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Fire danger: Moderate The Navy says thanks The United States Navy came to the Lab on Wednesday to say thanks and to bolster the overall morale at Los Alamos by letting employees know the vital importance of their work to national security. Three naval officers, one Marine officer and the civilian head of re-entry systems for the Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile Program spoke of the absolute importance of the Lab during two sessions for employees, one held at TA-55 and the other in the Forum. The guests were Barry Hannah, naval re-entry systems chief; Capt. John Friend, commander of Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic; Lt. Col. John Mallon, commander of the Marine guard force at SWFLANT; Cmdr. Chris Hayes, captain of the ballistic missile submarine U.S.S. Maryland; and Cmdr. John Giffin of the Weapons Operation and Evaluation group. Hannah opened his remarks with a slide proclaiming, "The U.S. Navy-We don't care what LLNL says, Los Alamos National Laboratory is THE premier nuclear lab in the world." To which the audience of about eighty in the Forum reacted with uproarious laughter and applause. "Seriously," said Hannah, "this Lab is the technical backbone of the U.S. deterrent, we couldn't do it without you." Showing a graph charting the yearly military and civilian casualties from war since the 1600's, Hannah explained that casualties ran between 2 and 2.6 percent of the world's population from 1600 to 1945 when it dropped to .4 percent. "People dying from war is now down to .1 percent of the population each year, and there's only one reason for that, a credible deterrent, and that means you guys," he said. "We the Navy appreciate this opportunity to share with you our feelings about the work you do, and to thank you for your support and expertise," he said. The groups that gathered at TA-55 and the Forum consisted of both employees and managers from the various programs associated with the W-76 and W-88 warheads. They represented divisions including Engineering Sciences and Applications (ESA), Dynamic Experimentation (DX), Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT), Materials Science and Technology (MST), Physics (P), Technology & Safety Assessment (TSA) and Applied Physics (X). Also in attendance at the Forum were David Beck of the Department of Energy Defense Programs, David Gurule, DOE's Los Alamos Area Office manager and Dan Rose, Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Weapons Systems Program manager, DOE Albuquerque. Friend outlined the operations and capabilities of his command, SWFLANT, the Kings Bay, Georgia, base charged with assembly, repair, testing, storage, loading and unloading of the nation's Trident II missile arsenal. Mallon explained the duties and responsibilities of his Marine guard force in protecting that arsenal, and Hayes outlined the operations and responsibilities of those who take the arsenal to sea, the crews of America's Trident ballistic missile submarine force. Hayes explained that the only purpose for the U.S.S. Maryland and the rest of the 18 boat fleet of Trident subs is to provide a platform for the launch of their Trident II missiles. "We go to sea in a 560 foot-long boat that weighs 18,700 tons because of one reason, the 24 missile tubes on board," said Hayes. "In those tubes we carry the Trident II D5 three-stage missile that's 44 and-a-half feet long, 7 feet in diameter and weighs 130,000 pounds. The warhead on top, that's the sharp end of our spear. Without Los Alamos we would not have that sharp end. Without that sharp end, throwing the spear is pointless." Hayes fascinated the audience with what he called a "home video" of a recent test launch of two Trident II's from the Maryland. The video showed Hayes and his executive officer first going through the launch verification and launch sequence with his crew. Then the video transitioned to underwater footage of the missile exiting the launch tube and finally to a shot of the missile leaping from the surface of the water, igniting in an orange stream of fire and rocketing skyward, followed a few moments later by the second missile. "We want you to know," said Hayes after the video, "that you are as much a part of our team as anyone along the line." Giffin reiterated the importance of a credible deterrent and explained his view of the nuclear defense triad. "B-52's are slow, easy to find, and have complicated logistics. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile silos are even slower, and easier to find," he said, prompting an outburst of laughter. Continuing, tongue-in-cheek, he added, "Trident subs are fast and impossible to find, making them the most 'credible' leg in the three-legged nuclear triad." "It's your work that makes this system credible," said Giffin. "And our adversaries knowing that the system is credible is what keeps us safe." The officers finally projected a slide that said, "By the way, the Navy is hiring!" and displayed the recruiting Web site and the telephone number of the Navy recruiter in Santa Fe. This, too, was met with hearty laughter and a round of applause. The appreciative audience asked questions ranging from what kind of weapons the Marine guards carry, to military training and budgetary issues, to the recent tragedy of the downed Russian sub in the Barents Sea. Hayes presented Carolyn Mangeng, deputy associate Laboratory director for nuclear weapons with a plaque from the U.S.S. Maryland thanking the Lab for its hard work. An audience member spoke for the Lab group thanking the officers for communicating the Navy's sense of commitment, structure and teamwork, calling the session very valuable. "It's very nice to know that there are people concerned about us -- recognizing that our spirits may not be so high right now -- in the aftermath of the fire and the security issue," said Mangeng. "I'm grateful to the Navy that they've come to remind us of how much they appreciate what we do for them." --Kevin Roark Employees value their property administrators Isn't it funny how often people don't miss something until it's gone? That can be true at the Laboratory too, especially when it comes to property. But thanks to assigned property administrators, employees need only pick up their telephone and a property administrator can provide a number of services, including filling out paperwork for shipping and receiving equipment, resolving questions about property ownership, scheduling preventive maintenance for their government vehicles and taking care of excess property. Last spring, a voice-of-the-customer survey revealed that Lab employees do value their property administrators, said Allen Wallace of Property Management (BUS-6). "It appears that the property administrators' hard work and dedication is noticed and appreciated at the Laboratory," he said. Every Tuesday in August, the Daily Newsbulletin will help raise awareness about Laboratory property management through a series of articles linked to the Property Awareness Month Web site. As an incentive, BUS-6 is conducting a $100 prize drawing, with the money being donated by the National Property Management Association. All University of California employees, subcontract personnel and students may enter. Employees can increase their chances of winning by reading the articles and entering the drawing online once each week. The articles also can be linked to via the Daily Newsbulletin. Employees wanting to obtain more information on all aspects of property management issues can contact their property administrator or call the Property Help Line at 5-3230.
DOE Pulse highlights DOE laboratories The latest issue of DOE Pulse is available online. Pulse is an online newsletter about accomplishments at the Department of Energy's national laboratories. The highlights are short, written to be interesting and very understandable. In addition to the highlights, each issue features two longer articles -- one about a researcher, the other about a multilab collaborative effort. Some of the headlines in this issue are "Energy efficiency at core of manufactured home" from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, "Secrets of antiferromagnetism revealed" from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "The ultimate pocket protector: Radiation detection made easy" from the Idaho Naitonal Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and "Tolerant storage materials" from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Also in this issue, a feature on how Sandia National Laboratories is providing technical support for a new solar power initiative of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority to bring electricity to the homes of people living in remote areas of the vast reservation.
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