VZCZCXRO4509
RR RUEHAG RUEHAO RUEHAP RUEHAST RUEHAT RUEHBC RUEHBI RUEHBL RUEHBZ
RUEHCD RUEHCHI RUEHCI RUEHCN RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHDH
RUEHDT RUEHDU RUEHED RUEHEL RUEHFK RUEHFL RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHGH RUEHGI
RUEHGR RUEHHA RUEHHM RUEHHO RUEHHT RUEHIHL RUEHIK RUEHJS RUEHKN RUEHKR
RUEHKSO RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHMC
RUEHMJ RUEHMR RUEHMRE RUEHMT RUEHNAG RUEHNG RUEHNH RUEHNL RUEHNP
RUEHNZ RUEHPA RUEHPB RUEHPD RUEHPOD RUEHPT RUEHPW RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG
RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHRS RUEHSK RUEHTM RUEHTRO RUEHVC RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHC #4543/01 1211648
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011628Z MAY 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 7080

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 044543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC CMGT AEMR AMGT ASEC
SUBJECT: CONSULAR CRISIS MANAGEMENT: 2008-2009 LESSONS 
LEARNED 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  Consular sections respond to individual 
crises daily, but larger scale crises add layers of 
complexity.  7 FAM 1800 and 12 FAH-1 should be the basis 
for your plans, but this cable provides examples of 
common lessons learned in different types of crises 
including the 2007 Lima earthquake, the 2008 Yaounde and 
Tbilisi evacuations, the 2008 terrorists attacks in 
Mumbai, and the 2009 Turkish Air crash in Amsterdam. 
Post lessons learned cables are available on CAWeb at: 
http://intranet.ca.state.gov/services/cables/ 12709.aspx 
and on the Office of Crisis Management Support's 
website: 
http://poems.ses.state.sbu/sites/portal/seso/ cms/WebPage 
s/Lessons_Learned.aspx  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. FIRST RESPONSE:  It is important to decide who will 
be your first responders in an after hours crisis. 
Balance residential proximity to post with making sure 
that you will have experienced personnel for a second 
shift.   Split into teams within the section.  Some 
sample duties that could be given to different teams: 
incoming phone calls, confirming facts through contacts, 
processing related emergency ACS services, traveling to 
hospitals and morgues, casework with affected Americans 
and families, and interactions with the Department.  See 
the Crisis Quick Response Guide on CAWeb for one post's 
general plan.  Make sure that everyone in the consular 
section knows when and whether they should report and 
what their responsibilities are.  Work with the public 
affairs section which should be monitoring how the local 
press is reporting the crisis and whether or not post's 
consular statements are being carried. 
 
¶3. ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES:  Don't underestimate the 
importance of office supplies.  Dry erase boards, flip 
charts, poster boards, markers, tape, different colors 
of paper, clipboards, and pens were all "must-haves" for 
Mumbai and Tblisi when sharing information in a consular 
control room or phone bank.  Pre-printed Privacy Act 
Waivers came in handy in Tbilisi and were cited as a 
"lessons learned" in Amsterdam.   If an evacuation is a 
possibility, pre-print the DS-3072 promissory note. 
Have a sheet outlining the location of the U.S. mission, 
hours of operation, and what services are available in 
the Consular "go-kits" or backpacks to be distributed at 
hospitals, hotels, or other locations. 
 
¶4. Alternate communication tools are also essential.  In 
some situations, landlines will work, in others cell 
phones will. In a country with multiple cell phone 
providers, when one doesn't work, another may.  In still 
others, text messaging may be your only option.  Posts 
agreed that having an internet-based PDA in your crisis 
kit is important; so is having cell and satellite phone 
chargers.  If possible, also purchase chargers that you 
can use in your car.  You should also have a list of 
official personnel's personal emails for backup 
communications.  Check 7 FAM 1800 Appendix B for other 
ideas. 
 
¶5. SECTION SUPPORT:  Whether it was by soliciting and 
scheduling volunteers from the wider official community 
for consular phone work, bringing in food and water for 
an all-hours operation, providing mattresses and pillows 
for staff bunking at post, arranging transportation for 
response teams, or activating maintenance shifts 24/7 to 
keep the section clean and restroom facilities stocked, 
post management sections were essential partners in the 
consular crisis response.  Work through potential needs 
in advance.  Test out your consular control room.  Does 
GSO know how you'd like the room set-up?  Does IPC? 
What are the arrangements for quickly allowing LE staff 
to log on to computers after normal working hours, or 
for giving international dialing access to every phone? 
Are the landlines and the computers in your designated 
command center located near one another?  Can post's 
cafeteria open for extended hours?  Who will bring those 
much-needed office supplies, and what are they? 
 
¶6. Don't forget your private partners and the value of 
nurturing contacts.  Amsterdam noted that the private 
companies of the deceased were able to provide victims' 
family members with resources like cars and drivers. 
Mumbai took advantage of extensive LE staff contacts 
within the police and hotel industry.  And of course, 
contacts with your counterparts at other foreign 
missions and a way to communicate with them, are 
 
STATE 00044543  002 OF 002 
 
 
critical in a mass casualty situation or evacuation 
involving different nationalities. 
 
¶7. CA/OCS is always prepared to run PIERS checks for 
post so that consular staff on the ground can focus on 
other tasks.  If the Consular Section is stretched thin, 
CA/OCS can help make preliminary identification of 
remains by comparing pictures sent digitally from 
post/country with passport photos.  Amsterdam noted that 
its LEGATT was able to obtain fingerprint information 
from certain databases that was then used by Dutch 
authorities to identify American victims.  The FAM and 
FAH provide guidance, but consular sections are always 
encouraged to contact CA for additional clarification. 
If, given the particular circumstances, something like 
charging for passport photos "doesn't feel right," check 
with Washington. 
 
¶8. HANDLING INFORMATION:  Tasking and information 
requests from Washington can be overwhelming.  Make sure 
to provide the Department with a central phone number 
for all official consular-related calls so that previous 
shift leaders aren't inadvertently woken up.  Post can 
then triage as appropriate.  Post should also set up a 
Collective E-mail Mailbox on the GAL so that email 
traffic can be centralized and tracked.  (This mailbox 
can be set up in advance and added to every user's 
profile.)  Make sure that every volunteer has access to 
the inbox, but assign oversight specifically to certain 
individuals. 
 
¶9. Use the flagging or category system to avoid 
duplicate responses.  In Task Force 2, we ask volunteers 
to assign a blue "in use" category tag when they are 
working on an email.  When the email is answered or 
action completed, the email is tagged green "completed" 
and moved out of the inbox into a folder in that 
mailbox.  If an email will need follow-up, TF2 tags it 
with a red "action required" tag and leaves it in the 
inbox.  Feel free to remind Washington to direct 
requests or taskings to whatever address you create. 
Automatic email responses on individual accounts with 
standard talking points can also be helpful. 
 
¶10. PUT PLANS INTO PRACTICE:  Finally, as Yaounde noted, 
"while tabletop exercises are useful in refining plans, 
drills that require staff to actually execute the plan 
are necessary to identify hidden difficulties and avoid 
unnecessary delays during a real crisis."  Contact the 
ACS Crisis Management Unit at CA-Crisis-Mgt@state.gov 
with questions, suggestions, or with requests for 
Washington participation in consular section exercises 
or drills. 
 
¶11. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
CLINTON