Military

Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick is located in Frederick, Maryland, in the heart of Frederick County, the third fastest growing county in Maryland. Fort Detrick is the center of the biomedical technology growth that has occurred in the county. Fort Detrick is located approximately one hours drive from Washington D.C. metro area and Baltimore, Maryland, easily accessible by major interstate highways. As an Army Medicine Installation. Fort Detrick is home to the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and 36 other tenant organizations. The primary missions include biomedical research and development, medical materiel management and global telecommunications.

The mission of the U.S. Army Garrison and Fort Detrick is to Command, operate and administer the use of resources to provide installation support to on-post Department of Defense and non-Department of Defense tenant organizations; and to furnish automated data processing, financial management and logistical support as directed to selected Headquarters, Department of the Army staff and field operating agencies.

Major tenants located on Fort Detrick are the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, 21st Signal Brigade, and the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency.

Fort Detrick serves four Cabinet-Level agencies, which include: The Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture and Department of Human Services. Fort Detrick's DoD support also includes elements of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Beyond that, Fort Detrick supports several Unified and Major Army Commands: Unified U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Space Command, U.S. Army Information Systems Command, and U.S. Army Health Services Command.

Fort Detrick today is a U.S. Army Medical Command installation supporting a multi-agency community. Approximately 5,800 military, federal, and contractor personnel are assigned there. They conduct biomedical research and development, medical materiel management, and defense communications. Each of the military services is represented. The Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), is the installation commander.

The USAMRMC was established in 1994 as a major subordinate command of the Army Medical Command during the reorganization of the Army Medical Department. The reorganization expanded the former U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, adding medical logistics and health facility planning to its mission. Realignment of the U.S. Army Garrison under the USAMRMC followed, improving management efficiency and allowing consolidation of support functions.

The USAG, Fort Detrick provides installation support to DoD and non-DoD tenant organizations. Among its services the Garrison furnishes financial management; civilian and military personnel; quality of life programs; legal services; housing management; security, fire, and emergency services; building maintenance; and logistical support to the USAMRMC and tenant activities.

The USAMRMC is responsible for life cycle management of medical materiel, from basic laboratory research through advanced development, prototyping, procurement, delivery to units, maintenance and disposal. The USAMRMC is responsible for planning, programming, and budgeting for construction of Army medical facilities and for corporate information management and information technology requirements of the Army Medical Department.

As the Department of Defense's lead laboratory for medical biological defense, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases conducts basic research leading to the development of vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and information to protect U.S. service members from biological warfare threats. The institute is a world-renowned reference laboratory for definitive identification of biological threat agents and diagnosis of the diseases they produce.

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity manages the advanced development of new medical products, including the conduct of clinical trials and submission of applications for approval of new products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency is the Army Surgeon General's executive agent for strategic medical logistics programs and initiatives. The USAMMA's mission is to enhance medical logistics readiness throughout the full range of military health service support missions worldwide, develop and implement innovative concepts and technologies, and advance medical logistics information and knowledge. The USAMMA coordinates with the Air Force, Navy, and Joint/DoD medical logistics agencies that are also located at Fort Detrick.

The Air Force Medical Logistics Office mission is to lead and deliver innovative solutions to meet the challenges of global health. AFMLO integrates Joint Service Active and Reserve Air Force Components to deploy and sustain warfighting capabilities through focused logistics as defined by Joint Vision 2020.

The Naval Medical Logistics Command directs and manages logistical and materiel systems, and coordinates health care services contracting policy and procedures for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery during peacetime and contingency conditions. The NMLC's Fleet Hospital Program provides comprehensive medical support to the Fleet and Fleet Marine Forces engaged in combat operations.

The Joint Readiness Clinical Advisory Board, formerly known as the Defense Medical Standardization Board, is a joint activity of the DoD. The JRCAB's major missions include: joint selection and standardization of medical materiel for in-theater care during the initial 2 months of an armed conflict, and providing clinical, technical, and logistical expertise to ensure that quality medical materiel is available to the services.

The Joint Medical Logistics Functional Development Center (JMLFDC) focuses on modeling and simulation to ensure coordination and integration among the programs of the JRCAB, the USAMMA, the NMLC, and the AFMLO.

The U.S. Army Medical Information Systems and Services Agency is a subordinate command of the USAMRMC. The USAMISSA provides full life cycle management for information systems and information technology services to the AMEDD and other government clients, from needs assessments to acquisition and/or development, through operations and sustainment. The organization has offices at Fort Detrick, Maryland; San Antonio, Texas; Washington, DC; and Falls Church, Virginia. USAMISSA strives to solve client's information challenges with leading-edge technology solutions and customer-focused business practices.

The Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center is a field production activity of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the sole DoD producer of medical intelligence. The center provides all-source intelligence on worldwide infectious diseases and environmental health risks, foreign military and civilian health care systems and infrastructures, and foreign biomedical development and life science technologies of military medical significance.

The 21st U.S. Army Signal Brigade, (redesignated from the 1108th U.S. Army Signal Brigade on October 16, 2003) is a subordinate command of the Network Command/9th U.S. Army Signal Command. On September 14, 1998, the brigade headquarters relocated from Fort Ritchie, Maryland to Fort Detrick, due to the closing of Fort Ritchie under Base Realignment and Closure. The brigade provides command, control, communications, computer, and visual information systems to the DoD and other federal agencies supporting the warfighter.

BRAC 2005

Secretary of Defense Recommendation: Close the Flair Memorial Armed Forces Reserve Center and its organizational maintenance shop in Frederick, MD, and relocate US Army Reserve and US Marine Corps Reserve units to a new consolidated Armed Forces Reserve Center and organizational maintenance support facility on Fort Detrick, MD.

Secretary of Defense Justification: This recommendation transforms Reserve Component facilities in the State of Maryland. The implementation of this recommendation will enhance military value, improve homeland defense capability, greatly improve training and deployment capability, create significant efficiencies and cost savings, and is consistent with the Army's force structure plans and Army transformational objectives.

This recommendation is the result of a state-wide analysis of Reserve Component installations and facilities conducted by a team of functional experts from Headquarters, Department of the Army, the Office of the State Adjutant General, and the Army Reserve Regional Readiness Command.

This recommendation closes one Army Reserve Center and one Organizational Maintenance Shop in Frederick, MD, and constructs a multi-service, multifunctional Armed Forces Reserve Center and Organizational Maintenance Shop on Fort Detrick, MD. This recommendation reduces military manpower and associated costs for maintaining existing facilities by reducing the number of separate DoD installations by relocating to an existing base.

This recommendation provides the opportunity for other Local, State, or Federal organizations to partner with the Reserve Components to enhance homeland security and homeland defense at a reduced cost to those agencies.

Although not captured in the COBRA analysis, this recommendation avoids an estimated $10.0M in mission facility renovation costs and procurement avoidances associated with meeting AT/FP construction standards and altering existing facilities to meet unit training and communications requirements. Consideration of these avoided costs would reduce costs and increase the net savings to the Department of Defense in the 6-year BRAC implementation period and in the 20-year period used to calculate NPV.

Community Concerns: There were no formal expressions from the community.

Commission Findings: The Commission found no reason to disagree with the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense. In addition, the Commission notes that the Army's process was well thought-out and inclusive of the leadership of the Reserve Components and the State.

Commission Recommendations: The Commission found the Secretary's recommendation consistent with the final selection criteria and force structure plan. Therefore, the Commission approved the recommendation of the Secretary.

Additional Note: Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 38 jobs (22 direct and 16 indirect jobs) over the 2006 - 2011 period in the Bethesda-Frederick-Gaithersburg, MD metropolitan division, which would be less than 0.1 percent of economic area employment. An Air Conformity determination and a New Source Review and permitting effort will be required at Fort Detrick.