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Source:
www.knoxnews.com/kns/local...17,00.html
=========================================================
Ruddy relieved of Y-12 duties
General manager out apparently because of a security infraction
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
October 12, 2005
OAK RIDGE - Dennis Ruddy, one of the most powerful men in the U.S.
nuclear
weapons establishment, has been relieved of his duties, apparently
because of a
security infraction.
BWXT, the contractor that manages the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant for
the
government, made the announcement late Tuesday, although the company
offered few
details.
"Because Dennis Ruddy can no longer meet the requirements necessary for
employment at a nuclear weapons site, he has been reassigned to duties
at
headquarters (at Lynchburg, Va.)," BWXT spokesman Mike Monnett said.
Steve Liedle, BWXT's deputy general manager for programs at Y-12, was
named
acting general manager until Ruddy's successor is named. Liedle is a
veteran
Bechtel executive with broad experience in government contracting.
Monnett called Ruddy a magnificent leader at Y-12, "an agent of
change," and
a man of principle. "We sincerely regret the turn of events," he said.
The BWXT spokesman said he could not comment on whether Ruddy had lost
his
security clearance or discuss what led to Ruddy's sudden departure. "I
can't
mention any specific events at all," he said.
Ruddy was unavailable for comment.
There have been persistent reports over the past couple of weeks that
Ruddy
had been cited with a security infraction for a breach of classified
information. The reports linked the problem to a Sept. 26 story in the
News Sentinel in
which Ruddy was quoted about activities related to Libyan nuclear
equipment
stored at Y-12 since early 2004.
Parts of that story also were distributed by The Associated Press wire
service and published elsewhere.
When asked last week whether Ruddy had been given a security
infraction,
Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security
Administration, said,
"It is our policy to not comment on rumors about personnel matters. We
also
will not discuss matters involving individual security issues or even
confirm
that such concerns even exist."
After BWXT announced Ruddy's reassignment Tuesday, the NNSA issued a
statement saying, "This is a corporate matter - we simply cannot
comment on this
action."
In a statement, Bill Brumley, the federal chief at Y-12, said the
government
was "very pleased" with the work by BWXT, which recently received a
five-year
contract extension. "Denny Ruddy has been a huge part of that success,
and he
certainly will be missed," Brumley said.
Ruddy, 59, has been president and general manager at the Y-12 National
Security Complex for the past 2 1/2 years. The plant employs about
4,700 workers.
He directed the Oak Ridge work on nuclear warheads and managed the
plant's
stockpile of bomb-grade uranium. He also was responsible for developing
plans to
modernize the aging production and storage facilities, which play a key
role
in the nation's nuclear defense strategy.
In a Sept. 22 interview with the News Sentinel, Ruddy acknowledged that
government experts had visited Oak Ridge to evaluate the centrifuge
components once
associated with Libya's nuclear program.
"That's a cooperative thing between us and the lab," he said, referring
to
the nuclear nonproliferation program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ruddy added: "There's a lot of interest in the things we brought back
from
Libya because a lot of them, looking at them, measuring the tolerances,
setting
them up and operating them, to a certain extent tells us how close
people are
to be able to get a system that can work all the way to bomb-grade
material."
Centrifuges can be used to separate the different isotopes of uranium
and
concentrate the fissile U-235. The technology is capable of enriching
uranium to
levels needed for atomic weapons.
The enrichment equipment and containers of uranium hexafluoride were
airlifted out of Libya in January 2004 and flown to McGhee Tyson
Airport in Blount
County, then trucked to Y-12. Other shipments reportedly arrived later.
The secretly negotiated mission was a coup for the Bush administration,
forcing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to give up on his nuclear
ambitions and
abandon efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
On March 15, 2004, two months after the first shipment arrived in Oak
Ridge,
the National Security Council and DOE staged a national media event in
a
parking lot at Y-12. Armed guards stood close watch over the 50 crates
of nuclear
equipment that were on display while then-Energy Secretary Spencer
Abraham and
other officials touted the project's importance in stemming the
proliferation
of nuclear weapons.
On July 13, the Libyan equipment was brought out of storage again and
displayed for President Bush during his visit to Oak Ridge National
Laboratory.
"Eight months ago, the centrifuge parts and processing equipment for
uranium
were 5,000 miles away in the nation of Libya," Bush said in his Oak
Ridge
speech. "They were part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Today,
Libya, America
and the world are better off because these components are safely in
your
care."
Last year Ruddy said some of the things taken out of Libya, such as
ballistic
missile systems, were never destined for Oak Ridge. But the
uranium-related
stuff came to Y-12 because of the plant's long-standing work with
enriched
uranium and nuclear weapons, he said.
"We have the expertise here to understand the maturity of programs and
other
things like that," he said. "So, a lot of the forensics will be done
here by
people at Y-12 or ORNL or visiting people who come from around the
(nuclear
weapons) complex."
Ruddy, a metallurgical engineer by training, came to Oak Ridge in
February
2003. He previously served as general manager at the Pantex
warhead-assembly
plant in Amarillo, Texas.
He spent much of his earlier career at the government's Bettis Atomic
Power
Laboratory, a federal lab devoted to nuclear power operations for Navy
vessels.
He also spent time with Tenneco, serving as head of global
manufacturing for
the corporation's automotive parts division.
Ruddy, a native of Queens, N.Y., holds degrees from the Polytechnic
Institute
of Brooklyn and New York University.
From his arrival in early 2003, Ruddy created a stir in Oak Ridge. He
made a
number of tough, sometimes unpopular decisions, ranging from changes in
work
schedules to elimination of cooking appliances at the high-security
plant.
Early this year, he angered union workers with suddenly announced plans
for a
new four-day workweek, an item that's subject to negotiation in the
unions'
contract. The Atomic Trades and Labor Council staged a protest outside
the
plant's gates and ultimately rejected the work proposal.
Kenny Cook, president of the ATLC, said Tuesday the labor organization
would
have no comment on Ruddy's departure.
Ruddy often generated strong feelings among employees, but he never
wavered
when asked to defend his actions.
In a 2003 interview, he explained that tough decisions were a part of
his
management strategy:
"You must view the organizational needs higher than the needs of the
individuals, and that's an important principle in management. The
Marines say that
pain is the beginning of weakness leaving the body, and there's a
certain amount
of that in any philosophy. There are unpleasant things you have to do,
and
certainly we're not going to run this plant as a place for people to
come to get
out of the bad weather."
Doug Fisher, district director for U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga,
when
asked about the Y-12 management change, said Tuesday, "The congressman
cannot
comment on this matter."
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
www.knoxnews.com/kns/local...17,00.html
=========================================================
Ruddy relieved of Y-12 duties
General manager out apparently because of a security infraction
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
October 12, 2005
OAK RIDGE - Dennis Ruddy, one of the most powerful men in the U.S.
nuclear
weapons establishment, has been relieved of his duties, apparently
because of a
security infraction.
BWXT, the contractor that manages the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant for
the
government, made the announcement late Tuesday, although the company
offered few
details.
"Because Dennis Ruddy can no longer meet the requirements necessary for
employment at a nuclear weapons site, he has been reassigned to duties
at
headquarters (at Lynchburg, Va.)," BWXT spokesman Mike Monnett said.
Steve Liedle, BWXT's deputy general manager for programs at Y-12, was
named
acting general manager until Ruddy's successor is named. Liedle is a
veteran
Bechtel executive with broad experience in government contracting.
Monnett called Ruddy a magnificent leader at Y-12, "an agent of
change," and
a man of principle. "We sincerely regret the turn of events," he said.
The BWXT spokesman said he could not comment on whether Ruddy had lost
his
security clearance or discuss what led to Ruddy's sudden departure. "I
can't
mention any specific events at all," he said.
Ruddy was unavailable for comment.
There have been persistent reports over the past couple of weeks that
Ruddy
had been cited with a security infraction for a breach of classified
information. The reports linked the problem to a Sept. 26 story in the
News Sentinel in
which Ruddy was quoted about activities related to Libyan nuclear
equipment
stored at Y-12 since early 2004.
Parts of that story also were distributed by The Associated Press wire
service and published elsewhere.
When asked last week whether Ruddy had been given a security
infraction,
Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security
Administration, said,
"It is our policy to not comment on rumors about personnel matters. We
also
will not discuss matters involving individual security issues or even
confirm
that such concerns even exist."
After BWXT announced Ruddy's reassignment Tuesday, the NNSA issued a
statement saying, "This is a corporate matter - we simply cannot
comment on this
action."
In a statement, Bill Brumley, the federal chief at Y-12, said the
government
was "very pleased" with the work by BWXT, which recently received a
five-year
contract extension. "Denny Ruddy has been a huge part of that success,
and he
certainly will be missed," Brumley said.
Ruddy, 59, has been president and general manager at the Y-12 National
Security Complex for the past 2 1/2 years. The plant employs about
4,700 workers.
He directed the Oak Ridge work on nuclear warheads and managed the
plant's
stockpile of bomb-grade uranium. He also was responsible for developing
plans to
modernize the aging production and storage facilities, which play a key
role
in the nation's nuclear defense strategy.
In a Sept. 22 interview with the News Sentinel, Ruddy acknowledged that
government experts had visited Oak Ridge to evaluate the centrifuge
components once
associated with Libya's nuclear program.
"That's a cooperative thing between us and the lab," he said, referring
to
the nuclear nonproliferation program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ruddy added: "There's a lot of interest in the things we brought back
from
Libya because a lot of them, looking at them, measuring the tolerances,
setting
them up and operating them, to a certain extent tells us how close
people are
to be able to get a system that can work all the way to bomb-grade
material."
Centrifuges can be used to separate the different isotopes of uranium
and
concentrate the fissile U-235. The technology is capable of enriching
uranium to
levels needed for atomic weapons.
The enrichment equipment and containers of uranium hexafluoride were
airlifted out of Libya in January 2004 and flown to McGhee Tyson
Airport in Blount
County, then trucked to Y-12. Other shipments reportedly arrived later.
The secretly negotiated mission was a coup for the Bush administration,
forcing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to give up on his nuclear
ambitions and
abandon efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
On March 15, 2004, two months after the first shipment arrived in Oak
Ridge,
the National Security Council and DOE staged a national media event in
a
parking lot at Y-12. Armed guards stood close watch over the 50 crates
of nuclear
equipment that were on display while then-Energy Secretary Spencer
Abraham and
other officials touted the project's importance in stemming the
proliferation
of nuclear weapons.
On July 13, the Libyan equipment was brought out of storage again and
displayed for President Bush during his visit to Oak Ridge National
Laboratory.
"Eight months ago, the centrifuge parts and processing equipment for
uranium
were 5,000 miles away in the nation of Libya," Bush said in his Oak
Ridge
speech. "They were part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Today,
Libya, America
and the world are better off because these components are safely in
your
care."
Last year Ruddy said some of the things taken out of Libya, such as
ballistic
missile systems, were never destined for Oak Ridge. But the
uranium-related
stuff came to Y-12 because of the plant's long-standing work with
enriched
uranium and nuclear weapons, he said.
"We have the expertise here to understand the maturity of programs and
other
things like that," he said. "So, a lot of the forensics will be done
here by
people at Y-12 or ORNL or visiting people who come from around the
(nuclear
weapons) complex."
Ruddy, a metallurgical engineer by training, came to Oak Ridge in
February
2003. He previously served as general manager at the Pantex
warhead-assembly
plant in Amarillo, Texas.
He spent much of his earlier career at the government's Bettis Atomic
Power
Laboratory, a federal lab devoted to nuclear power operations for Navy
vessels.
He also spent time with Tenneco, serving as head of global
manufacturing for
the corporation's automotive parts division.
Ruddy, a native of Queens, N.Y., holds degrees from the Polytechnic
Institute
of Brooklyn and New York University.
From his arrival in early 2003, Ruddy created a stir in Oak Ridge. He
made a
number of tough, sometimes unpopular decisions, ranging from changes in
work
schedules to elimination of cooking appliances at the high-security
plant.
Early this year, he angered union workers with suddenly announced plans
for a
new four-day workweek, an item that's subject to negotiation in the
unions'
contract. The Atomic Trades and Labor Council staged a protest outside
the
plant's gates and ultimately rejected the work proposal.
Kenny Cook, president of the ATLC, said Tuesday the labor organization
would
have no comment on Ruddy's departure.
Ruddy often generated strong feelings among employees, but he never
wavered
when asked to defend his actions.
In a 2003 interview, he explained that tough decisions were a part of
his
management strategy:
"You must view the organizational needs higher than the needs of the
individuals, and that's an important principle in management. The
Marines say that
pain is the beginning of weakness leaving the body, and there's a
certain amount
of that in any philosophy. There are unpleasant things you have to do,
and
certainly we're not going to run this plant as a place for people to
come to get
out of the bad weather."
Doug Fisher, district director for U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga,
when
asked about the Y-12 management change, said Tuesday, "The congressman
cannot
comment on this matter."
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
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