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“THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING ORIENTATION PROGRAM CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S1590 on March 22, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING
ORIENTATION PROGRAM CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY
Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, it is my great pleasure to congratulate the men and women of the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, the National Laboratories, and affiliated contractors who celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Underground Nuclear Weapons Testing Orientation Program this year. This proliferation training course based at the Nevada Test Site has trained over 500 U.S. Government policy makers and analysts from the arms control, intelligence, and defense communities since its inception in 1980.
This course provides briefings by subject matter experts from DOE and the Labs, to include an overview of how the U.S. historically conducted atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons tests and effects tests, the basis for diagnostic experiments, the challenges of stockpile stewardship, and the process for executing subcritical experiments. Through lectures, discussion, and orientation visits to underground facilities, control rooms, former ground zeros, equipment yards, and nuclear test artifacts, the course provides hands-on experience that goes to the core of nuclear weapons testing. The course also provides essential information suitable to contrast with foreign nuclear weapons testing programs.
The efforts of the DOE staff in Nevada are to be commended. It is their dedication in the planning and execution of this course that will train the next generation of intelligence analysts, collectors, managers, consumers and policy officials with responsibility for nuclear programs, proliferation, arms control, and related disciplines. It is my hope that they will continue this essential training course for many years to come.
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