| National Security Branch | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the National Security Branch | |
| Active | September 12, 2005 – present[1] (19 years, 7 months) |
| Country | United States |
| Agency | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Headquarters | J. Edgar Hoover Building Washington, D.C. |
| Abbreviation | NSB |
| Structure | |
| Subunits | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp[2] |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
TheNational Security Branch (NSB) is a service within theFederal Bureau of Investigation. The NSB is responsible for protecting the United States fromweapons of mass destruction,acts of terrorism, andforeign intelligence operations and espionage. The NSB accomplishes its mission by investigating national security threats, providing information and analysis to other law enforcement agencies, and developing capabilities to keep the US nation secure.
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Headed by an FBI Executive Assistant Director, the NSB is responsible to theFBI Director through theDeputy Director. As a unit of the FBI (which is a division of theUnited States Department of Justice), the NSB is ultimately responsible to theAttorney General of the United States. In addition, the critical role the NSB plays within theUnited States Intelligence Community places it within the purview of theDirector of National Intelligence.
The FBI created the National Security Branch (NSB) on September 12, 2005 in response to a presidential directive and as a result of the recommendations of theWeapons of Mass Destruction Commission to establish a "National Security Service" that combines the missions, capabilities, and resources of the FBI's counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and intelligence elements under the leadership of a senior FBI official.
The NSB was formed by the unification of the FBI's various national security and intelligence gathering units:[1]
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It is speculated that this will lead to the formation of "career paths" for FBISpecial Agents; meaning that once a new agent has completed Special Agent Training atFBI Academy inQuantico, Virginia, and has completed the mandatory probationary period, that he or she can choose to go into the National Security Branch, or go into the "Criminal" part of the Bureau and focus on crimes such asorganized crime,narcotics,civil rights violations,fraud, andviolent crime. Advocates of this new program[who?] say that this re-organization will help the fight against terrorism by making it less bureaucratic.
