The Foreign Service Journal, March 2017

40 MARCH 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL national security policy development. As already noted, DS is a key policy and operational leader within the U.S. govern- ment’s personnel recovery program. The bureau is also a voting member of the National Explosive Detection Canine Advisory Board, which establishes policies and standards for explosives detection K9 programs at the federal, state and local levels. In addition, DS is a voting member of the State Department’s Avia- tion Governing Board, which determines policy and oversees State’s air wing, the largest non-military air fleet operated by the U.S. government. All of these roles have emerged over the past 10 years. The strongest measure, however, of DS’s emerging role in policy development and value to the nation’s leadership is illustrated by the White House itself. In 2014, at the request of the NSC, DS detailed a special agent to the council as a director for counterterrorism, to manage the overseas threat portfolio on behalf of the national security adviser and the president. This agent helps shape interagency policy as a direct link between the White House and State, to ensure that our national lead- ers are fully informed of security-related issues involving our diplomatic facilities and threats to all Americans overseas, both public and private. DS quickly established itself as an important and respected voice at the table. “What does the RSO think?” is now a question commonly asked at senior levels of the federal govern- ment when major policy decisions are formulated. How Does It All Work? Thus far, I have summarized various programs and initiatives, and explained how they individually support and enable national security goals and objec- tives. But some readers may be asking how these DS programs and initiatives are mutually supportive. In particular, how do they collectively advance key U.S. national security goals abroad? Consider the following real-life example. In July 2015, Kenya hosted the Global Entrepre- neurship Summit, which Pres. Obama attended along with thousands of other participants. The summit was an important component of the Obama administration’s economic policy, so, just six months prior to its opening, the White House tasked DS with leading the coordination of all U.S. law enforce- ment and security activities with our Kenyan partners. Given the limited availability of host-government resources, time constraints and threat conditions, it was an enormous undertaking. Using its deliberative planning process and draw- ing on considerable organizational experience derived from supporting large international events such as the Olympics, DS began the complex process of identifying and tasking capabilities from each bureau directorate to identify solu- tions and manage risk for the event. Operationally, this included many things. DS Anti-Terrorism Assistance personnel deployed prior to the summit to provide Kenyan colleagues in-country training (including the Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response). The DS liaison agent to the U.S. Africa Command and DS Personnel Recovery programmanagers developed a robust personnel recovery capability specific to this event with their U.S. military counterparts. In addition, the Marine Security Augmentation Unit was deployed, and DS set up an around- the-clock interagency tactical operations center. At the strategic level, the Rewards for Justice program tar- geted the leadership of the al-Shabaab jihadist terrorist group The timely insights RSOs share with combatant commands—through the DS liaison agents—have been critical in shaping and enabling military support operations. A DSS special agent on protective detail stands watch on the sidelines while Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the August 2015 Global Leadership in the Arctic Conference in Anchorage, Alaska. DEPARTMENTOFSTATE