The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA is the U.S. government’s leader in civilian space and high-atmosphere operations. NASA is also a leader in developing aerospace technologies, engineering high-stress materials, astrophysics, environmental and atmospheric research, and robotics. America’s astronaut and space flight programs are operated by NASA.

While NASA’s mandate is limited, it commands respect in those sectors in which it is involved, as well as with the American public.

BUDGET: $1.8 billion in 2015.

The NASA Operative at a Glance

POWERS OF ARREST? No.

EXPECTED TO CARRY A WEAPON? No.

ACCESS TO OFFICIAL FUNDS? Can be supplied with a credit line while traveling for official reasons, up to a Standard expense without eliciting an official review.

OPERATIONAL BUDGET/RESTRICTED ITEMS? On a successful requisition roll at a Major expense, the Agent can access real-time, detailed geospatial and space-directed surveillance. Also as a Major expense equivalent, the Agent can request classified data relating to (or gain access to) restricted areas such as the Armstrong (Dryden) Flight Research Center, rocket testing gantries at Stennis Space Center, and the launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center.

Emergency Response Team (ERT) members may request military-grade weapons. These weapons are kept in a NASA facility and their removal is subject to a separate Unusual expense-equivalent request, which automatically triggers official review.

The Organization

NASA’s administrator is the agency’s highest-ranking official and serves as the senior space advisor to the U.S. president. NASA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and provides overall guidance and direction to facilities scattered around the world. NASA is divided into a series of directorates. These encompass mission-related responsibilities, like the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Directorate and the Mission Support (MS) Directorate, as well as directorates attached to each facility.

NASA distributes operational missions and research priorities to its many facilities. For example, unmanned observation missions in Earth’s orbit are managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) handles unmanned interplanetary missions. The Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) tests and evaluates newly designed aircraft and supports a number of classified projects like advanced stealth technology and experimental propulsion systems. The Johnson Space Center is the lead on the International Space Station (ISS). The Kennedy Space Center focuses on human space flight and major launches. The Johnson Space Center (JSC) houses mission control. NASA operates a number of other, smaller facilities as well, including the Glenn Research Center (Ohio; advanced materials), the Stennis Space Center (Mississippi; rocket testing), and the Ames Research Center (astrobiology and unmanned space exploration).

NASA operates a SWAT equivalent in the form of the Kennedy Space Center Emergency Response Team (ERT). The ERT patrols the KSC grounds and protects the facility from intrusion.

Key Directorates

» Human Exploration and Operations (HEO)
Mission Directorate
» Science Mission Directorate
» Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
» Space Technology Mission Directorate
» Johnson Space Center
» Mission Control
  ›Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
  ›Ames Research Center (ARC)
  ›Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
  › Space Communications and Navigation
(SCaN)
  › Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
  › Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Operatives

NASA employs about 18,000 members of the civil service and 40,000 contractors. Astronauts are the best-known NASA employees, but represent a very small number of the total workforce. Many NASA workers are scientists and engineers as well as people with business degrees (to operate finance departments), office administration specialists, and technical writers. NASA employs medical doctors and lawyers in specialized capacities.

The stereotype of a reclusive scientist working in their office with the lights turned off is unwelcome at NASA. Budgets are too tight and project timelines are too restrictive to allow hoarding of knowledge or practical experience. NASA relies on a team approach to all projects, and values program managers and members of other output-oriented careers. Creativity and initiative are important character traits at NASA.

ERT members are usually recruited from other SWAT-equivalents or from retired special-operations personnel. Members of the ERT train heavily in vertical environments (such as launch gantries) as well as the selective use of force around volatile chemicals and sensitive equipment.

Authority and Mandate

NASA was created to oversee U.S. space exploration and aeronautics research. The most high-profile work done by NASA includes putting astronauts and satellites in orbit, conducting scientific research (particularly into flight and aeronautics), and launching deep space missions to probe and explore the solar system and beyond. In addition to those major missions, NASA’s mandate includes practical and theoretical research and providing resources to promote and advance science education.

Field Operations

Official travel by NASA employees is relatively rare and constantly scrutinized. Personnel with important or in-demand skill sets, such as advanced engineering, are an exception. They can expect to consult and travel fairly regularly, particularly to other NASA centers or to another nation’s space organization. Other travel may include visiting observation facilities or traveling to visit similarly-mandated organization like the Air Force or National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

Areas of Friction

Due to similar mandates to explore the practicalities of space, NASA must maintain a close relationship with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the NRO, and the Air Force. This occasionally leads to areas of friction when credit (or funding) for projects is in question.

NASA’s mission to learn to utilize and exploit space must be underscored by the practicalities of improving humanity’s understanding of the Earth. This means the biggest critics of NASA are found in Congress, many of whom see NASA’s mission as a waste of taxpayer money. NASA is constantly struggling to prove its worth to Congress (and the public) and justify its expenditures.

Playing NASA

You feel like you won the lottery. You aren’t paid nearly as well as your civilian counterparts, but you get enormous satisfaction working at NASA. Your office is filled with smart people, many of whom are surprisingly friendly. The equipment you work on is the definition of cutting-edge, some of it decades ahead of the stuff at other organizations. You work in an environment that values problem-solving and creativity. That is extremely satisfying.

NASA makes you work in a team. You may have come to the organization expecting to make a name for yourself, but you see time and again that the project is what gets recognized, rarely the individual. If the project succeeds, the whole team is lauded. If the project fails, well, it falls squarely on the shoulders of the team leader. Worse? Too often, projects are cancelled right out from under the people working on them due to the whims of some politician or bureaucrat in D.C. That is much more demoralizing than a failed project. At least NASA learns from a failed project.

Science, engineering, and math are your tools, but the top priority is always safety. NASA’s funding is always precarious, and when projects or missions fail, they do so in spectacular (and expensive) fashion that inevitably brings in a Congressional inquiry. You may not have been a detail-oriented person before you joined NASA, but you surely are now. You check your work, re-check it, check it again, and then check someone else’s work. Failsafes and redundancies are the name of the game. A common phrase between colleagues is, “Sweat the small stuff.” It is better to get it right than do it quickly.

Suggested Professions

Kennedy Emergency Response Team (ERT)
The ERT provides SWAT services at the Kennedy Space Center as well as crowd control and VIP protection. ERT operates its own helicopters and is practiced in vertical insertion and rappelling.
   PROFESSION: Special Operator.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Athletics, Awareness,
Dodge, Firearms.
   EQUIPMENT: Per TOOLS OF THE TRADE: SPECIAL OPERATIONS on page 85 of the Agent’s Handbook.

Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN)
Part of HEO, Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) serves as the program office for all of NASA’s space communications activities. SCaN manages and directs the ground-based facilities and services provided by the Deep Space Network (DSN), Near Earth Network (NEN), and Space Network (SN).
   PROFESSION: Scientist.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Bureaucracy, Computer Science, Science (Astronomy, Chemistry, Engineering, Geology, Mathematics, or Physics), SIGINT.
   EQUIPMENT: A large library on your area of expertise as well as access to a huge amount of astronomical data and related research.

Armstrong FRC Flight Research, Test, and Engineering Directorate (FRTE)
FRTE employs some of the most creative and intelligent aeronautical engineers and systems professionals who develop experimental and next-generation aircraft. Stealth technology was (partly) born here.
   PROFESSION: Scientist.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Bureaucracy, Craft (Engineer), Craft (Mechanic), Science (Aeronautics).
   EQUIPMENT: Engineering trade tools and access to aeronautical research.

Astronaut Corps Pilot
Anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 people apply for the space program annually. Fewer than 10 are accepted and make it through astronaut training. Even fewer are certified pilots and tapped to operate spacecraft and machinery in space as commanders, pilots, flight engineers, or payload commanders. You are as elite as they come
   PROFESSIONAL SKILLS:
» Alertness 60%
» Athletics 50%
» Bureaucracy 30%
» Craft (Electrician) 40%
» Craft (Mechanic) 40%
» Military Science (Air) 30%
» Navigate 50%
» Pilot (Airplane) 60%
» Pilot (Spacecraft, Space Suit, or Remotely Operated Vehicle) 60%
» Science (Meteorology) 40%
» Science (Physics) 40%
» Swim 40%
   BONDS: 2
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Heavy Machinery, Science
(Biology), Science (Math), Science (Meteorology).
   EQUIPMENT: Extensive collection of tools, including some that have been hardened or modified for use in space. You also have access to launch sites and training facilities.

Project Orion Management (Orion)
Part of HEO, Orion Project Management oversees the design, development and testing of the next-gen Orion spacecraft which will carry astronauts into space.
   PROFESSION: Program Manager.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Accounting, Bureaucracy,
Craft (Engineering), Science (Physics).
   EQUIPMENT: Access to a project’s budget (see page 90 of the Agent’s Handbook for more on program managers).

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

DARPA is a sub-agency of the Department of Defense, responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. DARPA is independent from other military research and development bodies and reports directly to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. DARPA is a research-funding agency. It does not run its own labs. It contracts with companies, universities, and other agencies to conduct research. DARPA-funded projects have influenced many non-military fields, such as computer networking (the Internet), phased-array radars, infrared imaging, composite materials, voice recognition software, autonomous vehicles and robots, high-energy lasers, and graphical user interfaces for computers.

BUDGET: Almost $3 billion in 2015.

The DARPA Operative at a Glance

POWERS OF ARREST? No.

EXPECTED TO CARRY A WEAPON? No.

ACCESS TO OFFICIAL FUNDS? Non-program managers can be supplied with a credit line while traveling (up to an Unusual expense without eliciting official review).

Program managers have regular access to the equivalent of a Major expense in funds.

OPERATIONAL BUDGET/RESTRICTED ITEMS? As a Major-expense requisition, an Agent can access one-of-a-kind prototypes and concept machines or computer programs. As a Standard-expense requisition, an Agent can acquire credentials to privately-owned research facilities associated with DARPA.

The Organization

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, DARPA is an organizational oddity, with a low personnel count and a high budget. This ratio allows DARPA to explore the most cutting-edge technologies. DARPA’s technical specialists and program managers fund and oversee hundreds of projects. DARPA does not conduct the bulk of its own research nor its own testing. Instead, DARPA employees (many of whom are on shortterm details from their parent organizations or from academia) oversee DARPA-initiated projects that are performed at civilian or academic organizations. In essence, DARPA identifies interesting ideas, assigns (or recruits) a program manager to lead the project, competes out the project to see what organization or institution is willing to explore that particular technology, and then funds the project generously. If the project yields practical results, it is transferred to the Department of Defense. DARPA projects are usually assigned a finite amount of time, typically three to five years.

DARPA operates at least six program offices (and a number of support offices) at any given time, all of which report to the DARPA director. These offices tend to change name and focus over the years. The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) identifies and pursues high-risk, high-payoff research initiatives within the  science and engineering communities. DSO is particularly interested in things like particle physics and innovative applications of supercolliders. The Information Innovation Office (I2O) explores information science and software to anticipate developments in cyber warfare. The Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) focuses on hyper-compact microelectronic components such as microprocessors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and photonic devices. The Strategic Technology Office (STO) focuses on technologies that improve combat computer networking and communications. The Tactical Technology Office (TTO) explores innovative vehicles and weapons platforms such as aircraft, satellites, robots, exoskeletons, ground vehicles, and ships. The Biological Technologies Office (BTO) fosters research that integrates biology with more traditional defense fields like engineering, and computer science.

Key DARPA Offices

» Defense Sciences Office (DSO)
» Information Innovation Office (I2O)
» Microsystems Technology Office (MTO)
» Strategic Technology Office (STO)
» Tactical Technology Office (TTO)
» Biological Technologies Office (BTO)

Operatives

DARPA comprises about 220 government employees in six technical offices. Those include nearly 100 program managers, who together oversee about 250 research and development programs. DARPA goes to great lengths to identify, recruit and support excellent organizational leaders. It wants extraordinary individuals who are at the top of their fields and are hungry for the opportunity to push the limits of their disciplines. Project leaders have extremely robust budgets and a free hand to see each program to its conclusion. DARPA benefits from specially legislated statutory hiring authorities and “alternative” contracting methods, which allow it to recruit innovators who might not fit in a traditional U.S. government bureaucracy.

Project leaders are helped by support personnel, who make up DARPA’s bureaucracy and its institutional memory. Support personnel fall into two categories, SETAs and SMEs. SETAs, or scientific, engineering, technical, and administrative personnel, are DARPA’s administrative staff. SMEs, or subject-matter experts, act as technical consultants to project leaders. SETAs and SMEs stay with DARPA for significantly longer periods of time than project leaders, who typically stay for no more than five years

Authority and Mandate

DARPA’s mission is to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security. DARPA explicitly reaches for transformational change instead of incremental advances. But it does not perform its engineering alchemy in isolation. It works within an ecosystem that includes academic, corporate, and governmental partners. It focuses constantly on the nation’s military services, which work with DARPA to create new strategic opportunities and novel tactical options.

Field Operations

DARPA employees are mostly office-bound. When they do travel for official purposes, it is in support of a project, usually in a site visit to see firsthand how part of the program is developing. At later stages of a project, practical testing inevitably draws project leaders to the test facility. DARPA’s budget oversight for travel is lax compared to other U.S. government agencies. On the other hand, it prioritizes operational security and protection of trade secrets. DARPA leadership does not want the media or research think tanks to see the results of a project until it has been vetted as safe for public display

Areas of Friction

Being small and dealing with technologies and processes that are considered too experimental for traditional agencies or businesses means that DARPA rarely runs afoul of other organizations. Occasionally there is a dispute over the ownership of a technology or innovation. Resentment is more likely to arise between DARPA and the organizations from which it poaches project leaders and technical staff. These employees are often highly paid innovators in their fields, and their “home” organizations are sometimes reluctant to give them up, even for a limited time. However, these organizations are often the ones running for DARPA contracts, so they often see the temporary loss of one of their top people as an acceptable trade. Personnel who become project leaders at DARPA benefit from their association with the agency after they leave, leveraging their experience for better positions in the private sector and sometimes even returning as private contractors.

As a part of the Department of Defense, DARPA’s budget is generally safe from the predations of Congress, but leadership is still cautious about how it reveals its more off-the-wall projects. DARPA does not want to raise the ire of legislators who might see the type of experimenting it promotes as too “out there.” Even in its successes, DARPA is quiet in claiming credit in order to maintain a low profile.

Playing DARPA

The skill sets that interest DARPA are usually very specific, particularly for project leaders. DARPA wants technical and scientific innovators, visionary academics, think-tank researchers, engineers, and traditional scientists.

At DARPA, you are under a constantly ticking clock. Projects come and go, but the pressure to get more done is always there. You work with smart people who are focused and driven. That can lead to huge egos and short tempers, but it also leads to amazing results that push the boundaries of what is practical or possible.

As a project leader, you are a bit of a fish out of water. You walked into a bureaucracy that is well established, were handed impressive funding, and were instructed to “go.” You make up the parameters for success as the project develops. You were recruited by DARPA because you are smart and get things done. This may be your best opportunity to have a significant budget to try to prove a pet theory. Your goal is clear: push your idea as far as it will go before the clock stops ticking. The support staff are smart and helpful, and they have clearly worked with newly arrived and confused project leaders before, so the integration process is a lot smoother than you might have expected.

Support staff at DARPA include private contractors and military personnel, and some are full-time DARPA employees. They ensure that program managers are able to get up and running as quickly as possible. As a SETA or SME, you need to be open-minded and willing to work through paperwork obstacles that otherwise might slow down or derail a promising project. Taking “no” for an answer is not normally acceptable. Work-arounds and a certain level of bureaucratic creativity is always in demand.

Suggested Professions

Tactical Technologies Office (TTO)
TTO pushes the boundaries of “traditional military technology” such as weapons, vehicles, and body armor. Want to see if a military exoskeleton is viable, a new super-light material is strong enough to handle combat, or man-portable lethal lasers might work? TTO is that office.
   PROFESSION: Program Manager.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Accounting, Bureaucracy,
Science (Engineering), Science (choose one).
   EQUIPMENT: Access to a project’s budget, and access to one really impractical and buggy piece of technology or code (work with the Handler to decide what is reasonable).

The Microsystems Technology Office (MTO)
This office seeks practical applications for discoveries in quantum physics. It uses newly discovered particles in detection processes and explores the boundaries on increasingly small and exotic power sources
   PROFESSION: Program Manager.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Bureaucracy, Computer
Science, Science (Mathematics), Science (Physics).
   EQUIPMENT: Access to a project’s budget and one really impractical and fragile piece of concept machinery.

SME Technology Contractor
You are contracted by DARPA to provide technical and computer support for a project. SME personnel are usually specialists in their fields.
   PROFESSION: Computer Scientist or Scientist.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Bureaucracy, Computer
Science, Craft (choose one), Science (choose one).
   EQUIPMENT: Resources from the private company you work for, including funds up to an Unusual expense without eliciting official review. Your travel budget is much less restrictive than a normal DARPA employee, allowing up to a Major expense without eliciting official review.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:17, Thu 26 Oct 2023.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is part of the Department of Energy. NNSA maintains and improves the safety, reliability, and performance of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile. It is also responsible for many nuclear nonproliferation, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, and radiological emergency response efforts, and for the nuclear reactors aboard U.S. Navy ships.

BUDGET: Approximately $12.5 billion in 2015.

The NNSA Operative at a Glance

POWERS OF ARREST? Generally, no. However, courier agents of the Office of Secure Transportation have a broad mandate under the Atomic Energy Act to use force to protect a nuclear asset.

EXPECTED TO CARRY A WEAPON? No, except for courier agents

ACCESS TO OFFICIAL FUNDS? Can be supplied with a credit line if traveling or on an investigation or mission, up to an Unusual expense without eliciting official review.

OPERATIONAL BUDGET/RESTRICTED ITEMS? On a requisition roll, the Agent can access advanced detection and analysis equipment including portable spectrometers, radiation and chemical sniffers, advanced optics, and atmospheric analyzers. An operative can also request personal protective equipment including HAZMAT and radiation suits, chemical/ biological/radiological resistant military uniforms, explosives-removal armor, rebreathers, and similar safety equipment, usually as a Standard expense. One may also request specialized vehicles such as hermetically sealed vans and SUVs with scientific and detection equipment, as a Major expense.

Courier agents have access to supply depots in every major U.S. city. They can access military grade weapons and equipment with a successful requisition roll as a Standard expense. They may also request armored vehicles, including specially-designed armored long-haul trucks designed to safely carry nuclear material, as a Major expense.

The Organization

NNSA operates specialized facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility, and the Z-Pulsed Power Facility at Sandia National Laboratory. Because international legislation prohibits nuclear detonations even for scientific research, NNSA uses an array of supercomputers to run simulations and validate experimental data.

NNSA is divided into a series of offices which manage aspects of the strategic use of nuclear power.

The Office of Secure Transportation (OST) provides safe and secure transportation of government-owned, DOE- or NNSA-controlled nuclear materials. Shipments are transported in specially designed containers and are escorted by armed courier agents.

The Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (ODNN) works to secure and dispose of nuclear and radiological material as well as related weapons of mass destruction technology.

The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) provides design, development, and operational support for the Navy’s aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.

The Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation (OCC) sponsors academic research into “threat devices” and foreign nuclear weapons.

The Office of Defense Nuclear Security (ODNS) designs and implements programs to protect the U.S. from hostile nuclear weapons. These programs include training protective forces in how to safely work around nuclear material or facilities, developing systems to promote nuclear materials control and accountability, and developing technical security programs for facilities or organizations that handle nuclear material. ODNS also handles the security operations, resources, engineering, and technical support to NNSA field elements and facilities.

Key NNSA Offices and Programs

» Office of Secure Transportation (OST)
  › Transportation and Emergency Control Center (TECC)
  › Secure Courier Program
» Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
(ODNN)
» Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST)
» Joint Technical Operations Team (NEST/JTOT)

Operatives

NNSA focuses on engineers and scientists with nuclear or physics specializations. Employees are expected to join NNSA with already established bona fides in nuclear science or engineering. Bureaucrats and support staff make up a large percentage of the NNSA’s ranks as well.

NNSA’s workforce has a reputation as a particularly rigid “old boys network.” This is a result of low turnover, particularly at the highest ranks. New employees, many of whom hold multiple advanced degrees, often find it difficult to get promoted.

OST employs about 350 courier agents to escort specially designed aircraft and tractor trailers to transport nuclear material. NNSA seeks ex-special-operations forces as courier agents. Besides irregular hours and significant risks, couriers may be called upon to use deadly force to prevent the theft, sabotage, or takeover of protected materials. Courier agents receive months of training as federal law-enforcement officers.

Authority and Mandate

NNSA’s primary mission is the security and effectiveness of the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile. Part of that mission is protecting the public by providing expertise on radiological detection and emergency response.

NNSA may declare a temporary “National Security Area” (NSA) which gives DOE and NNSA administrative control of the area and ensures NNSA is the lead agency. The declaration of an NSA must be approved by the Office of the President shortly thereafter and always draws the attention of the media

Field Operations

NNSA is ready to deploy a variety of emergency response assets in the event of a suspected nuclear incident. Outside of these specialized teams, most NNSA employees work in technical or support roles that rarely require travel. Occasionally a specialist travels to consult with another agency or for a speaking event. For most, the best chance to travel on official duty is to become competent or senior enough to be selected for a deployable team (such as a NEST) and then travel as part of an exercise.

NNSA can co-opt personnel from throughout the Department of Energy, as well as request law enforcement or military personnel through the Secretary of Energy and the President. These ad-hoc task forces are usually created under the auspices of a Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST). A NEST task force includes select NNSA personnel from multiple offices and competencies, and provides technical assistance to other federal agencies in incidents that involve nuclear materials. A NEST deploys alongside federal agents or military personnel to assists identifying, characterizing, rendering safe, and disposing of radioactive devices. NESTs vary in size from a five-person technical advisory team to a deployment of dozens of scientists and medical personnel. NEST personnel are ready to deploy at all times, and have a small number of dedicated transport and detection craft to facilitate rapid travel.

A NEST is organized into three elements: a Nuclear/Radiological Support Team (NRAT), a Search team, and a Joint Technical Operations Team (JTOT). NRAT has domestic and foreign support teams which deploy from Washington, D.C., to advise local authorities and collect preliminary information for follow-on groups. The Search team deploys specialized equipment to find a radioactive threat device. JTOT deploys specialized technical capabilities, instruments, and people to render objects safe, analyze them, and dispose of them. The JTOT teams include DOE scientists and technicians and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts.

The Office of Secure Transportation maintains a fleet of more than three dozen armored, custom-built “safe and secure trailers” (SSTs) which are operated and staffed by courier agents. The SSTs are tractor trailers (semis) designed to carry large amounts of nuclear material safely. The SSTs have sleeping berths and usually hold at least four armed couriers. During a convoy run, an SST is escorted by at least two armored SUVs, each carrying at least three armed couriers. To get SST convoys to their destinations as quickly as possible, SSTs are directed to travel at maximum legal speed with minimum stops. Local law enforcement is usually informed in advance of the arrival of a convoy. On a convoy run, couriers are no-nonsense and quick to deploy their weapons, no matter how innocuous a situation appears. Courier agents are equipped with M4 carbines and MP5 submachine guns with low-light optics, body armor, flash-bang grenades, and sometimes with M4 Super 90 semi-automatic shotguns.

Areas of Friction

There is a wide disconnect between how NNSA’s leadership sees the agency and how it is viewed by outsiders. With its strong background in national security and a tendency to work with the military, NNSA has developed a reputation being aloof and snobbish when working with other DOE partners. Exacerbating the problem is a perception by other federal agencies that NNSA promotes an outmoded ”‘two-martini lunch” work environment. This leads to a reputation for completing projects late and generally being less effective than it should.

NNSA’s biggest area of friction is within its ranks. The old-boy network regularly leads to frustrated lower- and mid-level employees who enjoy their work, but see little chance for advancement. Morale in NNSA is not strong, and leadership seems oblivious to the problem.

Playing NNSA

You are highly educated and have a strong work ethic. You could have taken a better-paying job, but you want to work on the practical side of nuclear issues, and there is nothing more interesting than the security implications of nuclear material. Perhaps you get to work on the nuclear reactors on an aircraft carrier, or maybe access data generated by networked super computers, or help build projects for the advanced X-ray “Z machine” at Sandia. Whatever you do, it is exciting and highly technical.

Let the guys in the private sector work the crazy-long hours and wade through corporate subcultures. You get to work on your passion and get home at a reasonable hour. You likely had to put everything aside to get an advanced degree, and it can be a relief that NNSA promotes a strong work-life balance.

NNSA’s organizational culture leaves something to be desired. A Ph.D. in some highly technical field isn’t enough to get noticed when everyone else has one. Worse, promotions seem to be based on who you know and under-the-table favors more than actual merit. If not for the fact that there is no other job like yours that offers the personal time you need, you probably would have left years ago.

Suggested Professions

Office of Secure Transportation Courier Program (OST/Courier)
Courier agents escort nuclear materials. They are instructed to not allow anything to take control of the “goodies.”
   PROFESSION: Special Operator.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Alertness,
Drive, HUMINT, Law.
   EQUIPMENT: Per TOOLS OF THE TRADE: SPECIAL OPERATOR on page 85 of the Agent’s Handbook, as well as radiological and chemical personal protective gear and access to specially hardened vehicles.

NEST Search Group (NEST/S)
Your day job is as a scientist or medical professional. When there is a suspected nuclear “threat device” in the area, you are called upon to staff NEST’s Search Group.
   PROFESSION: Scientist or Physician.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Awareness, Computer
Science, Science (Chemistry or Physics), SIGINT.
   EQUIPMENT: Access to radiological protective gear as well as advanced detection and surveillance equipment, much of it man-portable or at least transportable on a plane.

Joint Technical Operations Team (NEST/JTOT)
When a suspected nuclear or radiological weapon or threat device is located, the JTOT is brought in to evaluate and neutralize the danger. JTOT works closely with the FBI to deploy trained personnel such as explosives ordnance disposal techs.
   PROFESSION: Firefighter.
   SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Awareness, Craft (Electronics), Demolitions, Science (Nuclear Physics).
   EQUIPMENT: Explosives and ordnance destruction
equipment, including body armor and remote-controlled robots that may be operated with the Demolitions skill.