort was conducted by the Armenia Nuclear Regulatory Authority with aid from the NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Since 2002, ANRA and the NNSA have removed and secured more than 30,000 curies of radiological materials from nine locations, according to an NNSA press release.
IN THE INDUSTRY
John Eschenberg, the former federal project director for the Uranium Processing Facility, is taking a new position next week with PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to a message Eschenberg sent to friends and work colleagues, he will become a director in PwC’s Capital Projects and Infrastructure business unit. “My new role will help clients in both the public and private sector — with a focus on transactions and the building of capital assets,” he said. Eschenberg announced last week that he was retiring from federal service after working in multiple programs at the Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration and offices of Environmental Management and Science.
Northrop Grumman has completed the critical design review (CDR) portion for the Air Force’s Flexible Strike Phase 1 program for the B-2 bomber, according to a May 27 Northrop press release. The completed CDR authorizes Northrop to start development and integration of the new software and hardware required to upgrade key weapons management software for the B-2. CDR is a key review point in a three-year, $102 million contract awarded to Northrop in August 2014, and covers the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) portion of the Flexible Strike Phase 1 program.
ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference ended May 22 without producing any final document or consensus for how nations should proceed with respect to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. The once-every-five-year conference held at U.N. Headquarters in New York collapsed over a debate about whether a Nuclear-Weapon Free Zone should be initiated in the Middle East. The United States objected to some countries’ attempts to set a deadline for Israel and its neighbors to meet within months to discuss the establishment of such a zone.
IN THE NAVY
Rear Adm. Charles Richard will be assigned as Director of the Undersea Warfare Division, N97, in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert announced this week. Richard is currently serving as commander of Submarine Group Ten at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. Rear Adm. Randy Crites will be reassigned from his current position as Director of Maritime Headquarters (N03), U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to serve as commander of Submarine Group Ten. Rear Adm. Joe Tofalo currently serves as Director of Undersea Warfare, and has been selected for promotion to the rank of vice admiral and for the position of commander of U.S. Submarine Forces.
IN THE AIR FORCE
Air Force Global Strike Command airmen flight tested an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile on May 20, according to an Air Force press release. The ICBM traveled 4,200 miles to a predetermined spot at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The launch team, was directed by Vandenberg AFB’s 576th Flight Test Squadron, and included airmen from F.E. Warren AFB’s 90th Missile Wing and the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Offutt AFB. Crew members from the 625th STOS launched the missile from aboard the U.S. Strategic Command Airborne Command Post E-6B employing the Airborne Launch Control System.
Col. Stephen Kravitsky took command of the 90th Missile Wing from Col. Tracey Hayes on May 27 at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., according to an Air Force press release. Kravitsky “most recently” served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense and Current Operations, according to the release.
