From Fleet to Fission, Navy’s Brightest Power ORNL’s Reactor

Newswise — Veterans of the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program are bringing their expertise to the Department of Energy’s High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, applying the same precision and discipline that powers the Navy’s fleets to America’s science, energy and security missions.

These operators, trained in the Navy’s rigorous technical pipeline, find a natural next step at HFIR, a premier DOE Office of Science user facility. The technical expertise they gained during their time in the Navy ensures the level of skill needed to learn how to operate HFIR safely. Today, these HFIR operators enable the production of isotopes for the nation and the world, the advancement of materials science through neutron scattering and the strengthening of national security through neutron activation analysis.

“The ability to enter the program at HFIR through the nuclear Navy signals the value of that training,” said Brian Fuller, the HFIR operations manager. “The Navy pushes high school graduates in an environment where they not only learn the hazards associated with nuclear power and how to operate safely within those bounds, but they also learn integrity, trust and judgment.”

Currently, all HFIR operations staff are graduates of the Navy’s Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, which is dedicated to educating and qualifying both military and civilian personnel to design, build and maintain U.S. nuclear-powered vessels and facilities. By the time they find a home at ORNL, these veterans have mastered reactor theory, high-stakes systems operations and nuclear safety culture. 

“In my 18 years at HFIR, fewer than 10 operators have left ORNL for other jobs,” Fuller said. One of the reasons operators choose to stay is to be able to contribute to HFIR’s science mission.

Acceptance into the Naval program is not guaranteed. Candidates must score in the top tier on entrance exams before completing a multiyear sequence of courses, extensive training and hands-on qualifications operating a land-based nuclear reactor. By graduation, they have completed coursework equivalent to two years of a STEM undergraduate degree. Then, after passing a board exam, they join a fleet and must requalify on their assigned reactor platform before spending the next four or more years operating a nuclear reactor on a submarine or surface ship.

“Rigor and attention to detail at the highest level are ingrained by the time they enter our training program,” said Phil Guertin, Reactor Certifications & Qualifications Group lead at HFIR. “I can hand a Navy nuke a qual card and they know exactly what to do with it.” A qual card, or qualification card, outlines the specific tasks and competencies required for reactor operation in the nuclear field.

Yet, the transition from the Navy to HFIR also comes with challenges. Many veterans arrive with extensive reactor experience but without formal degrees, which can limit opportunities for advancement. However, ORNL’s Educational Assistance Program and veterans’ GI Bill benefits provide avenues for operators to continue their education. 

Trainees who remain at HFIR typically advance into other operations, safety or engineering roles. For example, Joshua Walker, nuclear reactor fuel and core components fabrication engineer, served as an electronics technician and reactor operator aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. He followed his future wife, also a nuclear Navy veteran and former HFIR operator, to Oak Ridge. 

“I told my wife I wanted to make HFIR’s fuel, and two years later I am doing exactly that,” said Walker, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in nuclear engineering. 

Others, such as Matthew Clagett, rise into key technical roles through continued education. After 12 years as a reactor operator, Clagett earned a master’s degree in engineering management and advanced into his current role managing shipments of fissile materials.

“It is highly competitive to make it to HFIR in the first place,” Clagett said. “And the camaraderie is rock solid. But at the end of the day, it is the science mission that matters most. That is why we’re here.”

Navy partnership shaped the High Flux Isotope Reactor’s legacy at ORNL

Nuclear Navy veterans at HFIR also carry an important legacy for the history of science. An early connection between the Navy and ORNL dates back to 1946 when Admiral Hyman Rickover, father of the nuclear Navy, attended the nation’s first reactor operator training course, which was hosted at Clinton Laboratories (now ORNL). The experience convinced Rickover that a nuclear Navy could be built.

Less than two decades later, HFIR achieved criticality on August 25, 1965. Since then, HFIR operators — most of whom received their nuclear training through the Navy thanks to Rickover’s ambitions — have helped reinforce U.S. scientific leadership. 

“When people think of nuclear power, they think of the hazards,” said Lee Sugiyama, a seasoned reactor operator at HFIR. “But what we do here — from producing isotopes to detect explosives, treat cancer, or fuel space missions to helping scientists discover new elements, develop new materials, or advance quantum science — it touches people’s lives. That’s what I love about my job.”

From the Navy’s engine rooms to HFIR’s control room and beyond, the path of a nuclear operator at HFIR continues in service to science. As partnerships across DOE, TVA and industry usher the next era of nuclear energy, HFIR’s highly skilled workforce stands at the ready — keeping the reactor safe, science missions on course and America’s nuclear energy future secure.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for 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, visit energy.gov/science. — Sumner Brown Gibbs