The TWI relationship is also helpful in informing ORNL’s broader mission of supporting national security. By providing his firsthand experience from operational Army units, Ecklund’s perspective is strengthening the relevance and impact of ORNL’s work.
“There are many intelligent professionals in the military and national labs that can calculate the physical characteristics of WMDs, and FA52 officers complement that expertise by bringing their personal experience,” said Ecklund. “It’s important to predict the physical effects of WMD on the battlefield, but we also have to translate those technical details to make that information useful to the warfighter.”
Ecklund considers ORNL a particularly advantageous assignment for FA52 officers because of the lab’s leadership in nuclear science and its collaborations.
“In addition to its unique user facilities and incredible workforce, ORNL is particularly valuable because of its strategic location and strong partnerships,” Ecklund said. “ORNL’s unique facilities and supportive leadership make it an ideal place to work on real-world problems that directly relate to our nation’s security,”
Building enduring partnerships
Embedded TWI assignments like Ecklund’s are designed to forge trusted relationships between defense and scientific institutions that last well beyond the assignment.
“The Army and the labs both gain from this partnership,” Ecklund said. “The Army benefits from ORNL’s expertise and capabilities, and the lab benefits from understanding how their work is applied in operational contexts.”
Ecklund describes ORNL as part of a broader “network of good guys” – scientists, engineers and service members working together to counter the network of threats facing the nation. Building that network includes cultivating relationships across the lab, supporting the research of fellow Army officers and cadets assigned to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and working closely with the U.S. Army’s Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency headquartered out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
As he prepares for his next assignment with the Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Ecklund says the relationships formed at ORNL will continue to shape his work.
“We all need each other,” added Ecklund. “Defending the nation and keeping America at the forefront of science and technology is a team effort – and ORNL is a vital part of that team.”
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science . – Liz McCrory