Protection for State Department Buildings Abroad

Program Overview

American diplomats face a myriad of security concerns that relate to the activities of criminals and terrorists. The Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security is responsible for providing for the safety of our diplomats, their families, and locally employed staff. To help ensure their security, the office of Overseas Protective Operations (OPO) implements layers of physical and technical countermeasures and operates a worldwide guard program, all of which is managed by special agents assigned locally as regional security officers. OPO is comprised of three divisions that provide financial, contractual, and operational support for local guard, surveillance detection, and residential security programs at all U.S. diplomatic missions abroad.

Local Guards
The 28,000 local guards who protect our overseas facilities are usually citizens of the country in which our U.S. embassies are located.  They patrol the grounds, inspect all vehicles, visitors, and packages entering State Department facilities, respond to alarms and calls for assistance, and serve as bodyguards for the chief of mission and other personnel as required.

Approximately 60 percent of the local guards are contractors, employed mostly by U.S. firms or through joint ventures between U.S. and foreign firms. Another 37 percent of the local guards are embassy employees. At some posts, the local police force provides guard services through agreements with the Department of State.

Typically, guards complete 80 hours of basic training, and 16 hours of annual refresher training. Armed guards receive an additional 40 hours of firearms training. Training covers local laws and arrest powers, explosive detection, chemical and biological countermeasures, observation techniques, and more. 

Surveillance Detection Program

The surveillance detection program began in 1999 in response to the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. Now, more than 213 surveillance detection teams operate with host country approval at our U.S. missions throughout the world. Surveillance detection teams, consisting of plain-clothes specialists, are vigilant in their efforts to identify hostile surveillance against U.S. missions. Surveillance detection teams have identified explosives placed outside of diplomatic facilities, identified known terrorists conducting surveillance, and, in one instance, discovered scuba divers who subsequently fled the area leaving equipment and a map of the U.S. mission behind. In such cases, the teams notify the appropriate local authorities and the regional security officer. 

Residential Security Program

Through the residential security program, OPO provides physical security upgrades and guard services to the residences of nearly 13,000 diplomatic families and employees living overseas. 

Summary

The Office of Overseas Protective Operations works with each embassy’s regional security officer to provide security for thousands of facilities, warehouses, and residences owned or leased by the Department of State.