united states army medical research and development command united states army medical research and development command the united states army medical research and development command (usamrdc) is the united states army's medical materiel developer, with responsibility for medical research, development, and acquisition. u.s. army medical research and development commandthe usamrdc distinctive unit insigniaactive1994–presentcountryunited statesallegianceunited statesbranchunited states armytypemedical r&d commandgarrison/hqfort detrick, marylandmotto(s)"protect, project, sustain"commanderscurrentcommanderbg anthony l. mcqueen overview usamrdc headquarters at fort detrick, maryland, supports subordinate commands located throughout the world. medical research laboratories and institutes perform the core science and technology (s&t) research to develop medical solutions. these laboratories specialize in various areas of biomedical research, including infectious diseases, combat casualty care, operational medicine, clinical and rehabilitative medicine, chemical and biological defense, combat dentistry, and laser effects. the laboratories are staffed with highly qualified scientists and support personnel. a large extramural research program and numerous cooperative research and development (r&d) agreements provide additional s&t capabilities by the leading r&d organizations in the civilian sector. five usamrdc subordinate commands perform medical materiel advanced development, strategic and operational medical logistics, and contracting, to complete the lifecycle management of medical materiel. about 6,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel are assigned to support the headquarters and subordinate units. officers, enlisted soldiers, and civilians-many of whom are among the most respected and knowledgeable specialists in their fields-provide subject matter expertise in medical, scientific, and technical areas throughout the command. medical information and products developed by usamrdc protect and sustain the health and safety of the force through deployment and combat. the usamrdc motto, "protect, project, sustain," emphasizes the command's priorities in support of the warfighter. history in march 1994, a merger of medical research and development command, the united states army medical materiel agency and the health facilities planning agency resulted in creation of the medical research, development, acquisition and logistics command (mrdalc), subordinate to the then provisional medcom. the mrdalc was soon renamed the u.s. army medical research and materiel command (usamrmc). following a restructuring in 2019, the research, development and acquisition elements of usamrmc were re-designated to medical research and development command and transferred to army futures command. mrdc’s subordinate commands at fort detrick: u.s. army medical materiel development activity (usammda) u.s. army medical research acquisition activity (usamraa) u.s. army medical research institute of infectious diseases (usamriid) telemedicine and advanced technology research center (tatrc) elsewhere: united states army aeromedical research laboratory (usaarl), fort novosel, alabama united states army medical research institute of chemical defense (usamricd), aberdeen proving ground, maryland united states army research institute of environmental medicine (usariem), natick, massachusetts united states army institute of surgical research (usaisr), fort sam houston, texas walter reed army institute of research (wrair), forest glen annex, forest glen, maryland wrair's special foreign activities: armed forces research institute of medical sciences (afrims), bangkok, thailand united states army medical research directorate-africa (usamrd-a), nairobi, kenya united states army medical research directorate-georgia (usamrd-g), tbilisi, georgia united states army medical research directorate-west (usamrd-w), joint base lewis–mcchord, washington honors and awards general maxwell r. thurman award