Voice of Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan:
I look forward to coming to work in the morning.
The work we do here matters to the nation, it matters to the world.
It's helped keep the peace for almost 70 years, and I think it will help keep the peace for 70 more.
I look forward to coming to work in the morning because of the people I get to come to work with.
These are some of the best people in the world.
The Laboratory is not just a usual sort of business. We do special things for the country, we do special things for the world.
And, just as the Laboratory is not an ordinary sort of place, people of the Laboratory are not ordinary, either.
People of the Laboratory are there, in my view, because they're committed to the mission of the Laboratory.
They could be doing a lot of other things. They could be in universities,
they could be in companies. But they're here because of their commitment to this country and to
the missions that the Laboratory plays for the country and for the world.
They could have chosen to live in different places. They could have chosen to live in places that had
lots of restaurants, fancy nightlife.
But they chose to be here.
When I look at the people of the Laboratory, I see people that have brought their intelligence, who brought
their capabilities, and brought that together with a passion for service, and a passion for national service.
I believe that this Laboratory, Los Alamos, is essential to the security of our nation and the stability of the world. That's our mission.
Now, Los Alamos is a legend, it really is. It's an icon. And, because of that, everybody notices what we
do here, and we're held to a very high standard.
Just as we're known for the science we do all over the world, I want us to be known for the quality of our
operations, and that that's seen as being at the same high level. The work that our craft do is essential for
the mission of the Laboratory, and the mission of this Laboratory is essential to this country.
The work we do to provide safety and security is essential, it's not optional. There are
some of the things we do nobody else in the country can do. End of story. And the Laboratory
can't do that mission without its craft, and it's just that simple. Our craft, our operations,
are every bit as good as the science. There's a great phrase that General Klotz uses:
Mission first, people always. And both of those things are essential. We got to do our mission.
The only way we can do our mission is with the people of the Lab. The only way we can do
that is by doing it safely. I think it's critical that if something doesn't feel quite right,
that we pause the work. We'll figure it out, solve it. It's a lot better to stop than it
is to just muscle through. Believe it or not, there's stuff that's more important than work,
and that's our families.
For me, safety is about getting home safe to family at night.
Even beyond that, it's not just getting home at night, but our families depend on us. And that's a big deal.
Sound of explosion
And so when I think about safety, it's not just the Lab.
It's our families, it's our communities, and it's critical that we get it done.