I was reminded by a reader of an editorial that appeared in Aviation Week in September, 2004, during some of the darkest days of the shutdown:

Editorial
The Ghost of Raspberry Jam Lost
Aviation Week & Space Technology Editorial 09/20/2004, page 66


When Lord Wellington was hotly pursuing Napoleon to drive him from the Iberian peninsula, an allegation arose that certain accountable items had been lost or misplaced. Word of these indiscretions was fanned to a fever pitch in London newspapers, which provoked a predictable inquiry from accountants in Whitehall, the Pentagon of its day.


Wellington replied, "We have enumerated our saddles, bridles, tents and tent poles, and all manner of sundry items for which His Majesty's Government holds me accountable . . . with two regrettable exceptions of which I beg your indulgence. Unfortunately, the sum of one shilling and nine pence remains unaccounted for in one infantry battalion's petty cash, and there has been a hideous confusion as to the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to one cavalry regiment during a sandstorm in western Spain.


"This reprehensive carelessness may be related to the pressure of circumstance, since we are at war with France, a fact which may come as a bit of a surprise to you gentlemen in Whitehall. This brings me to my present purpose, which is to request elucidation of my instructions from His Majesty's Government, so that I may better understand why I am dragging an army over these barren plains. I construe that . . . it must be one of two alternative duties . . . and I shall pursue either of the two with the best of my ability. I will either train an army of uniformed British soldiers in Spain to be clerks for the benefit of the accountant and copy boys in London or, perchance, I will see to it that the forces of Napoleon are driven out of Spain. Since I cannot do both, please advise."


Last week, several employees at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) were dismissed for allegedly failing to follow security regulations and safety procedures (see p. 19). That action stemmed from the loss of Classified Removable Electronic Media--computer disks that may have contained sensitive information--as well as a laser-related injury. The incidents prompted a lab shutdown, which continues to cripple critical nuclear-related operations (AW&ST July 26, p. 15).


It seems that such actions should have been balanced by the greater imperative of national security. For certain, management "solutions" should not also unilaterally cripple the U.S. nuclear weapons program, nor make scapegoats of professionals who have dedicated their lives to ensuring the nation's security. Unfortunately, the current situation at Los Alamos leaves no doubt that the institution's reputation and its contributions to U.S. security have been severely damaged--more by ill-designed and implemented responses to events than the events themselves. No saboteur or antinuclear protest group could have caused as much damage to this elite institution as Los Alamos' leaders.


Ironically, dedicated scientists at Los Alamos have given us nuclear weapons that are both intrinsically safe and effective. These experts have labored in inhospitable locations around the world to ensure caches of nuclear materials don't fall into the hands of terrorists. They have catalogued and developed genetic signatures for hundreds of strains of anthrax. Their instruments have found and charted water on the Moon and Mars. They have helped pioneer specialized areas of physics, materials science and advanced computing that have made the world safer. And they have amassed one of the best safety records in the Energy Dept. These stellar achievements were made by the band of scientists and technicians that the LANL director recently branded "cowboys and buttheads." Frankly, they deserve Americans' accolades, not demeaning name-calling by insensitive senior managers more concerned with personal prerogatives than national security.


Nevertheless, we hope the laboratory's dedicated professionals will not lose sight of a critical fact: They are engaged in two imperative struggles. First, a race against time. There is still much to learn about the arcane properties of aging materials (such as plutonium) and the physics required to sustain the nation's nuclear arsenal without resorting to empirical weapon testing. Many front-line U.S. weapons are operating well beyond their design lifetimes, and each day takes them further into the realm of uncertainty. Given this reality, the decision to stand down operations for months--at a cost already exceeding $300 million--is indefensible.


At least as importantly, Los Alamos personnel are intimately engaged in thwarting terrorists who actively seek nuclear weapons. Many are volunteers who would decide, figuratively, whether to cut the blue or the red wire of a ticking bomb. These weapons could not only destroy cities, but also undermine the U.S. Constitution and the authority it embodies for representative government.


Wellington, at least, knew his enemy. Today, the U.S. and its allies are fighting terrorists who cower in remote sanctuaries, hide among civilians and attack innocent, unarmed people. While LANL's efforts to counter nuclear terrorism were halted as part of the laboratory's standdown more than two months ago, terrorists have continued their drive to obtain nuclear material and devices.


To keep weapons of mass destruction from terrorists and proliferators, and to sustain the nuclear weapons stockpile against the cankers of aging materials and systems until the day those weapons are no longer needed, takes brains and time. We have to ask: Has the recent "Cultural Revolution" at Los Alamos interfered with efforts to secure that last kilogram of plutonium or highly enriched uranium needed by a terrorist group intent on building an improvised nuclear weapon? And could the extended LANL standdown prevent scientists from discovering some subtle materials defect that could render U.S. nuclear weapons ineffective or unsafe?


We hope the answer to both is "no." But God help the U.S. if, in securing a few "jars of jam," LANL managers have jeopardized U.S. national security.