Billy "BJ" Foreman

Billy “BJ” Foreman worked as a Specialist E6, Operator, and Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) Technician at the SM-1A Nuclear Power Plant at Fort Greely, Alaska between August 1969 and July 1971. His journey in the nuclear industry began as a student of nuclear engineering at Kansas State University. He left in 1966 and applied and was accepted to the Army Nuclear Power Program training program at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After two years of intensive training, BJ, his wife, their two kids, and two dogs drove for two weeks from their home in Virginia to Alaska. In addition to his initial assignment as an operator, BJ collaborated with the Nuclear Utility Service to help create a design that gave nuclear power plants the capability to periodically test the instrumentation that tripped the reactor without the reactor having to shut down. This significant design change took place in 1970 and made the SM-1A the first nuclear power plant that allowed for this type of periodic testing of reactor instrumentation. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for this work. BJ Foreman now lives in Barboursville, Virginia.