Christopher A. Burns

Christopher A. Burns

Vice President, Safeguards, Security, and Emergency Services

Chris Burns is the vice president of Safeguards, Security, and Emergency Services for Consolidated Nuclear Security, the management and operating contractor for the Y‑12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, TN. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring the protection of people and vital national security assets at Y‑12 against the full spectrum of threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to the nation and the site. He also oversees emergency planning and preparedness activities necessary for responding to, mitigating, and recovering from emergencies or accidents affecting the site.

Prior to his current role at Y‑12, Burns served as the senior director of Safeguards and Security (S&S) at Pantex, where he managed all aspects of security in order to ensure protection of the site’s nuclear material, infrastructure, information, and workforce. In this position, he was responsible for oversight of the security police force, personnel security measures, nuclear material control and accountability activities, the Human Reliability Program, and several other S&S functions. Under Burns’ leadership, the S&S organization also supported various transformation projects and initiatives for the Nuclear Security Enterprise in order to enable effective and efficient execution of all activities involving safeguards, security, and emergency services.

Burns is a retired U.S. Army colonel and served almost 30 years in the military. During his time in the Army, he held various command and non‑command roles, including deputy Provost Marshal General of the U.S. Army, director of Army Inspections, commander of both the 759th Military Police Battalion and 42nd Military Police Brigade, and director of emergency services for Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Burns is a graduate of Military Police Officer Basic and Advanced Training, Airborne School, Air Assault School, the Recruiting Company Commander Course, the Combined Arms Service and Staff School, the Command and General Staff College, the Army Force Management Course, and the Defense Academy of the United Kingdom Higher Command and Staff Course. He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, an M.A. in human resource development from Webster University, and an M.A. in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.