Retaining Core Competencies

 Above is the tile of one of the sections from the new Stimson Center report (PDF) that takes on many of the current issues facing the nuclear complex.  The report paints a grim picture of the "silent crisis" of atrophy within U.S. Science and Technology, both generally and within the nuclear realm.  For example, the report notes that

The amount invested annually by the US government into research in the physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering combined is equal to the annual increase in US healthcare costs incurred every six weeks. (Pg. 13)

While the primary focus of the report is the recommendation for an autonomous agency to oversee the nuclear complex, it is worth noting the report's mention of the importance of nuclear competence:

Nuclear weapons competence - often obliquely referred to as "core competence" of the nuclear weapons laboratories - remains a national security necessity. Whether or not one believes that nuclear disarmament is desirable or feasible, a strong cadre of nuclear weapons scientists and engineers is required well into the foreseeable future as a hedge against strategic surprise as well as to ensure, at a minimum, the safety and reliability of the existing stockpile . . . [M]aintaining such competence has become an increasingly difficult task for a variety of political and other reasons. As indicated by the DSB study cited above, a key concern for the immediate future is that the core nuclear weapons program does not provide the necessary opportunities for exercising critical competencies and keeping them honed. In addition, the US is not recruiting and training the next generation of talent in these core areas.

Regardless of how one thinks the U.S. nuclear landscape should look, scientific competence is a crosscutting theme that is a necessary requirement for any nuclear agenda. The importance of science and technology in advancing the national security interests of the United States must be matched with investment and a dedication from high-level leadership to the importance of science and technology in solving problems.  The blog had a similar post on this issue a couple of weeks ago. The  primary task for the government is to create an incentive structure sufficient enough to attract the best and brightest to nuclear careers to help shore up current deficiencies.