NOMINATION: FY-06 STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000772 SIPDIS FOR ECA/A/E/USS - BRIAN GIBSON; EAP/PD - AGRIMES E.O. 12985: N/A TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL SUBJECT: NOMINATION: FY-06 STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY REF: STATE 149595 PERSONAL INFORMATION ¶A. FULL NAME: SURNAME: `VAN DER KROGT' FIRST NAME: FRANOIS MIDDLE NAMES: THOMAS JUDE ¶B. DATE OF BIRTH: DECEMBER 4, 1976 ¶C. CITY OF BIRTH: CHRISTCHURCH ¶D. COUNTRY OF BIRTH: NEW ZEALAND ¶E. COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE: NEW ZEALAND ¶F. COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP: NEW ZEALAND ¶G. HOME ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND E-MAIL: HOME ADDRESS: 9 MONTGOMERY AVE, KARORI, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND WORK ADDRESS: MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, 15-21 STOUT STREET, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND PHONE: 001-64 (4) 496-0608 (WORK) E-MAIL: Francis.VanDerKrogt@defence.govt.nz ¶H. GENDER: MALE ¶I. MEDICAL, PHYSICAL, DIETARY OR OTHER PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS: NONE PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION ¶J. PRESENT POSITION AND TITLE: ANALYST, DEFENCE POLICY & PLANNING UNIT, MINISTRY OF DEFENSE ¶K. CURRENT INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION AND COMPLETE ADDRESS: N/A ¶L. WORK EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING PREVIOUS POSITIONS AND TITLES: PRESENT TITLE: ANALYST, DEFENSE POLICY & PLANNING UNIT, MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, SINCE JULY 2003 PREVIOUS POSITION AND TITLE: ADVISOR, POLICY, RESEARCH, & DEVELOPMENT GROUP, NEW ZEALAND IMMIGRATION SERVICE, MAY 2002 - JULY 2003 ¶M. EDUCATION, ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, INCLUDING DEGREES EARNED AND FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION. MASSEY UNIVERSITY, PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY WITH DISTINCTION, DEFENSE AND STRATEGIC STUDIES (2001) -- FOCUSED ON THE EVOLUTION OF NZ DEFENSE POLICY FROM THE 1990S TO THE EARLY YEARS OF THE GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION. THE DEGREE ALSO INCLUDED A CAMPAIGN STUDY OF THE FIRST GULF WAR. DIPLOMA IN ARTS - PSYCHOLOGY (1999) BACHELOR OF ARTS - HISTORY (1997) ¶N. ACTIVE PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: NONE ¶O. SHORT LIST OF RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS: NONE ¶P. PREVIOUS TRAVEL AND STUDY OR RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING DATES AND AN INDICATION AS TO WHETHER SUCH TRAVEL WAS SUPPORTED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDS: HAS NOT STUDIED OR VISITED THE US. ¶Q. EVIDENCE OF FLUENCY IN WRITTEN AND ORAL ENGLISH (E.G. PERSONAL INTERVIEW, TEST SCORE, ETC.): NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER ¶R. NARRATIVE: MR. VAN DER KROGT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY BOTH THE MISSION AND HIS HOME INSTITUTION AS A POLICYMAKER OF OUTSTANDING PROMISE. HE HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A HIGHLY REGARDED MEMBER OF NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT. THE PROGRAM IS AN ESPECIALLY GOOD FIT FOR VAN DER KROGT, AS HE IS ABOUT TO TRANSFER TO THE INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE RELATIONS SECTION AS A DESK OFFICER, WHERE HE WILL CONCENTRATE ON THE NEW ZEALAND-UNITED STATES DEFENSE RELATIONSHIP. IN THIS CAPACITY HE WILL PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE AS A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE AND ADVICE ON US POLICY AND PERCEPTIONS OF SECURITY, WHICH IS CRITICAL WHENEVER US VIEWS NEED TO BE CONSIDERED. AN IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF US POLICY AND HOW IT IS ARRIVED AT IS CRUCIAL FOR VAN DER KROGT'S PROFESSIONAL DUTIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS INSTITUTION'S NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE REQUIREMENTS. AS A POLICY CONCEPT, NATIONAL SECURITY IN NEW ZEALAND IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE. THE MINISTRY IS A CORE MEMBER OF NEW ZEALAND'S SECURITY COMMUNITY AND ACTS AS A LEADING AGENCY IN A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT TO SERVE NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE REQUIREMENTS. AS A LEADER IN A FIELD OF EMERGING POLICYMAKERS, VAN DER KROGT IS RECEPTIVE TO NEW IDEAS AND CHANGE AND IS AN EXCELLENT CANDIDATE FOR THE PROGRAM. HIS PARTICIPATION WILL FURTHER ENHANCE HIS ABILITY TO PROVIDE ADVICE IN DEVELOPING NEW ZEALAND'S FLEDGLING NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY. VAN DER KROGT'S NOMINATION WILL HELP TO SATISFY THE COUNTERTERRORISM AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PORTIONS OF THE MISSION PERFORMANCE PLAN (MPP). HIS PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM WILL HELP STRENGTHEN NEW ZEALAND'S COUNTERTERRORISM CAPABILITIES AND IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING AND COLLABORATION IN THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM. IN ADDITION, HIS INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROGRAM WOULD HELP IMPROVE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, COUNTER MISPERCEPTIONS, AND HELP STRENGTHEN LONG-TERM POLICY GOALS THAT WILL BENEFIT BOTH THE US AND NEW ZEALAND. ¶S. STATEMENT BY CANDIDATE INDICATING WHY HE IS INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING AND WHAT HE EXPECTS TO GET OUT OF THE PROGRAM: I AM AN INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL POLICY ANALYST IN THE INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE RELATIONS (IDR) BRANCH OF THE NEW ZEALAND MINISTRY OF DEFENSE. THE IDR BRANCH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING NEW ZEALAND'S BILATERAL DEFENSE RELATIONSHIPS AND PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN ADVISING GOVERNMENT ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DEFENSE FORCE. WITHIN THE IDR BRANCH I AM THE DESK OFFICER FOR THE NEW ZEALAND-UNITED STATES DEFENSE RELATIONSHIP. THE UNITED STATES IS OFTEN A KEY OPERATIONAL PARTNER FOR NEW ZEALAND, AND WE OFTEN FIND COMMON CAUSE ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. MORE BROADLY, UNITED STATES FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY HAS A PERVASIVE GLOBAL INFLUENCE ON STRATEGIC MATTERS. I HAVE A BROAD KNOWLEDGE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND CONTEMPORARY SECURITY MATTERS, BUT MY KNOWLEDGE OF US PERCEPTIONS OF SECURITY AND THE PROCESS OF POLICY FORMULATION IS RELATIVELY MODEST. THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE FOUNDATIONS AND FORMULATION OF US NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA WOULD THEREFOR BE INVALUABLE TO ME, THE MINISTRY, AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS GOVERNMENT. LEARNING ABOUT THE US POLICY PROCESS WOULD BE PARTICULARLY VALUABLE AT THIS TIME SINCE THE ROLES OF NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES -- AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO EACH OTHER -- ARE CURRENTLY EVOLVING IN RESPONSE TO CONTEMPORARY RISKS AND CHALLENGES. PRIOR TO JOINING THE IDR BRANCH LATE IN 2005, I WORKED FOR TWO YEARS IN THE MINISTRY'S STRATEGIC POLICY (SP) BRANCH. THE SP BRANCH ANALYZES STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS AND LINKS MILITARY CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS TO POLICY SETTINGS. I EXPECT TO REMAIN IN THE DEFENSE AND SECURITY FIELD FOR THE LONG TERM. I WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH A MULTI- NATIONAL GROUP OF PRACTITIONERS AND ACADEMICS; A MULTI- NATIONAL GROUP PROMISES A RICH AND ROBUST EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. I AM HIGHLY MOTIVATED, AND I AM COMFORTABLE WITH CAMPUS LIFE AND AN ACTIVE SCHEDULE. I HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE, TO REVIEW LARGE QUANTITIES OF INFORMATION, AND TO DISTILL AND CRITIQUE KEY CONCEPTS. ¶T. POST ACTION OFFICER: NAME: ROY GLOVER, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER PHONE: 64 (4) 462-6082 FAX: 64 (4) 499-0490 EMAIL ADDRESS: gloverra@state.gov MAIL SHIPPING ADDRESS: AMERICAN EMBASSY, WELLINGTON, 29 FITZHERBERT TERRACE, THORNDON, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND (P.O. BOX 1190, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND). SEND MAIL VIA DHL. BURNETT