State Department
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The State Department hopes to tap into veterans' overseas experiences with a new program. The Veterans Innovation Partnership launched last month. The goal is to apply service members' skills to foreign policy and international affairs. Drew O'Brien is the Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the State Department. He joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to explain more about the program.
March 03, 2015 -
Four inspectors general tell the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee they need legislative help in order to help them effectively oversee federal agencies.
February 24, 2015 -
The Center for Plain Language issued its annual plain language report cards Tuesday, with the Homeland Security Department, Social Security Administration and Security Exchange Commission earning top scores.
January 27, 2015 -
A greater diplomatic presence in potential conflict spots will save the country from military action. That presence depends on growing the collaboration between the diplomatic community, the intelligence community and the military community. Ryan Crocker is dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and others. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said diplomats should be equal partners with their colleagues across government.
January 26, 2015 -
Federal linguists are finding themselves in a Catch-22 situation. They become experts in another culture and language by spending a lot of time living in another country. But spending a lot of time outside of the United States can make their security lives more difficult. Matthew Asada is State vice president of the American Foreign Service Association. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained the obstacles a federal linguist faces when trying to advance a career.
January 26, 2015 -
Long-time and well-respected cybersecurity executive Mark Orndorff is calling it a government career on Jan. 31.
January 19, 2015 -
After 50 years of stepping on its neck, now the United States is preparing to normalize relations with Cuba. President Barack Obama's wide-ranging diplomatic bet involves finance, trade, border security and travel. That means it will spark a lot of work for you, your employees and contractors. Don Kettl, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the implications.
December 19, 2014 -
Two years after Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in a terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, training for the Diplomatic Security Service has undergone a thorough overhaul. The training course for high threat posts is now 10 weeks instead of five, and it's so realistic trainees might forget they're actually on a military base in Virginia. Paul Davies, Diplomatic Security Chief for High Threat Training at the State Department, spoke with Tom Temin on the Federal Drive.
November 24, 2014 -
From helping dogs in India find new homes in the U.S. to obtaining shoes for a school of Bulgarian children, award-winning volunteers help Foreign Service transform "tea and crumpets" image.
November 13, 2014 -
Diane Dillard picked up the pieces of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon after it was bombed in 1983. Ambassador Bill Brown found himself at the heart of a Soviet Union spy scandal. And John Limbert survived the infamous 444-day Iran hostage crisis. In the inaugural edition of Federal News Radio's new feature, Federal Voices, we hear from each of them, in their own words, about what those experiences were really like and how they survived to tell the tale.
September 19, 2014 -
The State Department has five career tracks for its foreign service officers. The agency has online resources to make it easy for potential new employees to jump into one of those careers, but the biggest hurdle to finding new officers could be one the State Department can't control. Thomas Boyatt is former U.S. ambassador to Colombia. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained the difficulty of recruiting new officers.
August 28, 2014 -
One of the toughest jobs in the State Department these days might be ambassador to Russia. That job was conferred just days ago on veteran career diplomat John Tefft. He arrives in Moscow when tensions between Russia and the United States are as high as they've been since the Cold War. Bob Silverman is president of the American Foreign Service Association. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss how Tefft will have to go about his job.
August 05, 2014 -
U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Scott DeLisi said the State Department's Jonathan Gamdoni worked on the frontlines in coordinating efforts to counter The Lord's Resistance Army.
July 29, 2014 -
The Service to America Medals honor federal employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions to serve the public. For the next few months, Federal News Radio is speaking to the finalists. As a diplomat, you don't seek out the easy life. Jonathan Gandomi was the State Department's field representative for the Counter-Lord's Resistance Army Mission. He spent two years on an assignment that has frustrated the world, ridding Africa of one of its oldest and most brutal extremist groups. Gandomi joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss his experience in Africa that led to his 2014 Sammies nomination. View a photo gallery of all the Sammies finalists. Read a Q&A and related story.
July 14, 2014 -
Bill Lay, the State Department's chief information security officer, said his budget for cybersecurity doubled in 2014 to help address the recommendations outlined by the agency's inspector general.
July 02, 2014