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STATEMENT
OF
BRIGADIER GENERAL DOUGLAS O'DELL, USMCRF
COMMANDING GENERAL
4TH MARINE EXPEDITIONARY BRIGADE
(ANTI-TERRORISM)
BEFORE
THE
HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
SPECIAL OVERSIGHT PANEL ON TERRORISM
OCTOBER
10, 2002
CONCERNING
THE ROLE OF MARINE SECURITY GUARDS IN SECURING
U.S. EMBASSIES AND GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL
Introduction
Good
morning Mr. Chairman and members of the
Committee.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to
discuss with you, from a policy and operational
perspective, the partnership between the United
State Marine Corps' and Department of State
regarding the development, implementation and
oversight of security procedures at U.S
embassies, lessons learned from past terrorist
attacks on U.S. embassies, the current terrorist
threats to our embassies, and the role of host
nation security guards.
History,
Organization, and Background
The
U.S. Marine Corps has participated in the
internal security and protection of United
States embassies and consulates on a formal
basis with the Department of State since 1948.
The program has grown from an initial 300
Marines to its current strength of more than
1100 officers and enlisted Marines assigned to
the Marine Security Guard Battalion.
Marine
Security Guard (MSG) Battalion is commanded by a
Marine Colonel and is headquartered in Quantico,
VA. The
current commander is Colonel Boyette S. Hasty,
who has previously served as an enlisted Marine
Security Guard and as an MSG company commander.
The battalion consists of the
Headquarters Company (HQ) located in Quantico,
and eight regional MSG Companies.
The HQ Company consists of approximately
95 officers and enlisted personnel who provide
administrative, logistical, and legal support to
the Marine Security Guards at post. The eight regional MSG companies oversee the 131 detachments
in 121 countries around the world.
While the MSG companies are commanded by
a Lieutenant Colonel, the individual embassy
detachments are commanded by Marine Staff
Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCO's).
The majority of the detachments consist
of one Detachment Commander and five Marine
Security Guards (MSG's).
The largest, Cairo, has two SNCOs and
twenty-seven Marines.
Duties
of MSGs and the Relationship with Department of
State
The
Commandant of the Marine Corps is the sole
provider of Marine Security Guards and
Detachment Commanders. The Marine Corps assigns detachments to those US Diplomatic
and consular facilities as identified by the
Department of State.
The Department of State exercises
operational control of MSG Detachments through
both oral and written instructions as
appropriate.
The
terms, relationships, and conditions for the
Marine Security Guard Program are set forth in a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the
Department of State and the United States Marine
Corps, signed in January of 2001.
. This
agreement, which has been in force since August
1, 1967, is renewed every two years.
This 41-page document allows the
Secretary of State to fulfill his/her
responsibilities to provide for diplomatic
security under 22 U.S. Code § 4802. Likewise, the MOA allows the Secretary of the Navy, via the
Marine Corps, to fulfill his/her
responsibilities to provide custodians to
foreign embassies when requested by the
Secretary of State, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §
5983. Responsibility
for the payment of costs associated with the MSG
program is divided under the terms of the MOA.
The Department of State is entitled to
reimbursement from the Marine Corps for
expenditures related to operational support of
the MSG Program, for MSG equipment, and other
costs associated with this program.
The Economy Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1535,
governs interagency purchase of goods and
services associated with this program.
The
mission statement of the Marine Security Program
is the foundation of our relationship.
As stated in the MOA:
"The
primary mission of Marine Security Guards is to
provide internal security services at designated
U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities to
prevent the compromise of classified information
and equipment vital to the national security of
the United States.
The secondary mission of Marine Security
Guards is to provide protection for U.S.
citizens and U.S. Government property located
within designated U.S diplomatic and consular
premises during exigent circumstances (urgent
temporary circumstances which require immediate
aid or action).
These
detachments will be prepared to execute plans
for the protection of the mission or principal
officer.
Under certain emergency situations
defined herein, they will provide special
protective services to the chief of mission or
principal officer."
Protection
of Government property is not, in itself,
adequate justification for the assignment of
Marines to a post.
It
is important to re-emphasize that mission
security is the responsibility of the Chief of
Mission or Principal Officer, who exercises
control and supervision of the MSG Detachments
through the Regional Security Officer (RSO) or
Post Security Officer (PSO).
While US Marines are responsible for the
protection of classified material, government
property and personnel inside an embassy or
consulate, they are not responsible for external
security. This responsibility lies with the host
nation in coordination with the Department of
State. I
would defer to the Department of State in regard
to the security agreements made with host
nations and their procedures for vetting and
hiring of foreign-service national security
personnel.
Implementation
and Oversight of Security Procedures at U.S.
Missions
The
Marine Security Guards and Detachment Commanders
are trained at the Marine Security Guard School,
Quantico, Virginia.
This is a joint Marine Corps and
Department of State school under the direction
of the Commanding Officer, MSG Battalion.
The
Marine Corps, in concert with the Department of
State, will select and train the Marines
assigned to this program.
MSGs undergo an eight-week, joint USMC
and Department of State Program of Instruction
(MSG School) to prepare them for duty with the
Department of State.
This syllabus and the selection process
have both undergone a complete review and
revision since September 2001.
The curriculum focuses on:
1) Access control and security of controlled
spaces; training in inspection procedures;
identification and safeguarding classified
materials; and the destruction of classified
documents and equipment;
2) Foreign country conduct and defensive
counter-espionage;
3)
The application of deadly force and the security
measures necessary for internal security,
including the use of various weapons employed by
the Department of State.
Funding
for the MSG Program
On 10 Feb 96,
Program Budget Decision (PBD) 097C3 was signed
by the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).
The PBD directed transfer of funds of
$24.2 million in FY 1997, and a total of
$128.4 through FY 2001 for the Department of
Defense to assume full funding responsibility
for the Marine Security Guard (MSG) program at
U.S. Embassies around the world.
The amount approved was based on the
Department of State's estimate for funding the
program during FY-94.
Funding requested in the President's
FY03 budget to support the MSG program is $36.6
million.
Today, the
Department of State's Diplomatic Security
Service, Marine Security Guard Branch manages
the disbursement of the Procurement, Operation
and Maintenance and Ammunition Procurement
funding categories through the individual
RSO's and PSO's.
The United States Marine Corps maintains
oversight and policy for distribution through
the Commanding Officer, MSG Battalion and the
Commanding General, 4th MEB (AT).
This process eliminated the requirement
for the Marine Corps to establish purchasing
agents for its 131 detachments, worldwide, a
prohibitively expensive alternative.
In
general these funding categories support the
purchase of emergency response vehicles, pay
short term lease #osts for Marine Houses,
salaries for Foreign Service Nationals in
support of the Marine Security Guard program,
and travel expenses for Marine Security Guards
in support of the President, Vice President, and
Secretary of State. These initiatives have
substantially increased the effectiveness of the
Marine Security Guard Program.
Marine
Houses
Quarters
for MSG Marines are provided at Marine Houses
that are jointly selected during the initial
site visit to a proposed detachment activation
site. The
location of the Marine House is critical to the
24 hour armed response capability provided by
the Marine Security Guard Detachment.
It should be located to allow the
Detachment to respond to the Embassy within 20
minutes as stated in the Memorandum of Agreement
between the United States Marine Corps and U.S.
Department of State.
At many detachments the response
capability is diminished by the location of the
Marine House.
It is cost prohibitive in many countries
to obtain Marine Housing near Embassies due to a
lack of setback requirements.
The Department of State's Overseas
Building Operations has agreed to include Marine
Houses on all new Embassy Compound projects.
An additional issue is the restriction in
many countries that Marine weapons only be
maintained inside the embassy compound.
This complicates the ability of the react
force at remote Marine House locations to react
to an alarm at the actual embassy.
The
Current Terrorist Threat
US
Embassy's and Consulates remain highly
lucrative targets for attack by terrorists.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, the Commandant of the Marine
Corps recognized the need for a unit dedicated
to the anti-terrorism mission.
On October 29, 2001, the 4th
Marine Expeditionary Brigade was reactivated at
Camp Lejeune, NC and re-designated the 4th
Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism).
This brigade is composed of the Brigade
Headquarters, the Marine Corps Security Force
Battalion (MCSFBN), the Chemical Biological
Incident Response Force (CBIRF), an
Anti-Terrorism Battalion (ATBN), and the Marine
Security Guard Battalion (MSGBN).
These units have been placed under a
single command element designed specifically to
combat terrorism.
The
benefits with regards to embassy security are
substantial.
Through the MSG Battalion, the 4th
Marine Expeditionary Brigade (AT) already has
Marines forward deployed to embassies worldwide
under the operational control of the Department
of State. Should
additional internal security be required, the
Secretary of Defense, at the request of the
Secretary of State, can dispatch MCSFBN Fleet
Anti-Terrorism Security Teams (FAST).
Three of these teams are at forward
deployed locations under the operational control
of theater combatant commanders, normally
through the naval component commander. Two more remain on alert in Norfolk, VA, for worldwide
deployment.
If directed by the theater combatant
commander, these FAST platoons can rapidly
reinforce the internal security of an embassy in
the event of an increased terrorist threat, or
provide additional security following a
terrorist attack, as was the case in the Nairobi
and Dar Es Salaam bombings in 1998.
In
high-threat environments, the Anti-Terrorism
Battalion can provide an even more robust
security force.
Currently, an anti-terrorism task force,
built around a security company from the ATBN,
is on duty at the US Embassy in Kabul,
Afghanistan. This unit brings with it more
capabilities than FAST Platoon and includes an
intelligence section, military working dogs,
explosive ordnance disposal personnel as well as
heavy weapons, and an increased communication
capability.
From within the 4th Marine
Expeditionary Brigade (AT), the Marine Corps can
provide a scalable anti-terrorism force to
reinforce US embassies and consulates as
required.
Conclusion
The
United States Marine Corps remains committed to
its long-standing relationship with the
Department of State in providing Marine Security
Guards for US Embassies and Consulates around
the world.
The Marines of the Marine Security Guard
Battalion are the best our Corps has to offer.
They are proud of the role they perform at
overseas missions, and I am immensely proud of
them. In
conjunction with our partners at the Department
of State, we will continue to man, train and
equip the Marine Security Guard Detachments in
order to continue their important mission.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you today.
This concludes my testimony and I stand
ready to take your questions.
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