Bechtel-led Team Assumes Leadership at Key US National Security Facilities

Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) has assumed full responsibility for management and operation of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, two, large facilities that perform missions vital to national security. This follows a successful four-month transition that began March 3, after the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) selected CNS to manage and operate the facilities under a single contract with a term of up to 10 years.

During the transition the CNS team prepared to integrate and operate both facilities to deliver their critical missions with safety, security, quality, and cost efficiency. The team completed more than 3,000 scheduled actions; onboarded 7,800 employees; inspected more than 400 facilities; reviewed and approved more than 5,000 procedures; consulted with dozens of community leaders and elected officials; and established the structure and processes for managing the two sites as one enterprise. CNS completed transition activities on schedule and under budget.

“The Pantex and Y-12 sites have proud traditions of contributing to national security and protecting the freedoms we enjoy in this country,” said Jim Haynes, a Bechtel executive and CNS president and CEO. “We are prepared and ready to build upon these traditions and improve the performance and sustainability of these sites with our customer, NNSA, as well as our employees.”

CNS member companies include Bechtel National, Inc., Lockheed Martin Services, Inc., ATK Launch Systems Inc., and SOC LLC, with Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. as a teaming subcontractor. Its five-year contract began July 1 and includes options that could extend the contract another five years.

“We have been looking forward to joining the employees of Pantex and Y-12, and the communities of Amarillo and Oak Ridge, since this competition first began,” Haynes said. “Together with our customer, the talented workforces of our two sites, and the committed leaders of our two host communities, we are well positioned to deliver our national security mission.”

Pantex and Y‐12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, charged with maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Pantex is responsible for nuclear weapons life-extension programs; weapons dismantlement; development, testing, and fabrication of high explosives components; and storage and surveillance of plutonium pits. Y‐12 is responsible for safe and secure uranium storage, processing, and manufacturing operations; supplying fuel to the U.S. Navy; and global nonproliferation.