Navy RHO/RS Retired Affairs

CAPT William J. Flor

 

CAPT(ret) Bill Flor

Contact Information:

 

Work:	Home:
William J. Flor, PhD Los Alamos National Laboratory Hazardous Materials Response Group ESH-10, MS-K542, PO Box 1663 Los Alamos, NM 87545   (505) 665-8768	Bill Flor 1862 Broadview Drive Los Alamos, NM 87544-2800   (505) 662-7885 jbdata@jbdata.com

 

Accomplishments During Service:

 

1988-1993:  Program Manager, Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR), Radiation Policy Division, Directorate for Radiation Sciences, and 1992-93: Navy Element Commander, Headquarters, Defense Nuclear Agency, Alexandria, VA—responsible for Congressionally mandated program for about 450,000 test veterans and others (I’ve lost track of how many thousands of Congressional inquiries we processed during that time);  DoD Science Panel delegate, Committee on Interagency Radiation Research and Policy Coordination (CIRRPC), Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP);  DoD co-chair, Joint DoD/DOE Nuclear Weapon Intrinsic Radiation Study Group;  DoD co-chair, Radiological Controls Subcommittee, Joint Nuclear Weapon Accident/Exercise Steering Group (JNWAESG);  Chair, DoD Radiation Research and Policy Working Group.

 

1985-1988:  Director of Radiation Health (Code 105.5), Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor, HI—one of the more memorable parts of this tour was implementation of the computerized CaF dosimetry issue and reporting system (does anyone still remember the Zenith-248 Tempest machines—little more than doorstops by today’s standards?).

 

1981-1985:  Radiation Specialist (& acting Deputy Director 1981-83), Nuclear Weapons Radiological Controls Program Office, Naval Sea Systems Command, Arlington, VA—helped write the Navy nuclear weapons radiological controls program manual;  implemented the shipboard passive area monitoring program;  conducted NTPIs, DNSIs and drills for worldwide IMAs;  program management for design and construction of the B-61 shielded cradle;  NUWAX-83 Radcon controller;  helped develop and teach the Nuclear Weapons Radcon Officer course;  program management for MILCON of the RASO building at NWS Yorktown.

 

1972-1981:  Research Biophysicist; Chief, Division of Physiology; and Head, Electron Microscopy Laboratory; Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD—design, construct, and equip a then-state-of-the-art transmission and scanning electron microscopy laboratory for AFRRI;  published 31 papers, abstracts, and presentations in peer-reviewed journals.

 

“Extracurricular activities” during Navy time:

 

coach, referee, and administrator—Soccer Association of Columbia MD

soccer coach—Howard Community College, Columbia MD

president—Wildlife Photography Workshop, Audubon Naturalist Society

board of directors—Howard County Visual Artists Alliance

wildlife and nature photography (regional and national exhibitions)

 

RHO assignments included:

 

 

Awards:

 

Defense Superior Service Medal

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards)

Joint Meritorious Unit Award

National Defense Service Medal (2 awards)

 

Accomplishments Since Retirement:

 

Group Leader, Hazardous Materials Response, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Deployable member of DOE Accident Response Group

DOE Radiological Assistance Program team

Technical Program Chair, American Nuclear Society 7^th Topical Meeting on Emergency Preparedness and Response, Santa Fe, 1999

Executive Board, Trinity Section, American Nuclear Society (00-date)

US Hazard Planner for national-level weapons exercises (93-99)

US Health & Safety co-chair, JOWOG-41 (US-UK) (93-99)

Visiting instructor, Defense Nuclear Weapons School (93-date)

 

Board of directors—Los Alamos Youth Soccer League (93-date)

Staff—New Mexico Youth Soccer Association (98-date)

Host Organizing Committee—US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Tournament (14 states) (Albuquerque 2001)

Co-owner (with wife Jaye), J&B Data Services (computer consulting company)

 

Words of Wisdom:

 

Yes, there IS life after military retirement.

 

Don’t forget to cultivate outside interests—they’ll serve you well later in life.  There are so many possibilities that I can’t imagine not being continually engaged in interesting and challenging activities in retirement (whenever that finally comes!).

 

Succession planning is important.  You WILL want to retire and enjoy other aspects of life at some point.  Try to leave a minimum of “surprises” for your relief.  I take it as a distinct honor that I was relieved several times by the same very capable individual, and he is still willing to speak to me.

 

Family is very important—but remember that the primary objective in raising children is to ensure as much as possible their ability to stand on their own two feet and make their own way in the world (even when they resist).

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