U.S. Department of State

Message From the ACTING DIRECTOR

Welcome to the Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) website. 

Over the past year, OBO has focused on improving internal operations in order to deliver better results to the diplomatic community abroad.  We have implemented a number of new initiatives and built upon many already in existence.  With this new focus, we've accomplished many objectives such as: streamlining the Request for Proposal (RFP) contracting process, returning to project management, publishing the first Long Range Overseas Maintenance Plan, mandating all new embassies be built to the specifications of LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council, continuing to build upon our outreach wtih industry partners, and implementing processes to work more effectively with tenants and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Providing more secure, safer, more functional, and properly maintained facilities for the conduct of U.S. diplomacy and the promotion of U.S. interests worldwide is our mission.   The need for substantial investment in secure overseas facilities was tragically demonstrated in August 1998 by the terrorist attacks on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.  Those bombings killed 224 people, including 43 of our employees.  In September 2001, the horror of terrorism was brought home to our own soil. 

Since 2001, OBO has completed 68 major construction projects and currently has 29 projects in design and construction.  With the opening of the new Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia, the Bureau has successfully moved 20,000 individuals into more secure, safer, and more functional facilities abroad.

In addition to constructing new facilities we have focused on properly maintaining both our New Embassy Compound (NEC) facilities and those that will continue to be retained in our inventory.  We are preparing the first Long Range Overseas Maintenance Plan (LROMP) which will identify maintenance requirements around the world.

OBO has established a Green Team within the Office of Design and Engineering that works with U.S. overseas properties on all green initiatives.  The group has taken on projects such as: collecting data on energy and water consumption and costs; publishing and distributing the Green Guide for Embassy & Consulate Operations; and installing state-of-the-art green technology into facilities that complement the personal efforts of everyone at post.

America's interests and threats to America's security have changed.  Our embassies were once focused on traditional reporting and consular services to Americans living and traveling abroad.  Today, our missions overseas serve as platforms for a much broader range of activities, carried out by multiple agencies, all aimed at helping to shape a more secure, free, and prosperous world.

Our people abroad are the front line customers, but we have stakeholders in every corner --- other U.S. Government agencies, the United States Congress, the construction industry and related businesses, and the American taxpayers. 

As you explore our website, please know that all of us at OBO are committed to the stewardship of our nation's overseas facilities, and to the safety, security, and success of those who represent our country abroad.

Adam E. Namm