Defense Threat Reduction Agency: 20 Years of Making the World Safer

FORT BELVOIR, Virginia, Jan. 25, 2018 -- “As an agency, DTRA started 20 years ago, but it wasn’t starting from scratch,” said Vayl Oxford, DTRA director. “It was initially created to focus various C-WMD efforts throughout the Department of Defense, and we’ve been building on those past successes ever since."

Under the Defense Reform Initiative of 1997, the Defense Special Weapons Agency, the On-Site Inspection Agency, the Defense Technology Security Administration, the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, and the Chemical-Biological Defense Program were brought together to better synchronize the related nuclear deterrent and C-WMD efforts. DTRA was formally established on October 1, 1998.

DTRA’s mission has evolved over the past two decades, to now include WMD terrorism, countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the networks that build and use them, and an increased emphasis on helping partner countries build and train their own C-WMD or counter improvised threat capabilities.

DTRA’s research and development efforts are also critical to countering the threats, and this year’s reflection and celebration will highlight some of those efforts, from working on Ebola vaccines a decade before the West African pandemic, to the destruction of 600+ tons of Syrian chemical weapons, to the rapid fielding of counter-IED technology for U.S. troops in areas of conflict.

“Some of DTRA’s missions and projects have changed the course of history,” said Oxford. “And when you include our legacy history going back to World War II, you’ll see there is a lot to be proud of – and that’s what we’ll celebrate leading up to October 1: what we’ve done in keeping the United States safe and supporting our troops, and the men and women that made it happen.”

DTRA kicked off its year-long reflection with a ceremony Jan. 25 that provided a wide overview of what DTRA does today and some of the biggest success stories over the past 20 years. DTRA will also celebrate the accomplishments made by our legacy agencies over the previous 76 years, starting with the Manhattan Project.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3f3c39f6-2524-4465-9937-f7518d77e9cd

Public Affairs Office
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
703-767-5870
[email protected]