Joanna Wintrol, the head of U.S. Embassy Kyiv’s Defense Threat Reduction Office, works closely with Ukrainian partners to counter threats affecting the United States, Ukraine, and other nations. As her assignment at U.S. Embassy Kyiv comes to a close, Joanna shared her thoughts about her experience working in Ukraine.
Many people have heard of the U.S. Department of Defense, but the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency is perhaps less familiar. What does your organization do?
DTRA focuses on countering threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We focus on the full range of WMD threats — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives. The organization also works to counter “improvised threats,” such as improvised explosive devices.
Countering these complicated threats effectively requires teamwork. That’s why DTRA officials like me work overseas at U.S. Embassies — to build strong partnerships with partners and allies to combat these threats and to exchange best practices and innovations in the fight against these threats.
moar…
https://medium.com/u-s-embassy-kyiv/u-s-defense-threat-reduction-office-partners-with-ukrainian-government-to-keep-our-nations-safe-b25d7d62c46b