W54 & Little Feller I, Little Feller II Declassification

Andrew Weston-Dawkes
Director, Office of Classification
US Department of Energy

Dear Dr. Weston-Dawkes:

This is a proposal for declassification pursuant to 10 C.F.R. 1045.20 regarding information classified under the Atomic Energy Act.

I request that the Department of Energy (and the Department of Defense) authorize the declassification of the yield(s) of the W54 warhead version(s) used in the Davy Crockett weapons systems as well as the yields of the nuclear tests Little Feller I and Little Feller II.

As you know, the Departments of Energy and Defense have previously declassified certain weapon and test yields (e.g., the yield for the B53 and the yields of the Argus nuclear tests). I am asking that similar information be released for the W54 warhead version(s) used in the Davy Crockett weapon systems.

The reasons for the proposed declassification are arguably similar to those of the Department's previous declassification of weapon and test yields: nuclear transparency contributes to informed public governance, trust, and historical understanding. Furthermore, as a matter of principle, information should remain classified only when doing so serves a valid and compelling national security purposes. I argue that continued classification of the yields of the Little Feller I & Little Feller II nuclear tests and the yields of the W54 version(s) used in the Davy Crockett weapon system(s) does not meet that criterion.

I therefore request that the Department consider declassifying this information as provided in 10 C.F.R. 1045.20.

Thank you for your consideration.

Regards,
Martin Pfeiffer

Mr. Morris,

Thank you for your response and my apologies for the misdirected request.

I appreciate your flexibility and you forwarding it to Mr. Nick Prospero of the Office of Classification.

Thank you for your help.

Regards,
-marty-
Martin Pfeiffer

Dear Mr. Prospero,

I am writing to touch base on my proposal for declassification pursuant to 10 C.F.R. 1045.20 that was forwarded to you on February 12, 2019 by Mr. Chris Morris.

This is my first proposal for declassification under 10 C.F.R. 1045.20 so I am somewhat unsure of the process. Does this request get assigned a tracking number? Is there a way to check on where it is in the process? Will I be notified of the final decision?

I appreciate your consideration and effort on this matter.

Regards,
-marty-
Martin Pfeiffer

Hi Mr. Prospero,

Awesome, thank you! My apologies, I seem to have missed the letter so thank you for including it.

Have a great week.

Regards,
-marty-
Martin Pfeiffer

Dear Mr. Lyons,

Please express my thanks to Mr. Weston-Dawkes regarding his sending a letter of response to notify me of the decision regarding my proposal to declassify the yields of the Davy Crockett as well as the yields of the nuclear tests Lil Feller I and II.

If I wanted to request, under the Freedom of Information Act, records relevant to the process and outcome of this decision, including how many times this info has been proposed to be declassified, what would be the proper agency to ask? Would I ask DOE or should I ask the Former Restricted Data Working Group via DOD directly?

Thank you, I appreciate your effort on this. Have a great week.

Regards,
-marty-
Martin Pfeiffer

Hi Mr. Lyons,

Thank you for your response and assistance with this matter. I appreciate your effort.

Have a great week!

Regards,
-marty-
Martin Pfeiffer