Greg Mello posted this
Good morning Khal. One senate staffer, when asked what the post-PF-4 plan for pit production at LANL was, said to me, "Savannah River." That is, pit production at LANL is meant to be temporary. The idea is apparently what LANL's Bob Webster (I think it was) said to a large group of managers, "Interview 50, hire all 50, and sort them out later." All these people being hired will be "sorted out" later. LANL hopes there will be a new "Bit Thing," or continuing "Big Thing(s)" down the road. Dear developers: don't bet on the pit market forever.
It does not sound like Webster but I have to admit the new hires are horrible. Not everyone but they seem to have no quality control and just hiring everyone. I can understand that maybe in the PIT part of the lab you just need to hire, however what I cannot figure out is why is this attitude in other parts of the lab?
4 comments:
"One senate staffer, when asked what the post-PF-4 plan for pit production at LANL was, said to me, "Savannah River." That is, pit production at LANL is meant to be temporary. "
The problem with Mello's comments is (1) We cannot confirm that he said this so he could just be lying. I would not put it past him. (2) More likely he simply does not understand what he was actually told. It simply could be that he asked what happens if PF-4 does not work, at which point the staffer said, Savannah River, which is the whole point of having two places. I have noticed that Mello gets things really wrong time and time again and hears what he wants to hear and twists it to fit his narrative. Just ask yourself, how often has Mello been right about anythings?
Also here is a another comment. LANL will gets its campus in Santa Fe. Sure all the NYC ex-wifes super liberal transplants will complain but at the end of the day it is the New Mexican locals who decide and they love LANL so a campus is already a done deal. Have you ever heard one of the Santa Fe council meetings. It goes like this, a couple of women with thick Long Island accents go on and on for about hour. After that two local New Mexican guys speak for like 30 seconds each and say, I disagree lets do it this way and what do you know the vote goes a certain way every time.
With all due respect to Mello and my government colleagues, I am somewhat of an expert in incompetance, having worked at multiple national labs over many years. Even if they think pit production at LANL is temporary, the thought that the government will somehow be able to stand up another major operation at Savanah River, and pass all environmental and regulatory scrutiny, is totally unrealistic. Building a second, new pit production facility is like building a bullet train across California--never going to happen. Mello's motivation is to disuade people from accepting job offers at LANL. That may or may not be a worthwhile goal, but let's at least be honest about the true intentions here.
If past performance/behavior is an indicator of future performance, NNSA will never be able to stand up a second pit facility. Before answering, think about the long list of nuclear facility projects that started and never finished.
10:36 it will be a miracle if we ever stand up a first pit facility again. Let’s face it, TA-55 is a running joke and a wholesale money sink. Quality people run from that place and lifelong bureaucrats flock to it as a cushy way to run out the clock and retire. I’ll believe this country is serious about pits when I see the glove box gaskets replaced with something besides tape.
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