(From left) Under Secretary of State for Management Brian J. Bulatao; Administrator Emily W. Murphy, U.S. General Services Administration; and Diplomatic Security Assistant Secretary Michael T. Evanoff cut the ribbon at the the inauguration ceremony, Nov. 14, for a new state-of-the-art facility in Blackstone, Va. that is home to the Diplomatic Security Service’s (DSS) Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC). Approximately 10,000 students will train at FASTC annually, including DSS special agents, Foreign Service officers and their families who are to be stationed abroad, and the larger Foreign Affairs community. Some of the training courses offered include surveillance detection, emergency medical care, recognizing improvised explosive devices, firearms familiarization, and defensive and counterterrorism driving maneuvers. Foreign Affairs Counter Threat training at FASTC began in December 2019.
Photo courtesy of DSS