Welcome to the USAMRDC Chemical Biological Defense Partnership Support Directorate (PSD) website. (The PSD was formerly referred to as Research Area Directorate (RAD) 4, Medical Chemical Biological Defense Research Program.) The purpose of this website is to provide information about the roles and responsibilities of the Partnership Support Directorate and related programs, organizations, and activities. The Partnership Support Directorate is a staff office under the Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), which supports the medical chemical and biological defense research activities under the Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical Biological Defense (JSTO-CBD) of the Department of Defense (DoD) Chemical Biological Defense Program (CBDP). JSTO-CBD is also designated as the Chemical Biological Technologies Directorate of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) and is responsible for the management, integration, and execution of medical chemical and biological defense science and technology (S&T) programs within DoD. To accomplish the objectives and purposes of the defense-wide medical chemical biological defense S&T program, USAMRDC supports JSTO-CBD's planning and program management of that portion of the CBDP assigned to the Army Medical Department, including research performed at the following key USAMRDC laboratories:

• U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)
• U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)
• Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR)

In support of the CBDP, the Partnership Support Directorate also facilitates the planning and program management for chemical and biological defense research at Air Force, Navy, and other DoD Laboratories.

In accordance with 50 USC 1522, research, development, and acquisition (RDA) of chemical and biological defense programs within DoD are overseen by a single office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, ATSD(NCB), serves as this single office. The Special Assistant for Chemical Biological Defense and Chemical Demilitarization Programs, SA(CBD&CDP) serves as the principal deputy to the ATSD(NCB) for accomplishing overall oversight and integration of the DoD CBDP. The vision of the CBDP is to ensure DoD operations are unconstrained by chemical and biological effects. The CBDP mission is to provide chemical and biological defense capabilities in support of the national military strategies.

The roles and responsibilities of all departmental organizations are detailed in the "Implementation Plan for the Management of the Chemical and Biological Defense Program," which was approved on April 22, 2003 and updated July 10, 2006 .