View source for Defense Threat Reduction Agency

{{Organization
|OrganizationName=Defense Threat Reduction Agency
|OrganizationType=Independent Agencies
|Mission=DTRA's mission is to safeguard the United States and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat, and mitigate its effects. It focuses on deterrence, prevention, and countering WMD threats through technology, operations, and international cooperation.
|ParentOrganization=U.S. Department of Defense
|CreationLegislation=Department of Defense Directive 5105.62
|Employees=1400
|Budget=$2.0 billion (fiscal year 2023)
|OrganizationExecutive=Director
|Services=Threat Reduction; Counter-WMD Operations; Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; Cooperative Threat Reduction; Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction
|HeadquartersLocation=38.7194, -77.16303
|HeadquartersAddress=8725 John J Kingman Rd, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, USA
|Website=https://www.dtra.mil
}}
{{Short description|U.S. Combat Support Agency for countering WMD}}

{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = Defense Threat Reduction Agency
| seal            = US-DefenseThreatReductionAgency-Seal.svg
| seal_width      = 150px
| seal_caption    = Seal
| picture         = 
| picture_width   = 
| picture_caption = 
| formed          = 1 October 1998
| preceding1      = Defense Special Weapons Agency, (1996–1998)
| preceding2      = Defense Nuclear Agency, (1971–1996)
| preceding3      = Defense Atomic Support Agency, (1959–1971)
| preceding4      = [[Armed Forces Special Weapons Project]], (1947–1959)
| preceding5      = [[Manhattan Project]] (1942–1946)
| headquarters    = [[Fort Belvoir, Virginia]]
| region_code     = 
| employees       = 2,100+ civilian and military
| budget          = $2.0 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] (2023)
| chief1_name     = [[Rebecca Hersman]]
| chief1_position = Director
| chief2_name     = Brig. Gen. [[Lyle K. Drew]], [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| chief2_position = Deputy Director
| chief3_name     = Dr. Rhys Williams
| chief3_position = Executive Director
| chief5_name     = SgtMaj Daniel E. Mangrum, [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dtra.mil/About/DTRA-Leadership/ |title = DTRA Leadership}}</ref>
| chief5_position = Command [[Senior Enlisted Advisor]]
| parent_agency   = [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]]
| website         = {{URL|http://www.dtra.mil/|dtra.mil}}
| footnotes       = 
}}
{{United States Armed Forces sidebar}}

The '''Defense Threat Reduction Agency''' ('''DTRA''') is both a defense agency and a [[combat support agency]] within the [[United States Department of Defense]] (DoD) for countering [[weapons of mass destruction]] (WMD; [[Chemical warfare|chemical]], [[Biological warfare|biological]], [[Radiological weapon|radiological]], [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]], and [[high explosives]]) and supporting the nuclear enterprise. Its stated mission is to provide "cross-cutting solutions to enable the Department of Defense, the United States Government, and international partners to Deter strategic attack against the United States and its allies; Prevent, reduce, and counter WMD and emerging threats; and Prevail against WMD-armed adversaries in crisis and conflict."<ref>{{cite web |title=DTRA Mission |url=https://www.dtra.mil/About/Mission/ |access-date=29 March 2023 |website=Defense Threat Reduction Agency}}</ref> DTRA is headquartered in [[Fort Belvoir, Virginia]]. The DTRA mission, organization and management, responsibilities and functions, relationships, authorities, and administration are defined in DoD Directive 5105.62, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/510562p.pdf|title=DoD Directive 5105.62, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)|accessdate=21 July 2024}}</ref>

==Organizational history==
DTRA was officially established on 1 October 1998,<ref name="nap">{{cite book |title=The Biological Threat Reduction Program of the Department of Defense: From Foreign Assistance to Sustainable Partnerships |date=2007 |publisher=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |location=Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. |doi=10.17226/12005 |isbn=978-0-309-11158-4 |url=https://doi.org/10.17226/12005}}</ref> as a result of the 1997 Defense Reform Initiative by consolidating several DoD organizations, including the Defense Special Weapons Agency (successor to the Defense Nuclear Agency) and the On-Site Inspection Agency.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.defense.gov/dodreform/drids/drid6.htm |title=Department of Defense Reform Initiative Directive #6 – Appointment of the Team to Create the Defense Threat Reduction and Treaty Compliance Agency |publisher=Office of the Secretary of Defense |date=3 December 1997 |access-date=30 July 2011 |archive-date=2 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102063549/http://archive.defense.gov/dodreform/drids/drid6.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Defense Technology Security Administration and the [[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program office in the [[Office of the Secretary of Defense]] were also incorporated into the new agency.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/DTRA%20History%201998-2008-final.pdf |title=Responding to War, Terrorism and WMD Proliferation: History of DTRA, 1998–2008 |publisher=DTRA History Series |date=2008 |access-date=21 September 2011}}</ref>

In 2002, DTRA published a detailed history of its predecessor agencies, ''Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997'', the first paragraph of which makes a brief statement about the agencies which led up to the formation of DTRA:

<blockquote>''Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997'', traces the development of the [[Armed Forces Special Weapons Project]] (AFSWP), and its descendant government organizations, from its original founding in 1947 to 1997. After the disestablishment of the [[Manhattan Engineering District]] (MED) in 1947, AFSWP was formed to provide military training in nuclear weapons' operations. Over the years, its sequential descendant organizations have been the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA) from 1959 to 1971, the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) from 1971 to 1996, and the Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, DSWA, the On-Site Inspection Agency, the Defense Technology Security Administration, and selected elements of the Office of Secretary of Defense were combined to form the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/Defense's%20Nuclear%20Agency%201947-1997.pdf |title=Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997 |publisher=DTRA History Series |date=2002 |access-date=October 9, 2010}}</ref></blockquote>

DTRA employs approximately 1,400 DoD civilians and 800 uniformed service members at more than a dozen permanent locations worldwide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=DTRA Overview Brief |url=https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/125/Documents/Overview/DTRA-Agency-Overview-Jan23-External-Website.pdf |access-date=29 March 2023 |website=Defense Threat Reduction Agency}}</ref> Most personnel are at DTRA headquarters at Fort Belvoir. Approximately 15% of the workforce is split between [[Kirtland Air Force Base]] and the [[White Sands Missile Range]] in [[New Mexico]], and the [[Nevada Test Site|Nevada National Security Site]] (formerly the Nevada Test Site), where they test and support the U.S. military's nuclear mission. The remaining 15% of the workforce is  stationed in [[Germany]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Armenia]], [[Kenya]], [[South Korea]], [[Japan]], and [[Singapore]]. DTRA also has liaisons with the U.S. military's [[Unified Combatant Command|Combatant Commands]], the [[National Guard Bureau]], the [[FBI]] and other U.S. government interagency partners.

In 2005, the [[United States Strategic Command]] (USSTRATCOM) was designated as the lead [[Combatant Command]] for the integration and synchronization of DoD's efforts in support of the government's  "Combating WMD" objectives. It was at this time that the SCC-WMD was co-located with DTRA.<ref name="auto"/> The Combat Command designation was changed again in 2017 when responsibility was moved to [[United States Special Operations Command|U.S. Special Operations Command]] (USSOCOM).<ref>{{cite news|title=USSOCOM deputy commander visits USSTRATCOM|url=http://www.stratcom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/1056873/ussocom-deputy-commander-visits-usstratcom/|access-date=22 February 2017|work=U.S. Strategic Command|publisher=USSTRATCOM Public Affairs|date=23 January 2017}}</ref>

In 2012, the Standing Joint Force Headquarters for Elimination (SJFHQ-E) was relocated to the DTRA/SCC-WMD headquarters at Fort Belvoir. This centralized the DoD's Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction operations, a move recommended in the 2010 [[Quadrennial Defense Review]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://acc.dau.mil/adl/en-US/341273/file/48799/Quadrennial%20Defense%20Review%20-%20February%202010.pdf |title=Quadrennial Defense Review (2010) |date=2010 |access-date=5 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127230055/https://acc.dau.mil/adl/en-US/341273/file/48799/Quadrennial%20Defense%20Review%20-%20February%202010.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2017 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

On 30 September 2016, the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA) became part of DTRA and was renamed the [[Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization]] (JIDO) in accordance with the 2016 [[National Defense Authorization Act]] (NDAA). In Section 1532 of the NDAA, Congress directed the DoD to move JIDA to a military department or under an existing defense agency.<ref name="Sightline Media Group">{{cite news|last1=Judson|first1=Jen|title=JIDA To Become JIDO Under Defense Threat Reduction Agency|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/land/2016/02/02/jida-become-jido-under-defense-threat-reduction-agency/79707958/|access-date=26 August 2016|work=Defense News|publisher=Sightline Media Group|date=2 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Pellerin|first1=Cheryl|title=Improvised Threats Organization Becomes Part of Defense Threat Reduction Agency|url=http://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/961926/improvised-threats-organization-becomes-part-of-defense-threat-reduction-agency|access-date=5 October 2016|work=DoD News|agency=Defense Media Activity|date=3 October 2016}}</ref>

DTRA requested a base budget of $2.0 billion for [[fiscal year]] 2023 (FY23), including $998 million for Operation and Maintenance, $654 million for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, $342 million for Cooperative Threat Reduction, and $14 million for Procurement.<ref name=":0" />

In her February 2024 Director’s Strategic Intent 2022-2027, DTRA Director Rebecca Hersman noted that DTRA would transition its intelligence resources and authorities to the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/125/Documents/DirInitiative/DIRStrategic-Initiatives-2024-FINAL.pdf |title= Director's Strategic Intent 2022-2027}}</ref>

== Responsibilities ==
===Destruction of Soviet arms===
{{main|Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction}}
{{see also|Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991}}
[[File:Elimination of Kh-22 air-to-surface missile under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program.jpg|right|thumb|A Ukrainian worker begins the first cut on a [[Kh-22]] air-to-surface missile during elimination activities at an air base in [[Ozerne (air base)|Ozernoye]], Ukraine. The weapon was eliminated under the [[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program implemented by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. (DTRA photo)]]

After the end of the [[Cold War]], DTRA and its predecessor agencies implemented the DoD aspects of several treaties that assist former [[Eastern Bloc]] countries in the destruction of [[Soviet era]] nuclear weapons sites (such as [[missile silo]]s and [[plutonium]] production facilities), biological weapons sites (such as the [[Soviet biological weapons program]]), and chemical weapons sites (such as the [[GosNIIOKhT]]) in an attempt to avert potential weapons proliferation in the post-Soviet era as part of the [[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program.

=== Nuclear Test Personnel Review ===
The Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) program is the DoD program that confirms veteran participation in U.S. [[List of United States nuclear weapons tests|nuclear tests]] from 1945 to 1992, and the [[Occupation of Japan|occupation forces]] of [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima and Nagasaki]], Japan.

'''''Members of this group are sometimes referred to as [[atomic veteran]]s or atomic vets.'''''

If a veteran is a confirmed participant in these events, NTPR may provide either an actual or estimated [[Ionizing radiation|radiation dose]] received by the veteran. The [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs|Department of Veterans Affairs]] (VA) and the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] (DOJ) may request this information from DTRA as required.

===[[Arms control|Arms control treaty]] responsibilities===
DTRA is responsible for US reporting under the [[New START]] Treaty and the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]].

DTRA is also responsible for reducing the threat of [[Conventional warfare|conventional war]], especially in [[Europe]], by participating in various [[arms control]] treaties to which the United States is a party, such as the [[Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty|Conventional Forces in Europe treaty]], the [[Transparency in Armaments]] activity of the [[United Nations]], and the [[Wassenaar Arrangement]], as well as the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]], the Plutonium Production Reactor Agreement, the [[Dayton Agreement|Dayton Peace Accords]], the [[Vienna Document]] and the [[Global Exchange of Military Information]] program under the auspices of the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]].

===Domestic chemical and biological management===
DTRA has the responsibility to manage and integrate the Department of Defense chemical and biological defense science and technology programs.<ref name=rracbd>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/516005p.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714021153/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/516005p.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 July 2007 |title=DoD Directive 5160.05e, Roles and Responsibilities Associated with the Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) Program (CBDP)  |publisher=DoD |date=9 October 2008 |access-date=30 July 2011}}</ref> In accordance with the Recommendation 174 (h) of the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission, part of the Chemical Biological Defense Research component of the DTRA was relocated to Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], Maryland in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brac.gov/docs/final/AppendixQ.pdf |title=Appendix Q, Commission's Final Recommendations, page Q-82 |publisher=DoD |date=8 September 2005 |access-date=30 July 2011 |archive-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528175430/https://www.brac.gov/docs/final/AppendixQ.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2007/budget_justification/pdfs/05_BRAC/BRAC_2005_Defense_Wide_Justification/28_DTRA_BRAC_2005.pdf |title=BRAC Implementation Package Description |publisher=DoD Comptroller |access-date=1 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023132025/http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2007/budget_justification/pdfs/05_BRAC/BRAC_2005_Defense_Wide_Justification/28_DTRA_BRAC_2005.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2011 }}</ref> This represented a move of about ten percent of the staff of the Chemical Biological Defense Research component of DTRA to Aberdeen Proving Ground; the rest of the staff remain at Fort Belvoir.

== Notable missions, projects, and programs ==

=== Ebola (2003-2014)===
DTRA has spent approximately $300 million on scientific R&D efforts since 2003, developing vaccines and therapeutic treatments against [[viral hemorrhagic fever]], including [[Ebola virus disease|Ebola]]. Starting in 2007, DTRA partnered with the [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]] (NIAID) of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] and the [[United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases]] (USAMRIID) to fund research on the drug now called [[ZMapp]], which has since been used on several patients.<ref>{{cite news|first=Cheryl|last=Pellerin|publisher=DoD News, Defense Media Activity|date=14 December 2014|url=http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/603806|title=DTRA Medical Countermeasures Help West African Ebola Crisis}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=Science Daily|date=21 August 2013|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130821152059.htm|title=Experimental Ebola treatment protects some primates even after disease symptoms appear}}</ref>

DTRA also funded and managed the research on the EZ1 [[assay]] used to detect and diagnose the presence of the [[Ebola virus|Ebola Zaire virus]] in humans. EZ1 was given [[Emergency Use Authorization]] by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) in August 2014. DTRA first developed EZ1 as part of a 2011 "bio-preparedness initiative" for the [[United States Department of Defense]] to prepare for a possible [[Ebola virus disease|Ebola]] outbreak. EZ1 was used to identify infected patients in [[West Africa]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kaustinen|first1=Kelsey|title=FDA green-lights DoD Ebola diagnostic|url=http://www.ddn-news.com/index.php?newsarticle=8816|work=DDNews|issue=10|publisher=Old River Publications LLC|date=September 2014|volume=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Statement of Mr. Kenneth A. Myers III Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency And Director, U.S. Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction On Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Strategy and the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Budget Request for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Chemical Biological Defense Program: Before the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee Committee on Armed Services United States House of Representatives|url=http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS26/20150325/103241/HMTG-114-AS26-Wstate-MyersK-20150325.pdf|website=House Armed Services Committee|access-date=25 March 2014}}</ref>

The [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program provided for the DTRA to award a $4 million contract to [[MRIGlobal]] to "configure, equip, deploy and staff two quick response mobile laboratory systems (MLS) to support the ongoing [[Ebola virus disease|Ebola]] outbreak in [[West Africa]]." The labs were deployed to [[Sierra Leone]].<ref>{{cite news|title=MRIGlobal to Deploy Mobile Labs to Sierra Leone|url=http://globalbiodefense.com/2014/12/16/mriglobal-deploy-mobile-labs-sierra-leone/|work=GLOBAL BIODEFENSE|date=16 December 2014}}</ref>

===Transport Isolation System (2014)===
[[File:Transport Isolation System.jpg|right|thumb|Members of the local area media and [[Scott Air Force Base]] medical personnel tour the Transport Isolation System 23 January 2015, during a roll-out ceremony for the system on Scott AFB, Illinois. (USTRANSCOM photo)]]
DTRA was the program manager for designing, testing, contracting, and producing the Transport Isolation System (TIS), This sealed, self-contained patient containment system can be loaded into [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) [[Boeing C-17 Globemaster III|C-17 Globemaster]] and [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130 Hercules]] cargo planes for aeromedical evacuation. The TIS was designed to deal with any U.S. troops exposed to or infected with [[Ebola virus disease|Ebola]] while serving in [[Operation United Assistance]], but it is for transporting anyone exposed to or infected with any highly contagious disease. It can hold eight patients lying down, 12 sitting, or a combination of the two.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Locker|first1=Ray|title=Pentagon rushes new transport isolation units for Ebola|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/nation/2014/12/02/pentagon-rushes-system-to-transport-ebola-infected/19787953/|work=USA Today|publisher=Gannett|date=2 December 2014}}</ref> DTRA worked with the [[Air Force Life Cycle Management Center]] (AFLCMC) and [[United States Transportation Command]] (USTRANSCOM) on the TIS;<ref>{{cite news|last1=Scaggs|first1=John|title=Air Force Helps Design Transport Isolation System|url=http://www.pddnet.com/news/2014/11/air-force-helps-design-transport-isolation-system|work=PRODUCT Design & Development|agency=88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs|date=24 November 2014}}</ref> [[St. Louis]]-based Production Products was awarded a sole-source contract to produce 25 TIS units.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kiekow|first1=Anthony|title=Scott Air Force Basse unveils new Transport Isolation System|url=http://fox2now.com/2015/01/23/scott-air-force-base-unveils-new-transport-isolation-system/|publisher=FOX2 KTVI|date=23 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=DoD Announces New Capability to Transport Infectious Patients|url=http://globalbiodefense.com/2015/01/28/dod-announces-new-capability-transport-patients/|work=GLOBAL BIODEFENSE|date=28 January 2015}}</ref>

=== Syria's chemical weapons (2014) ===
DTRA was one of the key [[United States Department of Defense]] agencies that developed the [[Field Deployable Hydrolysis System]] (FDHS) used to [[destruction of Syria's chemical weapons|destroy Syria's chemical weapons]] aboard the U.S.-flagged [[container ship]] [[MV Cape Ray (T-AKR-9679)|MV ''Cape Ray'']] in the summer of 2014<ref name="GLOBAL BIODEFENSE">{{cite news|title=Mission Accomplished for MV Cape Ray|url=http://www.globalbiodefense.com/2014/08/19/mission-accomplished-mv-cape-ray/|work=GLOBAL BIODEFENSE|date=19 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Kennedy |first1=Don |title=Threat Negation on the Move |url=http://www.tacticaldefensemedia.com/pdf/security-border-protection/2014_CBRNE_Security_Spring_web.pdf/ |work=CST&CBRNE Source Book SECURITY&BORDER PROTECTION |date=Spring 2014 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> after [[Syria]] agreed to give up its chemical weapons stockpile under international pressure and in accordance with [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 2118]]. DTRA partnered with the [[United States Army]] [[Edgewood Chemical Biological Center]] (ECBC) to develop the FDHS and then modify it for ship-borne operations after [[Syria]]n President [[Bashar al-Assad]] agreed to turn over his country's poison gas arsenal and chemical weapon production equipment to the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] (OPCW), but no country volunteered to host the destruction process.<ref name="GLOBAL BIODEFENSE" />

Two FDHS units destroyed more than 600 tons of [[Sarin]] and [[Sulfur mustard|mustard]] agents, completing the task several weeks ahead of schedule.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hennigan|first1=W.J.|title=US completes task of destroying Syria's chemical weapons stockpile|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/us-completes-task-of-destroying-syria-s-chemical-weapons-stockpile-1.298884/|work=Stars and Stripes|date=18 August 2014|access-date=20 November 2015|archive-date=22 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122084220/http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/us-completes-task-of-destroying-syria-s-chemical-weapons-stockpile-1.298884|url-status=dead}}</ref> The remaining materials were then taken to Finland and Germany for final disposal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bendavid|first1=Naftali|title=Dangerous Mission: Destroying Chemical Weapons at Sea|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/dangerous-mission-destroying-chemical-weapons-at-sea-1437687844|work=Wall Street Journal|date=23 July 2015}}</ref> DTRA was awarded its third [[Joint Meritorious Unit Award]] for successfully destroying Syria's declared chemical weapons.<ref>{{cite news |title=Senior leader accepts top-level defense awards at Pentagon |url=http://www.vance.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123433152/ |date=3 December 2014 |publisher=Vance Air Force Base |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121035156/http://www.vance.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123433152%2F |archive-date=21 November 2015 }}</ref>

=== Massive Ordnance Penetrator (to 2010) ===
DTRA funded, managed, and tested the [[Massive Ordnance Penetrator]] (MOP) bomb until February 2010, when the program was turned over to the USAF. DTRA developed the MOP to fulfill a long-standing Air Force requirement for a weapon that could destroy hard and deeply buried targets. The MOP is a 30,000-pound, 20.5-foot-long bomb dropped from [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52]] and [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2]] bombers at high altitude that can reportedly penetrate 200 feet of reinforced concrete.<ref name="factsheet">{{cite web|title=MASSIVE ORDNANCE PENETRATOR fact sheet |url=http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104614/massive-ordnance-penetrator.aspx|publisher=US Air Force|access-date=2 January 2012|date=18 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/mop.htm|title=GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)|website=www.globalsecurity.org|accessdate=21 July 2024}}</ref> The MOP contains a 5,300-pound explosive charge, more than ten times the explosive power of its predecessor, the [[BLU-109]] "bunker buster."<ref name="dtra.mil">{{cite web|title=DTRA Fact Sheets|url=http://www.dtra.mil/newsservices/fact_sheets/display.cfm?fs=mop|publisher=Defense Threat Reduction Agency|access-date=1 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223084920/http://www.dtra.mil/newsservices/fact_sheets/display.cfm?fs=mop|archive-date=23 February 2009|date=July 2007}}</ref>

=== Project MAXIMUS (to 2003) ===
In 2003, a DTRA task force was identifying, collecting, and securing radiological material in Iraq as part of [[Iraq War|Operation Iraqi Freedom]], including almost two tons of [[Enriched uranium|low-enriched uranium]] (LEU), several hundred tons of [[yellowcake]] (a type of [[uranium]] powder), and other radioactive sources. Code-named Project MAXIMUS, DTRA, and the [[United States Department of Energy]] moved 1.77 metric tons of LEU and approximately 1,000 highly radioactive sources out of Iraq by the summer of 2004. DTRA task force members also secured the [[yellowcake]] in a bunker in [[Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility|Tuwaitha]], Iraq, which was turned over to the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology; the remaining 550 tons of [[yellowcake]] were sold in 2008 to [[Cameco]], a uranium producer in [[Canada]].<ref name="auto"/>

=== COVID-19 ===
<!--[[DOMANE]] and [[ Discovery of Medical Countermeasures Against Novel Entities]] redirect here -->
In late 2019, DTRA established the Discovery of Medical Countermeasures Against Novel Entities (DOMANE) program. Shortly afterwards, the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] began, and DOMANE started researching existing, pre-approved medications like [[famotidine|Pepcid (famotidine)]] for potential cost-effective [[Treatment and management of COVID-19|treatments for COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Revell |last2=Taylor |first2=Dale |date=23 February 2021 |title=A New DOMANE for the Pandemic Era |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/389661/new-domane-pandemic-era |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220312032051/https://www.dvidshub.net/news/389661/new-domane-pandemic-era |archive-date=12 March 2022 |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=[[Defense Visual Information Distribution Service]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=DTRA's Therapeutic Arm Latches on to FDA-approved and Affordable Drugs for COVID-19 Relief |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/388359/dtras-therapeutic-arm-latches-fda-approved-and-affordable-drugs-covid-19-relief |website=[[DVIDS]] |language=en |date=4 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Eban |first1=Katherine |author1-link=Katherine Eban |title=Quack Cures Lose Their Appeal Now That Trump Himself Is Sick With COVID-19 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/10/quack-cures-lose-their-appeal-now-that-trump-himself-is-sick-with-covid-19 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=5 October 2020}}</ref>

== Awards and official recognition ==

=== Joint Meritorious Unit Award ===
DTRA and its legacy agencies have been awarded numerous [[Joint Meritorious Unit Award]]s (JMUA) since the JMUA was implemented in 1982 (made retroactive to 1979):<ref>{{cite web|title=Table 1. Joint Meritorious Unit Award – Approved DoD Activities|url=http://prhome.defense.gov/Portals/52/Documents/RFM/MPP/OEPM/Docs/Approved%20JMUAs%20-%20Updated%2031%20Dec%202012.pdf|publisher=Department of Defense OEPM|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

'''Defense Nuclear Agency'''
*1st JMUA: 1 July 1981 – 20 June 1984
*2nd JMUA: 1 January 1993 – 31 May 1995

'''On-Site Inspection Agency'''
*1st JMUA: 15 January 1988 – 31 December 1988
*2nd JMUA: 1 January 1989 – 30 July 1993
*3rd JMUA: 1 August 1993 – 31 July 1996
*4th JMUA: 1998

'''Defense Special Weapons Agency'''
*1st JMUA: 1 June 1995 – 30 September 1998

'''Defense Threat Reduction Agency'''
*1st JMUA: 1 October 1998 – 5 March 2000
*2nd JMUA: 6 March 2000 – 30 June 2003
*3rd JMUA: 1 October 2009 – 20 September 2011
*4th JMUA: 1 May 2012 – 1 November 2014

== Directors ==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
*Jay C. Davis (1998–2001)
*Robert P. Bongiovi (2001, acting)
*Stephen M. Younger (2001–2004)
*[[Trudy H. Clark]] (2004–2005, acting)
*James A. Tegnelia (2005-2009)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aforesearch.com/dr.-james-tegnelia.html |title = Dr. James Tegnelia}}</ref>
*[[Kenneth A. Myers III]] (2008–2016)
*Shari Durand (2016-2017, acting)
* Michael L. Bruhn (2017, acting)
*[[Vayl Oxford|Vayl S. Oxford]] (2017–2021)<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2017/05/22/994744/0/en/Vayl-S-Oxford-Named-Defense-Threat-Reduction-Agency-Director.html |title=Vayl S. Oxford Named Defense Threat Reduction Agency Director |date=22 May 2017 |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref>
*Dr. Rhys M. Williams (2021–2022, acting)
*[[Rebecca Hersman]] (2022–present)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dtra.mil/About/DTRADirector/|title=DTRA Director|website=www.dtra.mil|accessdate=21 July 2024}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[National Counterproliferation Center]]
* [[Defense Treaty Ready Inspection Readiness Program]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.dtra.mil/ DTRA], the official web site of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
* [https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/510562p.pdf DoD Directive 5105.62, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)] 
* [http://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/DTRA%20History%201998-2008-final.pdf Responding to War, Terrorism, and WMD Proliferation: History of DTRA, 1998–2008], DTRA History Series
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110611111956/http://www.dtra.mil/documents/aboutdtra/DefensesNuclearAgency.pdf Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997], DTRA History Series
* [http://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/Defense's%20Nuclear%20Agency%201947-1997.pdf Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997], DTRA History Series
* [http://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/DSWA_1947-1997.pdf Defense Special Weapons Agency 50th Anniversary, 1947–1997], DTRA History Series

{{Bioterrorism}}
{{DOD agencies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{U.S. biological defense}}

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[[Category:Government agencies established in 1998]]
[[Category:Nuclear proliferation]]
[[Category:United States Department of Defense agencies|Threat Reduction Agency]]
[[Category:United States and weapons of mass destruction]]
[[Category:Defense Threat Reduction Agency]]