Seal of the United States Diplomatic Security Service

Regional Security Officer (RSO) is the title given to a special agent of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) who is in charge of a

Regional Security Office A Regional Security Office is the office at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate that oversees all functions of security. It is headed by a special agent of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) who has the title of Regional Security Officer (RSO). ...

. The RSO is the principal security

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

and advisor to the U.S. Ambassador at American embassies and

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

s. Working for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

as special agents, RSOs are also considered to be officers of the State Department acting as specialists within the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carry ...

. The RSO is also the senior

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

representative at a U.S. Embassy.

Authority and responsibilities

Working under the dual supervision of the

Chief of Mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

(Ambassador) and the Diplomatic Security Service, the RSO ensures that all mandated security programs are carried out. The word "regional" derives from a historical shortage of agents, leading to many embassies with no resident DSS Agent; often an RSO would have to oversee security at several embassies and consulates. Since virtually each embassy now has an RSO, the term is largely anachronistic. In some cases, an RSO may regionally oversee security at consulates and other U.S. presence facilities from an embassy within a country. At an embassy, the RSO reports directly to the Deputy Chief of Mission, who in turn reports directly to the Ambassador. Under the RSO's direct supervision are the following groups: U.S. Marine Security Guards, Assistant RSOs, local guards, foreign service national (FSN) investigators, an office management specialist and other secretarial and staff assistants, a Surveillance Detection Unit (with a mission of detecting hostile surveillance), security engineering officers, security technical specialists, as well as

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

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s assigned to post. The RSO is in charge of security for all Americans assigned to an embassy (or on temporary duty to Post) that come under the authority of the Chief of Mission. The RSO's responsibility for security relates to personnel, information, physical security of embassy buildings and residences, as well as the conduct of criminal investigations, particularly those involving passport and

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

fraud. At larger embassies having other law enforcement agencies in addition to the Diplomatic Security Service, the RSO chairs a law enforcement working group as the Ambassador's main law enforcement and security attaché/advisor. This group is composed of all other U.S. law enforcement agencies that may be represented at an embassy such as ICE/HSI, CBP, FBI/LEGAT (legal attaché), U.S. Secret Service, NCIS, AFOSI and others. The working group ensures that the Ambassador is apprised of all significant law enforcement activity at post.

Fugitives

Since the Diplomatic Security Service is the most widely represented law enforcement organization in the world, its capability to track and capture fugitives who have fled U.S. jurisdiction to avoid prosecution is unmatched. During 2009, the DSS assisted in the resolution of 136 international fugitive cases around the globe.DSS collaborates with
America's Most Wanted The role of the DSS in tracking international fugitives was highlighted in the movies ''

Fast Five ''Fast Five'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 5'' or ''Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist'') is a 2011 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious'' (2009) and the fifth i ...

'' and ''

Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled on-screen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to '' Fast Five'' (2011) and is the sixth installment in the ''Fast & Furious'' franc ...

''.

References

''Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the Manhunt for the Al-Qaeda Terrorists''
Samuel M. Katz, 2002 * ''Targeted: Volume 1, The Evil Genius'' (

) (Wild Eyes Productions for

the History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

;

A&E Television Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...

) 2003

External links

Authority and responsibilities

Fugitives

See also

References

External links