The Country Team is the principal interagency coordinating body at a U.S. diplomatic mission abroad. It is chaired by the Chief of Mission (typically the ambassador) and includes the Deputy Chief of Mission along with the senior representatives of every U.S. government agency operating in the host country. Common members include the Political Counselor, Economic Counselor, Public Affairs Officer, Defense Attaché, USAID Mission Director, the senior CIA officer (Chief of Station), and representatives from Treasury, Commerce, Agriculture, DEA, FBI, and other agencies as relevant.
The ambassador's authority over the Country Team derives from the President's letter of instruction to chiefs of mission and is codified in the Foreign Service Act of 1980, which gives the ambassador full responsibility for the direction, coordination, and supervision of all U.S. executive branch employees in country, with the notable exception of personnel under the command of a U.S. area military commander and certain multilateral mission staff.
Country Team meetings are usually held weekly and serve to:
- Share reporting and intelligence across agencies
- Coordinate messaging to the host government
- Deconflict programs and visiting delegations
- Implement the Integrated Country Strategy (ICS), the embassy's multi-year planning document
The model emerged after World War II as U.S. overseas presence diversified beyond traditional State Department functions, and was formalized through National Security Action Memoranda in the Kennedy administration, which explicitly subordinated other agencies' field personnel to ambassadorial authority. The concept has been emulated, with variations, by the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and other governments that maintain multi-agency missions abroad, though terminology differs.
Example
During the 2021 Kabul evacuation, the U.S. Country Team in Afghanistan coordinated visa processing, military airlift, and host-nation liaison under Ambassador Ross Wilson's direction.