§2655b Diplomatic Presence Overseas

Summary

Creates a new overseas job called Counselor for Nonproliferation and Political Military Affairs. The job is meant to raise the importance of U.S. diplomacy on stopping the spread of weapons and on political-military matters, and to build a team of technical, country-focused experts who can handle those Department functions. The Secretary can place this Counselor in U.S. diplomatic missions abroad and must fill the job with career Civil Service or Foreign Service officers who agree to later serve in the Nonproliferation Bureau or the Political Military Affairs Bureau. After being chosen, each Counselor must spend at least 10 months in training. That can be language classes at the Foreign Service Institute or technical courses run by the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, or other federal agencies. The Secretary may waive this training requirement.