John Mongan Email & Phone Number

Washington, Dc, Us

In More Stable Union, I draw on my experiences of over 20 years working in and on conflicts and violent instability to highlight the dangers of instability in the United States, and ways we can mitigate those risks. Check it out at morestableunion.substack.com.

• Acting Director for multiple periods in excess of three months.• Represented Bureau as Coordinator for the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Campaign to Defeat ISIS, reporting directly to CSO’s Assistant Secretary. Provided guidance across Bureau for support to the Global Campaign.• Oversaw all aspects of organizational effectiveness developing conflict-specific analysis, plans, and field operations for Middle Eastern challenges including Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. • Recruited, trained, supervised, and mentored 15 Foreign Service, Civil Service, and contract personnel to build a diverse, high-functioning, high-morale team. • Deployed abroad as stabilization adviser for National Security Council delegations, U.S. Embassy Riyadh, U.S. Yemen Affairs Unit, 3rd Special Forces Group, 7th Fleet, and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

• Stood up the U.S. Government’s first operation for training, advising, and equipping the Syrian Opposition local councils with a seven-officer team in Istanbul, Turkey, July-October 2012. Team’s success led to CSO operations exceeding $50 million over three years, and set stage for interagency Syria Transition Assistance Response Team operating in Turkey and Syria through 2019.• Managed all aspects of Syrian opposition support for security, police, and justice sector programs. Repeatedly recognized for designing innovative, cutting-edge programs engaging non-state actors to form cohesive governing movements in wartime conditions. • Represented Bureau’s Syria operations with the National Security Council, intelligence community, and military. Secured foreign funding commitments for programs that matched U.S. outlays, leading to larger and more effective programs at less cost to the taxpayer.• Advised U.S. Special Operations Command on development of Unconventional Warfare and Support to Resistance doctrine.• Served five months as Acting Director (pending arrival of political appointee) of newly-established Operations Office responsible for Bureau operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma and Central America, January—May 2012.

• Supervised recruitment, selection, training, and operations of 32 State Department and 200 interagency Civilian Response Corps—Active (CRC-A) personnel, deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Liberia, South Sudan, Kenya, Congo, and Colombia.• Coordinated with S/CRS regional planning teams to design field missions and assure the assignment of best-qualified Corps personnel. Ensured field insights from deployed personnel were incorporated into S/CRS analysis and planning.• Negotiated memoranda regarding the design and management of the Corps among Departments of State, Justice, Commerce, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Treasury, and the Agency for International Development.• Co-designed and instructed in orientation training programs for the Corps covering stability operations principles, operational planning, and security in high-threat operations. • Represented the Coordinator in the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, Secretary Clinton’s strategic planning capstone. Process led to establishment of the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO). Led multiple restructuring working groups.• Instructed in civil-military operations for Afghanistan pre-deployment training courses at the Foreign Service Institute and Ft. Bragg, NC. Consistently among the most highly-rated instructors based on student evaluations.

Washington, Dc, Us

• Piloted concept of brigade-level Senior Civilian Representatives leading a four-officer civilian team with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Advised brigade commander to ensure operations supported political and stabilization objectives. Success of the initiative led to establishing senior civilian positions at all brigades in Afghanistan.• Coordinated between Embassy Kabul and 101st Airborne Division to organize first standing civil-military campaign planning cell in Afghanistan. • Served on first civilian team facilitating strategic planning at five provincial reconstruction teams. Plans highlighted need for stronger civilian presence at brigades and a broader integrated civil-military plan, both of which were implemented successfully.• Recruited, trained, supervised, and mentored 15-officer team of rapid-deployment diplomats operating in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Sudan.

Washington, Dc, Us

• Led organizational design of 2,250-person interagency Civilian Response Corps of Active and Standby personnel through negotiations among seven different federal agencies. Design encompassed CRC’s operating concept, organization, specific personnel skill requirements, training, and logistics, leading directly to appropriation of $75 million in 2008.• Created first 15-officer Active Response Corps of “expeditionary” diplomats, including operational concept, position descriptions, recruitment, training, and supervision.• Drafted and negotiated design and operational manual for “Advance Civilian Team,” a pilot approach to running integrated interagency stabilization operations in the field.

• Served as sole U.S. diplomat representing the U.S. Embassy in Ghazni and Wardak provinces, including during Afghanistan’s first presidential and parliamentary elections.• Operated from U.S. military forward operating base (“PRT”) with a light infantry battalion securing the critical Kabul-Kandahar highway.• Conducted near-daily combat patrols to meet with officials and citizens, ascertain their views, and advance the interests of the U.S. and Afghan governments. • Mediated ethnic tensions between provincial governor and rival warlord, bringing them from near-violence to a working rapprochement. • Negotiated with governor and local warlords to support UN-led disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of non-governmental militias in ways that promoted security rather than creating vacuums insurgents could exploit.• Advised provincial governors and U.S. commanders on governance and civil-military operations, including election security, dispute resolution, and municipal planning.• Represented PRT to media, including interviews with BBC “Newsnight,” Weekly Standard, Times of India, and Discovery Channel. Drafted scripts for PRT commander’s weekly local TV/radio show. • Specially recognized by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as one of first 13 Colin Powell Fellows, junior officers “outstandingly representative of the future leadership of the Department,” June 2005.

Assistant Management Officer. CFO of a $9m USG diplomatic facility in Kosovo. Supervised 5-person financial management staff. Coordinated Marine Security Guard construction project and negotiations for acquisition of new facilities for USG operations. Deputy to the Management Officer. Responsible for all consular assistance to US citizens in Kosovo during province-wide violence in spring 2004. Promoted FS-3, fall 2003.

General Services Officer. Responsible for management of 47-person office covering mission support for U.S. Office, Pristina, including real property management, acquisitions/contracting, power plant, maintenance, supplies, and motor pool. Converted post from one-year unaccompanied tours to two-year adult dependent-accompanied tours.

Deputy Head of 11-person consular section. Adjudicated immigrant, non-immigrant, and diversity visas at high-fraud post. Covered full range of US Citizen services, including passports, congressional correspondence, and prison visits. As Fraud Prevention Manager, served on Post's Counter-Human Trafficking Team, the USG's highest priority issue in Albania at the time. Awarded Meritorious Honor Award and Meritorious Service Increase for high-risk activities in support of counter-trafficking initiatives.

Washington, Dc, Us

Sole Staff Assistant to Amb. James Dobbins, Special Adviser to the President and Secretary for Kosovo and Dayton Implementation. Responsible for tracking and movement of all documents and issues relating to USG operations in the Balkans, including the Kosovo bombing campaign, establishment of UN and US missions in Kosovo, maintenance of Dayton Accords, and activities against the Milosevic regime.

Designed monitoring program and hired/trained two program monitors for Mercy Corps' USAID-funded Food For Peace program in midst of Kosovo's ground war. Personally reconnoitered western Kosovo's road/trail network, performed village needs assessments, assessed warehousing and distribution capacities. Later tasked with performing same tasks for EC-funded animal feed program covering all Kosovo west of Pristina.

Master Of Science (Ms), National Resource Strategy

Ba, Political Science