Division level changes that are ongoing.

Submitted anonymously:
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Doug, I think this deserves top post. Thanks...

So far, no one has commented in this blog on the division level changes that are ongoing. Beason's directorate, in particular, is being reshuffled. N-3 has been split off into a new IT division, together with a group of ISR. Evelyn Mullen is the new division leader. She is an engineer by training, has mainly been involved in emergency response, and has no technical knowledge of intel issues, not to mention any credibility as a scientist or leader.

Sara Scott, much to her chagrin, has been moved aside as N division leader. Brent Park, her arrogant deputy has also been removed. Sara will head some kind of non-proliferation center associated with TR, where her talents as Program Manager (not scientist) will be utilized.

Her replacement - Nancy Jo Nicholas, a nuclear scientist and ex-deputy group leader, who never finished her PhD. At least Nancy Jo can make a decision, something that Sara could never do! NJ's expertise - again - program management.

I am so disappointed in Doug Beason - he is worse than Cobb!!

In another directorate, Bill Fieireisen is moving aside, for Steven Lee to step in.

In general, the trend is clear - LANS doesn't want division leaders who lead - it wants followers, who can bring in the bucks. All of this will lower LANL's level to that of LLNL, where science plays a distant third fiddle to "bringing home the bacon". By the time NNSA will wake up, it will have lost the nation's forefront driver of science and technology innovation in defense programs. It will have no edge over SNL and LLNL whatsoever.

Bottom line - for the last 25 years, I have been coming to work early, and taking home work in the evenings, because I identified with the mission of the Lab, and its importance to the nation, despite the fact that so many mediocre people became "leaders". However, starting June 1, I will continue to work the required hours, but I (and probably everyone else) won't have the dedication; after all, we are working for corporate America, and if they want the "extra umph", they have to provide the environment for it. Unfortunately, they have failed, and we are all poorer.