THIS COURSE IS ONLY OFFERED IN PERSON TO EMPLOYEES OF LANL - ALDW

This two-day course will focus on essential information designed to familiarize participants with the creation and evolution of the NSE, the capabilities and technologies available at each site, and how work gets done across the NSE to meet US National Security requirements.

Description: This unclassified module familiarizes participants with transformation of the nuclear weapons complex from its emergence in the Manhattan Project through the post-Cold War environment, including:

a)    how and why the Manhattan Project assembled the original weapons infrastructure,

b)    changes in approaches in the Management & Operations philosophy and site Federal oversight changes,

c)    the impact that legacy operations have had on current operations,

d)    challenges facing the enterprise today,

e)    an assessment of where the NSE is transitioning in the future, and

f)    the impact all these items has on past, current, and future budgets.

The course will also describe organizational structures at the eight remaining M&O sites with an overview of how each site works with other M&O sites and Federal personnel to achieve national security requirements. This includes items such as the translation of HQ NNSA Production & Planning Directives into Federal Program Manager Program Control Documents that create work content and output as well as budget demands at each site.

THIS COURSE IS ONLY OFFERED IN PERSON TO EMPLOYEES OF LANL - ALDW

This two-day unclassified course outlines how National Security Policy is formulated (from the Whitehouse to the Nuclear Posture Review), and how such policy drives NNSA.  The course addresses NNSA’s interfaces within the Nuclear Weapons Council (NWC), and discusses the origin of Stockpile Stewardship.  Additional highlights include a “nuclear weapons 101” and a review of national security threats.

Description: The unclassified Weapons Program & Planning Requirements (WPPR) Module is designed to familiarize participants with their responsibilities and interfaces within National Security Policy and the Federal governance and organizations that support the overall Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE), responsible for mission delivery. 

The WPPR will provide the framework for participants for understand how they interface, support and ensure that the U.S. nuclear deterrent remains the cornerstone of US, Allied and partners security—specifically through NNSA’s delivery on all aspects critical to enable a robust nuclear weapons stockpile. 

The WPPR Course examines national level policy relevant to the entire nuclear Triad and each component’s role, to the execution of the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and to mission execution as laid out in the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) and the Production and Planning Document (P&PD).  

Upon completion of this WPPR, student should be well-versed in address all of the below questions:

• Why –  are there Nuclear Weapons, and a Stockpile Stewardship Program?
• Who - determines the policies and requirements for the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent and the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile?
• What – are the overall objectives of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Enterprise and Programs?
• How – does the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, and the National Nuclear Security Administration work to meet U.S. declaratory policy objectives?