Carl Strock
Retired Lt. Gen Carl Strock has been named Uranium Processing Facility project director for B&W Y-12 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
He reports to Jim Haynes, B&W Y-12 deputy general manager for projects.
Strock is Bechtel’s former manager of global construction. He joined Bechtel in 2007 after retiring as head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after serving in the U.S. Army for more than 36 years. [Read more…]
There is a greater threat of trespassing at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the National Nuclear Security Administration said last week when it announced plans for a new fence that would block a traditional protest area at the plant’s main entrance.
And the costs of responding to those threats are increasing, the NNSA said.
“Responding to these illegal acts of trespassing has cost the U.S. government thousands of dollars of additional expenses above and beyond what we have to spend to protect the plant during major protests,” the NNSA said in a statement released by spokesman Steven Wyatt on Saturday. “The security-related costs required to respond to protests is very large, but we cannot discuss our specific costs.” [Read more…]
The temporary fence erected at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex encloses an area, pictured above, that has been used for protests and vigils for years. Despite a court challenge Friday, the fence will stay up for now.
KNOXVILLE—The temporary fence that blocks a traditional protest area at the Y-12 National Security Complex will stay up for now.
A group that has used the grass field and small parking lot for protests and vigils near the Y-12 entrance at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads had sought to have the fence removed before an annual spring demonstration on Saturday. Workers started erecting it on Monday.
But the arguments about the fence and its alleged violations of the protesters’ First Amendment rights took a surprise turn in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Friday.
District Judge Curtis L. Collier quickly raised a question about whether the court has jurisdiction to address the complaint filed Wednesday by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, its board members, and people affiliated with the nonprofit organization. [Read more…]
About 1,200 hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, will vote Friday on a 14-month contract extension and a 2.5 percent wage increase. (Submitted photo)
Hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex will vote Friday on whether to accept a 14-month contract extension and a 2.5 percent wage increase, an official said.
There would be no changes to worker benefits, said Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council.
If approved, the 14-month contract extension would become effective April 22 and last through June 20, 2014. It would apply to roughly 1,200 union members at Y-12. It would not affect ATLC members at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]
A coalition including the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance has asked a federal judge to order the removal of a temporary fence that encloses an area at the entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex that has been used for protests and vigils for years.
A new fence erected this week at the Y-12 National Security Complex allegedly violates their First Amendment rights, and a coalition that includes the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance wants the federal government to remove it before an annual spring demonstration on Saturday.
In a complaint filed Wednesday, the coalition also asks the U.S. District Court in Knoxville to deny the government from ever blocking a small area near the plant’s main entrance. That area includes a grassy field and small parking lot near the green Y-12 sign at the intersection of Bear Creek and Scarboro roads, and it has been used for protests and vigils for about 25 years.
The National Nuclear Security Administration announced plans to erect the fence along Scarboro Road last week, citing three trespassing incidents involving five people in the past year, including the July 28 security breach. Workers started setting up a temporary version of the fence on Monday. [Read more…]
After several recent trespassing incidents, workers put up a new temporary fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday. An Oak Ridge peace group objects to the fence because it encloses an area traditionally used for protests.
Workers started erecting a temporary fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday, enclosing an area that has traditionally been used for protests by an Oak Ridge nonprofit group.
Federal officials said they are installing the fence along Scarboro Road after three trespassing incidents involving five people in the past year. In one of those incidents, three anti-nuclear weapons activists penetrated a high-security area and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.
On Thursday, the National Nuclear Security Administration said recent events have shown a greater threat of trespassing, and the response costs are increasing. [Read more…]
The government’s decision to erect a new fence in front of the Y-12 National Security Complex could affect plans for an annual spring demonstration next Saturday, but the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance announced it will have its weekly Sunday vigil today.
The group said the decision by the National Nuclear Security Administration to close off the area immediately outside the Y-12 gates at the intersection of East Bear Creek and Scarboro Roads is “aimed at preventing demonstrations and peace vigils by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and others.” [Read more…]
A new fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex would enclose this field near the entrance at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads, and the nonprofit organization that organizes demonstrations and vigils here plans to challenge the fence.
After three trespassing incidents involving five people in the past year, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced plans on Thursday to extend the boundary fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex along Scarboro Road.
The new fence will be relatively close to the road, an NNSA spokesman said. A field traditionally used for protests near the Y-12 sign at the entrance on Bear Creek Road would be behind the fence. The new fence would run along Scarboro Road from Bear Creek Road to New Hope Road, and it would also enclose New Hope Center, which is often used for public events.
The new fence, which would run along the U.S. government property line, is expected to be in place by April 4, the NNSA said.
“Events of the past several months have shown that there is a greater threat of trespassing on the site, and the costs for responding to this threat are increasing,” the NNSA said in a Thursday afternoon press release. “Y-12 is taking conservative and appropriate measures to make such illegal actions more difficult.” [Read more…]
Earlier scenarios had called for possible furloughs at the Y-12 National Security Complex in response to automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect March 1—the so-called sequester—but plant officials said they no longer expect the temporary layoffs.
However, B&W Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, said it is implementing spending reductions, including in summer intern and educational assistance programs. The company is deferring employee award benefits for services, performance, and special recognition; and suspending upgrades to personal computers, wireless projects, and the information technology infrastructure. In addition, some discretionary travel, professional development training, and materials and supplies purchases will be significantly reduced, B&W Y-12 said in a statement. [Read more…]
National Strategic Protective Services LLC announced Monday morning that it now provides guard services at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge.
NSPS won the protective force services work under a five-year, $182 million contract announced in January. The company will guard the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and part of the Oak Ridge Reservation. [Read more…]
Friday was the last day for many employees at security company WSI Oak Ridge, which lost its contracts to protect federal facilities after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
After 13 years of protecting federal facilities, WSI Oak Ridge has left the Secret City.
Friday was the last day for many employees at WSI, and the contract ended Sunday, spokeswoman Courtney Henry said.
Formerly known as Wackenhut Services Inc., the company once provided up to 1,000 security police officers and support staff at federal facilities that included East Tennessee Technology Park, the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.
But WSI lost its contract to guard Y-12, a National Nuclear Security Administration site, after the July 28 security breach, and it did not win a separate contract to protect local U.S. Department of Energy sites, including ETTP, ORNL, the Federal Building, and the rest of the Oak Ridge Reservation. That contract was awarded to National Strategic Protective Services LLC, or NSPS. [Read more…]
To the Oak Ridge Community:
As WSI Oak Ridge completes its transition to the new security contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Protective Force contract, I wanted to take this opportunity to say farewell.
We have provided protective nuclear security services to DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration in the valley for the past 13 years, and are proud that our employees have answered our nation’s call to duty in an exceptionally worthy manner. The WSI Oak Ridge Protective Force has led the DOE Security Complex in professionalism, mission performance, and innovation. [Read more…]
