Five ESE sites collectively contain substantial quantities of Category I special nuclear material. These include the following: the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, and the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington, which are managed by the Office of Environmental Management; the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Argonne National Laboratory-West, which are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and are managed by the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology; and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is managed by the Office of Science. Contractors operate each site for ESE. DOE has requested over $300 million in fiscal year 2006 for security at these five sites. Within DOE’s Office of Security and Safety Performance Assurance, DOE’s Office of Security develops and promulgates orders and policies to guide the department’s safeguards and security programs. DOE’s overall security policy is contained in DOE Order 470.1, Safeguards and Security Program, which was originally approved in 1995. The key component of DOE’s approach to security is the DBT, a classified document that identifies the characteristics of the potential threats to DOE assets. A classified companion document, the Adversary Capabilities List, provides additional information on terrorist capabilities and equipment. The DBT traditionally has been based on a classified, multiagency intelligence community assessment of potential terrorist threats, known as the Postulated Threat. The threat from terrorist groups is generally the most demanding threat contained in the DBT. DOE counters the terrorist threat specified in the DBT with a multifaceted protective system. While specific measures vary from site to site, all protective systems at DOE’s most sensitive sites employ a defense-in- depth concept that includes the following: a variety of integrated alarms and sensors capable of detecting intruders; physical barriers, such as fences and antivehicle obstacles; numerous access control points, such as turnstiles, badge readers, vehicle inspection stations, radiation detectors, and metal detectors; operational security procedures, such as a “two person” rule that prevents only one person from having access to special nuclear material; and hardened facilities and vaults. Each site also has a heavily armed protective force that is often equipped with such items as automatic weapons, night vision equipment, body armor, and chemical protective gear. These protective forces are comprised of Security Police Officers who are classified into three groups: Security Police Officer-I, Security Police Officer-II, and Security Police Officer-III. Security Police Officer-Is are only assigned to fixed, armed posts. Generally, very few of these officers are used at ESE sites because of the limited roles they can fill. Security Police Officer-IIs generally are assigned to posts such as access control booths, or to foot or vehicle patrols. Finally, Security Police Officer-IIIs are responsible for operations such as hostage rescue and the recapture and recovery of special nuclear material. According to federal regulations, Security Police Officer-IIIs have more demanding physical fitness and training standards than Security Police Officer-Is or Security Police Officer-IIs. The ESE sites we visited employ about 1,000 Security Police Officer-IIs and Security Police Officer-IIIs. ESE protective forces work for private contractors and are unionized. Protective force duties and requirements, such as physical fitness standards, are explained in detail in DOE Manual 473.2-2, Protective Force Program Manual, as well as in DOE regulations (10 C.F.R. pt. 1046, Physical Protection of Security Interests). DOE issued the current Protective Force Program Manual in June 2000. Although protective forces are expected to comply with the duties and requirements established in DOE policies, deviations from these policies are allowed as long as certain approval and notification criteria are met. In addition to complying with these security requirements, DOE protective systems, including protective forces, also must meet performance standards. For example, DOE sites are required to demonstrate that their protective systems are capable of defending special nuclear material against terrorist forces identified in the DBT. The performance of protective systems is formally and regularly examined through vulnerability assessments. A vulnerability assessment is a systematic evaluation process in which qualitative and quantitative techniques are applied to detect vulnerabilities and arrive at effective protection of specific assets, such as special nuclear material. To conduct such assessments, DOE uses, among other things, subject matter experts, such as U.S. Special Forces; computer modeling to simulate attacks; and force- on-force exercises, in which the site’s protective forces undergo simulated attacks by a group of mock terrorists. In addition to their use in evaluating the effectiveness of physical protection strategies, DOE believes force-on- force exercises are the most realistic representation of adversary attacks that can be used to train protective forces. Protective forces at the five ESE sites containing Category I special nuclear material generally meet existing key DOE readiness requirements. Specifically, we determined that ESE protective forces generally comply with DOE standards for firearms proficiency, physical fitness levels, and equipment standardization and that the five ESE sites had the required training programs, facilities, and equipment. In addition, we found that the majority of the 105 protective force members we interviewed at ESE sites generally believe that they currently are ready to perform their mission of protecting the site’s special nuclear material. However, we did find some weaknesses at ESE sites that could impair the ability of ESE protective forces to defend their sites. A ready force should possess a sufficient number of experienced, trained, and properly equipped personnel. Through realistic and comprehensive training, these personnel are forged into a cohesive unit that can perform its tasks even under extreme conditions. DOE orders and federal regulations establish the framework for ensuring that DOE protective forces are ready to perform their mission. We found that ESE protective force officers generally believe that they are ready to perform their mission. Specifically, 102 of the 105 officers we interviewed stated that they believed that they, and their fellow officers, understood what was expected of them should the site be attacked by a terrorist group. Moreover, 65 of the 105 officers rated the readiness of their site’s protective force as high, while 20 officers rated their protective force as somewhat or moderately ready to defend the site. Only a minority of the officers (16 of 105) we interviewed rated the readiness of their force to defend their sites as low. In addition, the majority of officers we interviewed believed they and the protective force officers with whom they worked on a regular basis have formed a cohesive unit that would be able to perform their most essential mission—that of protecting special nuclear material. For example, of the 105 officers we interviewed, 84 officers responded that they had a high degree of confidence in their fellow officers in the event of a terrorist attack, and 88 reported that their fellow officers would be willing to risk their lives in defense of their site. As called for in DOE’s Protective Force Program Manual, readiness is achieved through appropriate training and equipment. Each of the five sites we visited had formally approved annual training plans. Each site generally had the training facilities, such as firearms ranges, classrooms, computer terminals, and exercise equipment, which enabled them to meet their current DOE and federal training requirements. Furthermore, each site maintained computerized databases for tracking individual protective force officers’ compliance with training requirements. To determine if these programs and facilities were being used to implement the DOE requirements and federal regulations, we focused on three key areas— firearms proficiency, physical fitness, and protective force officer equipment. Firearms Proficiency. DOE’s Protective Force Program Manual states that protective force officers must demonstrate their proficiency with the weapons that are assigned to them every 6 months. According to the training records of the 105 protective force officers we interviewed, 79 had met this proficiency requirement with their primary weapon, the M-4 or M- 16 semiautomatic rifle. Of the 26 officers who had not met this requirement within the 6 month time frame, 11 officers were all located at one site and 8 of these 11 officers did not meet the requirement until 2 to 5 months after the required time. According to an official at this site, seven of the eight officers could not complete the requirement in a timely fashion because the site’s firing range was closed for the investigation of an accidental weapon discharge that had resulted in an injury to a protective force officer. We determined that 2 of the 26 officers did not complete the requirement for medical reasons. We were not given reasons why the remaining officers did not meet the requirement. Physical Fitness. Under DOE regulations, DOE’s contractors’ protective force personnel who are authorized to carry firearms must meet a minimum standard for physical fitness every 12 months. There are two standards for such personnel—Offensive Combative and Defensive Combative. All Security Police Officer-IIIs, which include DOE special response team members, must meet the Offensive Combative standard, which requires a 1-mile run in no more than 8 minutes 30 seconds and a 40-yard prone-to-running dash in no more than 8 seconds. All other protective officers authorized to carry firearms must meet the Defensive Combative standard, which requires a one-half mile run in no more than 4 minutes 40 seconds and a 40-yard prone-to-running dash in no more than 8.5 seconds. According to the training records of the 105 protective force officers we reviewed, 103 of the 105 protective force officers had met the standard required by federal regulation for their position. Two officers who did not meet the requirement were on medical restriction. The records for another officer showed him as having met the requirement, but additional records provided by the site showed the officer had completed the run in a time that exceeded the standard. Site officials could not provide an explanation for this discrepancy. Protective Officer Equipment. DOE’s Protective Force Program Manual sets a number of requirements for protective force equipment.