Security professionals at Amarillo and Oak Ridge honored

  • Posted: Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 1:23 pm

Amarillo, Texas — Safeguards and Security personnel from the Pantex Plant, Y-12 National Security Complex, and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Production Office (NPO) were recently honored with 2020 Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) security awards. The winners included Willis Ray, Dwayne Cunningham, and Ramiro Alaniz from Pantex; Kevin Mattern from Y-12; and Tim Alvarado, Blaine Westlake, and Dan Reeves of NPO.

Individual accolades

Blaine Westlake of NPO was named NNSA's 2020 Security Manager of the Year, and Willis Ray of Pantex was awarded the Bradley A. Peterson Contractor Security Professional of the Year.

Westlake’s work on the Security Management Improvement Program team directly contributed to the team achieving its objectives of improving federal performance through collaboration and partnership between management and operating contractors and NNSA leadership. Westlake also provided input on operational security and lessons learned from teleworking that will be useful as NNSA looks toward the future return to the workplace.

“Blaine has a reputation as a leader and reliable resource by the Emergency Response Organization, NPO management, and headquarters personnel,” said Jeffrey Johnson, associate administrator for the NNSA's Office of Defense Nuclear Security and chief of Defense Nuclear Security. “Blaine's efforts have not only been recognized at NPO but also at headquarters, where his involvement is improving the larger Nuclear Security Enterprise oversight process.”

Ray was instrumental in the development and implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols and was involved in numerous high-level initiatives at Pantex, including the day-to-day security operational aspects of the John C. Drummond Center, technical surveillance countermeasures recovery actions, Material Staging Facility planning, and NNSA Team of Teams Security Improvement Sub-Team.

NNSA is privileged to have had someone with Willis’ background in the U.S. Navy and then as a Security Police Officer,” Johnson said. “His experience, education, and knowledge are advancing the NNSA mission, and I am extremely appreciative of his efforts.”

Exceptional teamwork

Dwayne Cunningham and Ramiro Alaniz of Pantex; Kevin Mattern of Y-12; and Tim Alvarado and Dan Reeves of NPO were recognized as members of the NNSA 2020 Security Team of the Year. They were among 23 members of the Design Basis Threat (DBT) Implementation Team who received this award. The team is comprised of contractors and federal personnel from every site in the NSE, plus the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Security Policy.

The DBT team finished the most comprehensive analysis of security risk ever completed in support of the U.S. DOE/NNSA mission, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team’s work resulted in security analysis that is more consistent, transparent, and understandable than ever before.

“Because of Dwayne, Ramiro, Kevin, Tim, and Dan’s diligent work, NNSA is now in a position to move forward with a comprehensive security risk management plan by leveraging the mechanisms and foundation the team built over the previous four years,” Johnson said.

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Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. CNS member companies include Bechtel National, Inc.; Leidos, Inc.; ATK Launch Systems, Inc.; and SOC LLC. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects and delivery as promised.

For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.energy.gov or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

CONTACT
Steve Myers
Communications
Office (806) 573.6032
Cell (806) 236.2826

Stephen.Myers@cns.doe.gov