Portsmouth, Paducah Security Forces Unite for Robust Protection

Protective Force Training Instructor Brian Chittenden briefs a security police officer navigating the Paducah Site firing range. A streamlined process between the Portsmouth and Paducah Protective Force programs provides robust protection of personnel, property and information at both sites.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Security forces at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Portsmouth and Paducah sites are streamlining programs and services to strengthen protection of personnel, property and information, enabling more focus on completing cleanup and supporting future use opportunities at the sites.

“Safety and security guide everything we do,” Portsmouth Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Security Team Lead Mark Allen said. “Transitioning to a new contract format and shifting scope helped us see commonalities and differences with the Protective Force program and enabled teams at both sites to work together more effectively.”

From left, Protective Force Lt. Taylor Wolfe, Portsmouth Site Training Instructor Brad Haynes and Paducah Site Training Instructor Brian Chittenden monitor the PORTS Technology Campus announcement event in March. Personnel from the Paducah Site in Kentucky traveled to the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to support the event.

A new PPPO contract that began last year combined operations and maintenance of the Portsmouth and Paducah depleted uranium hexafluoride facilities with other activities, including the Protective Force programs at both DOE Office of Environmental Management sites.

Prior to the new contract, PPPO had worked to align aspects of the two Protective Force programs for years.

“In 2022, we initiated alignment of all weapons platforms. The two sites worked together with the vendor, saving taxpayers thousands of dollars,” Paducah Site Safeguards and Security Director Eddie Gray said. “We also collaborated in areas where we could evaluate and implement best practices in operations and training.”

Portsmouth and Paducah protective forces, pictured lower right, worked together on security, crowd control and logistics for the PORTS Technology Campus announcement event at the Portsmouth Site in March.

Building on those successes, the teams expanded their efforts. Shawn Ramage, director of Safeguards and Security with PPPO contractor Mission Conversion Services Alliance, found that the two Protective Force programs shared a similar structure that served as the foundation for the alignment.

“We didn’t have a blueprint to follow,” said Ramage, who also serves as a facility security officer. “We had to work on it line by line, making sure we weren’t backtracking or adding unnecessary steps to the process.”

The combined Protective Force can more easily deploy team members to either site during emergencies or other events. During the event announcing the PORTS Technology Campus earlier this year, the Paducah Site in Kentucky sent security police officers and managers to support the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The deployment required no additional training because the sites had already established common protocols and practices.

“Each manager of these programs works together, often daily, to ensure we are meeting our goals and objectives,” Ramage said. “I am very proud of the work our teams have accomplished so far to streamline our program.”

-Contributor: Katherine Mueller-White