§343 Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

Summary

The Secretary of Defense may run an education and training school called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The school must teach people from Western Hemisphere countries to build trust and cooperation and to promote democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge of U.S. customs. Military, law enforcement, and civilian personnel can attend. The Secretary of State must be consulted when choosing foreign students. Every student must get at least 8 hours of training on human rights, the rule of law, due process, civilian control of the military, and the military’s role in a democracy. The school can also teach leadership, counterdrug work, peace operations, disaster relief, and other topics the Secretary thinks are useful. There must be a Board of Visitors to watch over the school. The board includes leaders or designees from the congressional Armed Services committees, six people picked by the Secretary of Defense (including, when possible, people from schools, religious groups, and human rights groups), one State Department designee, the senior military training officer or a designee, and the commanders for the Western Hemisphere or their designees. The board must meet at least once a year, review the school’s program and operations, and send a written report to the Secretary of Defense within 60 days after its annual meeting. Board members are not paid for their service but may get travel pay. The Secretary of Defense may accept foreign gifts for the school. Gifts are added to DoD funds and, if gifts total more than $1,000,000 in a year, Congress must be told who gave money and how much. The school’s fixed operating costs can be paid from certain DoD operation funds, but tuition cannot be used to cover those fixed costs. Each year by March 15, the Secretary of Defense must send Congress a detailed report on the school, including the board’s latest report, prepared with the Secretary of State.