Capturing Recent Crisis Management Experience

UNCLAS FSINFATC 001533 DEPARTMENT FOR S/ES-O/CMS, DS/IP, CA/OCS/ACS, AF/EX, EAP/EX, EUR-IO/EX, NEA/EX, SCA/EX, AND WHA/EX SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AEMR AMGT ASEC CASC YI CD CM YM BM GG BL CU BF IN, MA, SU, HR, LH, AM SUBJECT: Capturing Recent Crisis Management Experience ¶1. (U) With the summer transfer and leave season rapidly approaching, FSI asks personnel from posts that have faced significant crises in the last 18 months to consider sharing their experiences when back in Washington. FSI's Crisis Management Training division (CMT),in our Leadership and Management School, is building a video library of interviews with personnel from crisis posts who have been involved with Emergency Action Committees, Emergency Action Plans, authorized or ordered departures, receipt of evacuees, or other emergency responses. Our library currently contains interviews with personnel who recently have witnessed the civil unrest in Belgrade and Yaounde, the fighting in Ndjamena and Tbilisi, and the terrorist attacks in Sanaa and Mumbai. ¶2. (U) These firsthand accounts of posts dealing with crises tie our training directly to the "real world," and they have received high marks from FSI students. We have utilized excerpts from some of these interviews in our classroom presentations and, in the future, may employ brief clips as podcasts or "video snacks" (a term in current use in the corporate training world) on our website. Another, more long-term possibility includes use of these interviews in training films. ¶3. (U) We want to build on this momentum and are interested in talking to anyone who recently has experienced a major crisis while on an overseas assignment -- the COM, RSOs, SEOs, ELOs, OMSs, EFMs, LES, generalists, specialists, other agency personnel, etc. We are sending this cable to the addressee posts in light of your collective experience during the past eighteen months in the hope that mission personnel would be willing to share their experiences. ¶4. (U) As your post and its personnel prepare for travel this summer to onward assignments and/or leave, we wanted to make a request to sit down with anyone currently at post who anticipates spending time in the Washington area over the next several months. Our on-camera interviews here at FSI last about a half hour to forty five minutes, with questions provided beforehand. Your staff's participation in this project would be most appreciated and would be a direct benefit to colleagues who might face similar circumstances in their own careers. ¶5. (U) If you or someone from post anticipates passing through Washington during the summer, we would welcome the opportunity to capture thoughts, impressions, and reaction descriptions. Please contact CMT Program Officer Chris Dorn at 702-302-6956 or at dornch@state.gov. Our timing is flexible and we can schedule an interview at the convenience of anyone interested in contributing to our crisis video library. CLEARANCES CONTINUED: S/ES-O/CMS: KBZARESKI; CA/OCS/ACS: TRCOLEY; DS: JHAYS; DS/C: PDDONOVAN; AF/EX: MARAYNOR; EAP/EX: KCSTANTON; EUR-IO/EX: JASTEWART; NEA/SCA/EX: JAMCINTYRE; WHA/EX: BRMAJEWSKI; FSI/EX: CJRUSSELL; FSI/LMS/CMT: JAMCVERRY