Defense Threat Reduction Agency members MAJ Patrick Benevento and LTC Ted Stephens hosted representatives from DTRA’s Research and Development’s Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Center (NSERC) and 15 service cadets for the annual Memorial Day Trinity site tour at White Sands Missile Range on May 25. RD-TS and RD-NT leaders, along with a volunteer from USSOCOM, provided the group with historical vignettes from the Manhattan Project, an overview of the DTRA lineage and mission, and the interactive experience of operating radiological detection equipment to observe low levels of radioactivity exhibited by residual fallout material (“Trinitite”) at the site.

The visit afforded DTRA representatives a unique and memorable opportunity to educate, influence, and inspire the next generation of military leaders.