The Wackenhut Security Post

Just finished wathcing a very interesting news story from WATE in Knoxville on what the reporter called the "highly trained and motivated professionals" from WSI guarding Oak Ridge and the arsenal of "sophisticated, state-of-the-art weapons" at their disposal.

The piece, available at the link below, includes interviews with several WSI team members, including a former police officer and a former marine, who talk about their efforts in protecting a highly senstive site in the post 9-11 world.

The story is availabe at:

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=6578347&nav=0RYv

Posted by Harvey Valentine at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Congratulations to WSI-Savannah River Site's Allen Ford who has been named the 2007 Security Protection Officer of the Year for the Department of Energy (DOE). Allen earned that honor this week at the DOE's annual Security Protection Officer Training Competition (SPOTC).

It was the second year in a row that Allen claimed top honors. His colleague, Casey Petosky, took first place in the Team Leader category, which includes competitors who are supervisors at their respective sites. Casey placed third overall out of 94 competitors givng the SRS team two of the top three finishers. A WSI-SRS team member has won the last four SPOTC competitions.

SPOTC is a tactical, skills-oriented firearms competition open to teams of protective force officers from the DOE community across the nation, as well as to U.S. law enforcement and military tactical units.

WSI-SRS finished second in the team competition. Congratulations to the WSI-SRS team which, in addition to Allen and Casey, included J.T. Timmons, Shawn Williams, James Stewart, Adam Causey and Eric Smith. They were coached by Mike Howard and Wendell Edwards.

Posted by Harvey Valentine at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Three Wackenhut Services, Inc. Savannah River Site team members were recently honored for their work during the first three months of 2007.

Congratulations to Jeff Dumouchel, security police officer III, who was named Security Employee of the Quarter; Grace Williams, Employee of the Quarter; and Jose Rivera, Supervisor of the Quarter.

Posted by Harvey Valentine at 07:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just read a fascinating article in the Knoxville News Sentinel that highlights the importance of having highly-trained professionals like the Wackenhut Services Oak Ridge Team guarding America's most sensitive installations.

The article discusses the state-of-the-art weapons and technology being brought to bear to guard facilities like Oak Ridge's Y-12 facility - which houses the nation's largest supply of weapons-usable uranium. 

The News Sentinel points out that officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) undertake a detailed analysis of which weapons and technologies can be safely used inside sensitive nuclear facilities. Once the weapons arrive, WSI team members undergo extensive training sessions.

"Nobody is given equipment until they've been trained on it," WSI General Manager John Burleson told the newspaper.

Posted by Harvey Valentine at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Congratulations to WSI's Oak Ridge Team! The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that WSI has won two five-year contracts to continue providing protective services at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other federal installations at Oak Ridge.

WSI has earned an average performance score of 97 percent during its seven years at Oak Ridge and made substantial upgrades to the weapons, technologies, and training facilities available to the site's protective force.

"On behalf of the WSI-OR Team I want to thank DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for validating our continued good work in Oak Ridge by awarding us this contract," said WSI General Manager John Burleson. "We look forward to continuing to achieve excellence in protecting the DEO and NNSA facilities in Oak Ridge."

In addition to their excellent work at the Oak Ridge facility since 2000, WSI team members have become active members of the Oak Ridge community, working with the United Way of Andeson County, the Oak Ridge and Knoxville Chambers of Commerce, and numerous charitable organizations. 

Again, congratulations to the approximately 900 WSI personnel at Oak Ridge on a job well done!

Posted by Harvey Valentine at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)