identifying, collecting, and securing radiological material in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, including almost two tons of low enriched uranium (LEU), several hundred tons of yellowcake (a type of uranium powder), and other radioactive sources. Code-named Project MAXIMUS, DTRA, and the United States Department of Energy moved 1.77 metric tons of LEU and approximately 1,000 highly radioactive sources out of Iraq by the summer of 2004. DTRA task force members also secured the yellowcake in a bunker in Tuwaitha, Iraq, which was turned over to the Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology; the remaining 550 tons of yellowcake were sold in 2008 to Cameco, a uranium producer in Canada. COVID-19 In late 2019, DTRA established a program called Discovery of Medical Countermeasures Against Novel Entities (DOMANE). Shortly afterwards, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and DOMANE started researching existing, pre-approved medications like Pepcid (famotidine) for potential cost-effective treatments for COVID-19. Awards and official recognition Joint Meritorious Unit Award DTRA and its legacy agencies have been awarded numerous Joint Meritorious Unit Awards (JMUA) since the JMUA was implemented in 1982 (made retroactive to 1979): Defense Nuclear Agency 1st JMUA: 1 July 1981 – 20 June 1984 2nd JMUA: 1 January 1993 – 31 May 1995 On-Site Inspection Agency 1st JMUA: 15 January 1988 – 31 December 1988 2nd JMUA: 1 January 1989 – 30 July 1993 3rd JMUA: 1 August 1993 – 31 July 1996 4th JMUA: 1998 Defense Special Weapons Agency 1st JMUA: 1 June 1995 – 30 September 1998 Defense Threat Reduction Agency 1st JMUA: 1 October 1998 – 5 March 2000 2nd JMUA: 6 March 2000 – 30 June 2003 3rd JMUA: 1 October 2009 – 20 September 2011 4th JMUA: 1 May 2012 – 1 November 2014 Directors Jay C. Davis (1998–2001) Robert P. Bongiovi (2001, acting) Stephen M. Younger (2001–2004) Trudy H. Clark (2004–2005, acting) James A. Tegnelia (2005-2009) Kenneth A. Myers III (2008–2016) Shari Durand (2016-2017, acting) Michael L. Bruhn (2017, acting) Vayl S. Oxford (2017–2021) Dr. Rhys M. Williams (2021–2022, Acting) Rebecca Hersman (2022-Present) See also National Counterproliferation Center Defense Treaty Ready Inspection Readiness Program References External links DTRA, the official web site of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Responding to War, Terrorism, and WMD Proliferation: History of DTRA, 1998–2008, DTRA History Series Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997, DTRA History Series Defense's Nuclear Agency, 1947–1997, DTRA History Series Defense Special Weapons Agency 50th Anniversary, 1947–1997,