DTRA News

Ms. Rebecca Hersman, the Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, welcomed U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Matthew Wolfe Davidson aboard as the agency’s new Deputy Director on July 13, 2023.

July 13, 2023

Air Force Special Operations General begins new role as Deputy Director of DTRA

Ms. Rebecca Hersman, the Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, welcomed U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Matthew Wolfe Davidson aboard as the agency’s new Deputy Director on July 13, 2023.

A stockpile of obsolete chemical weapons stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD) since the 1950s has been safely eliminated.

June 30, 2023

Completion of Chemical Agent Destruction at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant

A stockpile of obsolete chemical weapons stored at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD) since the 1950s has been safely eliminated.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Director, Rebecca Hersman, participated in a signing ceremony alongside the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Fernando Arias, as part of her visit to Bluegrass Army Depot in Berea, Ky., June 12. DTRA and the OPCW work together on innovative capacity-building and training programs rooted in strengthening international norms against chemical weapons.

June 16, 2023

DTRA DIR Participates in Signing Ceremony at Bluegrass Army Depot

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Director, Rebecca Hersman, participated in a signing ceremony alongside the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Fernando Arias, as part of her visit to Bluegrass Army Depot in Berea, Ky., June 12. DTRA and the OPCW work together on innovative capacity-building and training programs rooted in strengthening international norms against chemical weapons.

DTRA/DOE team palletizing the Cobalt-60 sources for transport

May 22, 2023

DTRA repatriates usable radioactive materials in Guatemala, marking their first engagement in the U.S. Southern Command

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) global reach recently played an integral role in the successful repatriation of two Cobalt-60 radioactive sources. In close partnership with Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE-NNSA), DTRA facilitated logistical efforts for the safe removal of the sources from the Liga Nacional Contra el Cáncer/Instituto de Cancerología (LIGA/INCAN) in Guatemala City, Guatemala in April 2023.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Director, Rebecca Hersman, recently attended the inauguration of the new Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hauge, Netherlands on May 12.

May 18, 2023

DTRA Director Attends ChemTech Center Inauguration

THE HAUGE, Netherlands — The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Director, Rebecca Hersman, recently attended the inauguration of the new Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hauge, Netherlands on May 12.

As the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threat continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate, so does the need to continually shape the U.S. Joint Force’s counter-threat capabilities.

May 8, 2023

DTRA to the U.S. Joint Forces…We have the Technology!

Camp Dawson WV — As the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threat continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate, so does the need to continually shape the U.S. Joint Force’s counter-threat capabilities. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in its role as the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) for the Chemical and Biological Defense Program meets this challenge by sponsoring the Chemical Biological Operational Analysis (CBOA) field experiment. This large-scale user assessment provides an opportunity for government organizations, Industry, and Academia technology developers to hand off their science and Technology (S&T) prototypes to U.S. Joint Forces members to use while conducting real-world CBRN-contested training scenarios at Camp Dawson, West Virginia, beginning on May 8.

Ms. Rebecca Hersman; the Director of Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Ms. Erin M. Logan; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Policy & Programs attends technology demonstration at Fort Story; Virginia

April 27, 2023

DoD Leaders Observe 'Nearly Invisible' CWMD Training Mission

A highly specialized team from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) trained Special Operations Forces during a countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) scenario with an almost-impossible task: to operate completely in the open in a busy civilian setting – while being completely unnoticed by everyone around them.

Members of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Colorado National Guard (CONG), and in partnership with the Jordanian government, Jordan Armed Forces (JAF), and the National Center for Security and Crises Management (NCSCM) participated in Field Training Exercise 2023 or Jordan Shield, in various regions around the country to demonstrate Jordan’s capabilities detect and respond to a range of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

April 5, 2023

DTRA Members and JAF Participate in Exercise Jordan Shield 2023

Members of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Colorado National Guard (CONG), and in partnership with the Jordanian government, Jordan Armed Forces (JAF), and the National Center for Security and Crises Management (NCSCM) participated in Field Training Exercise 2023 or Jordan Shield, in various regions around the country to demonstrate Jordan’s capabilities detect and respond to a range of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

Members of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF), and the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM) participated in Field Training Exercise 2023 or Jordan Shield.

April 4, 2023

U.S. Government and Jordan Armed Forces Jointly Participate in Jordan Shield Exercise 2023

Members of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Colorado National Guard (CONG), and in partnership with the Jordanian government, Jordan Armed Forces (JAF), and the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM) participated in Field Training Exercise 2023 or Jordan Shield, in various regions around the country to demonstrate Jordan’s capabilities to respond and react to a range of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

Warfighters Technology Demonstration Day

Feb. 28, 2023

DTRA brings Focus-Series Technology Demonstration to the EUCOM Theatre

Countering emerging threats that span the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) spectrum requires a specialized network of subject matter experts, technology developers, key decision-makers, and most importantly Joint Force members. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) fulfills all of these requirements through, Focus Falcon, a series of technology demonstrations that provide U.S. Combatant Commands (COCOM) with a platform to experience the latest, on-the-horizon technology to counter the WMD threat. Focus Falcon 2023, the first of this series, was conducted in Kaiserslautern, Germany in support of U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command Forces (USAFRICOM).