WEBVTT

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1998 the Defense Threat Reduction

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Agency Ditra was established joining

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the defense Special Weapons Agency on

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site inspection agency , cooperative

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Threat Reduction and the chemical

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biological defense program . From the

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inception of the Defense Threat

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Reduction Agency in 1998 Ditter has

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been both a defense agency and a combat

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support agency with a global mission .

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Currently deploying over 1000 personnel

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across the country and around the

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planet , assisting combatant commands

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and international partners to counter

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weapons of mass destruction and dual

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use technologies . Di personnel provide

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global expertise and assistance in

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cooperative threat reduction , building

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partner capacity on site inspections

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for arms control treaties and

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agreements and a full spectrum of

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research and development projects .

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Pushing the bounds of science and

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technology as well as our globally

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recognized technical reach back subject

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matter expertise for combating weapons

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of mass destruction . 24 7 , 365

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mission is dedicated to protecting

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national security and promoting

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international peace . 2001 ,

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the US was stunned by a series of

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terrorist attacks in Washington DC ,

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New York and Pennsylvania immediately

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following the attacks . Dietrich

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contributed to us combat commands and

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domestic agencies responding to the

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attacks . 2003 , Ditra

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was named the Dod executive agent for

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WMD elimination operations within Iraq

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and conducted nearly 70 sensitive site

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surveys in May 2003 . Ditra launched

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the proliferation security initiative .

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2005 , the US Stratcom Commanding

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General established the Strategic

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Center for combating WMD SCC

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WMD . Five months later , the director

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became dual headed as director of both

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Ditra and SCC . WMD .

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2010 new start treaty was signed ,

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which established central limits on us

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and Russian nuclear delivery platforms

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and warheads associated with them . So

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as one of my detra duties , I was

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fortunate enough to become the first

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attache for weapons of mass destruction

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in Moscow , assigned to the US embassy

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on behalf of . And one day I was up at

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a place called , which is an ICBM base ,

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a nuclear missile base that houses the

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SS 25 S and the to MS looking at the

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potential destruction of those SS 20

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fives in the near future . As we

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finished up the elimination of the SS

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20 fours on the way back , it's kind of

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a long train ride . So the Russians

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were talking to me uh as we played a

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kind of cut throat Russian backgammon

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there , they love that game . Uh The

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topic came up about what do we call the

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next treaty . And I remember thinking

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to myself , you know , the leaders on

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both sides are struggling with this

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because we didn't ratify start two .

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And since we didn't ratify . Start two

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to the satisfaction of either side . It

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would bring up bad memories of our

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disagreements if we were to call it

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start two . So consequently , we

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jointly decided you really can't call

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it start two . And consequently , you

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can't call it start three . So we have

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to look at something else . And the

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Russians looked at me and said , well ,

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you didn't ratify it first . And I'm

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like , ok , we didn't , we didn't

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ratify to each other's satisfaction .

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And about that time , we rolled past a

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sign for a town that said , Novo is

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something . It doesn't really matter

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what , but Novo and Russians is new

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like New York . And I said , that's it .

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No , it's the best of what was , but

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it's something different . Something

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fresh . And they , they all smiled very

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big and said , Don , that's great .

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That's perfect . Uh And in fact ,

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there's a bonus , we don't have to

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change the signs , which is very

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Russian . And when I got back to Ditra ,

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one of our ss , a guy named Guen

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took me down to meet with State

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department arms control . Rosa got a

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Mueller's team . I'd been in Moscow

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with her . I told her team pretty much

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what I just told you . And within a

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week , the Secretary of State announced

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the negotiation of the new start treaty

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2011 following Japan's 8.9 magnitude

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earthquake and ensuing tsunami . Ditra

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supported operation Tomodachi providing

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24 7 consequence management and reach

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back support , ensuring the safe

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containment of nuclear materials and

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preventing a nuclear meltdown . March

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2011 who knew that a tsunami followed

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by Earth earthquake would actually give

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such an incident catastrophe . Our

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response to that was actually ditch

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wide for technical reach back . We of

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course provided plume analysis to keep

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the navy ships out of harm's way . We

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worked approximately for six months on

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the initial Fukushima where we provided

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about four types of different types of

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analysis a day every six hours because

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of the changing weather and a weather

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pattern , not only to OD but to the

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president's office as well as to

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the commanding ships that were out

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there . 2015 during the Ebola

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outbreak in West Africa Ditra provided

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transportable diagnostic labs ,

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personal protective equipment ,

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valuable vaccine and therapeutic test

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results . Leading to the FDA approved

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treatment drug Z map . 2018 ,

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the mounted enhanced radi long range

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imaging network , workable Merlin and

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vehicle integrated platform enhanced

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Radi Viper systems provide radiation

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detection , revolutionizing how the

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military fights in a nuclear

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environment . 2020 is

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tapped to lead a DHS and US Transcom

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mission to quickly bring a shipment of

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COVID-19 diagnostic swab kits from the

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primary supplier in Brea Italy to the

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United States . On 14 March 2020 Ditra

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received a request from the Department

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of Defense and Department of Health and

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Human Services for assisting in

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transporting COVID-19 test kits from

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Mao Air base Italy to distribution hub

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within the United States transportation

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mission execution and requirement .

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Sales team work within the acquisition

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contracts and logistic directorate

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spread into action . Coordinating

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closely with the Ditra research and

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development directorate , HHS and US

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Transportation Command . The mission

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was to move 500,000 COVID-19 test kit

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directly from the manufacturer to

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multiple Federal Express distribution

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hubs across the United States . The

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teamwork executed movement and was

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wheels up and mission complete within

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55 hours of notification . The planning

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coordination and execution plan that

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developed was a collaboration effort

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across multiple organizations and was

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accomplished during the initial stages

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of a national pandemic Ditra exceeded

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the standard and was the driving force

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behind this highly successful operation .

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US . North comm adopted the air bridge

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detra established for this mission and

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used it as a go to blueprint for

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subsequent COVID-19 test kits

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deliveries from Europe to the United

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States . This validated Ditra forward

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leading posture in answering the call

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and delivering positive and fast

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results for a mission of national

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significance . 2021

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is awarded the joint meritorious unit

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award for its counter WMD efforts

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between 1 June 19 and 1 September 20

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including support of strategic nuclear

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forces , overseeing the delivery of the

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1st 500,000 Coronavirus test kits in

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the US and R and D efforts that

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developed the world's first Ebola

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vaccine . This gala celebrates

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significant milestones . It's a 25 th

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anniversary , a silver anniversary and

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it naturally lends itself to looking

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back while also looking forward back in

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October of 1998 Ditro was formed from

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several different entities that focused

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on the support of the joint force , the

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whole of government , our allies and

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partners to counter weapons of mass

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destruction . We brought together

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scientists , planners , uniform special

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operators , trainers , and educators ,

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analysts and many other subject matter

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experts to deter prevent and prevail

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against weapons of mass destruction .

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Our people have been the Dods America's

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and often the world's go to experts

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when the danger involves weapons of

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mass destruction , threats from

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destroying dangerous items . In the

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former Soviet Union . From the Cold War

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to the war on terror to nature's fury

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with Fukushima Ebola in Africa , Syrian

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chemical destruction . COVID . The call

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went to Ditra because we have the best

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people when it comes to countering

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weapons of mass destruction . Others

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call Ditra . The rest of the US .

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Government calls Ditra , our allies and

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partners call Ditra for a quarter of a

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century . You have been the team . The

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rest of the world turns to we're

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diverse . We're global , we're complex .

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We're unique and the reason that Ditra

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is so successful . So here's the 25

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years of doing an amazing job in a

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future that's brighter than ever . I ,

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I am very thankful for , for where I

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work because of the mission that we

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have . I see the passion with so many

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of the folks that I work with . It is a

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very niche um focus areas . So it is

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almost kind of like a small kind of

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family group where you see the same

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people , but everybody has the same

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kind of goals and mission sense . And

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so it kind of gives a feeling of

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satisfaction and excitement . Overall ,

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we're not just focused towards a

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military end though we helped with the

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Ebola crisis that we helped with and

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other things of that nature that have

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impacts outside of the interagency

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or the national or the government . It

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helps civilians on the street , being

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able to live a better life . I feel

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like I'm part of a greater mission , a

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broader mission and part of a larger

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family . And I'm just very pleased that

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I'm amongst professionals , a lot of

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scientists , people with a broad

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spectrum of activities and experience .

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So I feel like I'm in the right place

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at the right time and I'm very proud to

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be here , man is a phenomenal place .

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It's a well diverse

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entity . We have junior NCOS working

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side by side with senior officers ,

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field grade officers , two star

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generals , civilians , contractors . We

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have folks who are specialists and

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nuclear physicists working alongside

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vehicle mechanics and cryptology ,

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language , analysts and senior dod

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stakeholders in the world of chemical

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weapons . It's a place where

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you come in with a narrow perspective

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on what you think Ditra does and you

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leave with such a broader , more

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rounded understanding of what it is

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that really does over the past 25 years ,

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Ditra has transformed and evolved to

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meet numerous emerging threats , always

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executing multilateral treaties and

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agreements , aiding nations in building

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partner capacity and supporting our war

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fighters . The keys to our success ,

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our mission , our people and our

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ability to come together as a team to

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get things done as we celebrate 25

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years of excellence . It's because of

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our diverse and multifaceted workforce ,

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both military and civilian who have

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always sought out mission execution at

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the highest levels . While always

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taking care of our people , we have 25

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years of excellence behind us and yet

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I'm convinced that our agency's most

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important accomplishments lie ahead of

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us . Still . Thank you for all you've

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done and all you will do to serve our

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mission , the agency and the Department

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of Defense .