Travelling from Washington, D.C. to Minnesota to Nevada to Arkansas, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Frank Rose crossed the country May 8-16 to support a variety of NNSA missions.
National Nuclear Security Administration
May 22, 2023
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Traveling from Washington, D.C. to Minnesota to Nevada to Arkansas, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Frank Rose crossed the country May 8-16 to support a variety of NNSA missions.
Rose began his trip in Minneapolis, where he led NNSA’s participation in the Department of Energy’s 2023 Cybersecurity and Technology Innovation Conference May 8-11. With approximately 1,300 information technology professionals and policymakers registered attendees, the four-day conference was designed to strengthen relationships between offices, labs, sites, and plants in the development of a collaborative vision for the Department.
Reflecting the theme of this year’s conference – “Collaborative Innovation and Collective Cyber Defense” – Rose discussed how NNSA is addressing constantly evolving cyber challenges both across the Nuclear Security Enterprise and internationally in his keynote address on May 10. “NNSA is not an island” when it comes to cyber defense, he said. “Our success depends on collaborations with a broad array of partners within the Department, in the interagency, and around the world.”
Rose put these words into action at the conference in a series of bilateral meetings with allied officials from Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, and Australia on the 9th and 10th. Additionally, as part of NNSA leadership’s efforts to promote STEM education and develop the next generation of cybersecurity experts for the Nuclear Security Enterprise, Rose hosted a lunch with students attending the conference.
From Minneapolis Rose travelled to Nevada to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of Building 23-461, the second building of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS)’s modernization plan. This building – colloquially known as “Building 2” – will house NNSS’s Operations Command Center and Emergency Operations Center. “By enhancing the safety and security of NNSS’s workforce,” Rose noted in his remarks, “this building’s completion will provide vital support for site-wide mission execution.” He also praised the Nevada Field Office team and Mission Support and Test Services leadership and personnel involved in building Mercury 2 for their commitment, their collaboration, and their embrace of agile methods and streamlined processes.
While at NNSS, Rose also visited the Nevada Field Office’s Incident Assurance Response Center, the Device Assembly Facility, and the U1a Complex for briefings and discussions on modernization of NNSS facilities.
Rose concluded his trek with a two-day visit to the Office of Secure Transportation (OST) Training Command (TRACOM) at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. He spent the 15th touring the TRACOM facilities, receiving organizational overview briefs, and observing Nuclear Materials Courier Basic (NMCB) classes undergoing instruction and hands on demonstrations.
On the 16th Rose met with a group of OST supervisors before delivering the commencement address at the graduation of the 20 Agent Candidates comprising NMCB Class 13-23. He noted that NNSA cannot be successful in any of its national security missions without the ability to safely transport materials between its laboratories, plants, and sites, and praised OST’s 100 percent mission success rate with no compromise of nuclear materials. Speaking to the graduates, Rose said “It would be an understatement to say you are an impressive group of men” who “have proven yourselves physically and psychologically fit, and capable of high performance” as they join the ranks of Federal Agents at one of OST’s Agent Operations Commands in Albuquerque, Amarillo, or Oak Ridge. He concluded the ceremony by administering the oath of office to the 20 graduates.