Doug Hintze, in striped shirt, gathers with DOE/EM-LA colleagues at Cottonwood on the Greens Thursday. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Doug Hintze and his wife, Katrina Thursday at a thank you party they threw in celebration of Doug’s retirement at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Doug Hintze, center, poses with members of the EM-LA IT team Thursday at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Glenn Morgan, president of N3B-Los Alamos, right, presents Doug Hintze with a memento of his time in Los Alamos signed by N3B staff. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Doug Hintze, far right, enjoys a laugh Thursday with Los Alamos county manager Harry Burgess, center, and deputy county manager Steve Lynne. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
The Los Alamos Reporter chats with Doug Hintze at his retirement celebration Thursday at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by Steven Horak
Dr. Jeff Griffin, left, presents Doug Hintze with the Distinguished Service Award Thursday. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office manager Doug Hintze celebrated his retirement Thursday after more than 40 years in public service by throwing a thank you party for colleagues, friends and people he worked with in various capacities since he came to Los Alamos in September 2015. His wife, Katrina, who he affectionately calls, “the admiral’, was also present at the event which was held at Cottonwood on the Greens.
Hintze’s boss, Dr. Jeff Griffin, DOE-EM’s associate principal deputy assistant secretary for operations was on hand to present Hintze with the Distinguished Service Award.
A regular speaker at meetings of the Northern New Mexico Citizen’s Advisory Board, the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities, New Mexico Environment Department and local government meetings in the region, Hintze is known for his transparency, focus on safety, and sense of humor even during lengthy public hearings on legacy waste cleanup. His apparent patience has allowed him to spend hours with members of the public, including reporters, answering questions at all levels, even at the end of the day when everyone else was just ready to head home.
Prior to coming to Los Alamos, Hintze was the assistant manager for mission support for the DOE’s Savannah River Operations Office in Aiken, South Carolina. He has more than 22-years’ experience in engineering, safety, health, process development and management of DOE nuclear facilities, including chemical processing, waste management and information technology.
As he never fails to mention, Hintze served nine years active duty with his beloved U.S. Navy with assignments as project officer for strategic systems programs, and submarine warfare Officer, onboard the submarine USS Florida (SSBN 728). He went on to retire from the Navy Reserve with the rank of Captain, with 30-years of active and reserve service. In his last assignment as a reserve officer he served as emergency preparedness liaison officer supporting Navy Region Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida.
Mr. Hintze earned master’s degrees in Business Administration from Virginia Tech and National Security-Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the United States Naval Academy. He completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Executive Leadership Program, Federal Executive Institute, Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase I and Advanced JPME. He also qualified in the DOE Technical Qualification Program as a Senior Technical Safety Manager and certified as a Level III Federal Project Director.
Hintze will be returning to his home in Monterey, Calif., where he is looking forward to having more time with his family.
The Los Alamos Reporter wishes Hintze a happy retirement and thanks him for teaching her more than she ever thought she would know about the chromium plume.