CHANGE IN DOD'S MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AT POST

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000206 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/FO AND PM/ISO (T. SEARS) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT ABLD AFIN APER ASEC ODIP SUBJECT: CHANGE IN DOD'S MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AT POST ¶1. U.S. Embassy Muscat appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the dialogue supporting the Defense Department's SDO/DATT initiative. Post agrees with the initiative, believing the directive institutionalizes arrangements that have informally developed in many embassies. ¶2. U.S. Embassy Muscat strongly supports the Defense Department Directive and makes the following recommendations: ¶A. Where personnel rotation timelines support it, transition to the SDO/DATT model should be expedited. ¶B. Post urges the Department of Defense to continue to look for ways to eliminate differences in rules governing support to military offices in embassies. For example, certain ICASS support rules vary depending on which office military personnel are assigned to. In Embassy Muscat's case, restrictions exist on which offices may utilize U.S. government-owned houses for their personnel. This rule should be addressed immediately for SDOs, followed by a review of other inequities. ¶C. Also, many embassies have equal ranking leadership in DAO and SAO/OMC offices. A review of staffing may result in a net reduction of 0-6 requirements and more streamlined chain of command, including in Muscat. ¶D. DOD and State may also wish to consider other undertakings to streamline military activities at post, for example, also identifying a single deputy SDO/DATT and merging administrative functions of the two offices. ¶3. U.S. Embassy Muscat looks forward to future updates on the development of the SDO/DATT initiative. GRAPPO