By ground and air, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) played a significant role in securing three high-profile events in Washington, D.C. in just over two weeks:
- Jan. 6: the counting and certification of electoral votes
- Jan. 7-9: President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral
- Jan. 18-21: the presidential inauguration
“No two events are the same,” said Nuclear Search Program (NSP) principal scientist Jessica McNutt. “There is certainly no playbook for the intensity of securing these three events back-to-back-to-back.”
Within NEST, NSP, the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), and the Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) are among the teams with radiological and nuclear emergency response functions that can be activated ahead of large public events across the country.
NEST supported each January event in our nation’s capital by providing technical radiation detection for the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI Washington Field Office. In a coordinated cross-country effort, NSP scientists in the field and at command posts in Washington, D.C. worked closely with counterparts at the Nevada National Security Sites’ Remote Sensing Laboratories at Joint Base Andrews and Nellis Air Force Base to receive and analyze radiation data in real time.
“Our scientists are trained to rapidly respond and provide timely and effective guidance to our law enforcement partners ahead of and during events,” said McNutt.
From a low altitude, AMS supervisor Dr. Jacqueline Brandon led aerial surveillances of the D.C. metro area. A new AW-139 helicopter allowed the AMS team to better navigate a difficult flight pattern around national landmarks, including the White House and National Observatory.
“We completed a survey of the entire metro area to create a radiological map,” said Dr. Brandon. “These background surveys create a baseline as part of our national security preparations.”
In this case, AMS spent two weeks conducting flight surveys to complete their most detailed map of Washington, D.C. to date.
NEST spent months planning and organizing security efforts, including testing and maintaining hundreds of pieces of sophisticated radiation detection equipment. Add in unforeseen events, last-minute programming changes, and harsh winter weather, “securing three large and complex events concurrently on the world’s biggest stage was a monumental mission for us,” said McNutt. “I am both humbled by and proud of our incredible team and our critical role in national security.”