Doug Bruder

Associate Director - Research and Development, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)

Douglas J. Bruder, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Associate Director for Research and Development, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Fort Belvoir, VA. DTRA safeguards America and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosives) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat, and mitigate its effects.

DTRA’s Research and Development enterprise identifies and conducts innovative science and technology to deliver the products and services the combatant commanders, the armed services, and DTRA need to combat WMD. DTRA develops solutions to immediate and over-the-horizon WMD threats.

Prior to assuming this role, Bruder was the Associate Director for the Agency’s Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) enterprise, where he was responsible for the organization that supports the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, in his mission to integrate and synchronize combating WMD efforts for the Department of Defense (DoD).

From 2005 to 2008, Bruder served DTRA as the director, Counter WMD Technologies directorate, in the Research and Development enterprise, where he oversaw research and development programs responsible for hard target defeat, target awareness, battlespace awareness, combating terrorism, and DTRA field test activities. Previous DTRA (formerly named Defense Special Weapons Agency and Defense Nuclear Agency) positions held include Systems Application division chief, Hard Target Defeat branch chief, research manager for Sea-based Structure Programs, and research manager for ICBM Survivable Basing Programs.

In 1994, Bruder became the agency's counterproliferation liaison to the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs (ATSD [NCB]). In 1996, he was assigned as a special assistant within ATSD (NCB), where he oversaw the counterforce portion of the Counterproliferation Support Program.

Bruder came to DTRA in 1990 from the Naval Sea Systems Command, where he worked in submarine design as a senior project engineer. There he supported existing Los Angeles and Ohio class programs, and new design efforts for Seawolf and Virginia class submarines. In 1988 he was the technical director of the USS Jacksonville (SSN 699) submarine shock test.