The Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) is an interagency task force of the United States government, tasked with on-call short-notice responses to terrorist incidents across the world. It consists of personnel from military, intelligence, and diplomatic agencies, as well as other departments when required.

History

The FEST was created in 1986, and has long since largely remained shrouded in mystery. Since then it has deployed over thirty times to critical situations around the world. The team maintains the capability to deploy within hours to advise and assist the U.S.

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, permanen ...

coordinating U.S. government crisis response activities and to augment embassy operations. The Diplomatic Security Service leads the FEST, and it includes representatives from the U.S.

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

, the Intelligence Community, and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, and other appropriate agencies, such as the

Department of Energy A ministry of energy or department of energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rela ...

, as circumstances warrant. FEST composition is flexible and tailored to the specific incident and U.S. embassy needs. The FEST provides specialized crisis response expertise to augment existing U.S. Mission and host government capabilities. In addition to terrorism, the unit specializes in responding to

Weapons of Mass Destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...

and

CBRNE Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclea ...

events. FEST is the counterpart of the Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) which serves a similar role for crises within the United States.

Activity

U.S. Embassy Bombings

The FEST was particularly active when operatives of Osama bin Laden's

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

network bombed U.S. embassies in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. USS ''Cole'' bombing A FEST was deployed to

Aden, Yemen Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

following a terrorist attack against the USS ''Cole'', which killed 17 American sailors in October 2000. The FEST advised the US ambassador and helped her direct America's response to the attack. The team relied heavily on FEST's secure mobile communications capability, since the Port of Aden is more than 200 miles from the American Embassy in

Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

Beirut Port Explosion

On August 7, 2020, the FEST deployed from Andrews Air Force Base to

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, to lend support to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut as part of the U.S. government’s response following what was later discovered to be an ammonium nitrate fire which caused one of the

largest artificial non-nuclear explosions There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, vo ...

in human history in the city's port. The blast on August 4 had ripped through the port of Beirut, causing extensive injuries and damage throughout the surrounding area. Shortly after the blast, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut requested support from the DSS-led FEST to help coordinate interagency support for emergency response, restoration of essential services, and public health and safety protection.

Training

Invincible Sentry 21

In March 2021, members of the FEST participated in a five-day military crisis response exercise between Qatari and U.S. military forces in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, Qatar. Exercise Invincible Sentry 2021 (IS 21) is an annual U.S. Central Command training event, hosted this year by the government of Qatar. IS 21 included close coordination and training with the Qatar’s

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, the U.S. Embassy Doha, and other U.S. government entities.

Contingency teams

"Contingency" FESTs were deployed to ensure safety at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

(Summer 2004) and

Turin, Italy Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

(Winter 2006), and in

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

during a hostage-taking crisis.

Smaller deployments

The team has been spotted flying into

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, throughout

central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, and several times in

Amman, Jordan Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the List of largest cities in the ...

. Team constituent agencies organize a FEST to conduct training with partner nations often. Smaller, "tailored" FESTs have responded to abductions of Americans in Ecuador and the Philippines.

Composition

Organizations and units which commonly comprise the FEST: * Department of State **

Diplomatic Security The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and pr ...

(lead bureau) **

Bureau of Public Affairs The Bureau of Public Affairs (PA) was the part of the United States Department of State that carries out the secretary of state's mandate to help Americans understand the importance of foreign policy. The bureau was led by the assistant secret ...

Bureau of Consular Affairs The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is a bureau of the United States Department of State reporting to the under secretary of state for management. The mission of the Bureau is to administer laws, formulate regulations and implement policies rel ...

** Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation ** Bureau of Operational Medicine **

Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism The Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) is a bureau of the United States Department of State. It coordinates all U.S. government efforts to improve counterterrorism cooperation with foreign governments and participates in the development, coordination ...

** Army Reserve Counter Terrorism Unit ** Other military units as appropriate *

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

** Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs * U.S. Intelligence Community * Other federal agencies as appropriate

Equipment

Boeing C-32B

* The FEST is a primary user of the specialized Boeing C-32B transport aircraft, shared with the CIA, and operated by the New Jersey Air National Guard's 150th Special Operations Squadron and

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

's 486th Flight Test Squadron.

References

{{Reflist Incident management Foreign relations of the United States United States Department of State Counterterrorism in the United States