The nuclear industry talks constantly about the workforce pipeline.
Where will we find the operators? The technicians? The electricians and mechanics? The engineers? The project managers? The people who understand disciplined operations, safety culture, maintenance, security, logistics and mission-critical infrastructure?
Maybe we should pay closer attention to a workforce pipeline - and a workforce system - that already exists.
The United States military.
The U.S. Army's Janus Program took a significant step forward with the selection of five companies and five military installations for initial microreactor deployments.
Antares Nuclear will deploy at Fort Bragg. BWXT at Fort Campbell. General Atomics at Fort Hood. Radiant at Fort Benning. Westinghouse at Fort Drum.
The immediate story is energy resilience.
Microreactors could provide reliable, localized power for critical military infrastructure even when the surrounding electrical grid is compromised. The reactors will be under 20 MWe, and the Army describes them as part of its strategy to strengthen mission readiness and reduce vulnerability to external grids.
That's exciting on its own.
But from a workforce perspective, there is another opportunity here that deserves attention.
Military Installations Could Become Nuclear Workforce Ecosystems
For decades, the nuclear industry has benefited from one of the most successful technical workforce development systems in the country: the U.S. Navy's nuclear program.
That pipeline is extraordinary, but it is also relatively specialized.
The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program encompasses military and civilian personnel designing, building, operating, maintaining and managing nuclear-powered ships and supporting facilities. The Naval Nuclear Laboratory alone describes nearly 8,000 engineers, scientists, technicians and support personnel supporting that mission.
The broader naval nuclear industrial base is even larger. DOE notes that the six public and private shipyards responsible for building and maintaining America's nuclear-powered fleet employ approximately 70,000 people and require a highly skilled workforce specifically trained for naval nuclear propulsion work.
Commercial nuclear already knows the value of that talent.
Former Navy nukes have transitioned into commercial nuclear operations, maintenance, engineering and leadership roles for decades.
Janus potentially broadens the military-to-nuclear pipeline beyond the Navy.
And this is where I have a bit of a personal connection to the story.
My husband served in the U.S. Army and our family spent years living the military life. So when I see names like Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell and Fort Drum, I don't just see dots on a map.
I think about the ecosystem surrounding a military installation: service members, spouses, civilian employees, contractors, schools, colleges, local businesses and entire communities that support the mission.
And I think about the incredible amount of skill and knowledge constantly moving through those installations.
Now imagine advanced nuclear becoming part of that ecosystem.
Suddenly nuclear isn't an industry somewhere else.
It's down the road.
It's supporting the base.
People can see it. Work around it. Build it. Protect it. Maintain supporting infrastructure for it. Learn about it.
And eventually, some of those people will leave military service.
That's Where We Need to Connect the Dots
Deploying reactors is not the same thing as building a workforce pipeline around them. And we don't necessarily need to start from scratch.
Programs like SkillBridge already help transitioning service members gain civilian work experience before leaving the military. Nuclear employers already recruit veterans. Community colleges, universities, trade schools, unions and training organizations already have pieces of the education and credentialing infrastructure we need.
The opportunity with Janus is to connect the dots.
Connect the reactor developers deploying the technology with the military transition programs already serving those installations.
Connect transitioning service members with nuclear employers and suppliers - not just at the installation where a reactor is being deployed, but across the industry.
Connect military skills and experience to civilian nuclear competencies so someone doesn't have to perfectly translate an MOS into a nuclear job title on their own.
Connect local colleges and training providers to the specific skills these projects and the broader nuclear industry will need.
And connect today's military workforce pipeline with tomorrow's commercial nuclear deployment pipeline.
A soldier separating from Fort Campbell might never have operated a reactor. But that person may have spent years working with electrical systems, mechanical maintenance, logistics, cybersecurity, emergency preparedness, construction, heavy equipment or leading people in complex environments.
The question shouldn't simply be:
"Do you have nuclear experience?"
It should be:
"What do you already know how to do, where does that capability fit in nuclear, and what is the shortest bridge between the two?"
That's the piece I think we too often miss.
We have programs. We have training. We have employers looking for people. We have transitioning service members looking for their next opportunity. And now we're preparing to deploy advanced nuclear technology directly onto military installations.
The opportunity is to connect those pieces intentionally rather than creating another workforce initiative in isolation.
I've argued for a long time that if nuclear intends to grow at the scale we're discussing, we have to get much better at screening people in instead of screening people out.
Military talent is a perfect example.
Not every veteran entering nuclear needs to have been a Navy nuke.
And perhaps Janus gives us another opportunity to show what that can look like.
Maybe We Should Study the Workforce System, Too
There is something else the military can teach us.
The military doesn't generally recruit an 18-year-old expecting that person to arrive already qualified to perform the job they'll eventually do.
It recruits people, assesses aptitude, trains them, develops them and gives them progressively greater responsibility.
That's a very different talent philosophy from posting an entry-level position requiring several years of directly relevant experience and hoping the perfect candidate applies.
There are lessons here for nuclear.
Recruiting and pipelining. The military builds awareness long before someone enters service. Recruiting is an active function, not simply a job posting waiting for applicants.
Skills development. People enter with different levels of knowledge and are trained toward defined standards and competencies.
Knowledge transfer. Duty stations, deployments, promotions and separations mean people are constantly moving. The system has to transfer knowledge because turnover and movement aren't exceptions - they're built into the operating model.
Career pathways. People can generally see what comes next. Training, qualifications, rank, assignments and increased responsibility create visible progression.
Talent mobility. Duty stations move people where capability is needed. Nuclear obviously isn't going to start issuing PCS orders, but there is something worth studying about how we think about geographic workforce needs, relocation, project-based deployment and portable credentials.
Retention. Compensation matters, but so do mission, identity, development, community, leadership and a sense of belonging to something larger than a job.
None of this means the military has solved recruiting or retention. It hasn't.
But it has spent generations building systems around a reality nuclear now needs to confront:
You cannot depend on finding fully formed talent every time you need it. You have to build people.
Knowledge Transfer May Be One of the Biggest Lessons
This piece of the conversation deserves more attention.
The military knows people will move.
Someone changes duty stations. Someone deploys. Someone gets promoted. Someone separates. Someone retires.
Yet the mission still has to continue.
That forces organizations to think differently about institutional knowledge.
What knowledge belongs to an individual?
What knowledge has to belong to the organization?
How is proficiency demonstrated?
How does the next person become ready before the experienced person walks out the door?
Nuclear faces many of the same questions as an experienced generation retires while new technologies and new projects simultaneously demand more people.
We talk about replacing headcount. But replacing a person doesn't automatically replace their knowledge.
If Janus creates opportunities for collaboration between military organizations and commercial nuclear companies, knowledge transfer should be part of that conversation too.
Not just how do we recruit military talent into nuclear?
But:
What can nuclear learn from the way the military develops, qualifies, moves and transfers knowledge between people?
That's a much bigger workforce conversation.
And the Opportunity Goes Beyond Veterans
These installations sit inside communities.
Construction workers will support projects. Suppliers will provide components and services. Local colleges may develop programs. Students will see nuclear technology operating near their hometowns. Military spouses may find opportunities in the surrounding ecosystem.
If Janus expands beyond these first five installations, we're no longer talking about isolated technology demonstrations.
We're potentially creating regional advanced nuclear workforce hubs.
And that's where this becomes particularly interesting for the commercial industry.
The companies involved aren't developing technology exclusively for military installations. Janus is intended to use commercial microreactor technology and help accelerate a sustainable commercial nuclear industry.
That means lessons learned shouldn't stop at the gates of Fort Bragg or Fort Drum.
Neither should the workforce.
The people who manufacture these reactors, construct them, commission them, operate them, maintain them and support them will be building experience that can help support the broader advanced reactor market.
And deployment experience is exactly what an emerging industry needs.
This Is What Workforce Development at Scale Can Look Like
We spend a lot of time discussing how many workers nuclear will need.
That's important.
But counting people isn't workforce strategy.
We also have to ask where those people will come from, how we'll prepare them, how knowledge will transfer, how skills can move between industries and institutions, how we'll retain people once we've attracted them, and how we build pipelines before projects desperately need workers.
Janus gives us an opportunity to think about all of those things together.
Build the reactors.
Build the supply chain.
Build the training infrastructure.
Create pathways for transitioning service members and veterans.
Translate military skills into nuclear competencies.
Connect military installations with colleges and technical schools.
Create portable credentials.
Learn from military approaches to training and knowledge transfer.
Expose military families and surrounding communities to nuclear careers.
And build talent pipelines alongside deployment pipelines.
Because if we're serious about deploying advanced nuclear at scale, every deployment should do more than produce megawatts.
It should produce capability.
Technology capability.
Supply-chain capability.
And human capability.
The Army may be deploying microreactors.
But if we approach this correctly, it could also help build the next generation of America's nuclear workforce.