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Bureau of Diplomatic Security
Washington, DC
Gentry O. Smith
Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Director for Countermeasures
Gentry O. Smith became Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Director for Countermeasures on October 26, 2009.
He holds the rank of Minister Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service.
Mr. Smith supervises the development of Overseas Security Policy Board (OSPB) security standards and Department of State policies associated with the physical and technical security of U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. He directs offices that ensure the security of construction projects at U.S. diplomatic facilities abroad. He oversees offices that provide defensive equipment to protect U.S. lives and property from acts of violence, as well as offices that develop and deploy technical security countermeasures. As the Countermeasures DAS, Mr. Smith is also responsible for the Diplomatic Courier Service, whose personnel provide secure and expeditious delivery of classified material to U.S. diplomatic missions globally.
Mr. Smith previously served as Director of the Office of Physical Security Programs, which oversees implementation of OSPB security standards and is responsible for the security accreditation of all newly constructed diplomatic facilities world-wide.
Mr. Smith has served as the Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan and the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Burma. He also served as a security officer and as Deputy Regional Security Officer during two separate tours at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.
Mr. Smith is the recipient of several Department of State honors and awards, including Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards, and Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor Awards. He has served as a guest lecturer to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Security Officers Course, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and the Virginia Homicide Investigators Association. He entered service with the Department of State in 1987 and joined the ranks of the Senior Foreign Service in 2006.
Mr. Smith grew up in North Carolina and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from North Carolina State University in 1983.
November 9, 2009
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