Tools and Training

These items in NMAD's collection are the tools and training materials diplomats have used throughout history.

Showing 11–20 of 30 results

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    Mechanical Sewing Machine

    In 2007, the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia distributed 1,200 sewing machines, like this one, to Muslim communities across the country. The sewing machines were part of the State Department’s “Shared Futures” initiative. They were used to establish micro-enterprise centers to help individuals and families become more financially self-sufficient.

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    Scholastic Children's Books

    Tragedy struck a diplomatic delegation and their military escorts on April 6, 2013, in southern Afghanistan. A young diplomat named Anne Smedinghoff, three U.S. soldiers, and an Afghani interpreter were killed in a car bomb blast that targeted their group as they were delivering books to a boys' school. Anne was a…

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    Portable X-Ray Machine

    X-Ray machines aren’t just used in hospitals and airports, they’re also a crucial tool used by the Diplomatic Security Service to detect threats to U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. This portable x-ray kit, manufactured in 1970s, was used by DSS Technical Security Officers to look for espionage devices, explosives, and other…

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    Kerosene Slide & Film Projector

    This kerosene-powered projector from the U.S. Embassy in Singapore is an unusual device dating to the 1950s. It was used by diplomats, particularly those focused on public diplomacy efforts, to show slides or film strips to groups of people in areas with limited or no electricity.

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    Toy Cars

    Diplomatic Security Special Agent Patti Morton utilized these toy cars as part of her duties to train employees at U.S. Embassy Saigon in the art of defensive driving, demonstrating various scenarios which a diplomat might encounter on the road. Patti Morton was a trailblazer for women’s rights at the U.S. Department of…

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    Duty Officer Log Book

    An embassy duty officer must handle emergencies of all kinds and provide various types of assistance to American citizens in the host country. This green ledger log book contains notes written by U.S. Embassy Rabat duty officers over three decades (1968-1998) and shows the vital role of a duty officer for embassy…

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    Cococho Tool

    The Government of Peru’s eradication agency, CORAH, uses an innovative tool known as the cococho for manual eradication of the coca plant, the only required ingredient for cocaine. Senior Eradication Advisor Francisco “Paco” Alvarez developed the cococho while serving in Bolivia in the late 1990s.

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    Resident Officer Handbook

    “Resident Officer Handbook” given to U.S. Foreign Service Officers of the class of 1950, who were sent to Germany to aid in transitioning from the post-war U.S. Military government to a civilian German government.

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    “Terrorism: Avoidance & Survival” Booklet

    “Terrorism: Avoidance and Survival” booklet, published in 1986 by the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State. Aimed at Foreign Service Officers and others working and living abroad, the booklet provides detailed guidance on avoiding and surviving terrorism.

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    Consular Officer Class Photo

    Taken on the steps of what is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., this photo shows newly minted officers who would go on to staff U.S. consulates, providing services to American citizens overseas. The descendants of one of these officers, Marion Letcher (back row, second from left), donated this…