I am Mission Success: Russell Daniel
Take 5 minutes to learn about Russell Daniel, Project Management senior director at Pantex. All views and opinions are the employee’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of CNS.
Russell Daniel, senior director for Pantex Project Management, said the people are what he missed most about the Texas Panhandle.
“After 15 different moves, and no matter where I went – I can’t find a better group of people than those in the Panhandle,” Daniel said.
The Tulia, Texas, native graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He amassed a wealth of experience from across the Department of Energy on projects in Hanford, Washington, and at the Savannah River Site. He also spent time at Pantex leading Engineering and Facility and Design Engineering in the early 2000s.
Now back at Pantex for a second time, Daniel says leading with a focus on the people is driving mission success.
“From my time in the Marine Corps and in positions across the DOE complex, I know it is critical for leaders to support their teams and allow them to make decisions and take actions to execute the work,” Daniel said.
He and the Project Management team are transforming the landscape of the Pantex site through a multimillion-dollar portfolio of new construction and recapitalization projects.
How does patriotism factor into your life? Did your level of patriotism change after working at Pantex?
Patriotism and the need to do what was required for my country was always there. Coming to Pantex the first time gave me a chance to see how the site supports the overall national security mission. Returning to Pantex is truly the ability to get back to what are we doing to protect the United States and provide overall security that ties back to the early days I had in the military.
What one thing would your coworkers be surprised to know about you?
For the last seven years, I have run the chains for the U.S. Navy home football games including the Army-Navy game every other year. My Naval Academy roommate was part of the chain gang when I moved to Virginia, and he asked me to join the chain gang. It’s a neat spot to watch the game, and I only had one major mistake on national TV.