WHAT: Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Gentry Smith to visit the Houston Fire Department’s Val Jahnke Training Facility. Smith will be joined by Executive Assistant Fire Chief Rodney West and a representative from Mayor Turner’s office. Smith will thank the firefighters and volunteers who have helped facilitate the contribution of hundreds of thousands of dollars of fire equipment to U.S. Consulate Guayaquil, in Ecuador.
WHEN: Thursday, March 10, 2022, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
WHERE: 8030 Braniff, 77061
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Thursday morning, March 10, Assistant Secretary of State Smith will visit former Marine Security Guard, and Houston Firefighter Eric Stone, at the Houston Fire Department's Val Jahnke Training Facility. Captain Stone served as a Marine Security Guard at U.S. Embassy Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania decades ago. There he met DSS Special agent, Don Pinkston, the current Regional Security officer at U.S. Consulate Guayaquil. When Pinkston and Stone learned that Houston and Guayaquil were "Sister Cities," they reconnected, working tirelessly to facilitate the donation of more than $600,000 worth of equipment to the Guayaquil Fire Department.
Assistant Secretary of State Smith oversees the security and law enforcement mission for the U.S. Department of State in over 170 countries worldwide, including the Diplomatic Security Service’s Houston Field Office operations.
Contact:
Media are asked to RSVP to PIO Abby Cortez at [email protected] by Wednesday, March 9th at 5pm
Day of event, media are asked to sign in and wait for a rep of PIO to escort them on academy grounds.
*This is not open to the general public.