Technical Guidance

Director's Perspective

Welcome to the Office of Technical Guidance

Edith A. Chalk, Director

Welcome to the Office of Technical Guidance. The Office of Technical Guidance develops and issues Government-wide and Department-wide technical guidance to ensure that classified nuclear weapons-related information and other information assets critical to the national security and to other Governmental, commercial, or private interests are identified for proper protection. The Office of Technical Guidance consists of two program areas - weapons and technology. The weapons program oversees the issuance of classification and control guidance in all areas of nuclear weapons science, design, development, weaponization, production, military use, use control, testing, stockpile stewardship, manufacture, arms control and verification, nonproliferation, intelligence, mutual defense treaties, computer code activities, and inertial confinement fusion.

The technology program oversees the issuance of classification and controlled guidance in technology areas such as isotope separation, chemical processing, tritium technology, space power, military and naval reactors, sensitive technologies, strategic petroleum reserve, safeguards bilateral agreements, weapon and material security, facilities security, utility system security, critical energy infrastructure, and intelligence. Additionally, the Office of Technical Guidance oversees the review, analysis, and approval of local classification guides prepared by DOE field and contractor organizations to ensure conformance with Headquarters classification guidance.