Request for Establishment of Defensive Security Coordinator

UNCLAS CARACAS 000020 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR DS/IP/OPO/FPD AND DS/IP/WHA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC AMGT APER SUBJECT: Request for Establishment of Defensive Security Coordinator (DSC) Position in Caracas REF: EMAIL RICHARDSON/BASHNAN DTD 12/29/2009; 09 STATE 132334 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Per reftels Caracas requests DS/IP/OPO/FPD establish one Defensive Security Coordinator (DSC) position in Caracas to manage select Caracas Defensive Planning and Support Staff (DPSS). Post Management and Charge John Caulfield support this new position. Post will provide office space within existing RSO Local Investigators Office and all necessary human resources (HR) and financial management office (FMO) support to create this new position. Point of contact for this request is Deputy RSO Daniel Hernandez, HernandezD@state.gov. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Background Information: AmEmbassy Caracas is a medium-size diplomatic mission with a very unique threat environment. Caracas is the only post to hold critical and high threat levels in four categories to include crime and political violence. These ongoing threat concerns create added security risk management burdens to existing RSO staff. Currently Caracas RSO has three (3) LES positions to supervise the 11 member contract Surveillance Detection (SD) team, monitor the 130+ contract local guard force and manage the Embassy's residential security program. Each of the existing security coordinator positions supervise or monitor their respective programs but lack the management requirements to integrate all three security programs under one umbrella to assist RSO staff in monitoring the overall $5.4 mil LGF budget and coordinating the security training and testing of both local guards and SD specialists to ensure integration and compliance with DS standards. ¶3. (U) With the establishment of a senior LES member, the Defensive Security Coordinator would be able to integrate and perform program reviews for all three security programs and then provide integrated corrective action recommendations to the RSO to improve the Mission's overall security posture. Finally this senior LES manager would also maintain RSO security program continuity during extended RSO gaps. ¶4. (U) Point of contact for this request is Deputy RSO Daniel Hernandez, HernandezD@State.gov or RSO Wendy Bashnan, BashnanWA@State.gov, (58)212-907-8403. CAULFIELD