NS&D Monitor
2/6/2015
IN CONGRESS
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) has been named the vice chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said yesterday. The committee has not operated with vice chairmen for its subcommittees in recent years, but Thornberry said an unprecedented strategic environment necessitated strengthening the panel’s leadership team. Lamborn has been one of the top lieutenants for Republicans on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee in recent years, helping push the Administration on its nuclear modernization commitments. “This appointment will allow me to serve in a critical leadership role operating at the cutting edge of our missile defense, military space, and energy related national security programs,” Lamborn said in a statement. “I will work hard to protect our nation, ensure that our region continues to be an essential asset to our national security, and will expand the influence of Colorado’s civilian and military defense industries.” Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) will serve as the vice chairman for the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee.
Lawmakers are set to begin considering the Department of Energy Fiscal Year 2016 budget request next week with separate hearings planned in the House and Senate. On Feb. 11, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz is scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power beginning at 2:00 p.m. On Feb. 12, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is set to hold a hearing on DOE’s request beginning at 10:00 a.m.
IN DOE
The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board is considering weighing in on the recent report of the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. The Board—which is chaired by former Under Secretary of Energy John Deutch—will hold a teleconference at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 17 to discuss sending a letter to the Department of Energy on the findings of the panel, according to a Feb. 2 Federal Register notice. Notably, the panel recommended folding the National Nuclear Security Administration back into the Department of Energy in an effort to fix many of the agency’s problems. The meeting is open to the public, and those interested in listening in to the teleconference should contact Karen Gibson, the Board’s Designated Federal Officer, at [email protected].
IN THE INDUSTRY
Fluor Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy David Dunning is retiring from Fluor, effective June 1. He will be replaced by Jose L. Martin de Bustamante, who currently serves as senior vice president, Business Development, Marketing & Strategic Planning for Energy & Chemicals, according to a Fluor release. “Dave has been exceptional in this role and is leaving the company with a substantially improved and valuable team that is determined and focused on achieving our strategic objectives,” Fluor Chairman and CEO David Seaton said in the release. “Dave will continue to help our company in a consulting capacity as a member of NuScale Power’s board of directors as well as advising on activities related to Fluor’s recent memorandum of understanding with China National Nuclear Corporation.”
IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT
Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller announced Feb. 4 at the P5 Conference in London that the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification’s first meeting will take place March 19-20 in Washington, according to a State Department official. The partnership was created to join nuclear weapon states with non-nuclear weapon (NNWS) states to increase understanding of and address nuclear disarmament verification challenges. The U.S. believes the framework will strengthen ongoing work toward Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty goals, “while furthering the role of NNWS in the challenging work of verification of nuclear disarmament,” according to a State Department fact sheet. The department is partnering with the Washington, D.C.-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, which is helping to develop and implement a program of work. “The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification will assess and, potentially, develop approaches to address monitoring and verification challenges across the nuclear weapons lifecycle—including material production and control, warhead production, deployment, storage, dismantlement, and disposition,” the fact sheet states. “The Partnership will build on lessons learned from efforts such as the U.S./U.K. Technical Cooperation Program and the U.K./Norway Initiative.”
IN THE AIR FORCE
The Air Force has awarded Boeing a full-rate production contract to deliver 10 kits to modernize B-52 bombers, which will bring the total number of Boeing aircraft installed with the Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) to 30, according to a Feb. 4 Boeing release. On Jan. 28, Boeing received the contract to continue work on the communications system upgrade, which includes full-color LCD displays with real-time intelligence feeds overlaid on moving maps, communication data links that connect via satellite to platforms and troops in the field and a high-speed network that enables airmen to respond quickly during a mission change or identify and engage new targets, according to the release. “CONECT gives the B-52 the agility and flexibility needed for the modern battlefield while also providing greater situational awareness for the aircrew,” said Scot Oathout, Boeing’s B-52 program director. Air Force personnel install CONECT at Tinker AFB, Okla., in conjunction with regularly scheduled maintenance. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a member of the Congressional Long-Range Strike Caucus, last month said he spoke with bomber pilots who identified the CONECT systems as “mission critical” for an airplane built in the 1950s. Fleming’s district includes Barksdale AFB. “We have moved forward with the CONECT…bringing modern digital data, voice, communications capabilities to the B-52, increasing aircrew situational awareness and permitting in-flight re-tasking and retargeting of various weapons.”
During a court-martial held Dec. 2-8 at Minot AFB, a military judge convicted a missileer serving at the base of two counts of sexual assault of a child younger than 16, distribution of marijuana and psilocybin, use of psilocybin, willful dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, pandering, unlawful entry, and four specifications of communicating threats, according to a Minot press release. The Air Force in December sentenced Capt. Leon Brown IV to 25 years in prison and a dismissal, and Brown was the leader of a violent street gang that arranged for the exchange of money for sex with underage girls, distributed drugs and gave alcohol to teenagers, according to the release. Minot spokesperson Kiley Dougherty said all the convicted crimes happened in or around the City of Minot, and added they were committed within the base’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, giving the military the ability to choose whether Brown would be prosecuted in a court-martial or municipal trial. An adult female civilian reported that Brown drugged her and that she awoke to another man having sexual intercourse with her, according to the release. "She also reported that on a separate occasion, Brown administered a drug to her and had sexual intercourse with her while she was substantially impaired,” the release states. Brown belonged to the 742nd Missile Squadron, and officials learned he was under investigation by civilian authorities in January 2012.
