Defense Atomic Support Agency

Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Seal
Agency overview
Formed	October 1, 1998
Preceding agencies	•Defense Special Weapons Agency, (1996–1998) •Defense Nuclear Agency, (1971–1996) •Defense Atomic Support Agency, (1959–1971) •Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, (1947–1959) •Manhattan Project (1942–1946)
Headquarters	Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Employees	2,000+
Agency executives	•Vayl Oxford, Director •Rear Adm. Scott Jerabek, U.S. Navy, Deputy Director for Combat Support •Maj. Gen. Julie Bentz, U.S. Army, Vice Director for Plans & Programs •Michael Bruhn, Vice Director for Mission Integration •Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Horn, U.S. Air Force, Command Senior Enlisted Advisor
Parent agency	U.S. Department of Defense
Website	www.dtra.mil

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is an agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosives). According to the agency's Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018 to 2022, the DTRA mission "enables DoD and the U.S. Government to prepare for and combat weapons of mass destruction and improvised threats and to ensure nuclear deterrence." The agency is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

DTRA was officially established on October 1, 1998, 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. 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.

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:

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).

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