Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1986 |
Type | Interagency Task Force |
Headquarters | Harry S. Truman Building, Washington, D.C. |
Parent department | U.S. Department of State |
Parent agency | Bureau of Diplomatic Security |
Website | https://www.state.gov/foreign-emergency-support-team/ |
The Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) is an interagency task force of the United States government, tasked with on-call short-notice responses to terrorist incidents across the world. It consists of personnel from military, intelligence, and diplomatic agencies, as well as other departments when required.
The FEST was created in 1986, and has long since largely remained shrouded in mystery. Since then has deployed over thirty times to critical situations around the world. The team maintains the capability to deploy within hours to advise and assist the U.S. Chief of Mission coordinating U.S. government crisis response activities and to augment embassy operations. [1]
The Diplomatic Security Service leads the FEST, and it includes representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other appropriate agencies, such as the Department of Energy, as circumstances warrant. FEST composition is flexible and tailored to the specific incident and U.S. embassy needs. The FEST provides specialized crisis response expertise to augment existing U.S. Mission and host government capabilities. [2] [3] [4] In addition to terrorism, the unit specializes in responding to Weapons of Mass Destruction and CBRNE events. [5]
FEST is the counterpart of the Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) which serves a similar role for crises within the United States.
The FEST was particularly active when operatives of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
USS Cole bombing
A FEST was deployed to Aden, Yemen following a terrorist attack against the USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors in October 2000. The FEST advised the US ambassador and helped her direct America's response to the attack. The team relied heavily on FEST's secure mobile communications capability, since the Port of Aden is more than 200 miles from the American Embassy in Sanaa.
On August 7, 2020, the FEST deployed from Andrews Air Force Base to Beirut, Lebanon, to lend support to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut as part of the U.S. government’s response following what was later discovered to be an ammonium nitrate fire which caused one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in human history in the city's port. [6] The blast on August 4 had ripped through the port of Beirut, causing extensive injuries and damage throughout the surrounding area. Shortly after the blast, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut requested support from the DSS-led FEST to help coordinate interagency support for emergency response, restoration of essential services, and public health and safety protection. [7]
In March 2021, members of the FEST participated in a five-day military crisis response exercise between Qatari and U.S. military forces in Doha, Qatar. Exercise Invincible Sentry 2021 (IS 21) is an annual U.S. Central Command training event, hosted this year by the government of Qatar. IS 21 included close coordination and training with the Qatar’s Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Embassy Doha, and other U.S. government entities. [7]
"Contingency" FESTs were deployed to ensure safety at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece (Summer 2004) and Turin, Italy (Winter 2006), and in Lagos, Nigeria during a hostage-taking crisis.
The team has been spotted flying into Iraq, [8] throughout central Europe, and several times in Amman, Jordan. [9] Team constituent agencies organize a FEST to conduct training with partner nations often. [1]
Smaller, "tailored" FESTs have responded to abductions of Americans in Ecuador and the Philippines.
Organizations and units which commonly comprise the FEST:
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations. The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym.
The Boeing C-32 is the United States Air Force designation for variants of the Boeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. The C-32A serves the Special Air Mission, providing executive transport and broad communications capabilities to senior political officials, while the C-32B Gatekeeper provides clandestine airlift to special operations and global emergency response efforts, a role known as "covered air".
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest, with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies, it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and protection of people, property, and information. Its mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for officials to execute the foreign policy of the United States.
The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is the principal security and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of State (DOS). As the operational division of DOS' Bureau of Diplomatic Security, its primary mission is to protect diplomatic assets, personnel, and information and combat visa and passport fraud. DSS also conducts counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cybersecurity and criminal investigations domestically and abroad.
The Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT) is a bureau of the United States Department of State. It coordinates all U.S. Government efforts to improve counterterrorism cooperation with foreign governments and participates in the development, coordination, and implementation of American counterterrorism policy.
The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to the arrest, capture, and identification or location of any foreign person, including a foreign entity, who knowingly engaged or is engaging in foreign election interference, as well as information leading to the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act of foreign election interference. The Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $250 million to 125 individuals for leading information that prevented international terrorist attacks or helped bring to justice those involved in prior acts.
Mobile Security Deployments (MSD) is a small specialized tactical unit within the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) of the United States Department of State. The MSD provides U.S. embassies and consulates with security support, protects the Secretary of State and other U.S. officials, including domestically as well as visiting foreign officials, and also provides security training at U.S embassies and consulates.
Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) or Washington Special Clearance, commonly called security clearance, administrative clearance, or administrative processing, is a process the United States Department of State and the diplomatic missions of the United States use in deciding to grant or deny a United States visa to certain visa applicants. The process involves sending a request from the visa issuing post to the Department of State's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to investigate an individual's case for possible espionage, terrorism, and illegal export of technology out of the United States.
The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page deals with the other aspects of counter-terrorism:
The Civilian Response Corps is a program of the United States Department of State, Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS). The Civilian Response Corps is a group of federal employees and volunteers from the private sector, state and local governments who are trained to deploy rapidly in countries that are in crisis or emerging from conflict in order to provide reconstruction and stabilization assistance.
Joseph Evan LeBaron is the former United States Ambassador to the State of Qatar and to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
The Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) is a United States Interagency program for research and development into combating terrorism measures. Established in 1986, TSWG falls under the oversight of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict and derives some authorities for international work from the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State.
Presidential Decision Directive 62 (PDD-62), titled Combating Terrorism, was a Presidential Decision Directive (PDD), signed on May 22, 1998 by President Bill Clinton. It identified the fight against terrorism a top national security priority.
The Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) is a rapidly deployable, interagency team of experts within the United States government, staffed from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The DEST provides guidance to the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) concerning weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats and actual incidents/attacks.
Francis Xavier Taylor was the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), nominated by President Obama in 2014. In that role, he provided the Secretary, DHS senior leadership, the DHS components, and state, local, tribal and private sector partners with homeland security intelligence and information they need to keep the country safe, secure and resilient. DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis is a member of, and the Department’s liaison to, the U.S. Intelligence Community.
The Emergency Care Coordination Center (ECCC) is the policy home for the emergency care community within the federal government. It is charged with strengthening the U.S. response systems to better prepare for times of crisis. It was established in January 2009.
The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multicultural affairs. The portfolio also includes federal agencies such as the Australian Border Force and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs, currently held by Clare O'Neil, and is led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo. In 2022, the Australian Federal Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Australian Transaction and Analysis Center were de-merged from the department and moved to the Attorney General portfolio.
The United States Army Reserve Counter Terrorism Unit is a unit under the combined authority of the Army and the U.S. Department of State which prevents and responds to terrorist attacks while all under forward control of the National Command Authority in coordination with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is under day-to-day operational control of the civilian State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism (S/CT). The unit's primary mission is its role as a senior member of the Foreign Emergency Support Team. As part of the FEST, the unit must be ready to deploy on three hours notice as part of an ultra-long range airlift to respond to terrorist attacks anywhere on earth. Within the Army, the unit is organized under the National Intelligence Support Group of Military Intelligence Readiness Command, the Army Reserve's functional command for military intelligence. Little is known of the unit, which is responsible for supporting Department of State counterterrorism policies, plans, programs, operations, exercises, training, and activities both in the National Capital Region and around the world. ARCU primarily supports the Coordinator for Counterterrorism and serves to assist diplomats, advising, assisting, and assessing the U.S. whole-of-government national counterterrorism response to overseas terrorist incidents while helping to synchronize American Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic, Financial, Intelligence and Law Enforcement (DIMEFIL) assets in response. The unit works to forge partnerships with various intelligence agencies, non-state actors, multilateral organizations, and foreign governments to advance counterterrorism objectives, assisting in developing coordinated strategies to defeat terrorists abroad and securing the cooperation of international partners.