The State Department announced on Monday that it is creating 151 new “Diplomatic Security” positions at the recommendation of an independent review board in the wake of deadly attacks on a diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya last year.
The positions would support “high” and “critical” threat department posts around the world, including additional Mobile Security Deployment teams. The independent Benghazi Accountability Review Board (ARB) issued 29 recommendations, 24 of which State is enacting or planning to enact that are unclassified.
A majority of the positions, 113, are expected to be filled this year with “congressional support,” the State Department said. The remainder will be hired in fiscal year 2014.
President Barack Obama called on Congress last week to “support and fully fund” the board’s budget requests that would increase the number of military guards at diplomatic posts.
“I am intent on making sure that we do everything we can, to prevent another tragedy like this from happening,” Obama said of the Benghazi attack. “But that means we owe it to them and all we serve to do everything in our power to protect our personnel serving overseas.”
Read the full list of recommendations State is implementing here.
