Fort Detrick facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Fort Detrick
Frederick, Maryland, U.S.
Sign at one of the installation's gates
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Type	Military installation
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army
Site history
Built	1931
In use	1931–present

Fort Detrick is a special base for the United States Army in Frederick, Maryland. For many years, from 1943 to 1969, it was the main place for the U.S. biological weapons program. This means they studied how to use germs as weapons.

After that program stopped, Fort Detrick became the center for the United States biological defense program. This program focuses on protecting people from dangerous germs.

Today, Fort Detrick is a large campus that works on many important things. It does biomedical research, manages medical supplies, and studies plant diseases. Scientists at the lab research dangerous germs like Ebola and smallpox.

The base is home to the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). This is a key agency for defending against biological threats. It also hosts the National Cancer Institute-Frederick (NCI-Frederick), which studies cancer.

In August 2019, some research operations involving dangerous germs were paused. This happened because of safety concerns, especially about how dangerous materials were handled.

Fort Detrick is the biggest employer in Frederick County, Maryland. This means it provides the most jobs in the area.

Fort Detrick's Story: How it Began
Environmental Concerns
What Organizations are at Fort Detrick?
Historic Places at Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick in Movies and TV
See also

Fort Detrick's Story: How it Began

Fort Detrick started with five farms. These farms became "Area A," the main part of the base. This area is about 800 acres (324 hectares). Another part, "Area B," was bought later in 1946. It is about 400 acres (162 hectares) and was used for testing.

From Airport to Army Base (1931–1943)

Fort Detrick began as a small airport in Frederick, Maryland, in 1929. It was one of several emergency airfields between Cleveland, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. The airport was named after Major Frederick L. Detrick, an army doctor who died in 1931.

The first military group arrived in 1931. It was the 104th Observation Squadron of the Maryland National Guard. They flew old biplanes. In 1939, the grass airfield was replaced with concrete. Detrick Field then became a training center for cadet pilots.

After the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, all planes and pilots were sent to patrol the Atlantic Coast. The base stopped being an aviation center in 1942.

Camp Detrick: Secret Research (1943–1956)

In March 1943, the government bought more land and renamed the facility "Camp Detrick." That same year, the U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) were created. These labs did important research on how to safely handle dangerous germs. They also studied how to clean up contaminated areas.

World War II and Germ Warfare Research (1943–1945)

During World War II, Camp Detrick became a secret site for intense research into biological warfare (BW). This meant studying how to use germs as weapons. Ira L. Baldwin, a professor, became the first scientific director. He chose Detrick Field because it was far enough away from cities but still close to Washington, D.C.

The Army's Chemical Warfare Service oversaw this secret work. It was as secret as the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb. At its busiest in 1945, Camp Detrick had many officers and soldiers, including women from the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

After the War (1946–1955)

The secret work at Camp Detrick was so well hidden that the public didn't learn about it until January 1946. This was four months after the war ended.

In 1952, the Army bought over 500 more acres (202 hectares) to expand the research facilities. Sadly, two workers at the base died from exposure to anthrax in the 1950s. Another worker died in 1964 from a viral illness.

There was a building called "Building 470" on the base, also known as "Anthrax Tower." It was used to test ways to grow bacteria for medicines. This research helped the pharmaceutical industry make antibiotics. Building 470 was taken down in 2003 without any problems. The base was sometimes called "Fort Doom" when it was doing offensive biological warfare research. During World War II, 5,000 bombs filled with anthrax spores were made there.

From 1945 to 1955, the U.S. government brought over 1,600 German and Austrian scientists to the U.S. through a program called Operation Paperclip. Some of these scientists had been involved in medical experiments during the war. The U.S. wanted their knowledge and didn't want other countries to get it.

Testing on Volunteers (1940–1974)

A government report in 1994 said that between 1940 and 1974, the U.S. military studied human volunteers in tests with dangerous substances.

Many experiments that tested different biological agents were done at Fort Detrick in the 1950s. These studies were called Operation Whitecoat. At first, volunteer soldiers took part. But after some soldiers wanted more information about the risks, Seventh-day Adventists who were conscientious objectors (people who refuse to fight in wars for moral reasons) volunteered for the studies.

Scientists at Fort Detrick also researched using insects to spread diseases. They used or tried to use fleas, ticks, ants, lice, and mosquitoes. They especially looked at mosquitoes that carried the yellow fever virus. They even tested these insects in the United States.

Fort Detrick: Modern Era (1956–Present)

Camp Detrick became a permanent base for biological research in 1956 and was renamed Fort Detrick. Its job was to continue its important biomedical research, especially with dangerous biological agents.

Cold War Years (1956–1989)

On November 11, 1969, President Richard Nixon asked the Senate to agree to the 1925 Geneva Protocol. This agreement bans the use of chemical and biological weapons. On November 25, 1969, Nixon officially stopped offensive biological research in the United States.

Since then, all research at Fort Detrick has been for defense only. This means they focus on finding ways to diagnose, prevent, and treat illnesses caused by biological weapons. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) does this research.

Many old labs and land from the offensive biological warfare program were given to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The National Cancer Research and Development Center (now the National Cancer Institute-Frederick) was set up in 1971 on part of the base.

In 1989, researchers at the base found the Ebola virus in a monkey that came from the Philippines.

After the Cold War (1990–Present)

In 1990, a company in Virginia had a mysterious outbreak of a deadly illness among monkeys from the Philippines. Tissue samples from the dead monkeys were sent to USAMRIID at Fort Detrick. Tests showed antibodies to the Ebola virus.

A team from USAMRIID humanely ended the lives of the remaining monkeys. They brought the monkeys to Fort Detrick for study and safe disposal. Researchers found it was a new type of Ebola, which they named Reston ebolavirus after the location of the incident.

USAMRIID helped the FBI with the scientific parts of the 2001 anthrax attacks. These attacks infected 22 people and killed five.

In 2008, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it planned to add the base to the Superfund list. This list includes the most polluted places in the country. In 2009, "Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water" was added to this list.

As of 2008, about 7,900 people worked at Fort Detrick. The base has been the largest employer in Frederick County. It has also contributed over $500 million to the local economy each year.

Environmental Concerns

Fort Detrick Area B is a 399-acre (161 hectare) testing and disposal area. It was used to get rid of chemical, biological, and radioactive materials until 1970. In 2009, it was listed as a superfund site because of pollution.

Since 1992, the groundwater has been contaminated with chemicals like trichloroethylene (TCE). Eight drums of TCE buried in Area B in 1968 are thought to be one source of this pollution.

In 2012, a report found that studies could not prove if people were harmed by the contaminated groundwater. This is because there was no early data on exposure.

In 2014, a developer sued the U.S. Army for negligence in its chemical disposal. The lawsuit claimed that TCE levels were much higher than allowed. However, the lawsuit was dismissed in 2015.

After the Army denied claims of health problems from 106 families in 2015, the residents filed a class action lawsuit. They asked for $750 million for wrongful death and suffering.

Fort Detrick has released reports about its waste findings. You can find copies of these reports on the Fort Detrick website.

What Organizations are at Fort Detrick?

Many different groups work at Fort Detrick. These include parts of the U.S. military, as well as agencies from four government departments:

The offices and labs include:

The Agriculture Department's Foreign Disease and Weed Science Research Institute.
The National Cancer Institute.
The Naval Medical Logistics Command.
The Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center.

A new biotechnology campus is being built. It will house civilian and military research centers. These include parts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and USAMRIID.

Here are some of the main groups and organizations at Fort Detrick:

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC)
- U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA)
- U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)
- Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC)
114th Signal Battalion
21st Signal Brigade
National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI)
Naval Medical Logistics Command (NMLC)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The National Cancer Institute at Frederick (NCI-Frederick)

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

National Bioforensic Analysis Center (NBFAC)
National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC)

Historic Places at Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick has three sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

The Nallin Farm House (built around 1835)
The Nallin Farm Springhouse and Bank Barn (built before 1798)
The One Million Liter Sphere, also called the "Eight Ball" (built 1947–1948)

Other interesting historic sites on the base include:

A rocky hill that once held two impressive estates: Saint Joseph’s Villa (1895) and "Wide Pastures" (1911). Both were later taken down.
Building 470, known as "Anthrax Tower" (built 1953; taken down in 2003).

Fort Detrick in Movies and TV

Fort Detrick has appeared in many popular movies and TV shows:

In the 2009 video game Prototype, Fort Detrick is the base for a secret military group called Blackwatch.
The 1995 film Outbreak shows the different safety levels inside the USAMRIID Research Facility at Fort Detrick.
Fort Detrick is featured in several episodes of The X-Files as Fort Marlene.
It is mentioned in the 2007 alien invasion film The Invasion.
Fort Detrick is briefly mentioned in The Bourne Legacy as a site of a viral outbreak.
In The Last Ship, Fort Detrick is where the crew goes to make a cure for a deadly flu.
It is mentioned in the TV series Scandal and The Americans.