The State Department has policies to protect its employees in transit in foreign countries, such as emphasizing defensive driving techniques, but could do more, considering that U.S. personnel overseas can be targets of terrorism, violence and crime, GAO has said.
From 1998 to 2015, State Department personnel were attacked more than 100 times while traveling outside of embassy compounds, with many of the worst attacks occurring while victims were in motorcades, official vehicles or other forms of transportation, it said.
GAO found that all 26 posts it reviewed had transportation security and travel notification policies as the department requires. However, policies at 22 lacked some required elements “due in part to fragmented implementation guidance on what such policies should include.”
Also, while nonsecurity employees are trained before departing for overseas posts and on arrival there policies for refresher training are unclear, and improvements could be made in the ways the department communicates threat information to its personnel, GAO said. It said the department agreed with the recommendations except one to boost refresher training, which GAO said it continues to believe is needed.
