Operations Center | National Nuclear Security Administration

The Office of Emergency Operations Support maintains situational awareness of the nation's energy infrastructure and nuclear weapons complex and facilitates management of national emergency events via a secure nationwide communications network.

The Operations Center provides an integrated, scalable, mobile and/or virtual response capability to enable NNSA to successfully conduct routine and emergency operations through the leverage of mission critical resources in terms of facilities, communications, and emergency management/response expertise.

Forrestal Watch Office

The Forrestal Watch Office (located at the Department of Energy/NNSA headquarters) provides the 24-hour single point-of-contact for collecting, processing and disseminating time-sensitive emergency notifications whenever needed.  It performs initial notifications, and coordinates management, logistics and mobilization actions during periods of national emergencies, natural and man-made disasters, acts of terrorism, or other extraordinary situations requiring centralized management notification and response.

The Forrestal Operations Center and the Alternate Operations Center accommodates:

• 24/7 Watch Offices for the Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters (one in the Forrestal location and one is in an Alternate location);
• Emergency Communications Network (ECN)
• Headquarters response to a departmental emergency or situation requiring departmental decision support
• Operations Center support staff.

The Forrestal Operations Center includes:

• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), which supports ECN servers and other critical Operations Center equipment
• Independent air supply system filtered to protect against biological and radiological agents (99.7%).

Alternate Watch Office

When activated at senior leadership direction, the Forrestal Watch Office functions are transferred to a relocated Watch Office. This alternate Watch Office replicates the 24/7/365 mission and communications links resident in the Forrestal Watch Office.

The Alternate Operations Center includes Uninterruptible Power Supply supports ECN servers and other critical Operations Center equipment.

DHS/National Operations Center

The Department of Energy (DOE)/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  Watch Office Desk in DHS's National Operations Center (NOC) represents DOE/NNSA within the NOC. In conjunction with over 80 federal, state, and local government agencies, the DOE/DHS Operations Center Watch Officer(s) collect, analyze and facilitate the exchange of vital information between DHS and DOE supporting the DHS mission of preventing and/or responding to acts of terrorism in the United States.