Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service

Eligibility

Any civilian employee of any agency, including Foreign Service Nationals (appointed under Section 303 of the Foreign Service Act), non-family member U.S. citizen employees hired at post (appointed under Section 303 and appointed under Section 311 (a) of the Foreign Service Act), and U.S. citizens and foreign nationals serving under a Personal Services Contract or Personal Services Agreement (if eligibility for the award is authorized in their contracts), are eligible for the Foreign Service Star Award as long as the employee is:

(1) Under the administrative direction of State or USAID; (2) Employed at, or assigned permanently or temporarily to an official mission abroad, or while traveling abroad on official business; and (3) Killed or incurs a serious illness or injury which requires hospitalization or similar treatment and which results in incapacity or disability that prevents the employee from performing his or her official duties or adversely affects his or her ability to obtain medical clearance, while the employee:

Criteria

a. Selection of award recipients will be based on:

(1) The nexus between the death, illness or injury and the act of serving abroad in an official capacity. The death, illness or injury must be linked to the official duties of the employee. This may be by reason of location at the U.S. mission, by reason of the employee's status as a U.S. Government official, or by reason of the fact that the employee is performing, or en-route to perform official duties; and (2) The seriousness of the illness or injury. An illness or injury is "serious" if it requires hospitalization or similar treatment and results in incapacity or disability that prevents the employee from performing his other official duties or adversely affects his or her ability to obtain medical clearance.

b. Examples of employees meeting the selection criteria include, but are not limited to:

(1) The United States as the target of hostile action: (2) Accidents occurring in a hostile environment or crisis situation: (3) Natural disasters linked to service: (4) Nothing in this Foreign Affairs Manual shall limit the discretion of the Secretary to recommend the Foreign Service Star Award for an otherwise eligible and deserving employee.

Nominating and Approval Procedures

Nominations for the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service must be initiated by the Chief of Mission or by an assistant secretary, cleared by the Medical Director, as appropriate, and then submitted to the Department Awards Committee for review and recommendation to the Secretary. The Secretary shall make final recommendations to the President.

Effective Date

The effective date for the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service shall be August 7, 1998.

An employee or surviving next of kin may petition the Department Awards Committee to consider individuals who are eligible and deserving of the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service notwithstanding the fact that the illness, injury or death occurred prior to the effective date.

Military Use

Active duty military are not eligible to receive this award.

Recipients of the Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service

Diane Berry Caves, Public Health Professional, DHHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 12, 2010, earthquake

Kathey-Lee Galvin, Foreign Service Officer, Department of State, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 12, 2010, earthquake

John Granville, Democracy Officer, USAID, Juba, Sudan, July 14, 2008, attack

Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama, Foreign Service National, USAID, Juba, Sudan, July 14, 2008, attack

Steven Farley, member of US Navy Reserve, U.S. Department of State, Sadr City, Iraq, June 24, 2008, terrorist attack

Kellie Lartigue-Ndiaye, Country Director, DHHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Togo, Mali, December 21, 2007, vehicle accident

Margaret Alexander, Deputy Mission Director, USAID, Kathmandu, Nepal, September 23, 2006, helicopter crash

Bijnan Acharya, Environmental Officer, USAID, Kathmandu, Nepal, September 23, 2006, helicopter crash

Stephen Eric "Sully" Sullivan, Foreign Service Special Agent, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, Mosul, Iraq, September 19, 2005, terrorist attack

Edward Seitz, Foreign Service Special Agent, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, Baghdad, Iraq, October 24, 2004, mortar attack

Paul Converse, Auditor, Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Baghdad, Iraq, March 30, 2008, terrorist attack

Mustafa Akarsu, Security, Turkish Embassy employee, Ankara, Turkey, February 1, 2013, terrorist attack

Sean Smith, Information Management Officer, Benghazi US Consulate, terrorist attack

Joyce Ann Reed, Information Management Office Manager, US Department of State, Nairobi, Kenya, August 7, 1998, Al Qaeda East African Bombings.

Worley (Lee) Reed, Special Agent / Security Engineering Officer, US Department of State, Nairobi, Kenya, August 7, 1998, Al Qaeda East African Bombings.