Friday, July 13, 2018
What does Triad mean to LLNL?
So, OK, the discussion and drivel about Triad since early June has been fun, if not as unenlightening as ever for this blog.
But since this is the “LLNL - The True Story” blog ... what does it all mean to LLNL?
Clearly at this point the best that can be offered is informed speculation. My speculation is that DOE/NNSA knows...has known for years...that the for-profit LLC M&O approach was an utter failure, and intends that Triad be successful enough in running LANL (the bar is low) to repeat the same transition for LLNL in the next few years. Battelle, UC and some third party...possibly TAMU but probably not...will end up with the LLNL M&O contract by 2021 if not sooner. As a non-profit, with Bechtel finally excised from the whole situation.
By 2030, people will say “remember that thing where LANS/LLNS ran the weapons labs from about 2007 to about 2019 or so, and sucked untold $Ms from the federal government while adding significant negative value to the whole thing? Crazy, huh? Let’s not do that again.”
Just my speculation. I know, I know, UC sucks, NIF sucks, Charlie sucked, Cowboys suck, and so on.
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7 comments:
JESUS when will all you finally get it. This whole Bechtel contracting idea was orchestrated and set up by Diane Feinstein and her husband Richard Blum, a long time regent on the Board of the UC....Its clear to see they sold out the labs as political poker chips and much more.... Reilly Bechtel was her next door neighbor for years. Now Bechtel has announced it is moving out of San Francisco to Virginia.
Don't go to sleep people...The fix was in before Teller was gone.....
LLNL and LANL were sold out, plain and simple....
Unfortunately for us here at LLNL, I can't see Bechtel walking away from the $12 to $15 million it gets for being in LLNS, and the LLNS contract currently extends through September 30, 2022. However if LLNS receives all future one-year award-term extensions, its contract can be extended through September 30, 2026.
It would take a brave decision by NNSA to not extend and recompet the LLNL contract in 2022. Even if Triad has perfect performance at LANL the next few years, short of a major screwup at LLNL, I don't see this happening. I find this pretty sad and disheartening, as a UC-Battelle LLC would be perfect for running LLNL.
Bechtel was made in California.
The managers at LLNL were much easier to compromise than LANL staff, LLNL was the brains of the outfit, LANL was where things got done....LLNL Management would sell out their mother in laws for pennies, when the LLNL contract turned over all the rats jumped from the sinking ship, and the ones who could not, rolled over to the Bechtel BS....Cant blame alot of them, because everyone was caught in a bad position...you either sold out, or you got out......Hindsight is precious....
"It would take a brave decision by NNSA to not extend and recompet the LLNL contract in 2022."
It would be a prudent decision by the NNSA to end LLNS as soon as possible. LANS and LLNS have nearly the same corporate players that repeatedly failed at LANL. Why should the NNSA wait for additional screw ups from the same dysfunctional leadership to dump LLNS in favor of the Triad model?
While LANS and LLNS have had the same corporate players the major screw ups have happened at LANL, not Livermore. The incentive for moving onto a new management team was much stronger at LANL. Livermore has not repeatedly stepped on their toes. Unless the cost of running LANL under the TRIAD is significantly cheaper and the expectation is that this would be the case for Livermore, where is the incentive for NNSA to terminate the contract early?
If the cost savings is only a few million per year the cost and bother to the NNSA would probably not move the C students in Washington into a rebid in the near future. But you never know, the disdain for Bechtel might lead to a change. Of course it all depends on how many dollars are pushed under the table in DC.
July 14 2018 at 3:49
Bechtel may have been made in California, its slowly been moving to Houston and Virginia over the last several years under the 6th generation leader Brendan Bechtel, after more than a century in California, the last remnants will finally be leaving, except for a few stragglers who will stay in California to finish up some construction projects. Now Bechtel's favorite swamp Senator is being thrown under the buss by her own party....My how the worm turns...
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/07/bechtel-moving-company-hq-from-sf-to-virginia/
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