During staffing of the incoming Kennedy administration, the nominee for Under Secretary of State, Chester Bowles, aggressively sought people from the ranks of academia and the press who would be committed to the ideals of the New Frontier. In line with this, Hilsman was selected to be the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research for the U.S. Department of State, assuming the position in February 1961. His duty was to analyze foreign events and trends as part of the department's long-range planning. Hilsman soon became a key planner within the administration's foreign policy circles. Like many of the "New Frontiersmen," he had fought with distinction as a junior officer in World War II. Hilsman was particularly effective at talking to members of the U.S. Congress because that military background and war record appealed to hardliners and his academic history and intellectual leanings appealed to those more of that bent.