as a special forces officer. Carstens served as Company Commander of the Special Forces Qualification Course at the U.S. Army's Special Forces School. He also acted as an advisor to the Iraqi National Counter Terror Force and a senior civilian advisor to the International Security Assistance Force. After completing a tour in Iraq, he served as a legislative liaison for the United States Secretary of Defense. Daniel Pinéu, a professor at Amsterdam University College, wrote that Carstens is the embodiment of the phrase "an officer and a gentleman." Fellowships In 2003, Carstens was selected as a finalist for the White House Fellows program. After leaving the military, Carstens was a Senior Fellow for the Center for a New American Security. He has also worked as a fellow for the New America Foundation. CAAT Carstens served as Senior Civilian Advisor on the Commander's Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2011. He advised on counterinsurgency. General David Petraeus praised Carstens for his work with CAAT. INGOs Carstens helped train local Somali National Army and African Union Mission to Somalia security forces in Somalia through his work with Bancroft Global Development. He has also worked for an NGO that delivered humanitarian aid from Jordan into southern Syria. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Carstens previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In 2019, Carstens condemned the human rights crisis occurring in Nicaragua. He also advocated, among other things, to protect the human rights of women in Syria in the midst of the Syrian civil war. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs In 2020, President Donald Trump appointed Carstens as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. He has prioritized building infrastructure in the hostage recovery process. Jason Rezaian, a journalist and former wrongful detainee in Iran, wrote an op-ed asking President Biden to keep Carstens in his position. Carstens was one of the few political appointees that President Joe Biden elected to keep in place. Family members of Americans held hostage told Yahoo! News that Carstens has been a "relentless advocate" for hostages and their families. In a 2021 report by the James Foley (journalist) Foundation, family members praised Carstens's dedication: "Ambassador Carstens made himself available to us saying if we need anything that we could call or email him at any time. There have been times where we’ve