About the Department of Defense Cultural Resources Program

The Department of Defense’s (DOD) ability to conduct training, testing, and essential operations is vital to preparing a more lethal and mission-ready combat force.  To meet these readiness requirements, warfighters depend safe and unencumbered access to training lands and the built environment to prepare them for combat.  The Department maintains thousands of historic and culturally significant resources across the United States and its territories that are an integral part of installations and the defense industrial base required for the military to house, train, and sustain its force.  As the warfighter trains and fights, DOD’s cultural resources provide the backbone and foundation of the warrior ethos, defense mission, and can act as a force-multiplier to represent our proud military history and traditions.

DOD’s Cultural Resources (CR) Program provides Military personnel tools for operating and maintaining historic facilities and other mission critical cultural resources.  Located in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations & Environment, the Cultural Resources Program provides the Military Departments with the policy, guidance, and resources needed to implement cultural resource management strategies and comply with relevant federal laws and Executive Orders. 

The Department’s historic property portfolio includes:

• 42 individual National Historic Landmark
• 2,512 National Historic Landmark contributing properties
• 1,856 individual and contributing historic assets listed in the National Register of Historic Places
• Over 14,400 historic assets determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places
• Over 136,000 recorded archaeological sites