Director of NC3 Enterprise Center Is June Luncheon Speaker

In June, Rear Adm. Ronald R. Fritzemeier, USN, director, Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) Enterprise Center, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, spent time with the chapter discussing NC3 and the role of the center. Adm. Fritzemeier provided a historical view of the U.S. posture in strategic and nuclear deterrence. He touched on the Cold War to development of the nuclear triad, which prompted the necessity for the command and control (C2) systems to assure the president of the United States could command and control the nuclear forces. Adm. Fritzemeier elaborated on how 30 years of being the world's uncontested superpower allowed focus to shift so that NC3 was not the number one priority and NC3 systems across the enterprise needed modernization. As the threats to C3 technologies continued to evolve, the secretary of defense established a single department lead for the NC3 enterprise. Adm. Charles Richard, USN, commander, U.S. Strategic Command, was also designated as the Defense Department NC3 Enterprise Center lead. The NC3 Enterprise Center was formed to address three components: driving requirements for modernization of programs supporting NC3; enabling innovation to develop new NC3 capabilities; and driving policy. Adm. Fritzemeier concluded by pointing out the goal is to rapidly modernize NC3 to "meet old standards in new ways."

Also featured at the luncheon were recipients of monetary awards from the recent Metropolitan Science and Engineering Fair: Audrey Brown, eighth grade, Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School, Omaha, Nebraska; Zareena Abdessalam, seventh grade, McMillian Magnet Center, Omaha, Nebraska; Lance Nevels, seventh grade, King Science and Tech Magnet School, Omaha, Nebraska; Giovanna Franco, eighth grade, King Science and Tech Magnet School; Madison Neeley, eighth grade, King Science and Tech Magnet School; Daniel Ramos, eighth grade, McMillan Magnet Center; Reema Guda, ninth grade, Omaha Public School System, Omaha, Nebraska; and Tori Thimjon, eighth grade, Alice Buffet Magnet Middle School.

Event Photographs: