BLUF: The Defense Health Agency (DHA) Research and Development Activity at Fort Detrick, Maryland, adopted a final Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory (STRL) Personnel Demonstration Project (PDP) plan, published in the Federal Register on September 17, 2026.

The notice confirms adoption of the plan and "additional flexibilities" for DHA R&D, which the Department of Defense (DoD) classifies as an STRL — a designation that lets defense labs use alternative hiring, classification, and pay-setting authorities outside the standard federal General Schedule. DHA R&D is composed of medical research organizations that were formerly part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), itself a successor to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

Why it matters: STRL personnel authorities directly shape how DoD's in-house biomedical research labs compete with contractors and universities for scientific and technical talent — faster hiring and more flexible pay-setting can make government labs more competitive against private-sector offers. Firms that place scientists at Fort Detrick, or that partner with DHA R&D on cooperative agreements, should expect the lab's workforce practices to continue tracking the demonstration-project model rather than standard GS rules.

By the numbers:

• Published: September 17, 2026
• Agency: Defense Health Agency Research and Development Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland (Department of Defense)
• Action: Notice of approval of a final demonstration-project plan — no comment period
• Basis: Adopts the USAMRDC plan published in the Federal Register on March 3, 1998, with modifications

The notice states DHA R&D will adopt the 1998 USAMRDC plan "with some modifications" and separately proposes to extend certain personnel flexibilities already available to other DoD STRLs. Because this is a notice of final adoption rather than a proposed rule, there is no public comment window attached.

Source: Federal Register