Savannah River Site NNSA field office head leaving for Pantex

May 16—The National Nuclear Security Administration is looking for a new person to head its field office at the Savannah River Site.

Jason Armstrong, who became the field office manager in April 2021, said he had been asked by National Nuclear Security Administrator Jill Hruby to become the manager of a new NNSA field office at Pantex.

Pantex is located north of Amarillo in the Texas panhandle. It is the primary location of the assembly and disassembly of the nation's nuclear stockpile.

Armstrong said the NNSA made a decision about eight years ago to combine its field offices at Pantex and the Y-12 National Security Complex (uranium and secondary nuclear weapon component maintenance) at Oak Ridge in Tennessee. He said splitting the offices allows the NNSA to focus on its missions at Pantex and Y-12 given the current political environment.

Armstrong said he was honored to be selected to lead the Pantex field office. He added he previously served for three years as a nuclear safety engineer.

"My only answer was yes and thank you," Armstrong said. "Deep down, I'm really excited about it."

Armstrong said he was super-proud of increasing the Savannah River Site's tritium production to meet the statutory requirements in federal law and really proud of the NNSA's decision to select the Savannah River Site for plutonium pit production. He also said he was proud of the decision to transition landlord-ship at the Savannah River Site from the Office of Environmental Management to the NNSA.

He added the transfer represented a tremendous opportunity to the community and meant the Savannah River Site will be looking for more employees for several years.

Armstrong's last day was May 15. His first day at Pantex will be June 1.

He said he expected the deputy field office manager, Jeff Allison, to take over on an interim basis until Hruby select's his permanent replacement.

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