DTRA is the U.S. Department of Defense’s official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction. Our people are Subject Matter Experts on WMD, and we address the entire spectrum of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive threats. DTRA’s programs include basic science research and development, operational support to U.S. warfighters on the front line, and an in-house WMD think tank that aims to anticipate and mitigate future threats long before they have a chance to harm the United States and our allies. SCC-WMD, the U.S. Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction, synchronizes Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction efforts across our military’s geographic commands and leverages the people, programs and interagency relationships of DTRA at a strategic level. We work with the military services, other elements of the United States government, and countries across the planet on counterproliferation, nonproliferation and WMD reduction issues with one goal in mind: Making the World Safer.

Since DTRA stood up in October 1998 and SCC-WMD in August 2005, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies have increasingly looked to both for support and advice. Both organizations’ responsibilities span the full range of activities necessary to combat and respond to WMD proliferation and use. At home and abroad, DTRA and SCC-WMD deliver mission success against a very real and growing threat.

Who We Are:

Weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear - and high yield explosives can pose deadly and destructive threats to U.S. security. Through its support to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and to combatant commanders, DTRA works to stop the spread, counter the effects, and prepare for the use of weapons of mass destruction. By making WMD less effective or completely ineffective, we limit their appeal to our adversaries and their potential use as tools of war, provide U.S. forces freedom of action, and protect the homeland.

DTRA engages in the full range of nonproliferation, counterproliferation and consequence management activities identified in the National Security Strategy of the United States as essential to combating WMD threats. As both a defense agency and a combat support agency, DTRA creates solutions and delivers the products, training and services to defeat WMD where they are needed – in the hands of the warfighter. When the warfighter requires support, DTRA delivers.

DTRA’s partners in the fight against WMD include other federal agencies, the combatant commands, the Joint Staff, the armed services, international organizations, U.S. allies and countries around the planet.