defense foreign travel briefing requirements

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Foreign Travel Guidance & Forms

DBB members are required to report all foreign travel prior to commencing travel.  Click on the below links for procedures and applicable pre-/post-travel documentation.

• Foreign Travel Reporting Procedures
• Foreign Pre-Travel Questionnaire
• Foreign Post-Travel Questionnaire
• Foreign Post-Travel Foreign Contact

Description:  Provides awareness of the risks associated with foreign intelligence operations.  All employees should complete a foreign travel briefing before departing on foreign travel. This Short provides a template for a Foreign Travel Vulnerability Brief and prepares you to customize the template to meet your organization’s needs.

Course Resources:   Access this course's resources

Learning Objectives:  This course is designed to enable students to recognize foreign threat while traveling abroad.

Delivery Method:  eLearning

Length:  15 minutes

Target Audience:  Facility Security Officers (FSOs) and DOD or Federal government, military, civilian and Industrial personnel.

Requirements:

• General Requirements:  N/A
• Clearance Requirements:  N/A
• Attendance Requirements:  N/A
• Exam Requirements:  N/A

Prerequisites:  N/A

Credits Recommended/Earned:

• ACE Credit Recommendation:  ( What's this ?): N/A
• Professional Development Units per SPēD:  PDUs are determined by length of course and IAW with current Certification Maintenance Guidelines

System Requirements:   Check  if your system is configured appropriately to use STEPP.

CDSE courses are intended for use by Department of Defense and other U.S. Government personnel and contractors within the National Industrial Security Program.

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Effective November 30, 2020, NEW UPDATE - Status of Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT) Training and Blanket Waiver Extension

FACT training resumed in July 2020 utilizing COVID-19 mitigation protocols established in partnership with the Bureau of Medical Services (MED) and following, and in some cases exceeding, Department and CDC guidelines. There are FACT seats available and Diplomatic Security (DS) encourages all personnel to enroll in FACT as soon as possible and not wait for the extended blanket FACT waiver period to end. DS is committed to ensuring the safety, health, and education of our students. To that end, we will continue to revise and review course offerings and delivery to find the best balance of safety, health, and education while continuing to provide world-class training.

DS continues to ensure mission-critical training and operations remain viable but, with locations in the U.S. and around the world seeing COVID-19 cases spiking as we enter the winter season, the current blanket FACT waiver has been extended and only certain categories of personnel are required to take FACT following the extension until such time that FACT training capacity can increase to meet the total FACT training need.

To ensure personnel can undertake official travel to foreign areas when required, the DOS Under Secretary for Management (M) approved an extension of the current blanket FACT waiver for:

1. U.S. government personnel from any department, agency, or entity for whom FACT training requirements would normally apply, who are traveling abroad on official duty (regardless of whether the travel is PCS or TDY) before April 1, 2021 . The blanket waiver will remain in effect until those personnel travel back to the U.S. on official orders.

2. Those personnel previously issued FACT waivers and scheduled to complete FACT between March 16, 2020 and March 31, 2021, will have their waivers extended until their next official travel back to the United States.

Official international travel under the Department of State Chief of Mission (COM) requires training prior to travel. All personnel performing official international travel for less than 90 days cumulative for the calendar year are required to complete the Counter Threat Awareness Training (CTAT) course online via the Commerce Learning Center (CLC). Personnel going on official international travel for 90 days or more cumulative for the calendar year (extended TDY or Permanent Change of Station) are required to complete the Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT) course.

Counter Threat Awareness Training (CTAT)

Traveling internationally fewer than 90 days cumulative for the calendar year?

CTAT fulfills a Department of State mandatory training requirement for all personnel traveling internationally for less than a cumulative 90 days for the calendar year. CTAT   is not required for, and does not include, non-official (personal) international travel.

CTAT training on the CLC takes approximately 5 hours to complete all modules. The CTAT completion certificate is valid for 6 years, at which time the training must be completed again.

If an individual is executing official international travel and does not have access to the CLC, the CTAT is accessible via the Department of State Foreign Service Institute (FSI) website which temporarily is offered free of charge.

Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT)

Traveling internationally for 90 days or more (e.g. Permanent Change of Station to overseas post) cumulative for the calendar year?

Personnel who will incur 90 days or more of official international travel cumulative for the calendar year on temporary duty [or on permanent change of station (PCS) orders] are required to complete the 5-day FACT course. Enrollment procedures, cost, course schedule and other information regarding this training can be found at the Department of State (DOS) Foreign Service Institute (FSI) website . This course is valid for 6 years.

A valid FACT course certificate will be recognized in lieu of the CTAT requirement for official international travel.

Counterintelligence Briefings

The Department of State requires specific Counterintelligence briefings prior to approving official government travel to some countries.

Applicable DOC travelers will be notified of this requirement via their eCountry Clearance response message directing them to contact Diplomatic Security's Counterintelligence division (DOS/DS/CI) to receive this briefing. DOC is able to provide the DOS briefings directly to Department travelers so please contact your bureau’s Field Servicing Security Office to ensure compliance with this requirement.

• Security Training Requirements for Official International Travel , memo dated December 27, 2019 from the Director for Security
• Expanded Mandatory Training for International Travelers and Permanent Change of Station, memo dated October 19, 2016 from the Director for Security
• Travel Tips from the ODNI National Counterintelligence and Security Center
• Department of State Travel Advisories
• Department of State Memo: Blanket FACT Waivers Due to COVID-19 FACT Cancellations

For questions related to HTSOS or FACT training requirements, please contact the Office of Security Training Program POC at [email protected] . 

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Foreign travel training.

Counter Threat Awareness Training (CTAT)

Traveling internationally fewer than 90 days cumulative for the calendar year?

CTAT fulfills a Department of State mandatory training requirement for all personnel traveling internationally for less than a cumulative 90 days for the calendar year. CTAT   is not required for and does not include personal international travel.

CTAT training on the Commerce Learning Center (CLC) takes approximately five hours to complete. The CTAT completion certificate is valid for 6 years, at which time the training must be completed again.

If an individual is executing official international travel and does not have access to the CLC, the CTAT is accessible via the Department of State Foreign Service Institute (FSI) website , which is temporarily offered free of charge.

Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT)

Traveling internationally for 90 days or more for the calendar year due to a Permanent Change of Station or overseas post?

Personnel who will incur 90 days or more of official international travel cumulative for the calendar year are required to complete the five-day FACT course. Enrollment procedures, cost, course schedule, and other information regarding this training can be found at the  FSI   website . This course is valid for six years.

A valid FACT course certificate will be recognized in lieu of the CTAT requirement for official international travel.

Counterintelligence Briefings

The Department of State requires specific counterintelligence briefings prior to the approval of official government travel to some countries.

Applicable U.S. Department of Commerce travelers will be notified of this briefing requirement via their eCountry Clearance response message directing them to contact Diplomatic Security's Counterintelligence division. The Department is able to provide the counterintelligence briefings directly to its travelers. Contact your bureau’s Field Security Office to ensure compliance with this requirement.

• Security Training Requirements for Official International Travel   memo from the director for security
• Expanded Mandatory Training for International Travelers and Permanent Change of Station  memo from the director for security
• Travel Tips from the ODNI National Counterintelligence and Security Center
• Department of State Travel Advisories
• Department of State Memo: Blanket FACT Waivers Due to COVID-19 FACT Cancellations

For questions related to CTAT or FACT training requirements:

• Contact the Office of Security Training Program POC at [email protected] if you are Department personnel. 
• Contact the FSI at  https://www.state.gov/contact-us-foreign-service-institute/  if you are not Department personnel.

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Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

USDOT Announces “Support Our Troops” Dashboard to Improve Air Travel for Military Service Members and Their Families

Allegiant, Frontier, and Spirit took steps to enhance their travel benefits for service members 

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a new “Support Our Troops” dashboard to help U.S. military service members and their immediate family members more easily access travel benefits offered by the 10 largest U.S. airlines. The dashboard clearly displays each airlines’ commitments to service members and their immediate family as reflected in their Customer Service Plan at flightrights.gov/military , including benefits such as free carry-on and checked bags and providing refunds without additional fees when their flight plans change due to a military order or directive. 

 “As someone who often flew on military orders as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, I know the unique pressures our service members and their families can face when traveling,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg . “Service members and their families make extraordinary commitments and sacrifices for this country, and they deserve support and recognition whenever they fly.” 

Following Secretary Buttigieg’s call-to-action to airlines to improve military travel benefits, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air, and Frontier Airlines stepped up their existing commitments in their Customer Service Plan for service members and their families. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines declined to make clear and enforceable commitments to U.S. service members and their families. Southwest Airlines has received two green checkmarks on the dashboard because of its existing baggage and change fee policies that apply to all passengers.  In making determinations on which commitments are reflected on the dashboard, DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection consulted with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and highlighted those commitments that the Department believes are most meaningful to service members and their families.  

The “Support Our Troops” dashboard highlights benefits that make air travel easier for U.S. service members and their immediate family members when engaging in personal travel. DOT’s dashboard gives a green checkmark to an airline for each benefit that the airline commits to provide:

• Waives cancellation fees and ensures full refunds for service members and accompanying family members who cancel travel plans due to a military order or directive (documentation may be required).  
• Waives change fees for service members and accompanying family members who reschedule flights due to a military order or directive (documentation may be required).  
• At least one free standard carry-on and at least two free standard checked bags for service members and their accompanying spouse and children with appropriate identification such as a valid military ID.  
• The lowest fare for a flight for immediate family members to visit service members recently injured in the line of duty with supporting documentation.

DOT defines “service member” for the purpose of the “Support Our Troops” dashboard as current members of the military who are serving or may be called to serve. This definition was developed with input from DOD. At a minimum, these members include:

• U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard, and U.S. Military Reserves with a current valid military ID; 
• Cadets of the Air Force Academy, West Point, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Merchant Marine Academy with a current valid military ID; and 
• Commissioned Corps and Ready Reserve Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and Commissioned Officers Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Officer Corps with current valid military ID.  

Airlines may offer additional benefits to service members and their families. For their benefits to be reflected on the dashboard, however, airlines are required to expressly provide them to all service members as defined by DOT and make these commitments in their Customer Service Plan or make them easily accessible from their Customer Service Plan. To the extent an airline’s military benefits fall short of these requirements, the Department may not be able to hold the airline accountable for failing to honor its commitments. Members of the military are encouraged to check the airline’s website or contact the airline’s customer service agents for more information.

DOT’s Historic Record of Consumer Protection Under the Biden-Harris Administration Under the Biden-Harris Administration, DOT has advanced the largest expansion of airline passenger rights, issued the biggest fines against airlines for failing consumers, and returned more money to passengers in refunds and reimbursements than ever before in the Department’s history.

• Last month, DOT announced two final rules that require airlines to provide automatic cash refunds to passengers when owed and protect consumers from costly surprise airline fees . These rules will significantly expand consumer protections in air travel, provide passengers an easier pathway to refunds when owed, and save consumers more than half a billion dollars every year in hidden and surprise junk fees. Provisions of the final rule on airline refund were fortified through the FAA reauthorization bill that President Biden signed into law on May 16, 2024.  
• In 2022, under Secretary Buttigieg’s guidance, DOT created an Airline Customer Service Dashboard known as FlightRights.gov to help airline passengers understand what they are entitled to receive certain services and amenities when a significant delay or cancellation was within the airlines’ control and create enforceable standards. Now all 10 major U.S. airlines guarantee free rebooking and meals, and nine guarantee hotel accommodations when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation. These are new commitments the airlines added to their Customer Service Plans that DOT can legally ensure they adhere to and are displayed on flightrights.gov .  
• Since President Biden took office, DOT has helped return almost $4 billion in refunds and reimbursements owed to airline passengers – including more than $600 million refunds and reimbursements to passengers affected by the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown in 2022.  
• DOT has issued over $164 million in penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations. Between 1996 and 2020, DOT collectively issued less than $71 million in penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations.  
•  DOT recently launched a new partnership with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to fast-track the review of consumer complaints, hold airlines accountable, and protect the rights of the traveling public.  
•  In 2023, the flight cancellation rate in the U.S. was a record low at under 1.2% – the lowest rate of flight cancellations in over 10 years despite a record amount of air travel.  
•  DOT is undertaking its first ever industry-wide review of airline privacy practices and its first review of airline loyalty programs. 

In addition to finalizing the rules to require automatic refunds and protect consumers from surprise fees, DOT is also pursuing rulemakings that would:  

• Propose to ban family seating junk fees and guarantee that parents can sit with their children for no extra charge when they fly. Before President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg pressed airlines last year, no airline committed to guaranteeing fee-free family seating. Now, four airlines guarantee fee-free family seating, as the Department is working on its family seating junk fee ban proposal.  
• Propose to make passenger compensation and amenities mandatory so that travelers are taken care of when airlines cause flight delays or cancellations.  
• Expand the rights for passengers who use wheelchairs and ensure that they can travel safely and with dignity.

DOT’s aviation consumer protection website makes it easy for travelers to understand their rights. Consumers may file an airline complaint with the Department here .