The Foreign Service Journal, December 2017

PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION DECEMBER 2017

DIPLOMACY AT WORK

TIME TO ASK WHY

WHEN EVACUATIONS DISRUPT SCHOOL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

FOREIGN SERVICE December 2017 Volume 94, No.10

Focus on How Diplomacy Works

Education Supplement 30 Diplomacy Works— First-Person Stories from the Field U.S. diplomacy is vital to American prosperity and national security and to maintaining a peaceful world. Here are some examples of the critical work diplomats do.

22 The Making of an Effective Diplomat: A Global View How do diplomatic services around the world ensure their governments 64 have a steady supply of the most Raising effective professional envoys? Multilingual Children By Robert Hutchings in the Foreign Service and Jeremi Suri Raising children in more than one language is seldom straightforward and can leave parents second-guessing their approach. Here is a look at the challenges and how to meet them. By Nicole Schaefer-McDaniel FS Heritage and Jennifer Kirk Dinoia 78, 80, 82 43 Schools at a Glance The Foreign Service Institute at 70: 86 Recalling a Educational Preparedness: Proud History When an Evacuation Though much has changed at Disrupts School FSI in its 70 years of operation, Like it or not, evacuations have become its core mission remains a fact of Foreign Service life. Here to serve those who serve are some tips to ensure your child’s America around the world. education is not compromised by a By Steven Alan Honley sudden departure from post. By Marybeth Hunter, Cecile Mines and Courtney Colbert

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 5 FOREIGN SERVICE

Perspectives 110 Local Lens Departments Vienna, Austria 7 By Kelly Midura President’s Views 10 Letters Time to Ask Why 14 Talking Points By Barbara Stephenson 9 Letter from the Editor Diplomacy Needs Diplomats Marketplace By Shawn Dorman 104 Classifieds 19 107 Real Estate Speaking Out Religious Diversity Benefits the 109 Index to Advertisers State Department By Phil Skotte

AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION 49 AFSA and USAID Welcome Collaboration 49 Making the Case for the Foreign Service 50 State VP Voice—A Time for Kindness 51 U SAID VP Voice—Talking about Communication Gaps 52 FAS VP Voice—The Demographic Crisis 52 F CS and DEC Focus on U.S. Growth at Home and Abroad 53 Where We Stand—Unpacking “Stewardship” 54 Sharing the Story of the Foreign Service with Lifelong Learners 59 55 Meet the AFSA Committee: Awards & Plaques 56 R etiree Corner—Keeping Your Eye on the Bottom Line 58 R ussian Roundtable: FSOs Speak with AFSA about Their Sudden Exit 57 AFSA Welcomes 146th Specialist Class 59 E ssay Contest Highlights Importance 57 AFSA Governing Board Meeting, October 2017 of U.S. Global Leadership 58 Book Notes: Global Adventures 60 Reigning Cats and Dogs in the Foreign Service on Less-Traveled Roads

On the Cover: Images of diplomacy at work—Top, from left: U.S. Ambassador Mark C. Storella, Zambian Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane and Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao shake hands on signing the PEPFAR framework in November 2010; U.S. Chargé d’Affaires James P. DeHart with Norwegian Defense Ministry Director Mette Sorfonden signing a contract to purchase Boeing maritime patrol aircraft in March 2017 (Photo: Asgier Spange Brekke); U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Lynn Pascoe (left) and USAID Director Bill Frej load supplies for Aceh after the tsunami in December 2004. Second row, from left: General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Ambas- sador John R. Bass attend a meeting with Turkey’s senior military leadership in Ankara in November 2016; U.S. Consul General Rena Bitter, of CG Ho Chi Minh City, and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius at a temple restoration project in April 2016; Yezidi refugees who escaped from the Islamic State group talk with FSO Refugee Coordinator Matthew Johnson in Mardin, Turkey, in December 2014. Cover design by Caryn Suko Smith.

6 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL PRESIDENT’S VIEWS

Time to Ask Why

BY BARBARA STEPHENSON

open this column as I closed my last Service officer corps at State has lost 60 as a key indicator of the health of the one, with a reminder that we, the percent of its Career Ambassadors since institution. What does it tell us, then, that members of the career Foreign Ser- January. Ranks of Career Ministers, our we are on track to have fewer than half I vice, have an obligation as stewards of three-star equivalents, are down from as many people take the Foreign Service our institution to be effective advocates 33 to 19. The ranks of our two-star Min- Officer Test this year? for why diplomacy matters. That requires ister Counselors have fallen from 431 As the shape and extent of the staff- some skill in explaining how diplomacy right after Labor Day to 359 today—and ing cuts to the Foreign Service at State works—the focus of this month’s edition are still falling. become clearer, I believe we must shine of The Foreign Service Journal. These numbers are hard to square a light on these disturbing trends and ask While raising awareness of and appre- with the stated agenda of making State “why?” and “to what end?” ciation for the Foreign Service is a long- and the Foreign Service stronger. Were Congress rejected drastic cuts to State standing goal, one AFSA has pursued with the U.S. military to face such a decapi- and USAID funding. The Senate labeled renewed vigor and impact over the past tation of its leadership ranks, I would the proposed cuts a “doctrine of retreat” couple years, the need to make the case expect a public outcry. and directed that appropriated funds for the Foreign Service with fellow Ameri- Like the military, the Foreign Service “shall support” staffing State at not less cans and our elected representatives has recruits officers at entry level and than Sept. 30, 2016, levels, and further taken on a new urgency. The cover of the grows them into seasoned leaders over directed that “The Secretary of State shall Time magazine that arrived as I was writ- decades. The talent being shown the continue A-100 entry-level classes for ing this column jarred me with its graphic door now is not only our top talent, but FSOs in a manner similar to prior years.” of wrecking balls and warning of “disman- also talent that cannot be replicated Given this clear congressional intent, tling government as we know it.” overnight. The rapid loss of so many we have to ask: Why such a focus on While I do my best, as principal senior officers has a serious, immediate slashing staffing at State? Why such a advocate for our institution and as a and tangible effect on the capacity of the focus on decapitating leadership? How do seasoned American diplomat, to model United States to shape world events. these actions serve the stated agenda of responsible, civil discourse, there is Meanwhile, the self-imposed hiring making the State Department stronger? simply no denying the warning signs freeze is taking its toll at the entry level. Remember, nine in 10 Americans favor that point to mounting threats to our Intake into the Foreign Service at State a strong global leadership role for our institution—and to the global leader- will drop from 366 in 2016 to around 100 great country, and we know from per- ship that depends on us. new entry-level officers joining A-100 in sonal experience that such leadership is There is no denying that our leader- 2018 (including 60 Pickering and Rangel unthinkable without a strong professional ship ranks are Fellows). Foreign Service deployed around the being depleted at Not surprisingly, given the blocked world protecting and defending America’s a dizzying speed, entry path, interest in joining the Foreign people, interests and values. due in part to the Service is plummeting. I wrote with pride Where then, does the impetus come decision to slash in my March 2016 column that “more from to weaken the American Foreign promotion num- than 17,000 people applied to take the Service? Where is the mandate to pull the bers by more than Foreign Service Officer Test last year,” cit- Foreign Service team from the field and half. The Foreign ing interest in joining the Foreign Service forfeit the game to our adversaries? n

Ambassador Barbara Stephenson is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 7 FOREIGN SERVICE

Editor in Chief, Director of Publications Shawn Dorman: [email protected] www.afsa.org Managing Editor Susan Brady Maitra: [email protected]

Associate Editor CONTACTS Donna Gorman: [email protected] AFSA Headquarters: BUSINESS DEPARTMENT Publications Coordinator (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 Director of Finance Dmitry Filipoff: [email protected] State Department AFSA Office: Femi Oshobukola: [email protected] (202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 Controller Ad & Circulation Manager USAID AFSA Office: Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] Ed Miltenberger: [email protected] (202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 Assistant Controller Art Director FCS AFSA Office: Cory Nishi: [email protected] Caryn Suko Smith (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 Advertising Intern COMMUNICATIONS GOVERNING BOARD Ho-Hsuan “Milo” Hsieh: [email protected] Director of Communications President Ásgeir Sigfússon: [email protected] Editorial Board Hon. Barbara Stephenson: Online Communications Manager Eric Green, Chair [email protected] Jeff Lau: [email protected] James “Jim” Bever Secretary Outreach and Communications Specialist Angela Bond Hon. Tom Boyatt: [email protected] Allan Saunders: [email protected] M. Allyn Brooks-LaSure Treasurer Lawrence Casselle Awards Coordinator Hon. Earl Anthony “To ny ” Wayne: Shawn Kobb Perri Green: [email protected] [email protected] Alexis Ludwig Outreach Coordinator Suzanne McGuire State Vice President Catherine Kannenberg: [email protected] John G. Rendeiro Jr. Ken Kero-Mentz: [email protected] Retiree Outreach Coordinator Priyadarshi “Pri” Sen USAID Vice President Christine Miele: [email protected] Dinah Zeltser-Winant Ann Posner: [email protected] FCS Vice President LABOR MANAGEMENT Daniel Crocker: [email protected] THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS General Counsel FAS Vice President Sharon Papp: [email protected] PROFESSIONALS Kimberly Svec Sawatzki: [email protected] The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), Deputy General Counsel 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is Retiree Vice President Raeka Safai: [email protected] published monthly, with combined January-February John K. Naland: [email protected] Senior Staff Attorneys and July-August issues, by the American Foreign Service State Representatives Neera Parikh: [email protected] Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Lawrence Casselle Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] writers and does not necessarily represent the views of Anne Coleman-Honn Labor Management Counselor the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries Josh Glazeroff Colleen Fallon-Lenaghan: and submissions are invited, preferably by email. The Martin McDowell Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, [email protected] photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. Tricia Wingerter Grievance Counselor All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. USAID Representative Jason Snyder: [email protected] AFSA reserves the right to reject advertising that is not Madeline Williams Senior Labor Management Advisor in keeping with its standards and objectives. The appear- FCS Alternate Representative ance of advertisements herein does not imply endorse- James Yorke: [email protected] ment of goods or services offered. Opinions expressed in Matthew Hilgendorf Labor Management Advisor advertisements are the views of the advertisers and do FAS Alternate Representative Patrick Bradley: [email protected] not necessarily represent AFSA views or policy. Journal Thom Wright subscription: AFSA member–$20, included in annual Executive Assistant dues; student–$30; institution–$40; others–$50; Single BBG Representative Jaya Duvvuri: [email protected] issue–$4.50. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; Steve Herman USAID Staff Assistant foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid APHIS Representative Christine Rose: [email protected] at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. J.J. Hurley Indexed by the Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS). Retiree Representatives MEMBER SERVICES Email: [email protected] Hon. Alphonse ‘Al’ La Porta Membership Representative Phone: (202) 338-4045 Philip A. Shull Vacant Fax: (202) 338-8244 Retiree Counselor Web: www.afsa.org/fsj STAFF Todd Thurwachter: [email protected] © American Foreign Service Association, 2017 Executive Director Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Ian Houston: [email protected] Ana Lopez: [email protected] PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Special Assistant to the President Postmaster: Send address changes to Jennie Orloff: [email protected] PROFESSIONAL POLICY ISSUES AFSA, Attn: Address Change Staff Assistant Director of Professional Policy Issues 2101 E Street NW Theo Horn: [email protected] Washington DC 20037-2990 Julie Nutter: [email protected] Program Assistant ADVOCACY Erika Bethmann: [email protected] Director of Advocacy Mary Daly: [email protected]

8 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Diplomacy Needs Diplomats

BY SHAWN DORMAN

nternational diplomacy needs profes- The next day, Rachel Maddow devoted the There are still more sional diplomats. This is not a con- first 20 minutes of her show to the column, questions than there troversial statement. It is something reading most of it aloud on the air, with a are answers. I so obvious no one would think to say flag-draped “Time to Ask Why” graphic it. And yet today, we must say it. We must on-screen throughout the segment. defend diplomacy and reiterate the impor- The column points to concerns about December Journal. I want to particularly tance of our U.S. Foreign Service. the depletion of the leadership ranks at draw your attention to the first install- Each month I wait until the Journal State and the severe slowdown on intake ment of our new Diplomacy Works is finished and all page proofs checked at entry level, and asks why. This is an collection, “First Person Stories from the before writing my letter to frame the important question, yet the State Depart- Field,” because it offers a ground-level issue, briefly highlight its contents and ment issued a statement Nov. 8 dismiss- look at why diplomacy matters. put a bow on it. This time something ing the column’s claims about cuts, Told by members of the Foreign Ser- extraordinary happened. saying essentially: “nothing to see here.” vice out in the field working on behalf On Nov. 7 AFSA shared an advance There are still more questions than of the people of the United States, these copy of the December President’s Views there are answers. Why were promotion stories illustrate the critical, everyday column—three weeks before the issue rates cut drastically this year? Why is the work of the Foreign Service around the was released—in an AFSAnet to the hiring freeze still in place at State and world, from the smallest success no one membership. USAID? Why has this bidding season outside of post would ever hear about, In “Time to Ask Why,” Ambassador been, by many accounts, “the worst to big, headline-grabbing accomplish- Barbara Stephenson spells out concerns ever”? (One FS-1 officer described it this ments. and questions regarding State Depart- way: “It’s like musical chairs with 100 They help to answer the question ment Foreign Service staffing cuts, people, but they’ve taken away 40 chairs.”) of why we need a strong U.S. Foreign wondering aloud on behalf of an uneasy Why were POLAD, war college and Service. The response to our call for Foreign Service constituency that she other detail jobs taken off bid lists? narratives was so great that we will be represents—what is going on and why? Even though POLADs were put back on, publishing Part II next month. Within hours, the story began to be the continuing chaos means the right Every one of you has a story to tell, picked up by media outlets. Within a day, people may not get the right jobs. whether about yourself or a colleague, it was making headlines around the coun- Why are so many of the best career and we invite you to continue to sub- try, and the world. ABC News was first, officers, who have served faithfully mit your experiences that show how followed by Foreign Policy, The Hill, Vox, under both Republican and Democratic diplomacy works for the United States. Time, CNN, Government Executive, The administrations, being shown the door? Help AFSA tell the story of the Foreign Guardian, Fox News, The New York Times, Why are senior positions not being Service. The Washington Post (Nov. 12 editorial), filled? State’s Nov. 12 announcement It’s a tough time for the Foreign Newsweek and many that it will offer $25,000 buyouts to Service, no doubt about it. If this all feels others. employees (just days after denying dras- too heavy, then please go to page 60 for Amb. Stephenson tic cuts) reinforces the idea that reduc- adorable FS pet photos. was interviewed about ing staff at State is a primary goal of this Next month, we take a look at “What the column on the PBS administration. Does U.S. Global Leadership Look Like?” NewsHour on Nov. 8. Which brings us to the rest of the We wish all our readers and the entire Foreign Service community a peaceful Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. holiday season. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 9 LETTERS

Dissent in a Time of Crisis I believe the Trump era presents of other officers of ConGen Dacca The Journal has long provided a the Foreign Service with a challenge as (now Dhaka) who were appalled by our platform for those advocating construc- daunting as that which earlier led FSOs government’s lack of response to the tive dissent and, specifically, use of the to courageous acts that went beyond carnage inflicted on then East Pakistan Dissent Channel as a means of question- “confidential” dissent. by Pakistan’s military, I would like to ing policies and practices. Harry Kopp’s This administration’s assault on clarify that the telegram, to which Arch thoughtful commentary, “The State of the Foreign Service is reflected in its Blood so courageously appended his Dissent in the Foreign Service” (Septem- refusal to provide leadership to the State own comments, was not the first Dissent ber), is the latest example of responsible Department, which lacks Channel message. discussion of Foreign Service senior officials or even At the time we sent it, the Dissent dissent in your pages. nominees at home and Channel had not been established, Kopp concludes by urg- abroad. Moreover, critical although there was talk about increased ing that “for the good of the functions, including con- “openness” in the State Department Service as an institution, sular, may be taken away and Foreign Service. Our message was dissent must remain confiden- from the department intended for an internal audience, not to tial.” I believe, however, that and extraordinarily deep be leaked. this assessment of dissent in budget cuts have been In our naiveté we classified it “con- the Trump-era Foreign Service proposed. fidential,” assuming that would protect fails to appreciate the gravity of Internal, “confiden- the information. When it reached the the threat posed to U.S. foreign tial” dissent is simply Operations Center, Watch Officer David policy and to the Foreign Service inadequate in the context Passage, an FS classmate of mine, itself. of this unprecedented crisis, as it was realized it was sensitive and added a I joined the Service in January 1975, during the Vietnam War era and, some LIMDIS caption to restrict its distribu- at a time when U.S. foreign policy had might add, the Iraq War era. tion. But it leaked, nevertheless. been buffeted by dissent and even It is not sufficient for senior officers Perhaps there is a causal link rancor in the ranks for almost a decade. simply to retire, as many are doing. between the Blood Telegram (subject of Much of this came to a head in the early These officers owe the Service—and -par a lauded book by Professor Gary Bass of months of 1975, when U.S. Embassy ticularly the mid-level and junior col- Princeton University) and the Dissent Saigon sought to deny the reality that leagues they leave behind—more than Channel. That would be a fitting tribute the government of Nguyen Van Thieu their silence. They must speak out. They to Arch Blood, who honored his profes- was doomed. must explain to the American people, to sion by honest reporting, despite the In earlier years, Foreign Service offi- their elected representatives and to the costs to his career. cers had questioned and protested the media why they are abandoning careers W. Scott Butcher manner in which our Indochina policy of service and sacrifice. Senior FSO, retired was formulated, the policy itself and the Edmund McWilliams Potomac, Maryland very purpose of the Vietnam War. Senior FSO, retired FSOs, frustrated by their inability to White Oaks, New Mexico Integrity First report honestly, sometimes turned to In June 2016, The Foreign Service the press. In the spring of 1975, some The Blood Telegram Journal focused on the topic of combat- acted without orders, for example, to In his fine article in the September ing corruption as a central task of U.S. ensure that trusted Vietnamese allies issue of The Foreign Service Journal, foreign policy. As a retired FSO who and their families were able to exit Viet- “The tateS of Dissent in the Foreign now chairs an anticorruption organiza- nam before the maelstrom enveloped Service,” Harry Kopp cites “The Blood tion called the Coalition for Integrity, I the country. These individuals were Telegram” as the first message in the welcome this attention to an important heroes and role models for many of the Dissent Channel. issue. junior FSOs of that day. As drafter of that telegram on behalf We believe the United States needs

10 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL to enforce the Foreign Cor- rupt Prac- tices Act, encourage other major trading and investing nations to enforce their similar commitments under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop- ment Anti-Bribery Convention, and urge countries like China and India to become signatories of that agreement. Toward that end, the United States needs to organize its foreign assistance programs so that bribery and corruption do not despoil the very economic development they try to promote. We also need to curb the bribery and corruption that can undermine our military and political efforts to defeat terrorism in places like Afghanistan. The challenge for our country and our foreign policy is even more fundamental, however. Corruption is essentially about the abuse of entrusted power. Americans entrust power to government officials, and we expect these officials to use that power to promote the public interest, consistent with the promises they have made and the oaths they have undertaken. Unfortunately, for some time now the majority of Americans across the political spectrum have believed that their government officials are untrustworthy. The United States is the most powerful country in the world. Through our alliances and the international institutions we established, the United States has pledged to exercise our power in a manner consistent with the promises we have made. People count on us. When

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 11 we keep our promises and show our- part-time on projects where personal If an approach I put forward is selves to be trustworthy, our reputation interests and various offices’ percep- adopted, it’s because it makes sense, and our power grow. Putting integrity tions of our individual aptitudes overlap not because I am senior in a hierarchi- first is the best way to put America first. to be incredibly fulfilling work. cal organization. If such an approach On Nov. 29 the Coalition for Integrity The threat, as I understand it, can or idea evokes counter-arguments, extended its 2017 Integrity Award to ultimately be laid at the feet of some of laughter or derision, so be it. I love that Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a most our senior Civil Service colleagues in “leading from below” angle. deserving recipient for many reasons. We management. When the White House In addition to AFSA defending a have also launched a nonpartisan “integ- asked them for a list of potential cuts sensible version of the REA/WAE status, rity challenge” for candidates in the state to save money and eliminate bodies I urge all readers who care to write to of Virginia. We asked all candidates in (for a document going to the Office of their members of Congress. Elimination Virginia’s 2017 elections to support basic Management and Budget), they essen- of the status will almost certainly be part principles regarding financial disclosure, tially threw us under the bus rather than of the debate over the FY 2018 budget restrictions on gifts and disclosure of taking an honest look at truly wasteful and continuing resolution(s). campaign contributions. employment practices like contracting. Be steadfast in these unsettled days. Beginning in 2018, we would like to see Here are a few concrete reasons to Peter Kovach candidates in elections across the United keep this important program alive: FSO, retired States accept this challenge and discuss • REA status is not an entitlement. Bethesda, Maryland how they will ensure that they and their The State Department carefully chooses administrations will be trustworthy. who they want to re-employ under this Soft Power and the U.S. diplomats, military and interna- status. Lessons of History tional professionals represent American • We are cheap. We work for an The recent PBS series on the Viet- interests and values with courage and hourly wage in the mid-level federal nam War offers a cautionary tale for the integrity. I encourage readers still in range, nothing more—no benefits, no Trump administration as it attempts to government service to reflect on how pension contributions, nothing. Our slash the budgets of the State Depart- they can do more to combat corruption salaries are probably just a quarter of ment and other soft-power programs. and epitomize integrity as they carry what the department would have to pay Unfortunately, the president has little out their duties. And I encourage those inexperienced contractors to replace us. interest in history. who have retired from government ser- • We are competent and tend to know Many factors contributed to the vice to consider how you can continue the work we are used for inside and out. Vietnam tragedy: failure to consider to be a part of this fight, perhaps by As a bonus, we bring a strong sense of a the advice of experienced foreign-area working with organizations like ours. program or function’s history to our work. experts, hubris, over-reliance on military Alan Larson • REAs lead from below, a perspective superiority in a world of asymmetri- Ambassador, retired not often associated with the depart- cal warfare, domestic political fear of Washington, D.C. ment. Although re-employed annuitants appearing “soft,” measurement of suc- tend to have had long Foreign Service cess by inappropriate metrics (e.g., “kill Threats to Retiree careers, we are hired for our experience ratios”), denial of facts and lying to the Re-employment and perspective, not our former rank. public. Sound familiar? I am writing about a subject I trust Speaking personally, I was in the Senior In his landmark book about the I am not the first to raise: protecting Foreign Service for more than half of my Vietnam War, The Best and the Brightest, the future of re-employed annuitants career. People had to listen to me. Now David Halberstam noted that President (formerly known as WAE, When Actu- I work as a GS-14 graybeard. I naturally John F. Kennedy and his closest advisers ally Employed, personnel) at the State put my ideas out there, often advising the “made the most critical of decisions Department. front offices of the embassies where I fill in with virtually no input from anyone who I know I am not alone among active and my current managers in the Bureau of had any expertise on the recent history AFSA retirees who have found working Educational and Cultural Affairs. of that part of the world, and it in no

12 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL way factored in the entire experience of promotion of relationships, cooperation, the French Indochina War.” mutual understanding, democracy and Thus, reliance was placed on U.S. assistance abroad. military firepower without due consider- Such power builds bridges, not walls. ation for Vietnamese hearts and minds, It combats and contains the root causes the history of Vietnam’s nationalistic of militancy. As General James Mattis resolve against foreign intervention, or observed in 2013: “If you don’t fund the the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong and State Department fully, then I need to North Vietnamese. buy more ammunition ultimately.” Today the Trump administration is The urgent need for soft power was making many of the same crippling mis- stated eloquently last year by former Sen- takes. The president’s principal foreign ate Foreign Relations Committee Chair- policy advisers are military men, while man Richard Lugar: “In this century, the the State Department, with all of its ability of nations to communicate and expertise, experience and relationships work with each other across borders abroad, has often been sidelined. will determine the fate of billions of Recently, President Trump even pub- people. The effectiveness of our response licly stated that Secretary of State Rex Til- to pandemics, nuclear proliferation, lerson was “wasting his time” by attempt- environmental disasters, energy and food ing to negotiate with the North Koreans. insecurity, and threats of conflict will But even Secretary Tillerson has sup- depend foremost on the investments we ported the proposed draconian budget have made in knowledge, relationships cuts to his own State Department prior and communication.” to the outcome of a reorganization study John A. Lindburg the Senate Appropriations Committee Foreign Service Reserve, retired worries has been “predetermined.” Former General Counsel, Radio Free And Tillerson has walled himself off Europe/Radio Liberty behind a small group of loyalists he’s Washington, D.C. n brought in with him. Predictably, Til- lerson’s and Trump’s long experience with private corporations, where profits measure success, offered little preparation for the policy and relational worlds of government, foreign affairs and diplomacy. Meanwhile, Pres. Trump raises false- hood and the denial of fact to alarming levels as he panders to his domestic Share your political base. While waving the flag thoughts about of “America First” to project strength this month’s issue. abroad, the president’s insults, threats, impulsivity and termination of international agreements have antagonized Submit letters allies and adversaries alike. A reduction in soft-power capabilities to the editor: undermines U.S. efforts to further global [email protected] justice, prosperity and peace through

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 13 TALKING POINTS

AAD Opposes or retired Foreign Service officer to guard Civil Service employees loyally serve the Nomination for against politicization while elevating the President, the Secretary of State and the Director General position to require Senate confirmation. United States of America.” n an unprecedented move, the Akard was an FSO for eight years, In 10 years as head of the organization, IAmerican Academy of Diplomacy serving in Belgium and India and as a AAD President Neumann told Foreign sent a letter to the chairman and ranking staff aide to Secretary of State Colin Pow- Policy, he hasn’t sent such a letter, adding member of the Senate Foreign Relations ell. He left the Foreign Service in 2005 to that he can’t recall if it’s ever been done in Committee on Oct. 30 urging them to work on economic development for the the organization’s 34-year history. oppose the nomination of Stephen Akard state of Indiana. The letter includes a chart of previ- as Director General of the Foreign Service “While Akard is technically eligible for ous Directors General that indicates, and Director of Human Resources at the the position under the Foreign Service among other things, the ambassador- State Department. Act,” states the AAD, “to confirm some- ships and senior-level positions they “We have concluded that Mr. Akard one who had less than a decade in the held before being named DG, and also lacks the necessary professional back- Foreign Service would be like making a spells out the association’s criteria for ground,” write AAD Chairman Ambassa- former Army Captain the Chief of Staff the DG position. dor (ret.) Thomas R. Pickering and AAD of the Army, the equivalent of a four-star For a full discussion of AAD’s views on President Ambassador (ret.) Ronald E. general.” the challenges facing American diplomacy, Neumann. “His confirmation would be AAD argues: “He does not have the see their American Diplomacy at Risk contrary to Congress’ longstanding intent experience necessary to advise the Sec- (2015). and desire to create a professional Ameri- retary on the Department’s most senior can diplomatic service based on merit.” appointments or the management of the What’s Going on with The American Academy of Diplomacy 75,000 Foreign Service, Civil Service, and Support for Families is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Locally Employed staff employed by the with Special Needs that is dedicated to strengthening U.S. State Department.” Children? diplomacy. Its membership includes “As good and decent a person as Mr. oncerns about support for Foreign former senior ambassadors and leaders Akard may be,” the AAD adds, “his confir- CService children with special needs in foreign policy. mation as the Director General would be that began to arise during 2015 were Akard was nominated for the top another step to further weaken the State spotlighted in the Journal’s January personnel management position at State Department, whose Foreign Service and 2016 focus on mental health care in the by the Trump administration on Oct. 16. Foreign Service. We heard from parents He has served as a senior adviser in the frustrated by what they saw as increas- Office of the Under Secretary for Eco- ing difficulty obtaining support and, in nomic Growth since January. particular, obtaining access to the Special Historically, the Director General Needs Education Allowance. position has gone to a senior Foreign In June 2016, the Journal ran a compi- Service officer who has served as an lation of comments from FS family mem- ambassador and has decades of dip- bers regarding mental health and special lomatic experience. The DG heads the needs support for FS children, along with Bureau of Human Resources, handles a June 2016 Speaking Out column by training and promotions, advises the Foreign Service authors Maureen Danzot Secretary of State on management and and Mark Evans. personnel, and manages internal issues Danzot and Evans pointed to confu- with diplomats abroad. sion surrounding the SNEA allowance In 1980, under the Foreign Service Act, and recommended that the department Congress mandated the presidentially work to engage parents in policymaking, appointed position be given to a current separate the medical clearance pro-

14 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SITE OF THE MONTH: MODERNDIPLOMACY.EU

e know you all read The El Salvador, Malaysia, Japan, Aus- WForeign Service Journal reli- tralia and the United States, strives giously. And you probably also keep to be “politically, generationally and on top of Foreign Policy and other U.S. geographically diverse.” sites that follow the Board members world of diplomacy. include former Sec- Modern Diplomacy retary General of the is another site for Council of Europe Dr. foreign affairs profes- Walter Schwimmer; sionals and students, former Foreign Minister based out of Athens, of Kazakhstan Erzhan Greece. Kazykhanov; Ernest Modern Diplomacy Petric, a justice with describes itself as the Constitutional “a leading European Court of Slovenia; and opinion-maker with Major Rejane Costa far-reaching influ- of Brazil’s Ministry of ence across the Defense. Middle East, Africa and Recent topics have Asia.” The site’s editors claim not to included “Trump-Russia Collusion: espouse any one agenda or school of The Story So Far,” a feature about the thought, instead welcoming writers questions that are arising as Saudi across a broad range of backgrounds. women gain access to sports stadi- Their board, which includes former ums in that country and an article ministers and secretaries-general about how Africa’s rapid urbanization from across Europe, as well as aca- can lead to industrialization. demics and other professionals from Modern Diplomacy’s Twitter Central Asia, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, handle is @presscode.

cess from the use of SNEA and “ensure lies with special needs children. transparency in the SNEA eligibility Parents interviewed by Spinner said process.” AFSA also raised these concerns they fear that the limitations MED has in meetings with officials in the Bureau of put on their families will force them out Medical Services. of the Service. Multiple families told the On Oct. 29 these concerns broke into Washington Post that services previously the national news when Washington Post provided are now being denied without reporter Jackie Spinner talked to parents explanation, despite the fact that such of special needs children and interviewed services would be provided in public AFSA State VP Ken Kero-Mentz for a story schools in the United States. about the State Department’s restrictions The situation has deteriorated to on financial support for diplomat fami- the point where, according to the Post,

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 15 Contemporary Quote Rex Tillerson came in and made an initial very positive impression. He appeared to reach out to the workforce of the Department of State, and so people were very optimistic. That optimism did not last long, however. … We got word that senior people were being fired without any notice or any justification. …When the decision came that our budget was going to be cut by one third or that a chokehold was going to be put on our recruitment programs, people started to ask questions. Why is this happening? Why are these things being done? And no answer was provided—or no coherent answer. …My budget was cut. I was told that I could not hire anyone, even when I had vacant positions. I could not transfer people within my organization or from elsewhere inside the State Department. …I was also told that I could make no reference to the policies of the prior administration. There was a political appointee sent out to the Foreign Service Institute who reviewed our training materials and objected when there was reference to American foreign policy under the Obama administration. Our response was that we were not rewriting history. We would indeed continue to teach our diplomats what policy under all previous presidents had been, and that when the Trump administration developed a policy toward different parts of the world, we would teach that as well. … I decided to leave in June of this year. I went through a period of weeks and months of soul searching, of consult- ing with family and trusted friends, of talking with colleagues. …None of us—myself and others who have left or are in the process of leaving—we didn’t want to leave. We wanted to continue to serve our country, but we had to stay true to our values. —Ambassador (ret.) Nancy McEldowney, former director of the Foreign Service Institute and now director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, speaking to Michael Barbaro on the Oct. 20 edition of The Daily podcast from The New York Times, “The State of the State Dept. under Rex Tillerson.”

“administrators of a Yahoo group used by On-Again-Off-Again middle of their job applications and had diplomat parents to trade resources and Hiring at State and not been told. advice kicked the medical team off.” USAID According to an Oct. 30 story in Gov- “It is, simply put, not in our national very day, it seems, the hiring situation ernment Executive, State has decided security interest to prevent these expe- Eat State and USAID changes. From to rejoin the program, but it is uncer- rienced, trained, talented officers from the eligible family member hiring freeze, tain how many fellows they plan to serving where the American people need covered in The Foreign Service Journal in hire—one State Department official told them most, whenever possible,” AFSA both the July/August 2017 and September Government Executive that “future PMF State VP Kero-Mentz told the Post. issues, to the cancellation and reinstate- hiring decisions will be considered as In addition to the June Speaking Out ment of the Pickering and Rangel fellow- part of the department’s overall strategi- column, The Foreign Service Journal ran a ship program, covered in the September cally managed hiring plan, in line with story about SNEA by Dr. Kathy Gallardo, FSJ, the situation is constantly in flux. the department’s redesign efforts.” MED’s deputy director for mental health In late October, word came that Tough times for applicants aren’t just programs, in the September 2016 issue. the State Department was rejoining limited to the State Department. Over Responses to questions the Journal the Presidential Management Fellows at USAID, 97 applicants who were in posed to MED can be found on the State program. In July the department had the pre-employment process recently Department website’s Office of Child abruptly withdrawn from that presti- received emails informing them that and Family Programs page. The Journal gious program, which aims to recruit the positions for which they had applied plans to take a look at the SNEA story in top college graduates into the federal no longer exist. According to an Oct. 31 greater detail in the March 2018 focus on government, causing confusion among devex.com report, these applicants will FS families. program finalists who were in the have to start over from the beginning of

16 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL the application process if they hope to Former Secretaries of find work at USAID. State School Haley According to another Devex story, n October, when two former Secretaries when pressed about the decision at a Iof State took the stage with current U.S. Nov. 1 House Appropriations Subcom- Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki mittee on State, Foreign Operations Haley, both took the opportunity to speak and Related Programs hearing, USAID about the importance of diplomacy. The Administrator Mark Green told Rep. panel discussion on American leadership, Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.): “We have not which was sponsored by George W. Bush’s eliminated positions. We are still under presidential center, was covered in the a hiring freeze. …Before I arrived at this Oct. 20 edition of The New York Times. position, we had asked for an exception Haley, a former governor who had no for that class that was involved, and it foreign policy experience when she was was denied.” selected for the job of ambassador to the Lowey stated that she is “extremely United Nations, listened as Condoleezza concerned” about the decision, saying Rice and Madeleine Albright explained “I have been working on these programs the importance of the State Department a long time. I have never experienced budget, with Rice pointing out that the anything like this.” budget goes to support global women’s

50 Years Ago

A Poignant Reminder

he death of Gustav Hertz in Viet Cong captivity Tbrings a poignant reminder that a total of 13 AID officers have lost their lives in Vietnam. Statistically the number is small in relation to the sacrifices made by our military men and is not to be compared to the sufferings endured by the Vietnamese civilian population. Yet there is a particular pathos in the thought of unarmed non- combatants losing their lives thousands of miles from home. We think the families and friends of our fallen fighting men will understand our calling special attention in this Journal to the losses of our AID associates. In doing so, we remember again that another officer serving with AID is still held prisoner by the Viet Cong, virtually incommunicado and enduring unknown hardships for endless months since being kidnapped in January 1966. We honor them, the prisoners, the dead, and their colleagues who risk a similar fate every day in the pursuit of an epic national effort. We draw strength from the example they have set for us. —Excerpted from an editorial of the same title in the December 1967 Foreign Service Journal.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 17 What is clear is the bipartisan support Heard on the Hill We have all chosen to be here because for continued investments in soft power, we do deeply understand that the ideals particularly at a time when diplomatic of USAID and America’s very generous and development challenges have grown commitment to try to solve humanitar- not only in number but complexity. ian problems—because we benefit both —Chairman Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-Ky.), economically and culturally, but also it at the House Appropriations Subcommittee creates international stability—is essen- on State, Foreign Operations and tial for our national security. Related Programs, Nov. 1. —Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and USAID is an essential component of Related Programs, Nov. 1. our national security. And I am confident JOSH that you believe as do I that international The reality is, the United States has to development is critical to maintaining U.S. global leader- lead. A lot of people resent that, but it’s just the truth. If we ship and protecting our national security. don’t lead, who in the world will? —Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), at the House Appropriations —Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), at the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Programs, Nov. 1. Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Nov. 1.

groups, fight HIV/AIDS and finance elec- is in the works. The amount was going to ests. AFSA and other employee groups tion monitoring—all of which advance be $40,000, then $25,000. are important partners in the redesign U.S. interests. In September, the Senate Appropria- effort. As has been said many times The two former Secretaries also tions Committee rejected the adminis- before, the freezes on hiring and promo- explained why nation-building, interna- tration’s proposed 30 percent budget cut tions are only temporary while we study tional trade and a free press are all critical for State and USAID in September, and how to refine our organization.” to our success as a nation. “Nation-build- called for the department to maintain Then on Nov. 10, The New York Times ing is not a four-letter word,” Albright 2016 staffing levels. reported that the State Department “will bluntly told the ambassador, while Rice Responding to AFSA President soon offer a $25,000 buyout to diplomats took the opportunity to promote the Ambassador Barbara Stephenson’s and staff members who quit or take importance of international cooperation. December column, “Time to Ask Why” early retirements by April.” Government The conference provided an increas- (which was shared ahead of publication; Executive reported on Nov. 13 that the ingly rare opportunity for bipartisan see pages 7 and 9), the State Department State Department had confirmed the discussion on the topic of defending told media outlets that suggestions of buyouts, citing a need to “reduce unnec- democratic and free-market principles. drastic cuts to the Foreign Service are essary supervisory levels and organiza- not accurate. tional layering.” n Buyouts? The deparment’s statement pointed What Buyouts? to the “employee-led” redesign effort: This edition of Talking Points was umors about a buyout offer at the “The goal of the redesign has always compiled by Donna Gorman, Dmitry RState Department have been swirl- been to find new ways to best leverage Filipoff, Shawn Dorman and Susan ing for months, even as the department our team’s brains, ingenuity, and com- Maitra. has denied that a major staff reduction mitment to serving our nation’s inter-

18 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SPEAKING OUT

Religious Diversity Benefits the State Department

BY PHIL SKOTTE

eligious diversity matters to the work of the State Department. Religion can be every bit as important In this brief essay I will provide as race, gender, sexual orientation and Rsome critical personal examples other aspects of our identity. of that fact, but let me start with an intro- duction and some background information about why having a faith can matter. I was raised in a family that had a strong Christian faith, and we attended our Swedish Baptist church twice on Sun- ship’s carpenter. It was there that I met back and see how my identity as a Chris- days and on Wednesday nights, too. Mis- my wife. For many years, I taught Sunday tian person has been of great value to the sionaries came to our church and showed school (although not as faithfully as State Department and its mission. Here I slides of faraway places, and sometimes Jimmy Carter), and my wife and I partici- offer a few examples as evidence that reli- we even hosted them in our home. Above pated in Bible studies and tithed (gave gious diversity matters to the work of the my bed was a “monkey rug” (made from away 10 percent of our income). State Department. I am sure many others the skin of nine monkeys) brought from Many of my State Department from various faiths could offer their own Ethiopia by my missionary uncle. My friends and colleagues find my back- examples of the value that faith-based mom put her wedding ring in the offering ground a little unusual and, in fact, people bring to diplomacy. plate after a particularly compelling pre- unintelligible. But when I joined the sentation by a visitor from Africa (my Dad Foreign Service in 1993, I brought this Education and Assistance said it was OK). identity and these commitments with From the outset of my career, I sought Having completed university, I went me. Even though the State Depart- out missionaries abroad for friendship to Princeton Theological Seminary with ment does not, at this writing, have any and mutual encouragement. They edu- the intention of becoming a minister or religion-based affinity groups, religion cated me and showed me parts of foreign a missionary myself. However, life took can be every bit as important as race, countries I would never have seen in some unexpected turns, and instead gender, sexual orientation and other my capacity as a diplomat. For example, I joined the Foreign Service—but not aspects of our identity. a missionary in Manila took me on her before serving as a volunteer aboard the Now, after almost 25 years serving nightly rounds working with glue-sniffing Christian service vessel MV Logos as a mostly as a consular officer, I can look street children. Another introduced me

FSO Phil Skotte has served in the Philippines, the Vatican, Hong Kong, Budapest and Moscow. Domestically, he has worked as a foreign policy adviser for special operations at the Pentagon and director of American Citizen Services worldwide; he currently serves as the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ liaison with the intelligence community. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska, a schoolteacher, an athletic director and a ship’s carpenter, and earned master’s degrees from the National Defense University and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of Why Jesus Won’t Go Away—A Diplomat Reflects on Faith (WestBow Press, 2014). Phil and Maribeth have three daughters. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of the U.S. government.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 19 As anyone who has served in West Africa Identifying Service Providers will tell you, a lot of health services in In the Philippines, Rome, Hungary, the region are delivered by faith-based Russia and Hong Kong, we relied on providers. local resources for our citizens in need (e.g., free food, shelter, counseling and more). I worked hard to build strong relationships with the providers of these essential services; to discover new ser- to Muslim families in Quiapo and took by consuls a universal practice, if I ever vice providers, and to close gaps where me to the Golden Mosque. had the chance. they existed. Not surprisingly, many of In Rome, my various church contacts That opportunity came when I these providers were and are people of housed the legal permanent residents became director of American Citizen faith. (LPRs) we had evacuated from Alba- Services back in Washington, D.C. Many of our wardens, it turns out, nia but could not assist with onward The Bureau of Consular Affairs agreed are also people of faith. When the travel from Italy. When the manage- immediately to my proposal to add the Marine Security Guard on duty in Mos- ment at the Holiday Inn complained offer of clergy visits to the prison visit cow passed me a call from a distressed about those LPRs bedding down in the checklist for consuls worldwide. American at 2 a.m., I reached out to hotel hallways at about 10 p.m., I called CA agreed, not for the purpose of an ACS contact, a pastor, who met me Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, propagating religion, which would be with his car at the embassy 20 minutes Mormons and Baptists. Every church inappropriate, but to offer added and later. We took the American to church- took in some of the evacuees until all critical support to our imprisoned funded lodging, and I gave him McDon- could be housed. citizens. I estimate that about one ald’s coupons. Three days later, he flew In Hungary, I began to identify local third of prisoners, if asked, will opt for home. resources to assist U.S. citizens in ways clergy visits. This additional support to As director of American Citizen Ser- that the consular section could not. imprisoned citizens abroad costs the vices, I worked to systematize our track- Many of those resources were graciously U.S. government nothing. ing of local resources worldwide and to given by persons and institutions of On another occasion, an American strengthen the warden network. These faith. On one occasion, I had responsi- citizen experienced a serious medical initiatives were folded into Secretary of bility for a number of American prison- issue in Budapest at a moment when I State John Kerry’s MissionOne program, ers undergoing two full years of pretrial was both consul general and the control and served to strengthen our protec- detention. It would be difficult to visit officer for a U.S. presidential visit event tions and services to our citizens at no each of them monthly. on Castle Hill. cost to the government. I asked the patient if he wanted a Some of the energy for these ideas Clergy Visits visit by clergy, and he said yes. The came from my extensive interactions With that in mind, I asked each clergy member and his expatriate with resource providers, who often had prisoner if they wanted visits by clergy. church stepped in and brought the a faith-driven service mentality. As a Two said yes—one a Baptist and the American food and a television, and person of faith, I was always comfort- other Jewish. The rabbi who agreed even picked up his family from the air- able with these people, whether they to visit the Jewish prisoner did such port and housed them. were Christians, Muslims or Jews. a fantastic job that the other Jewish They took great care of this recover- prisoner among the group eventually ing citizen, and it cost the U.S. govern- Evacuating Ebola Victims also asked for clergy visits. These visits ment—you guessed it—nothing! I was On a Sunday afternoon in 2014, were so important to the well-being of able to focus on the president’s visit when State’s Bureau of Medical Services these prisoners that I vowed to make knowing that this citizen was in good called to say that we needed to urgently the offering of clergy visits to prisoners hands. evacuate an American missionary with

20 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL active Ebola from West Africa, it was no coincidence that I already knew the mission involved. I also knew the administrator of the mission compound where most of the Ebola treatment in West Africa would take place. As anyone who has served in West Africa will tell you, a lot of health services in the region are delivered by faith-based providers. The State Department, especially MED and personnel at the embassies, did a great job evacuating American Ebola victims from West Africa. I am sure they would have done so without me and regardless of anyone’s faith, but the connections already made on the basis of religious interest proved to be useful when the emergency came. As I approach the end of my Foreign Service career, I can say with appre- ciation that the State Department, although appropriately secular in orientation, values the contributions of its religiously diverse workforce. I did not wear my faith on my sleeve in the work- place; never had a Bible on my desk or religious posters on the walls. But I brought a faith-based commitment to this career that has, in my opinion, benefited the department, its mission and our citizens. Committed Muslims, Baha’is, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and other Christians will have their own stories to share, and should do so. Their stories will help ensure that the State Department continues to understand and welcome the contributions that faith-based people bring to this institution and to our mission abroad. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 21 FOCUS ON HOW DIPLOMACY WORKS The Making of an Effective Diplomat A Global View How do diplomatic services around the world ensure their governments have a steady supply of the most effective professional envoys?

BY ROBERT HUTCHINGS AND JEREMI SURI

iplomatic services around the world With such challenges in mind, and thanks to funding and face many similar challenges: nurtur- guidance from the American Foreign Service Association, the ing officers who are globally aware and two of us led a project at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public still deeply connected to their nation; Affairs during the 2016-2017 academic year aimed at examining managing the growing centralization of the practices of diplomatic services in other major countries to foreign policymaking in the offices of see what lessons we might draw that would be helpful in improv- presidents, prime ministers and chan- ing the effectiveness of American diplomacy. cellors; engaging a growing array of We worked with a team of 15 talented graduate student non-state actors with whom they must researchers on a comparative study of the development and do business; and widening their scope of expertise to include operation of diplomatic services in eight countries: Brazil, China, Dcommerce, climate change, terrorism, energy and cybersecurity, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, Russia and Tur- among other issues. key. Our research focused on the recruitment, training, organi-

Robert Hutchings is the Walt and Elspeth Rostow Chair in National Security at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and was dean of the school from 2010 to 2015. He is a former U.S. ambassador and a former chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, and is author of four books, including Foreign Policy Breakthroughs: Cases in Successful Diplomacy (Oxford University Press, 2015), co-edited with Jeremi Suri. Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Department of History. Suri is the author and editor of nine books. In September he published his newest, The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office (Basic Books, 2017). The graduate students who researched and wrote the report on which this article is based (“Developing Diplomats: Comparing Form and Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” a report by the Policy Research Project on Reinventing Diplomacy at the University of Texas-Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs) are: Bryce Block, Evan Burt, Catherine Cousar, Adam Crawford, Michael Deegan, Daniel Jimenez, Joel Keralis, Joshua Orme, Zuli Nigeeryasen, Maria Pereyra-Vera, Zachary Reeves, Annika Rettstadt, Marne Sutten, Jessica Terry and Leena Warsi. The report is available atbit.ly/DevelopingDiplomats.

22 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Bernt Rostad [CC BY 2.0] via flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/brostad/277430545) Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Smolenskaya Square in Moscow. Educating Russia’s zation and promotion of diplomats in each country. It included a careful reading of published accounts of diplomatic training, Future Diplomats interviews with diplomatic personnel in Washington, D.C., and Russian diplomats are known for their strong discussions during a January meeting of the Austin Forum—an professional training and deep linguistic and intensive three-day workshop for rising American, European cultural knowledge of assigned regions. and Latin American diplomats. The principal pipeline for new diplomats Assembled in country teams, the researchers asked a series of remains the Moscow State Institute of Interna- questions: What is your country’s diplomatic culture and profes- tional Relations (MGIMO), which conducts rigor- sional ethos? How does an individual get chosen for the diplomatic ous training in diplomatic theory, area studies corps in your society? What is the content and duration of initial and foreign languages. Entry-level officers are training? What is your country’s budget for its diplomatic service expected to have mastery of at least two for- in relation to other priorities? What are the expectations for early eign languages, and they generally focus on one postings and career advancement? How are diplomats organized— region of the world, moving from post to post by region or issue area? What are the opportunities and expecta- while rising slowly through the ranks. tions for mid-career training? What is the trajectory for a typical While the Service is still a prestigious and diplomatic career? What role does your diplomatic service play in valued institution in Russia, it has faced chal- foreign policymaking, and how is this role changing? lenges in recent years that have lowered its pres- The result was a series of case studies containing valuable tige, including competition from higher-paying insights about different diplomatic services. Of course the informa- private-sector jobs and complaints of limited tion was more accessible and detailed for those in democratic soci- autonomy and agency. Further, while in the past eties (e.g., the U.K., France and Germany). Information was harder the vast majority of those attending MGIMO to acquire for more closed countries (e.g., Russia and China). were specifically pursuing careers in the foreign The final report, completed in May, is available from the ministry, this is no longer the case. A survey pub- Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and online. Though lished in 2011 suggested that the ministry had dealing with non-American countries, it identifies some “best failed to adapt to the needs of the post-Soviet practices” in the field of diplomacy that may contribute to reform- generation. ing and improving our own distinguished U.S. Foreign Service. —From “Developing Diplomats: Comparing Form and We discuss some of the potentially valuable findings below, Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” Country Report: including presenting highlights on specific countries, following a Russia, pp. 117-135. brief review of the history of U.S. diplomacy.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 23 German Diplomatic Culture German diplomatic culture derives from the combined legacies of geography, history, tradition and philosophy. Although Germany did not achieve statehood and national unity until 1871, it has an extensive history and rich diplomatic tradition that long predates unification. Its contemporary diplomatic style reflects the competing 19th-century traditions of Klemens von Metternich and Otto von Bismarck. The tradition of

Manfred Brückels work (own 2.0 ) [CC BY-SA de], via Wikimedia Commons Austrian Foreign Minister Metternich was charac- Entrance of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany in Berlin. terized by the maneuver and compromise needed to hold together the multiethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire, whereas the tradition of Prussian Chancellor Bismarck was that of machtpolitik (power politics) employed to unite Germany’s disparate principalities into a modern nation-state. Trained as a diplomat himself, serving as ambassador to Russia and later to France, Bismarck created the modern diplomatic corps and left behind a tradition of urbane, well-prepared diplomats. The Auswärtiges Amt (foreign office) at Wilhelmstrasse 76 was a highly centralized and rigid operation, organized along military lines and tightly controlled by the chancellor, who once declared that “if an ambassador can obey, more is not required.” —From “Developing Diplomats: Comparing Form and Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” Country Report: Germany, pp. 78-96.

The American Diplomatic Tradition go it alone. Diplomacy facilitated survival through interdepen- On Oct. 26, 1776, less than four months after signing the dence and the pursuit of the national interest through direct Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin set sail from communication, intelligence gathering and, when necessary, Philadelphia to France, where he became the first American manipulation. The founders and successive generations concen- diplomat. Franklin was a cosmopolitan inventor, businessman, trated their foreign policy activities on the work of diplomats, not politician and writer. He was also a skilled representative of his the military, and the most talented American statesmen served new nation, negotiating the first American alliance with France. their country in this capacity, following Franklin’s footsteps. Franklin and his contemporaries understood that interna- The 20th century was, in some ways, an era when this vision tional diplomacy—the cultivation and management of rela- came to fruition. The United States and its counterparts on tions with other states—was crucial for national survival and other continents expanded their diplomatic services, placing prosperity. He was part of a broader trans-Atlantic community greater emphasis than ever before on sending some of their most of learned, wealthy gentlemen who used their personal skills to talented and best-trained citizens abroad to negotiate treaties, manage relations between rival governments in an era of aggres- manage daily relations and report on potential dangers. Embas- sive empires. Diplomacy was not an alternative to war or peace, sies proliferated around the world, diplomatic conferences but instead an essential part of eliciting support from potential became more numerous and specialized, and organizations allies and, when necessary, balancing against potential foes in a (especially the League of Nations and the United Nations) turned complex international system. intensive diplomatic deliberations into a form of global gover- For Franklin and his many successors foreign relations meant nance. On the eve of World War II, the United States possessed a mix of cooperation, competition and negotiations to maximize a small, divided military (the Army and Navy were entirely the emerging power of the United States and minimize its weak- separate) and would soon have a growing, highly educated and nesses. In a complex world with diverse actors, no country could increasingly active Foreign Service. The diplomats largely deter-

24 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL mined American foreign policy in the mid-20th century. The professionalized diplomacy of the 20th century domi- The unprecedented expansion of America’s global presence, nated the Cold War, and it continues to shape the post-Cold and its underlying internationalist goals (including democratiza- War world, although the traditional power of the Department tion and free trade), required a more skilled, highly organized, of State has been diminished as the military has taken up professionalized diplomatic corps. Professionalization occurred more and more space in the foreign policy arena. American across all areas of society during the 20th century (medicine, diplomats (George Kennan, Averell Harriman, Dean Acheson, law, education, etc.), but it was especially pronounced in the Henry Kissinger, and many others) were at the center of U.S. field of diplomacy. The technically trained and carefully vetted policymaking, as were their Western European, Soviet, Chi- representative of the state supplanted the aristocrat-turned- nese, Japanese and postcolonial counterparts. Since at least diplomat of old. Governments, including the United States, built 1945, every major country has strived to hire, train and employ large bureaucracies to train and organize the work of men (and the most skilled professional diplomats for a variety of tasks, eventually women) hired full-time to manage different elements including: economic cooperation, counterterrorism, cultural of each nation’s foreign activities in trade, travel, military affairs, exchange and conflict management. education and other matters. The new professional Foreign Ser- vice officers were selected on merit (usually through competitive Vive la Difference examinations); they were highly trained (often with advanced One of the most striking things about the results of our survey degrees); and they were specialized (by field or region). of diplomatic services in eight key countries is how different

Fostering Strategic Thinking in the French Foreign Ministry The French see themselves as missionaries for their revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. French diplomats believe that they invented the modern art of diplomacy in the 16th century. They seek not only to secure the interests of the French state, but also to promote these ideals through public diplomacy and other forms of “soft power.” They do so in a relationship between posts and capital that seems to be unique: French diplomats are empowered to take stances that are consistent with the government policy without having to return to base at Max12Max work) (own 4.0], [CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons every juncture. The official entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d’Orsay This flexibility has allowed diplomats to in Paris, France. command conversations rather than react to the positions of others. Thus, France has gained success in the international community by consistently leading conversations and directing dialogue. —From “Developing Diplomats: Comparing Form and Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” Country Report: France, pp. 59-77.

26 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Max12Max work) (own 4.0], [CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing. Recruitment and Training in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Immediately after selection, new hires complete a six-month training course designed to familiarize them with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese diplomatic system. They then normally spend their first three-year assignment at MFA headquarters in Beijing and are not considered full diplomats until their first international posting. As they progress through their careers, junior officers participate in a number of training courses—ranging from a few days or weeks to as long as two years—to be eligible for promotion. A unique feature of their professional development is that approximately 140 officers are sent to major national and international universities annually to complete a full year of graduate-level academic study. Selection for this additional academic training is a strong indicator for future promotion to leadership ranks. Advancement to key leadership positions can occur at a relatively young age, and many ascend to ambassadorial posts by age 40. —From “Developing Diplomats: Comparing Form and Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” Country Report: China, pp. 40-58.

their histories and cultures are, despite the many structural provide entry-level training designed to familiarize officers with and procedural similarities among them. From these diverse the ministry as well as to acquire diplomatic skills. examples, is it possible to identify the ideal diplomat? Surely not: The Brazilian, German and Indian services have the most skilled diplomats come in various shapes and sizes. Some are extensive initial training of the eight countries studied, ranging master strategists, others are gifted linguists with deep regional from three semesters in Brazil to as long as three years in Ger- expertise, and still others are experienced administrators and many. France, Russia and the United Kingdom do not provide leaders. Diplomatic services need officers with these varied the same level of initial training, relying instead on their rigorous talents: the attributes one seeks for the head of the planning staff selection process from elite institutions and the professional edu- are not the same as those sought for the director of a regional cation entering officers received there before joining the service. bureau or a United Nations ambassador. Vive la difference! Several services offer focused training courses at various There are, nonetheless, certain practices these services share points throughout a career. Brazil and China link mandatory that ensure they will nurture and develop skilled and effective mid-career training courses to eligibility for promotion, while professional diplomats. All of them recruit highly qualified offi- France requires mid-career management training after 15 years cers, many drawn from elite institutions like the École Nationale of service. The German and French services seem to be the most d’Administration (ENA) in France and the Moscow State Insti- advanced in promoting a “work-life balance” through generous tute of International Relations (MGIMO) in Russia, which are family leave policies, flextime work arrangements and job place- specifically geared for the preparation of public servants. And all ment help for partners.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 27 To regularize promotion procedures and make them more Lessons for the United States? transparent, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has We did not include the U.S. Foreign Service in our multicoun- established Assessment and Development Centers, which admin- try survey deliberately, fearing that doing so might lead us to ister a mix of written and interactive exercises focused mainly on judge everything against the U.S. experience. We also hesitated management and leadership. Similarly, Turkey requires merito- to draw sweeping conclusions about which practices are most cratic examinations between the sixth and ninth years of service. relevant or most deserving of emulation by the United States. A In all eight countries ambassadorial posts are almost “best practice” in one country is not necessarily best for another. entirely reserved for career diplomats. Most ambassadors to There are many areas in which the U.S. Foreign Service excels. key posts have prior experience as ambassadors, speak the It recruits a highly talented group of entering officers, whose local language fluently and have served in senior levels in composition is more diverse than that of other services we stud- their home ministries. The contrast between the professional ied. These rising diplomats acquire strong regional and language standards of these countries and the U.S. practice of assigning skills along the way, and they typically have a mix of postings political appointees to key posts is conspicuous. that help them acquire a global perspective. Another strength of the U.S. system, often mentioned by foreign diplomats with admiration and envy, is the presence at the senior working level of many “irregulars” who come in from academia, think-tanks or law firms to take up staff positions at National Security Council, National Economic Council, policy planning staff and elsewhere. (Of course, this practice has the disadvantage of displacing FSOs who might have aspired to those same positions.) Yet, compared to many of the services we studied, America’s diplomatic corps is disadvantaged at the entry level and again at the senior level. At entry level, officers are given a mere five weeks of orientation in the A-100 course, involving no serious substantive training. Then it may take several years before they

Laurie Jones aka ljonesimages on Flickr 2.0], [CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons Entry-Level Training in The North Block of the Indian Secretariat Building, which houses the Ministry of External Affairs. the Indian Foreign Service India’s practice is unique among those diplomatic services we studied. New Indian diplomats are drawn from the highly selective Indian Civil Service examination process. Indian Foreign Service candidates are recruited alongside domestic counterparts such as the Indian Administrative Service, and their training begins with civil servants from across ministries and levels of government. IFS officers subsequently undertake almost two additional years of training on top of the instruction they received as civil service recruits, including extensive rotations throughout the central government’s ministries, as well as military attachments. Their training also includes innovative features meant to ensure that Indian diplomats are well-connected to their country at the grass roots level: for example, a 10-day trek in the Himalayas followed by a 12-day visit to a remote village and the Bharat Darshan (view of India), a tour of major cultural, commercial and historical sites. Brazil has an analogous but less extensive practice whereby officers spend time in various states to experience something of the diversity of their country. —From “Developing Diplomats: Comparing Form and Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” Country Report: India, 97-116.

28 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL have a chance to work in their career track, as all officers must do sadors and senior leaders in the State Department. No other at least one year of consular work, and often more than that. As a country permits this level of amateurism, and the United States result, many junior officers begin to lose some of the enthusiasm pays a heavy price for being so disadvantaged at the top level of they had when they entered, especially since these early postings critical missions abroad and within the department itself. are followed by what can be a painfully slow rise through the None of this is to denigrate the U.S. Foreign Service, whose ranks. officers are often among the most skilled and dedicated of any As U.S. diplomats progress through their careers, they often diplomatic service. Rather, it is to suggest that there are lessons find that the Foreign Service does not offer sufficient time off to be learned from other services that could better empower the to pursue advanced academic training or gain experience in U.S. Foreign Service to field the strongest officers at entry level, another professional setting. Contrast this with their military prepare them to be both experts and strategic thinkers, and counterparts, who routinely receive yearlong training at least ensure that only the most qualified individuals represent the twice in a career. The very few FSOs who are afforded mid-career United States at the highest levels. academic opportunities most often receive their strategic train- These are the lessons that our nation’s leaders, in Congress ing at the National War College, with the result that diplomats and in the White House, must appreciate. And the American learn strategy from the military rather than the other way public must understand these insights, too. We need to nurture around. new Benjamin Franklins who will represent our country as The United States is an extreme outlier among foreign ser- skilled diplomats, and educate citizens about the importance of vices in the number of political appointees who serve as ambas- their work. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 29 FOCUS ON HOW DIPLOMACY WORKS

Diplomacy Works: First-Person Stories from the Field

U.S. diplomacy is vital to American prosperity and national security and to maintaining a peaceful world. Here are some examples of the critical work diplomats do.

As part of AFSA’s mission to tell the story of the Foreign Service, The Foreign Service Journal has begun building a collection of narrative “case studies." We reached out to the association’s membership, asking for their stories of a time, an event or a day when diplomacy achieved an important objective. The response has been excellent, such that the compilation here is Part I of what promises to be a continuing series. We will publish Part II in January. Written by active-duty and retired members of the U.S. Foreign Service, these accounts offer vivid illustrations of the indispensable everyday work of career diplomats and development professionals around the world. If you have a story to add, please send it to [email protected], with subject line “Diplomacy Works." —The Editors

30 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A Flag Is Better than Two days later, the coup collapsed. Gorbachev was released a Thousand Words from house arrest in the Crimea and returned to a capital that he no longer ruled. Yeltsin was now the dominant leader, and a few Soviet Union 1991 • By Raymond Smith months later he led Russia out of the Soviet Union, consigning the 1917 communist revolution to the dustbin of history. On the morning of Aug. 19, 1991, hard-line Soviet leaders were The coup collapsed for the reasons we said it might: the bravery attempting to solidify their coup against Soviet President and of the Soviet citizens who risked their lives to resist it and the General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. At the U.S. embassy, we unwillingness of key members of the Soviet military to use force were scrambling for information, advising Washington on the against their own people. We at the embassy had done what dip- conditions that could lead the coup effort to collapse (large- lomats can. We provided our leaders with information and advice. scale public resistance and doubts that the military would follow We recognized and took advantage of the opportunity to demon- orders to crush the resistance to it), and recommending that the strate publicly where the United States stood at this critical junc- U.S. government refuse all contact with the coup leadership. ture in the political life of the country to which we were accredited. I was about two weeks short of completing my three-year tour as head of Embassy Moscow’s political section. We were Raymond Smith worked in the State Department for more than 30 between ambassadors, and Jim Collins, normally the deputy years, retiring from the Foreign Service with the rank of Minister chief of mission, was in charge. Counselor. His areas of specialty were the Soviet Union, Russia and At about midday, Jim told me that he had gotten a request from Africa. Smith is the author of two books, Negotiating with the Soviets Russian President Boris Yeltsin (the centerpiece of resistance to (Indiana University Press, 1989) and The Craft of Political Analysis the coup) to call on him at Russian government headquarters, for Diplomats (Potomac Books, 2011), and numerous articles. which overlooked the embassy compound from a couple hundred yards away. Crowds had converged on the headquarters, locally known as the White House, and were building barricades around Señora Luna’s Cooking Pot it with whatever materials they could find. If the coup leaders tried to use force, this was where it would happen. Bolivia 2003 • By Alexis Ludwig Jim asked for my views, and I told him that I thought we should go see Yeltsin. We had long supported Gorbachev’s One afternoon in late November 2003, Pete Harding, then reform effort, although we had also advised Washington that human rights officer at U.S. Embassy La Paz, was returning to his the effort was in trouble and that even the continued existence office after a working lunch with one of his social sector contacts. of the Soviet Union was in doubt. Success of the coup would As he entered the chancery lobby and made his way toward the mean the end of reform and, probably, elevators, Harding noticed a middle- a reversion to hostility between our aged woman of indigenous ethnic countries. There was no doubt the coup origin stepping away from the embassy leaders would be well aware of our visit cashier’s window. She was dressed non- to Yeltsin and would understand how descriptly, in jeans, a long-sleeved white the United States felt about their effort T-shirt and blue vest. But something to grab power. about her was off. She held a large black Jim made a call to the State Depart- cooking pot in her arms, and tears were ment on the embassy’s secure line and obtained agreement to streaming down her face. Harding felt the stirrings of sympathy accept Yeltsin’s invitation. A few minutes later, we climbed into and curiosity. He introduced himself, and guided the woman to the ambassador’s limousine and, American flag flying to show a seat in the back corner of the lobby. that the head of the embassy was aboard, made“ the short drive Harding discovered that the woman, Señora Gaby Luna to the White House, moving carefully up the ramp as cheering Velasco, had recently lost her home to a fire. Señora Luna’s two- crowds pulled down their makeshift barriers to allow us entry. It ”story home in the Eloy Salmon commercial neighborhood near was as clear to them as it was to the temporary occupants of the downtown La Paz doubled as a small business: the structure’s Kremlin what this meant. ground floor was a shop from which she and her family sold

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 31 domestic appliances. Her He was the bridge, the interpreter, ing placed these bags into a home, that shop and all the the sole point of intersection cardboard box, secure-wrapped merchandise in it were now it and mailed it to the U.S. gone. Everywhere she had between those worlds—doing Treasury Department’s Bureau gone to seek help, she had his best to bring them together of Engraving and Printing in been turned away. Bolivian to solve a problem. Washington, D.C. government ministries, the –Alexis Ludwig During the months that fol- central bank and other local lowed, Harding made multiple institutions had been unre- calls to Washington to seek sponsive. The Bolivian bank updates and press for progress. branch in the embassy chancery had Señora Luna’s box had arrived just as just told her “sorry” for a second time. the Bureau was responding to a surge Harding peered inside the cook- stemming from forest fires in California, ing pot and saw a pile of what looked and the office’s expert currency examin- like blackened ashes and smelled like burnt paper. It was several ers were working at full throttle, unable to give their immediate seconds before he realized what he was seeing and smelling: the attention to the case from distant Bolivia. When the distraught remains of several clumps of U.S. one hundred dollar bills. The Señora Luna called him pleading for news, Harding assured her it charred bills were all that was left of her family’s“ life savings, which was just a matter of time. included the money she had recently collected from neighbors to He explained the bureaucratic process; that complex currency pay for merchandise. She claimed that $45,000 in cash had been ”examination cases were time-consuming; that accurate calcula- hidden beneath her mattress at the time of the fire, and she sought tions were critical; and that the workload of currency examiners help to convert the ashes back to viable legal tender. was heavy. In short, he performed the diplomat’s quintessential Señora Luna’s story rang a bell: Harding recalled having read task, mediating between two otherwise separate worlds. He was the about the devastating nighttime fire not long before in the local bridge, the interpreter, the sole point of intersection between those papers. And he knew it was plausible. The “informal” sector rep- worlds—doing his best to bring them together to solve a problem. resented two-thirds of Bolivia’s economy—the country’s growing The solution came in early June, more than six months after cholo commercial class owned the street stands and lunch stalls, he had mailed the box of burnt bills to Washington. It was a U.S. small bric-a-brac shops, hardware stores and food markets, and Treasury check in the amount of $17,100. When Harding called ran the thriving commerce in mostly contraband electrical goods with the good news, Señora Luna was overcome with emotion. He and computer electronics. They administered this substantial was happy for her, pleased that their persistence had paid off and informal economy almost exclusively in cash—often in U.S. dol- relieved he had not oversold his ability to come through on his lars rather than the local currency. implied promised, after all. Whatever the case, Señora Luna needed help. She had no To commemorate the event, the embassy’s public affairs office insurance. She had nothing left, owed money for all the merchan- organized a special ceremony in the chancery lobby. Harding and dise destroyed in the fire and had intended to pay off her debt U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia David Greenlee formally presented the with the charred cash in the cooking pot. Harding asked her to check to Señora Luna. Amb. Greenlee received a grateful kiss on wait in the lobby while he went inside to consult with embassy the cheek from the tearful woman, a gesture that was broadcast on colleagues about whether there was any way he could help. He national TV that same night. It also appeared on the front pages of returned an hour later to tell her he would do what he could. From Bolivian papers the following day, above feature-length accounts his professional point of view, helping a woman of Señora Luna’s of her travails and their successful resolution—with the help of background would have precisely the kind of political impact we U.S. Embassy La Paz. were seeking. More importantly, however, it was the right thing to do. (He could not stop asking himself: What if it were my own Alexis Ludwig has been a Foreign Service officer since January 1994. mother in this situation?) He is currently a career development officer for senior-level officers. They transferred the contents of her cooking pot into several He has been political counselor in Brazil, Argentina and Peru, among thick, industrial-style plastic bags. Back in his office, Hard- other postings in Latin America and East Asia.

32 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Navigating Hong Kong’s a weakened Qing dynasty a treaty extending (via a 99-year lease) Return to China the boundaries of Hong Kong well beyond the island and the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, which had been seized by Britain in 1842 Hong Kong 1992 • By Richard W. Mueller and 1860, respectively. Claude MacDonald, Britain’s negotiator, declared that 99 years was “as good as forever.” United States diplomacy and law were critical in continuing our But as China began to open up during the 1980s, the 1997 deep and extensive relationships with Hong Kong and China after deadline loomed frighteningly close. The question of Hong Kong’s July 1, 1997—the date Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty future status was on everyone’s minds, both before and after the and became a special administrative region of China. Without the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing that drove people multiyear effort of the Department of State, Congress and other and capital to seek safe haven. federal agencies, we would have been unable to work with Hong No option other than the return of sovereignty was acceptable Kong, China and the United Kingdom to maintain many of the to China. But a straight handover and the imposition of Chi- important relationships allowed by China’s unique “one country, nese laws and governance would have caused untold chaos and two systems” formula for Hong Kong. decline in Hong Kong, an important international financial and Without the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 and subsequent trading center. detailed negotiations, we would have had to impose the same In the fall of 1983, as chief of the economic section at U.S. Con- restrictive relationships that we had with the PRC on Hong Kong— sulate General Hong Kong, I witnessed a foretaste of what a failure an open, free market territory with a solid tradition of liberties and to secure the future might mean. A severe crash in the Hong law. This would have created a crisis not only in Hong Kong but in Kong dollar and the stock market, along with panic buying of our relationships with China and other countries. essentials, gripped the city for days in the wake of a collapse in Some important background: In 1898, Great Britain forced on high-level United Kingdom-China negotiations. PHOTO COURTESY RICHARD MUELLER W. View of Hong Kong.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 33 In recognition of the Without the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy maintenance of consular reality of the situation, a Act of 1992 and subsequent detailed and trade offices, support “pragmatic” Deng Xiaoping for Hong Kong’s continued supported the subsequent negotiations, we would have had participation in international negotiation of the Sino- to impose the same restrictive organizations, educational British Joint Declaration of relationships that we had with the and cultural exchange, human 1984, which was later entered PRC on Hong Kong. rights, Hong Kong’s common into Chinese law as “one law and others. –Richard Mueller country, two systems.” Hong The legislation garnered Kong’s status as a special widespread support and administrative region of the passed both the Senate and PRC would continue until 2047. The House unanimously in October 1992. socialist system of China would not be Months later, I arrived in Hong Kong practiced in Hong Kong, and its capi- as the new American consul general. A talist system, common law, liberties top priority for my next three years— and way of life would continue. and for my successors—was fleshing out these policies and In creating this new framework, Deng Xiaoping was keenly authorities. In many cases we needed to negotiate with the focused on the longer-term political imperative of bringing Hong Kong, British and Chinese governments, as well as our home Macau, still under Portuguese sovereignty and, even U.S. government colleagues, to ensure they aligned their poli- more important, Taiwan. (Macau reverted“ to China in 1999; cies and practices. There was generally a positive view among Taiwan has declined to negotiate on such a framework.) ”all actors of how the continuing relationships would serve What was the U.S. role? Importantly, we needed a legal common and differing interests. There was also recognition basis to conduct our relationship with Hong Kong differently that under U.S. law the president could suspend differential from its sovereign. Thus was born the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy treatment if Hong Kong’s autonomy was not maintained. Act of 1992. Twenty-five years later, the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act As a career FSO and deputy assistant secretary for legisla- continues to serve as a guidepost to U.S. interests and national tive affairs under Secretary of State James Baker, I was asked to security goals. It has helped us support the continuation of be the point person for our negotiations with Congress, work- Hong Kong as an important venue for concluding trade and ing closely with State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, the Bureau investment agreements, resolution of legal disputes, a free flow of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and others. There was intense of information and U.S. Navy ship visits, among other things. interest in many quarters of Congress; Senator Mitch McCon- While the last two decades have seen many changes in China nell (R-Ky.) was a lead sponsor of the bill. Much of our initial and Hong Kong—some of them worrisome for long-term work was educational: What was the history? Why did we need maintenance of Hong Kong’s unique status—our diplomatic new authorities? What were U.S. objectives? and legal efforts have paid off handsomely in sustaining our An early crisis arose when the Chinese embassy in Wash- rich and complex relationships across the Pacific. ington, D.C., harshly criticized our work, mistakenly believing we were copying the oft-denounced Taiwan Relations Act. Richard W. Mueller retired in 1998 with the rank of Minister We were able to explain the differences and remind them Counselor after 32 years in the Foreign Service. He served as that China had requested that we and other countries build a deputy executive secretary under Secretary of State George Shultz future relationship based on “one country, two systems.” and as deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs under Working closely with members of Congress and their staff, Secretary James Baker. Specializing in Asian and Chinese affairs, we spent many months drafting the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy he served as consul general in Hong Kong (1993-1996). He subse- Act’s findings, policies and specific authorizations allowing a quently served as director of the Asia Society Hong Kong Center broad variety of relationships to continue, such as economic and then, for 15 years, was head of three schools: Northfield Mount and trade relations (most-favored nation status), law enforce- Hermon School, Hong Kong International School and Shanghai ment cooperation, differential export controls, support for American School.

34 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Supporting the Casamance sent by the newly created State Department Bureau of Conflict Peace Initiative and Stabilization Operations, saw an opportunity to promote our interests and those of one of our most important African allies. Senegal 2012 • By James R. Bullington Peace in the Casamance, she and her colleagues reasoned, would eliminate a source of political instability, encourage eco- In 2012, one of the candidates in Senegal’s presidential elec- nomic development and free up Senegalese military resources tion, Macky Sall, campaigned on a promise to end a secession- for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations and ist insurgency that had persisted in the southern part of the countering Islamist extremism in West Africa. CSO sold this idea country, the Casamance, for 30 years. It had resulted in hun- to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Dakar in July dreds of deaths, thousands of refugees, a crippled economy and 2012 and offered our help to President Sall. He accepted. a politically unstable region increasingly vulnerable to Islamist I had been in touch with Rebecca and CSO for several extremism and international narcotics trafficking. months in an effort to find a job that would alleviate my grow- When Sall won and indicated he would welcome inter- ing boredom in retirement. My qualifications—fluent French, national assistance in implementing his campaign promise, ambassadorial rank and lots of experience in Africa and in Rebecca Wall, a member of a small team of election observers conflict situations, including Vietnam, Chad and Burundi—fit their needs for the Casamance project. I began work as a re-employed annuitant and, after several days of consul- tations in Washington, arrived in Dakar in mid-October. My welcome by the Senegalese government and people was enthusiastic, not because of any personal merit, but because of what my appointment represented—the official engagement of the U.S. government to support the Casamance peace initiative. This illustrates an important point: American participation is vital to address many global issues, as other governments and people often look to Uncle Sam for leadership and backing. Over the next two years, this U.S. engagement in support of Senegal’s effort to end the Casamance conflict was instrumental in mobilizing international reconstruction and development aid for the region; facilitating negotiations between the government and the rebels; launching a disarmament, demobilization and re-insertion program for rebel fighters; and beginning the resettlement of refugees who had been displaced by the conflict. The CSO Casamance project was highly cost-effective. It consisted of me, a part- time deputy (retired FSO Sue Ford Patrick) whom I

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMES R. BULLINGTON recruited in Dakar and one At top, James Bullington (right) officer (Rebecca) to sup- meets with leaders of the Mine Victims Association in Ziguinchor, port us in Washington, D.C., capital of the Casamance region, in plus $1 million in Defense 2013. Opposite, Bullington (fourth Department funds that were from right) and U.S. Ambassador to made available to State. This The Gambia Ned Alford (third from right) meet with refugees from the illustrates another important Casamance in The Gambia. point: diplomacy is almost

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 35 always the most cost-effective tool in the national security tool- Assistance after kit. a Severe Earthquake Most insurgencies don’t end with a signed peace agree- Mexico 2017 • By Alex Mahoney ment; they just fade away. This has been the case in the Casamance. A de facto ceasefire began a few months after my On Sept. 19, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck approximately 75 arrival, and it still holds while negotiations continue. A few miles from Mexico City, killing more than 355 people, injuring at hundred rebels have left the fight and started the disarmament least 6,000 others and damaging about 44,000 buildings across the and demobilization process. Several thousand refugees have region. It was the same day that a deadly earthquake had struck returned to their homes. Reconstruction and development aid the city 32 years before, and less than two weeks after a magnitude have surged. 8.1 earthquake shook the southern coast of Mexico. With the Casamance burden lightened, Senegal’s highly The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of professional military forces were able to continue their partici- U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance—which leads the U.S. govern- pation in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa. ment’s response to international disasters—immediately stood up They joined other West African countries in restoring demo- a response team in Washington, D.C., to coordinate activities in cratic governance to The Gambia after its president refused support of the government of Mexico. At first we didn’t know if we to abide by election results, and sent an Army battalion plus would be responding, for one of the criteria for USAID to assist to police forces to support the French-led operation in Mali that with an international disaster is that the affected government must is blocking a threatened takeover of that country by jihadi either request U.S. government assistance or be willing to accept it. extremist groups. Since 2002, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance It is rare to hear praise for U.S. diplomacy from the lips of has worked with Mexican disaster authorities to strengthen their a French professor, especially when it involves Francophone search-and-rescue capacity. USAID supported training exer- Africa. Thus the remarks of Prof. Jean-Claude Marut, the cises for first responders, as well as for instructors, who have world’s leading academic expert on the conflict, at a 2015 semi- now trained more than 1,300 firefighters and first responders on nar, “The Role of American Diplomacy in the Casamance Cri- search-and-rescue techniques. Because the Mexican government sis,” were especially gratifying: “American diplomacy achieved has its own robust disaster response capabilities, it seldom asks its objective ... thanks to their mediation offer together with the for additional assistance from the United States. However, after appointment of a Casamance representative. … The American the Sept. 19 earthquake, in addition to mobilizing its own national involvement inspired more confidence, due to the weight of resources to respond to the disaster, the government of Mexico American diplomacy ... it enabled the financing of the [rebel] accepted the U.S. government’s offer of assistance. delegations that traveled to the Rome negotiations ... [and it led to] a ceasefire that is still in place. … The Americans supported demining. They facilitated the return of refugees, and they brought The Gambia [which had protected the rebels] back into the game.” We did not restore peace to the Casamance. President Sall, the Senegalese government and the people of the region deserve credit for that. But our support was vital to the success of Senegal’s Casamance peace initiative.

James R. Bullington, an FSO for 27 years, served in Vietnam, Thai- land, Burma, Chad and Benin, as well as in Washington, D.C. He was dean of the State Department Senior Seminar and served as ambassador to Burundi from 1983 to 1986. More on this project can be found in the book by Jim and his wife, Tuy-Cam, Expeditionary PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALEX MAHONEY Diplomacy in Action: Supporting the Casamance Peace Initiative Members of USAID’s elite disaster response team took part in a (CreateSpace, 2015). 24-hour effort to search a collapsed office building.

36 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL After the Sept. 19 earthquake in Mexico, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance deployed a response team.

USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team comprised of 15 disaster experts, as well as 67 members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team and five canines. It was the 17th time since 1988 that USAID deployed a USAR team to help with international rescue efforts. For more than a week, the team worked with others from across the globe in an around-the-clock effort to search for survivors. Working in tandem with Mexican teams, DART’s USAR team American canine teams meet up with Tijuana-based teams. searched eight buildings—including the 24-hour scouring of a collapsed office building. DART structural engineers also assisted the includes saws, hand tools, generators, fuel containers, tents, cots Mexican government in the assessment of more than 50 damaged and portable sinks and showers. buildings, helping to determine whether it was safe for people to A week and a half after their arrival, USAID’s DART returned return to their homes and for schools, clinics and offices to reopen. home. Though our USAR members did not find any survivors, we The USAR members of DART were one of the last teams to are incredibly proud of what our team accomplished. Helping depart Mexico City. At the request of the Mexican government, the people around the world after disasters strike represents the best team helped coordinate the demobilization process for the other of America, and we did everything possible to help our neighbors international search teams and worked with Mexican counter- in Mexico during their time of need. parts to strengthen their capacity to implement this process in the future. Alex Mahoney served as the response team manager for USAID’s In addition, USAID is working with the Mexican Red Cross to Mexico Earthquake Response Management Team. He formerly headed render assistance to the elderly, the disabled and those who were USAID’s Middle East Crisis Humanitarian Response. For their work injured in the earthquake. We also supported the transfer of some saving lives in Syria and Iraq, he and the team received the 2017 of the USAR team’s search-and-rescue equipment and supplies to Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal in the category of national the Mexican Red Cross to help with continuing relief efforts. This security and international affairs.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 37 Power Plant tions and contracting difficulties, we were unable to install it. Projects Local Power In 2015, I returned for a second tour in Afghanistan. Just days into the tour, I sat nervously in the mission director’s office as Afghanistan 2016 • By Jeremiah Anthony Carew the decision was made to evacuate the Kajaki site due to nearby indirect fire. Starting in September of that year, a colleague took Kajaki Dam has figured large in our engagement in Afghanistan the initiative and, working closely with the ambassador, man- for more than half a century. The story of how the hydroelectric aged to remobilize at Kajaki by early 2016. When he left in July, project there was finished illustrates how development actually I took over to lead the team through the final stretch to project works in the field. completion, anticipated in October. In 2003 I was a junior consultant working on the U.S. Agency A critical issue when I took over was the state of the transmis- for International Development’s Afghanistan desk. When a sion line connecting Kajaki to nearby towns and cities. It was senior manager announced portentously that we were “going conventional wisdom that, although Kajaki would be able to pro- back into Kajaki,” I remember quickly googling “Kajaki” to find duce significantly more power when our project was completed, out why this was such a big deal. As I learned, the U.S. irrigation the transmission line was so badly deteriorated that it would not and power generation project in Helmand province—started in be able to transmit the additional power. Yet another years-long the 1950s and further developed in the 1970s—had a lot of his- project would be needed to upgrade that line. tory before we re-engaged on it. In August we invited the CEO of the Afghan power utility Over the decades, it moved slowly, beset by obstacle after company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, for dinner, and obstacle, even though it remained a key piece of infrastructure talked through the game plan for the critical final months of the for southern Afghanistan. In 2009, during my first overseas tour project. In between bites of food, the CEO casually announced in USAID Afghanistan’s infrastructure office, we were frustrated. that DABS would be rehabilitating the transmission line while A year earlier, a major British-led military operation had trans- power was shut off from the dam, taking advantage of the outage ported a third turbine for the dam by land through Taliban-held to do long-needed work. We were dumbfounded. The CEO’s territory despite loss of life. But because of the security condi- announcement contradicted years of experience-based assump- PHOTO COURTESY OF JEREMIAH ANTHONY CAREW ANTHONY JEREMIAH OF COURTESY PHOTO An Afghan linesman works to fix a flaw in the 200-km transmission line delivering electricity from the Kajaki power plant.

38 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL tions on our part. If true, it was a game changer—we could not Which Way Will Bucharest Go? only finish Kajaki by October, but get that additional power out Romania 1991-1994 • By Anthony M. Kolankiewicz to homes and businesses at the same time. I immediately called together the USAID and contractor engineering staffs to test the engineering behind what the CEO After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, had told us. Our analysis indicated that his plan was possible Washington was not sure which direction Bucharest would go. but risky—if the security situation prevented DABS linesmen The first Romanian president after the fall of Nicolas Ceausescu from accessing the entire line, any small flaw in its 200-kilome- had been educated in Moscow and was pro-Russia by tem- ter length could mean failure. Like a lightbulb filament, the line perament and experience. He pressed for a slow, incremental would simply melt and pop when power was increased. transition toward democratic institutions and a market economy. We told DABS they had our full support to implement this The weak, fragmented democratic opposition favored a quicker audacious plan and offered significant amounts of transmission process, but struggled for relevance within a conservative society. cable we had in stock to assist. The DABS head of operations in I served as a political officer at U.S. Embassy Bucharest from the Kandahar region, a savvy engineer named Rasool, explained 1991 to 1994, my first overseas assignment as a tenured officer. My the plan to us: They would rent additional bucket trucks and responsibilities centered on keeping in touch with the opposition deploy double shifts each day of the outage to repair the line. political parties, including the trade union movement. September 2016 was a nerve-wracking month, but the days The main trade union in the country was the former com- went more smoothly than expected as the team completed tur- munist workers’ organization, known by the Romanian acronym bine installation on schedule and commissioned the new unit. CNSLR. I met with its leadership frequently, most of the time Meanwhile, Afghan linesmen from DABS heroically endured on my own but occasionally with the local representative of the blazing desert heat, kidnappings and double shifts to untangle Free Trade Unions Institute. The FTUI was the European arm of and repair damaged line bit by bit and, in the worst stretches, the AFL-CIO and reported directly to AFL-CIO headquarters in replace it with new line. By early October, DABS was nearly ready Washington, D.C. to begin testing the additional power on the transmission line. The CNSLR president, Victor Ciorbea, told me repeatedly dur- We lost a couple of weeks when, in classic Afghan fashion, ing the first year of my assignment that his goal was to transform a village along the line would not grant DABS engineers access the former communist trade union into a credible democratic without a promise of more power from the dam. Having DABS institution. I was skeptical, since many other former communist out front negotiating with their own people was critical, and they organizations in Romania at the time spoke about similarly posi- successfully reached a compromise. tive plans but made little real effort to change. In the end, the project was completed. As the reporting cable Mr. Ciorbea began to implement some of his plans during stated: “Now that Unit 2 is online, the Kajaki Hydroelectric my second year in Bucharest. I continued to meet with him and Power Plant has the capacity to generate 50 megawatts of elec- his leadership team regularly, but I remained doubtful about tricity compared to a previous maximum of 32. Kandahar city his sincerity and whether the CNSLR would or could succeed in presently receives an average of 16-17 megawatts, compared to a transforming itself. Nonetheless, I cross-checked what was hap- low-season average of 9 prior to the installation of Unit 2.” pening in the CNSLR with the country’s other trade unions, most Development works when the host country leads, and we of which were loosely associated with the democratic political support. Local knowledge holds the key to success, provided opposition. Democratic trade union leaders initially shared my we listen closely and can pair it with our technical knowledge. skepticism about the CNSLR and its president but, by the end of We got the Kajaki project done together, with the Afghans in the second year, they were willing to concede that genuine prog- the lead. ress was underway. The third year brought even more progress, and it became Jeremiah Carew is a USAID Foreign Service officer currently posted evident both from personal observation and through confirma- to Hanoi. He joined the Foreign Service in 2004 and has served in tion by neutral sources that the CNSLR and its president were Peru, Uganda and Afghanistan (twice), in addition to assignments in following through on promises to transform the organization into Washington, D.C. He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Dominican a viable, democratically oriented trade union. I became a believer Republic and Ecuador). as well, as I recognized just how challenging it was to change the

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 39 mindset of the country’s oldest and largest trade union (almost a U.S. Embassy Preserves million members). Belgium-Zaire Relations I decided to nominate CNSLR President Ciorbea for a month- long International Visitor Program grant in the United States. Zaire 1967 • By Hank Cohen The embassy IVP committee approved the nomination, and the ambassador and deputy chief of mission sufficiently trusted my It was April 1967. I was chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in judgment to sign off on the proposal, though both were initially Kinshasa, Republic of Zaire (now the Congo). We were between reluctant. Washington also approved the nomination despite ambassadors, and the deputy chief of mission was traveling. misgivings on the part of the AFL-CIO and the Free Trade Unions Zaire’s President Mobutu Sese Seko, who had taken power two Institute. The AFL-CIO declined to meet Mr. Ciorbea at its Wash- years earlier in a military coup, made a surprise announcement ington, D.C., headquarters, but many of its affiliated trade union declaring that he was nationalizing the copper mines owned by officials did meet him in various parts of the United States and the Belgian company Union Minière du Haut Katanga (UMHK). freely imparted their knowledge and advice. The CIA, however, These mines provided more than 75 percent of the government’s made clear its opposition to the revenue. What made the IVP grant, apparently believing announcement even more that no communist tiger can He told me the IVP tour was significant was the statement ever change its stripes. one of the most influential that Zaire would not pay In the autumn of 1996, compensation. This, of course, two years after I’d left post, experiences of his life, and constituted a major violation of Romania held presidential solidified his belief that Romania’s international law. and parliamentary elections. It future lay with the democratic The Belgian government was the country’s first post- institutions and market-based reacted immediately, cut- revolutionary election, which ting off all royalty payments international observers certified economic systems of the West. from copper exports, leaving as free, fair and credible, and –Anthony Kolankiewicz Zaire with virtually no flow the democratic opposition won. of revenue. The Belgians also When the new government was requested that the World Bank being formed, the victorious democratic and other international organizations political parties selected the CNSLR stop all economic assistance programs president to serve as its prime minister, to Zaire. They all complied, and Zaire an honor he accepted. was in real trouble. President Mobutu, I met Mr. Ciorbea again just prior to of course, was unable to cave because the 1996 elections during a temporary assignment to Bucharest, he would lose credibility with his own people. When he made the where he was then serving as mayor. Among other things, he told announcement, by the way, university students marched from the me the IVP tour was one of the most influential experiences of campus to downtown Kinshasa singing Mobutu’s praises for strik- his life, and solidified his belief that Romania’s“ future lay with the ing a blow against imperialism. democratic institutions and market-based economic systems of ”In the embassy, I called a brainstorming session with the the West. Victor Ciorbea did not singlehandedly change the course economic section and the U.S. Agency for International Develop- of Romanian politics, but he was part of a small, growing cadre of ment. Did anyone have any ideas? There was one idea staring us Romanian officials and opinion leaders who shook off the national in the face. The mines were nationalized, but the Zairians had tendency to look toward Moscow and instead put the country nobody qualified to manage them. There were some students firmly on course to rejoin the West. at the Colorado School of Mines who would eventually become managers at the mines, but they were a long way away from being Anthony Kolankiewicz is a retired State Department political of- ready. ficer. He is currently accompanying his wife on assignment to U.S. One of the USAID officers came up with the obvious solution: Consulate General Jerusalem. Hire a Belgian company to run the mines under a management

40 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL contract, and include compensation for the nationalization in the In 2015, 530 patients were transferred to the new provider. management fee. Mobutu would be in compliance with interna- Soon after, patients began reporting infections, some of which tional law by paying compensation, but he would not lose credibil- unfortunately resulted in death (of 198 infected, 42 died). This ity with his own people. placed the issue on the national agenda, reinforcing the impor- We pitched this idea directly to Mobutu, and he agreed without tance of transparency during the tender processes and making the hesitation. It was a solution worked out by the diplomats at our well-being of the patient a priority. embassy—Washington was not involved. It’s all in a day’s work. Under the direction of Ambassador Todd Robinson and with guidance from Deputy Chief of Mission Charisse Phillips, our Ambassador (ret.) Herman J. Cohen is a veteran of 38 years in the For- embassy developed a strategy for engagement with relevant stake- eign Service. He served at five U.S. embassies in Africa, as well as in the holders to demand transparency in the tender process and to pri- Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department and as Africa director oritize patients’ interests. We met with private- and public-sector at the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan. His stakeholders who could help bring visibility to the anomalies in last assignment before retiring in 1993 was as assistant Secretary of the process. Embassy involvement prompted a serious investiga- State for Africa under President George H.W. Bush. tion, which resulted in the arrest of 17 representatives from IGSS, and the Mexican company was charged with corruption. IGSS reversed its decision, and the health ministry asked Baxter to Saving Lives Defending resume treatment of dialysis patients, saving hundreds of lives. a U.S. Business On June 1, 2015, Baxter sent a letter to Ambassador Robinson: “Your team’s active engagement and perseverance, advocating Guatemala 2015 for transparency and for the safety of patients, made this possible. By Nicole DeSilvis and Aileen Nandi Specifically, Nicole DeSilvis, Antonio Prieto and Jennifer Nehez have worked closely with our team in Guatemala to raise concerns The past few years in Guatemala have seen a revolving door for the way these tender processes had been carried out and its of senior government officials and rampant gang and narcotics potential impact on the health of Guatemalan renal patients. violence, as well as the corruption that plagues this region. Guate- Thanks to the outstanding work of your team, Baxter and the Gua- mala is an enormously challenging market, but our embassy team temalan patients are in a better and safer environment.” Baxter works together to foster success. It’s not very often that Commerce said that the embassy team provided important support guiding Department officials get involved in humanitarian issues the way them through this complex situation, analyzing current events, other agencies at post do. But when a crisis concerning U.S. medi- facilitating meetings and serving as observers at tender proposals cal services provider Baxter Healthcare came across our desk, we to promote integrity and transparency. knew we needed to pitch in. This was a huge win. Not only did the reversal of IGSS tender In 2013 Baxter was the service provider for peritoneal dialysis practices save lives, but embassy engagement at the highest levels treatment for some 500 patients in Guatemala. But in 2014 the helped resolve Baxter’s dispute with IGSS and leveled the playing Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) issued a tender for a field for other U.S. companies competing for Guatemalan govern- new contract. The tender contained several irregularities and was ment tenders. Baxter earned $40 million for the equipment and clearly biased in terms of the qualification process and require- services it delivered in Guatemala; the company’s $2 billion in ments. Baxter Healthcare sought guidance from and worked with total sales in Latin America support 861 employees. the Foreign Commercial Service and economic section regarding The experience became a case study at Baxter’s headquarters a variety of allegedly corrupt tendering processes within IGSS. in Deerfield, Illinois, called “the power of compliance,” and its best In December 2014 Baxter was informed by the government practices have been shared in several forums and workshops as an of Guatemala that it had lost the tender for peritoneal dialysis for example of the importance of behaving ethically in complex situa- patients who had been under their care for the past six years—to a tions and the rewards that compliance can bring. Mexican firm. This firm had no experience in peritoneal dialysis in Guatemala, lacked the required clinic infrastructure, mysteriously Nicole DeSilvis is a senior commercial officer at the U.S. embassy in received the environmental study of their facility in two days and Guatemala. Aileen Nandi is currently the commercial counselor in quoted the government of Guatemala a higher price than Baxter. New Delhi.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 41 Growing Herbs on the West Bank except for humanitarian assistance. That meant USAID could not satisfy its commitment under the MOU. Shortly after the elec- Palestine 2015 • By Michael Martin tion, the investors in the herb farm invited us to a lunch with the members of their community. As we drove into the valley for In early 2005, USAID initiated a program to bring Israelis and the meeting, we could see the commitment of the Palestinian Palestinians together in business partnerships. The program was partners, who had dramatically transformed the landscape by designed to provide Palestinian producers with the capital, leveling surrounding hills. It was an eyesore, but one the com- equipment and technical assistance needed to compete in munity anticipated would be replaced by income-generating and high-value agricultural markets and to increase workers’ wages job-creating facilities. for higher levels of specialization. We were keen to meet with the investors and the community The program offered handsome returns to participants. By to clarify any misconceptions and explore avenues for continu- the same token, investors had to show their confidence in the ing our collaboration. We wanted them to know that we remained enterprise by making an initial investment and subsequent personally committed to finding mutually beneficial resolutions. stepwise investments as installation progressed. Should the They treated us to customary Palestinian hospitality and plenty of venture falter, they stood to lose. We structured memoranda of delicious food. The lunch generated absorbing discussions about understanding (MOUs) in that manner to ensure partners had their lives and interests and how our collaboration would enable incentives to manage for success. them to provide for their families while working close to home. The program supported 10 partnerships, among which Throughout the discussions, I was struck at how this meeting the partnership to produce fresh herbs was the most attrac- in a Palestinian rural community center reminded me of farmers’ tive, both from an economic and programmatic perspective. get-togethers in church basements in Iowa when I was growing up. Israeli partners had long adapted production technologies to Despite the obviously different religions, the concerns expressed the region and established seasonal connections to Eurasian by faces similarly weathered by farm-work seemed universal, and markets. presented common ground to build on. They were appreciative Fresh herbs are high-value and low-weight, so they can of our visit and trusted our promise to try to obtain permission to be profitably flown to distant markets, but they have to be move forward with USAID’s commitment. delivered quickly after harvest. That latter point was significant That permission could only come from the U.S. Secretary of because the U.S. government was focused on facilitating the State, and was complicated by the political optics of supporting a movement and access of goods and people safely and expedi- government led by Hamas. Our State Department colleagues in tiously throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Regularly packing Consulate General Jerusalem recognized that the ban on assis- and transporting goods properly through checkpoints and tance would be counterproductive if it harmed trusted, existing borders, and on to flights from Tel Aviv to Europe and Russia, partners, especially after they had lived up to their part of the would result in a model system that could be replicated. agreement. Palestinian investors were quick to take advantage of the Permission was ultimately granted, and the herb farm turned program. They valued the new technologies and were keen to out to be a notable success and a model for future cooperation. explore markets beyond the Levant. An herb farm in the north- The World Bank urged Tony Blair, the Middle East Quartet’s ern West Bank quickly became the largest partnership. Inves- special envoy to the Middle East, to visit the farm shortly after it tors satisfied the initial requirements of the MOU: They spent was launched to observe its operations. Other Palestinian inves- several hundred thousand dollars installing irrigation networks tors soon followed suit without donor support. The herb industry and leveling hills in the Alfarah area of the West Bank so that has grown substantially in the past decade, expanding its range USAID could follow through with its commitment to install of products and markets and providing specialized jobs for more greenhouses, bring in soil from the Golan Heights and obtain than 1,300 Palestinians. ancillary irrigation equipment, etc. The MOU was not a binding The herb farm can be seen in a YouTube video: bit.ly/ document, but was considered a reliable commitment because KhaizaranHerbFarm n it was backed by the U.S. government. However, when Hamas was elected in 2006, USAID was Michael Martin joined USAID in 2002. He is currently posted in South instructed to halt all interventions on behalf of Palestinians Africa.

42 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FS HERITAGE

The Foreign Service Institute at 70: Recalling a Proud History BY STEVEN ALAN HONLEY

n March 13, 1947, Secretary of However, the Foreign Service School principally arranged State George C. Marshall issued for the detail of new Foreign Service officers to divisions of the a regulation formally establish- department for five or more months before their assignments ing the Foreign Service Insti- abroad. It did not conduct any professional training, likely on the tute, pursuant to passage of the assumption that entrants already spoke the requisite languages Foreign Service Act of 1946. But and could master the necessary skills on the job. FSI actually had three precur- sors, starting with the Wilson Diplomatic School, State’s first professional training facility, founded in 1909. Its curriculum Owas not exactly rigorous; apparently, according to The New York Times, “Young men who would be ambassadors [had] nothing to do but absorb the lectures and look happy...” Fifteen years later, the Rogers Act, also known as the Foreign Service Act of 1924, not only created the modern Foreign Service, but a Foreign Service School. On June 7, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge duly issued Executive Order 4022, establishing that facility for the purpose of training newly hired probationary Foreign Service officers.

Steven Alan Honley was a Foreign Service officer from 1985 to 1997, and served as editor-in-chief of The Foreign Service Journal from 2001 to 2014. This article is adapted from the e-book he wrote for the Association for Diplomat- U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE ic Studies and Training, FSI at 70: Future Forward—A History of The Mayfair Building, in Washington, D.C.’s Foggy Bottom, was the Foreign Service Institute (Arlington Hall Press, 2017). the FSI’s original location.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 43 FSI’s Main Components Today

The School of Language Studies. Foreign language Middle East and North Africa, as well as in China and proficiency has historically been one of the strong points Mexico City. of the Foreign Service, and a distinguishing trademark of The School of Professional and Area Studies. When American diplomats around the world. FSI opened, a division known as the Specialized Training The School of Language Training, as this division of FSI Branch administered all of what today we would call profes- was originally designated in 1947, went through a series of sional tradecraft courses. In 1955 its name changed to the name changes during its first two decades. It was almost School of International Studies; then, less than two years immediately renamed the Language Training Branch; later, to the School of Foreign Affairs. In 1966 the title was then, in 1955, the School of Languages; and shortly after changed yet again to the School of Professional Studies, that, the School of Language and Area Studies. In 1966, after FSI management decided to center all functional and Area Studies moved to the School of Professional Studies, substantive curricula there. FSI eventually merged the Area and the School of Language Studies has stood on its own Studies program into the School of Professional Studies, ever since. where it has remained ever since. In its first year, SLS taught 31 languages to 559 stu- The School of Professional and Area Studies conducts dents, delivering 34,361 hours of instruction. The largest job-specific orientation, tradecraft and area studies train- language programs were in French, German, Spanish, ing to empower foreign affairs professionals to advance Russian and Arabic. The Arabic course lasted six months, U.S. interests and tackle the evolving challenges of 21st- making it the longest program. Teachers were known as century diplomacy. Toward that end, SPAS offers tailored Native Informants, while language training supervisors programs in consular, economic and commercial work; were called Scientific Linguists. management and office management; and political and From the beginning, FSI has utilized state-of-the-art public diplomacy, as well as new-hire orientation programs technology to facilitate learning. Under its first director, and in-depth area studies courses. Henry Smith Jr., the School of Language Training incor- SPAS currently encompasses 10 divisions: Area Studies, porated intensive methods of language instruction that Office Management Training, Consular Training, Orienta- only the armed forces used at the time. Smith acquired tion, Curriculum and Staff Development, Political Training, $10,000 worth of basic manuals and phonograph records Economic and Commercial Studies, Public Diplomacy, from the U.S. Army, and invested $30,000 more in record Management Tradecraft and the Center for the Study of players, SoundScriber tape recording machines and other the Conduct of Diplomacy. equipment. The School of Applied Information Technology. FSI The School of Language Studies is a co-creator of the has long prided itself on being a catalyst for the evolution speaking and reading language proficiency rating scales of U.S. diplomacy to meet new challenges and apply new (0-5) used throughout the U.S. government, and a leader tools. A vivid example of this approach is the School of within the U.S. government’s interagency community of Applied Information Technology, founded in 1996, which language trainers and testers. It currently offers instruc- prepares Department of State employees for their foreign tion in more than 70 languages, with course length and affairs mission by developing proficiency in the use of curricula targeted at a range of language proficiencies technology. from basic to advanced. In 2015 the School of Language Specifically, SAIT enables end-users to efficiently and Studies delivered 1,659,190 hours of language training. effectively weave technology into their daily routines; In addition to training in Arlington, Virginia, advanced ensures that the department’s information technology language instruction is provided at field schools in Seoul, professionals have the up-to-date knowledge and skills Taipei and Yokohama, and via regional programs in the required to operate and maintain the complex computer

44 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and technology systems employed domestically and at all embedded in the various professional tradecraft courses. U.S. overseas missions; and prepares individuals to serve LMS also offers a tailored crisis management train- as IT consultants on behalf of their missions. ing program for the United States’ 270 diplomatic posts SAIT has three divisions: Enterprise Technology; abroad, sending a team to more than half of them each Research, Learning and Development; and Business Appli- year; individualized coaching services; and organizational cations. On average, SAIT provides training to more than development services to missions, bureaus and other units. 6,000 students annually, both overseas and domestically, The Transition Center. The office that began operations through classroom and blended-learning opportunities in more than 40 years ago as the Overseas Briefing Center is Arlington, Virginia; at FSI’s Regional Training Centers in Fort still going strong today as the nucleus of FSI’s multifaceted Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Manila and Bangkok Transition Center, which serves all U.S. government employ- (that serve all of FSI’s divisions); and via 21 adjunct faculty ees of foreign affairs agencies and their family members instructors in 16 countries around the world. preparing for, or returning from, overseas assignments. The School of Leadership and Management. The The Transition Center offers formal courses and State Department’s emphasis on leadership and manage- programs, as well as non-tuition seminars, briefings and ment training is closely associated with former Secretary resource fairs—all designed to meet the diverse needs of of State Colin Powell, who frequently cited the importance the foreign affairs community as its members navigate a of training for his own military career. However, FSI actually transitory lifestyle. founded the Leadership and Management School in 1999, In addition, the Center conducts retirement planning two years before Powell arrived in Foggy Bottom. workshops, and assists personnel returning from Iraq, The School’s core leadership training series consists of Afghanistan and other high-threat assignments through mandatory basic, intermediate and advanced courses, as its High-Stress Assignment Outbrief Program. Other TC well as the Senior Executive Threshold Seminar for people programs include Security Training; a Career Transition newly promoted to the Senior Civil Executive Service and Center; and the new Center of Excellence in Foreign Affairs Senior Foreign Service. About 6,000 employees a year take Resilience, designed to help individuals, family members at least one of those courses. and teams perform at their best, even in high-stress, high- These are complemented by some 10 electives that focus threat environments. on specific leadership skills, traits and behaviors. In addition, coverage of leadership and management principles is —Steven Alan Honley

In 1931, FSS was rebranded as the Foreign Service Officers’ the State Department for a reorganization of the Foreign Service Training School, and its mission was expanded to give new per- to prepare it for a vastly expanded portfolio. Such propos- sonnel intensive training in consular and commercial work after als, which would help shape the Foreign Service Act of 1946, they completed two-year probationary tours overseas. Later, included calls for the establishment of a permanent school for FSOTS assigned small groups of economic and commercial the comprehensive training of State Department personnel. officers to universities for graduate studies. The March 1946 issue of The American Foreign Service Journal By 1941, State Magazine reported that some 55 officers had (as the FSJ was then known) summarized its understanding of completed special training at FSOTS in Arabic, Chinese, Japa- the likely provisions of the new Foreign Service Act regarding nese, Russian, Turkish and other languages. Just months later, training as follows: “A Foreign Service Institute will be estab- however, State suspended all Foreign Service training programs lished to give initial training to officers and employees and to for the duration of World War II. provide in-Service training throughout the whole career of every member of the Service. It is planned that the director of the Insti- The Foreign Service Act of 1946 tute shall receive the salary of an assistant secretary. Every effort Even before the end of the war, support grew rapidly within will be made to attract to the staff the very best scholars that the

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 45 Wristonization, as the process of implementing the panel’s action plan became known, unfolded rapidly. Within three years the Foreign Service had more than doubled in size to 3,436 officers—an influx that placed a lot of pressure on FSI, both in terms of workload and facilities. In 1955 the Mayfair Building underwent a complete renovation, and the training program was revitalized as well, with new, shorter courses and longer specialized training. In addition, courses were opened to wives for the first U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE Staff and students participate in a crisis simulation in the EdTech Immersive time. The new program included three periods Learning Environment at FSI. of concentrated, full-time training: for new officers, those in mid-career and senior officers. universities of the country can furnish. In its higher echelon the There was consistent emphasis on improving language skills. school will be a staff college, or center of higher studies. Debate continued, however, over training needs—the “Formal instruction will be given on the school premises amount and timing of training, who should be trained and how itself, and the college will arrange for Foreign Service officers best to do it all. Even as FSI grew, Plischke notes, “Thought was to work and consult at high levels, not only in the department also devoted to creating a National Academy of Foreign Affairs but in any agency, business, research organization or university for more advanced training, to supplement [the] Foreign Service where possibilities exist for widening the background of the Institute. In 1961 a special committee submitted a report to Sec- Foreign Service officer.” retary [of State Dean] Rusk, which recommended the establish- President Harry Truman signed the Foreign Service Act on ment of such an Academy for additional training at the highest Aug. 13, 1946, and it entered into force three months later. On level, to include instruction, research and leadership of all March 13, 1947, the Foreign Service Institute opened its doors. governmental education programs and to deal with ‘the delicate dynamic of democratic strategy.’” FSI’s Early Years Legislation was introduced in 1963 to found such an acad- In its first incarnation, FSI was housed in the Mayfair Building emy, but it languished in Congress following hearings in the Sen- at 2115 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. That was near the old ate Foreign Relations Committee and was never reintroduced. War Building, which was about to become the center of State Department operations. The facility consisted of four schools: The 1960s Era Basic Officer Training, Advanced Officer Training, Manage- As the U.S. military presence in Vietnam continued to grow by ment and Administrative Training, and Language Training. In leaps and bounds throughout the 1960s, so, too, did the Foreign The U.S. Department of State: A Reference History (Greenwood Service presence there. By 1968, nearly every unmarried male Press, 1999), Elmer Plischke comments: “By 1949, the Institute junior FSO who had not performed active-duty military service provided an extensive menu of instruction, consisting of nearly was automatically sent to Vietnam for his first tour, whether or 60 subjects and projects, of which more than 40 concentrated on not he had requested the assignment. management and administration topics, evidencing the need for That dramatic ramping-up of demand for Vietnamese lan- greater technical expertise in this field.” guage training seriously strained FSI’s capacity. In “The Foreign Impressive as that curriculum was, it did not assuage Cold Service Institute after 20 Years” (November 1966 Department of War concerns about the state of American diplomatic readiness. State News Letter, No. 67), FSI Director George V. Allen acknowl- Such worries led Secretary of State John Foster Dulles to convene edged the scope of the task: “It must be remembered that classes a “public committee on personnel” in January 1954. Chaired in hard languages, for example, must be limited to six—or, by Henry Wriston, president of Brown University, the commit- in exceptional cases, eight—students each; and when we are tee moved quickly, obtaining Secretary Dulles’ approval of its teaching over 165 students in Vietnamese alone (at present), a sweeping recommendations less than six months later. lot of classrooms, a lot of language booths and a lot of teachers

46 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FSI works to forge a strategic view of the future direction of the world and equip its students to navigate through it. are required. Fortunately, he noted, “We recently brought over 20 additional Vietnamese teachers from Saigon, who have been noted for their charms as well as ability.” The Vietnam Training Center, a separate facility, supported those FSOs who needed intensive training for their assignments. But most officers from State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, particularly those in the “less- than-voluntary” category, took a more basic curriculum at FSI. This was essentially an abbreviated area studies program focused solely on Vietnam: its history, culture and present situation. The VTC disbanded in the early 1970s, relieving some pressure on faculty and staff, but FSI’s leadership still faced logistical and fiscal challenges. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Institute shifted from one temporary location to another, eventually migrating from Washington, D.C., to two State Depart- ment annex buildings in Arlington, Virginia: SA-3 and SA-15.

The Big Move In 1986, professional training once again got a new look, with new classes and a new curriculum (including, most nota- bly, ConGen Rosslyn for consular training) that moved away from the traditional lecture-based format. Students welcomed the fresh new approach to training, but as former FSI Director Brandon Grove would acknowledge in a 1993 FSJ interview, a more fundamental problem continued to fester: “The training conditions in [Rosslyn were] just awful. An environment does not determine what you can do, but it conditions the way you do it and how you feel about your work.” Fortunately, plans were underway by the late 1980s to relocate FSI to its current home in Arlington—which, Grove correctly predicted, “will transform the Foreign Service.” One major attraction of the new site was that Arlington Hall was designed to be a campus. Originally the home of Arlington Hall Junior College, an all-female school founded in the 1920s, the 72-acre plot later served as a U.S. Army installation. In fact, four structures dating from the early history of the site as a junior college—the yellow-brick Old Main building, the girls’ gym- nasium and two historic Sears Roebuck prefabricated cottages

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 47 near Route 50—have been renovated and incorporated into the current training center. The National Foreign Affairs Training Center, the official name of the campus that now houses FSI, opened on Oct. 13, 1993. And at a May 29, 2002, ceremony, NFATC was renamed the George P. Shultz Center, in honor of the Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989, who was instrumental in its establishment. Though much has changed at FSI in its 70 years of operation, it has never lost sight of its core mission: to serve those who serve America around the world. But in its quest to make U.S. diplomats—and, by extension, our diplomacy—the very best they can be, there is really only one path to success. It requires continual experimentation and evolution, as well as the willingness to take risks and learn from mistakes, and to strive for improvement through innovation. Underpinning it all, FSI works to forge a strategic view of the future direction of the world and equip its students to navigate through it. If FSI’s first seven decades are any indication, it is up to the U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE Public speaking training underway at FSI during the 1950s. challenge. n

48 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION

AFSA and USAID Welcome Collaboration CALENDAR December 13 Among the topics under 4:30-6:30 p.m. discussion were the drop AFSA Holiday Happy Hour in USAID hiring and the need for close and effec- December 20 12-1:30 p.m. tive collaboration between AFSA Governing USAID and the Department Board Meeting of State. Amb. Stephenson and December 25 Christmas: Administrator Green also AFSA Offices Closed talked about the recent deployment of USAID January 1 disaster relief teams to those New Year’s Day: countries hit by earthquakes AFSA Offices Closed and hurricanes. January 15

USAID/SHAMIKA WILLIAMS USAID/SHAMIKA Also in October, Amb. Martin Luther King Day: From left, USAID Counselor On Oct. 6, AFSA President Stephenson met with Sec- AFSA Offices Closed Thomas Staal, AFSA Ambassador Barbara Ste- retary of State Rex Tillerson President Ambassador January 16 Barbara Stephenson, USAID phenson and AFSA USAID Vice regarding the risks members Deadline: Administrator Mark Green President Ann Posner met take to fulfill their missions, Sinclaire Language and AFSA USAID Vice with recently appointed USAID including in challenging envi- Award Nominations President Ann Posner. Administrator Mark Green. ronments such as Havana. n January 17 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting Making the Case for the Foreign Service January 25 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Book Notes: On Oct. 17, AFSA hosted a Following the presenta- a way that helps audiences Peacemakers by discussion on “making the tion, participants split into make a personal connection Ambassador James Pardew case for the Foreign Service.” small groups to role-play the to the Foreign Service and February 19 The session focused on how best ways to advocate for the work that its members Presidents Day: AFSA members can educate the Foreign Service and to do around the world every AFSA Offices Closed congressional and public share their experiences in day. n audiences on the vital work February 21 of the U.S. Foreign Service 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing and the necessity for support Board Meeting for diplomacy. Led by AFSA President March 5 Ambassador Barbara Deadline: AFSA Scholarship Stephenson, participants Applications reviewed congressional tes- timony submitted by AFSA May 4 and then saw those materials Foreign Service Day/ in action as bipartisan con- AFSA Memorial Ceremony gressional allies gave statements and asked questions DVORAK AFSA/GEMMA AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson speaks to participants at at hearings on Capitol Hill. the Oct. 17 event, “Making the Case for the Foreign Service.”

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 49 STATE VP VOICE | BY KENNETH KERO-MENTZ AFSA NEWS

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA State VP. Contact: [email protected] | (202) 647-8160

A Time for Kindness

On a recent Sunday, the also be truly challenging. Foreign Service officers and specialists minister at my church And when we’re feeling work best when they feel supported, started his sermon by isolated and far from home, when they feel that someone’s got their sharing that he and his son those challenges can lead recently came upon a bit to short tempers, and short back. of graffiti in their neighbor- tempers can lead to addi- hood. “It is in your self- tional difficulties. interest to find a way to be The sad fact is that bully- help develop a team which unique, recognizing that it very tender,” it said, quoting ing still exists in the work- achieves more together than could have an impact on neo-conceptual artist Jenny place. But what I’ve found the sum of its individual someone’s career and life. Holzer. The sentiment was is this: bullying never brings parts. Sometimes our members powerful, the pastor said, out the best in anyone. Following the Secretary just need someone to listen and raised questions about Foreign Service officers and of State’s “listening tour,” to them with compassion, to how we can respond to each specialists work best when the report by Insigniam hear their story, talk things other during difficult times. they feel supported, when quoted respondents saying through. And that’s us. The This got me wondering they feel that someone’s got they feel like the system in AFSA Labor Management about the Foreign Service, their back. which they operate treats team is the helping hand, how we treat each other, and We all stumble from time them as tools or resources, and we’re ready to support how—at times of increased to time, or at least most of not human beings. I don’t our members. uncertainty—it truly is in our us do. When that happens, believe that is true for most So during this time of self-interest to find a way to a helping hand can right the members of the Foreign year, especially, and during be kind to one another. situation and keep everyone Service, but I do agree that this challenging time for the During this time of the on track. And when we’re we can do better. Foreign Service, remember year especially, as so many all working at our best, the When interpersonal that it’s in your interest, our of us in the Foreign Service unit—and the mission— matters arise, ask yourself: interest, and the interest of family are far from home, thrives. And that, after all, is has any good ever come to the Foreign Service, to be far from loved ones and far our goal. a mission when a bullying kind and to watch out for from old lives, the need for When we talk about boss goes after a struggling one another. kindness from our col- esprit de corps in the For- subordinate, or an indi- We’re not just stewards leagues can be greater than eign Service, it’s not just lip vidual makes an unwelcome of the Foreign Service; we’re ever. service. At least, it shouldn’t advance on a colleague, or stewards of each other. And From my perch, I hear be. It’s how we stay strong. an officer feels entitled to together, we are stronger. n from a lot of members, and I It’s how we have each disrespect or even threaten love it. I am thankful to have other’s backs. If someone in a local? My guess is the the opportunity to talk to our section or at our mission answer is no. so many of our colleagues needs help, we’re there for By coming together, about their fears and them. We’re not just help- offering a helping hand concerns, their successes ing out that person; we’re and an open door, we can and hopes. Members tell also improving the cohesion accomplish the incredibly me about minor points of amongst our colleagues, important goals of the mis- contention that somehow holding up those who need it sion and develop our cadre develop into major disputes; and ensuring that the entire of Foreign Service officers but they also share positive mission flourishes. and specialists. outcomes to challenging Fundamentally, human That’s how AFSA staff situations. resources are our greatest responds to requests. We While our work can be resource. Playing to people’s treat each member as an incredibly rewarding, it can strengths and interests can individual, each case as

50 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL USAID VP VOICE | BY ANN POSNER AFSA NEWS

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA USAID VP. Contact: [email protected] | (202) 712-1631

Talking About Communication Gaps

What is behind the lack of istrative cracks. Too often we have been guided by a communication at USAID? One underlying cause revolving door of consultants without Are our offices overwhelmed could be that HCTM has been allegiance to the agency or awareness or confused by the current suffering from turmoil for political situation? Or could several years. Many fine For- of its core values. what may seem like obfusca- eign Service and Civil Service tion be a purposeful attempt employees have left, some in common misconceptions. Headquarters-based staff go to avoid clarity? frustration. And there are perceptive, on temporary assignments Many members of the Those who remain are try- intelligent and hardwork- (TDYs) to different countries USAID Foreign Service have ing to shoulder a bigger bur- ing FS and CS professional but still do not really under- made requests or asked den, alongside USAID’s new employees and consultants stand living and working questions to the agency that Civil Service and institutional working in or with the Foreign conditions of FSOs and their go unanswered for months. contract professionals who Service Center who have families overseas. For example, AFSA con- are striving toward compe- identified needs and orga- The agency needs a tacted USAID Human Capital tence during this tumultuous nized an excellent initiative strong and respectful bond and Talent Management in period. to update the Foreign Service with good communication September to request that The hiring freeze of 2017 Assignments procedures and between its Washington the useful charts analyzing has put further strain on priorities. headquarters and overseas Foreign Service workforce remaining employees. There Their proposals dem- posts. numbers and backstop are far too many vacancies, onstrate great promise for This partnership is neces- trends (as of 2015) on the and this causes overload. a streamlined, bidder- and sary for interagency and My USAID/HCTM website be We have too many layers of manager-friendly system. We congressional liaison, policy updated. As of this writing in “acting” leaders, who lack look forward to seeing these development and budget late October, there still is no the necessary experience, ideas implemented. formulation—and for USAID’s update, or even a response. authority and gravitas to However, it appears that overseas staff, who formu- As USAID VP, I pose command sufficient respect. too often we have been late and carry out mission the following questions to When considering the guided by a revolving door strategies while adjusting to management in the inter- present issues, recall that in of consultants without changes on the ground. est of keeping USAID FSOs early 2013, HCTM changed allegiance to the agency Foreign Service employees informed of what to expect: from Foreign Service leader- or awareness of its core understand this interchange Who in the HCTM office is ship to Civil Service leader- values. Some of the well- and all the intricacies that responsible for the informa- ship. Among the objectives of packaged ideas of this group create the global aspect of tion updates? Who is respon- this change were increased are deemed useful and are USAID. sible for analyses and prom- consistency and more profes- implemented, but other ideas It is time to review the ulgation of FSOs’ promotion sionalism in the agency’s seem ill-fitted to any foreign impact of the change from numbers and guidance for human resource manage- affairs agency—with vicis- Foreign Service leadership evaluations, workforce infor- ment. situdes, complexities and to Civil Service in HCTM. In mation and so on? Now, almost five years surprises. doing so, we must ask this My best summary down that road: how are we There often seems to be a question: Is there a better observation is that there is doing? shallowness of knowledge of way to focus on our world- no broad strategy of commu- There are some bright how the Foreign Service func- wide mission and places nication-evasion at USAID. spots: HCTM’s Foreign Ser- tions and a lack of focus on where we actually do our Many FSOs are exasperated, vice Assignments team has the people working to carry work? n but no one person or office revived and updated an old out USAID’s overseas mis- is to blame. Bureaucracies favorite tool for FS bidders, sion, including FSOs, FSNs can be faceless like that, and “Myth Busters”—internal and contract staff living and things fall through the admin- communications that address working around the globe.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 51 FAS VP VOICE | BY KIMBERLY SAWATZKI AFSA NEWS

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FAS VP. Contact: [email protected] | (202) 720-3650

The Demographic Crisis

The Foreign Agricultural Ser- in addressing the lack of were in favor of adopting High performers will vice is facing a demographic FO-1 and FO-2 level officers. State Department time- rise quickly through the crisis, with the number of The results confirmed in-service (TIS) and time- ranks, but it cannot happen FAS officers in the FO-1 and that FAS FSOs are very in-class (TIC) rules, giving overnight. We need interim FO-2 classes approximately concerned about the issue, credit for long-term lan- solutions that do not harm 30 percent below optimal and nearly unanimously guage training, permitting our long-term interests, but levels. support AFSA’s engagement limited career extensions also meet the mission needs. Our demographic woes with management to pursue (LCEs) to allow officers to We need to make sac- do not affect our ability to possible solutions. complete tours and allowing rifices, accept challenging represent U.S. agricultural However, our constitu- for selected LCEs. positions and step up for dif- interests abroad, but they ency also made it very clear FAS FSOs also favored ficult stretch assignments. create a drag on morale. In that they are strongly pursuing a re-employed However, we must also addition, the large classes opposed to mid-level entry annuitant (REA or When protect the integrity and of new FAS Foreign Service into the Foreign Service, as Actually Employed) program sustainability of the Foreign officers are concerned that well as to an expansion of to allow recent retirees to fill Service, and ensure that drastic efforts to remedy the Civil Service limited appoint- gaps. our solutions do not create mid-level officer shortfall ments. With large classes of future problems. could negatively affect their The survey results dem- highly capable and talented AFSA will engage man- career paths. onstrated a preference for FO-3s and FO-4s, AFSA is agement deliberately but In March 2017, the previ- exercising maximum flexibil- looking to bridge the staffing with caution to pursue suit- ous AFSA FAS vice presi- ity in using existing Foreign gap in a manner that neither able solutions to our mid- dent conducted a survey of Service officers to respond hinders their upward mobil- level officer shortfall.n FAS FSOs to explore which to the staffing shortages. ity nor encourages them to options would be acceptable The survey participants seek other employment.

FCS and DEC Focus on U.S. Growth at Home and Abroad

On Sept. 28, AFSA FCS Vice took part in a panel discus- President Daniel Crocker sion on best practices for out- attended the District Export reach and advocacy, speak- Council Annual Forum in ing about the efforts of the Washington, D.C. The event Foreign Commercial Service brought together represen- and the ways its members tatives from district export can help increase U.S. foreign councils around the country. trade. The DECs are organiza- In the photo, Mr. Crocker tions of local business leaders (right) stands with Wayne working to encourage and Cooper (center) and Owen support the export of goods George, both from the North and services to strengthen Carolina District Export Coun- individual companies, stimu- cil. Following the panel discus- late U.S. economic growth sion, DEC representatives and create jobs. visited Capitol Hill to meet At the event, Mr. Crocker with members of Congress. n COURTESY OF DAN CROCKER DAN OF COURTESY

52 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL WHERE WE STAND | BY JULIE NUTTER, PROFESSIONAL POLICY ISSUES DIRECTOR AFSA NEWS

Unpacking “Stewardship”

Being a “steward” of the solve the immediate problem Although the current Foreign Service Foreign Service sounds like a presented, but ultimately lead promotion precepts place an emphasis great honor and responsibil- to a Foreign Service better on institution-wide stewardship at the ity, but what does it really positioned to meet the chal- mean? In this column, I will lenges our country faces. If senior levels, it is possible and indeed unpack the notion of steward- the answer is no, it might be necessary at all levels. ship and suggest some ways better to seek alternatives. AFSA can help our members Don’t assume steward- think about and practice it. ship is just for seniors. tion-making bodies—whether elected representatives. The expectation that Although the current Foreign it’s service on a promotion Finally, push back. Being Foreign Service members will Service promotion precepts panel, a post awards panel, educated about the structure be stewards of the organiza- place an emphasis on institu- or an EER review board, or and functioning of the Foreign tion is baked into the Foreign tion-wide stewardship at the just sharing Foreign Service Service as an institution can Service Act of 1980. The Act senior levels, it is possible and tradecraft in your free time— help you push back on inaccu- describes the Foreign Service indeed necessary at all levels. you are strengthening the rate perceptions. as a professional body, and it For example, one of the institution and modeling best For example, there are still lays out duties and respon- most important duties practices for others. some people who believe that sibilities similar to those of Foreign Service members Tell the Foreign Service Foreign Service members did other professional bodies, perform is deciding whether story. As we pointed out in not step up to serve in places such as the American Bar or not to tenure another the call for contributions to like Iraq and Afghanistan. Association. individual. Many of the raters The Foreign Service Journal’s That is untrue. All the If performed with integ- making crucial tenure recom- “Diplomacy Works” collection, positions in those posts have rity, those foundational mendations in employee which you can read in this been filled by volunteers, even obligations (e.g., hiring new evaluation reports are not of issue: “Often the best diplo- during the height of the fight- employees, mentoring and senior rank. matic work leaves no trace ing in both war zones, and training, deciding on tenure Educate yourself and because it is achieved behind continue to be filled at rates and promotion—including others. Educate yourself the scenes, through partner- approaching 100 percent. across the senior thresh- about the Foreign Service ship and shared effort—and Similarly, greater hardship old—and enforcing discipline) and, if you can, educate an insistence on giving all the posts throughout the world keep the Service healthy. others. Reading The Foreign credit to others.” have lower vacancy rates Foreign Service members are Service Journal is a great Diplomats most often than posts with no hardship expected to perform these place to start, as is explor- reach win-win agreements. differentials. Knowing the duties, which are encouraged ing the AFSA website, which Occasionally, though, making facts can help you confidently by all the promotion precepts has lists of books about the a tough decision can create push back on these and other and required at senior levels. Foreign Service, a Foreign pain for the host government damaging narratives about So how can you put Service statistics section and in the short run, and knowing the Foreign Service. stewardship front and center? helpful Q&As. how to acknowledge the pain AFSA will continue to Here are some ideas and Knowing the ins and outs while preserving the diplo- assist our members in every practices to put in place now. of the Foreign Service can matic relationship through to way possible to be effective Ask: Will it strengthen make a huge difference in the payoff is a prized diplo- stewards of the Foreign Ser- the Service? In reacting to a assessing whether new pro- matic skill. vice. Your thoughts are most policy or administrative proposals would strengthen or It’s not easy to explain this welcome—please email us at posal regarding the Foreign harm the institution. aspect of diplomatic work— [email protected]. n Service as an institution, ask Take community service but it’s possible. We look for- yourself whether the action and institution building seri- ward to hearing your thoughts or policy will truly make the ously. When you volunteer for on how best to explain our Service stronger—not just Foreign Service recommenda- work to the public and to our

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 53 AFSA NEWS

Sharing the Story of the Foreign Service with Lifelong Learners

and protecting and advanc- ing U.S. interests around the world. We hope you will consider participating in classroom outreach efforts—there are many opportunities out there! For more information, please email speakers@afsa. org. AFSA/ALLAN SAUNDERS AFSA/ALLAN Ambassador (ret.) Charles Ray addresses a capacity crowd during the AFSA Smithsonian Associates course Going Home? “Looking Toward Asia.” Let Us Know! An important part of Following a successful four- The AFSA-Smithsonian Associates Foreign Service life is going week educational program collaboration will continue next spring. home to reconnect with this fall focused on the Foreign friends and family. Such Service and foreign policy in hometown visits—for exam- Asia, AFSA and the Smithson- ple with a local high school ian Associates are working on American Diplomacy trade; arms control; conflict class or Rotary group—are plans for spring 2018. from the Inside resolution; and development excellent opportunities to The fall program, which In a new initiative this and foreign aid. engage in outreach. AFSA began on Oct. 11 and contin- year, AFSA collaborated with Members of the Foreign welcomes the opportunity to ued into November, featured Encore Learning, a non- Service can and do share set up events for any mem- four Foreign Service Asia profit educational organiza- their professional skills bers of the Foreign Service experts who addressed a full tion offering college-level and expertise—and spread who are heading home for a house of enthusiastic and courses to anyone over understanding of the For- few days. appreciative participants. 50 years old, to design eign Service—by meeting Contact our outreach Ambassador (ret.) J. a semester-long course, with students individually team (www.afsa.org/ Stapleton Roy kicked off the “American Diplomacy from and in groups, including outreach), and we can series with a discussion on the Inside,” at George Mason undergraduates, graduate provide you with materials China. He was followed by University in Arlington, students and participants and information to ensure retired senior FSO James Virginia. in community and lifelong that you make an effective Pierce on Japan, Ambas- Beginning in October and learning programs. case for a strong, profes- sador (ret.) Charles Ray on running through Decem- We find that sharing first- sional Foreign Service to Vietnam and retired Senior ber, the course features hand experience not only remain deployed around the FSO Mark Tokola on Korea. seven lectures from retired enhances the academic pre- world protecting and serving We appreciate their par- members of the Foreign sentation of foreign policy America’s people, interests ticipation and willingness Service. Each session has and diplomacy, but it plays and values. n to enhance this excellent been designed to cover a an important role in expand- outreach partnership. fundamental area man- ing the audience’s under- The AFSA-Smithsonian aged by diplomatic person- standing of the complex Associates collaboration will nel at overseas missions: role and critical function continue next spring with economic policy; public of members of the Foreign another four-week series. diplomacy; agriculture and Service in promoting peace

54 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

Meet the Committee: Awards & Plaques

At its August meeting the AFSA Governing Board appointed State Repre- sentative Josh Glazeroff as the new chair of the AFSA Awards & Plaques Commit- tee. State Representatives Tricia Wingerter and Anne Coleman-Honn, FCS Alter- nate Representative Mat- thew Hilgendorf and USAID Representative Madeline Williams were appointed as committee members. The work of the AFSA Awards & Plaques Com- mittee is some of the most rewarding and most memo- rable of the association, and we thank the new committee members for volunteer- DVORAK AFSA/GEMMA The 2017-2019 Awards & Plaques Committee members, from left, Tricia Wingerter, Anne Colman-Honn, ing their time and efforts. Josh Glazeroff and Matthew Hilgendorf at a recent meeting. Not pictured, Madeline Williams. AFSA’s awards program centers on two commemo- rative events: one with a The AFSA Awards performance awards: the members for skill in a hard focus on remembrance, the Ceremony, headlined by M. Juanita Guess Award for or very hard language and other on recognition. presentation of the Lifetime a community liaison officer; its associated culture. It Foreign Service Day, in Contributions to American the Avis Bohlen Award for also coordinates the George May, honors those members Diplomacy Award, high- an eligible family member; F. Kennan Writing Award of the Foreign Service who lights the efforts members the Nelson B. Delavan Award given for the best essay on have died overseas due make each day and over for an office management strategy or policy by a State to circumstances distinc- their careers. At the annual specialist; AFSA post rep- Department employee who tive to their service. Pass- ceremony, we recognize a resentative of the year; the graduates from the National ing through the C Street lifetime contributor for their Mark Palmer Award for the War College. entrance and seeing all the distinctive impact on our Advancement of Democracy, Just as we honor the names engraved on the wall, profession. which was established in passing of those who die in we remember the chal- AFSA bestows a number 2015; and the AFSA Achieve- service to our country, the lenges of our work and all of other awards. Honoring ments and Contributions positive contributions of our members’ true commitment constructive dissent are the Award, which recognizes an friends and colleagues merit to serving the people of the W. Averell Harriman, William AFSA member for outstand- the highest recognition. United States. R. Rivkin, Christian A. Herter ing contributions to the Please join the Awards & The Awards & Plaques and F. Allen “Tex” Harris association. Plaques Committee’s efforts Committee is charged with Awards for entry-level, mid- The Awards & Plaques by submitting nominations reviewing the case of each level, senior level officers Committee assists with for any and all of AFSA’s member who has died while and Foreign Service special- the Sinclaire Language awards, and please cel- on duty and recommending ists respectively. Awards given annually to ebrate with us at our annual names to be added. There are six exemplary up to 10 Foreign Service events. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 55 STAY INFORMED. STAY CONNECTED.

Keeping Your Eye on the Bottom Line

Threats to Your do get approved, they will ees will agree that capturing Consumer’s Checkbook can Retirement Benefits probably not become effec- and documenting the story help you save. On Oct. 5, the House of tive until 2018. A change in of their work, and the FCS as Members should have Representatives passed a bill the Foreign Service Pension an institution, is a vital part of received an email from that would cut federal retire- Fund Annuity Supplement, if their legacy of service. AFSA in mid-November with ment benefits by $32 billion adopted, will likely apply only To take part either with a instructions on how to access over the next 10 years. to future retirees. full oral history, or in record- Consumer’s Checkbook. The bill does not specify ing shorter pieces on key what is to be cut, but sug- Attention Foreign moments, contact Mark Tau- Have You Joined a gests one or more of the fol- Commercial Service ber, Deputy Director, Foreign Retiree Association? lowing: require employees to Retirees Affairs Oral History Program Did you know that there are contribute more into the trust at [email protected] or multiple Foreign Service fund from which their retire- (703) 302-6820. retiree associations around ment pensions will be drawn; the country? eliminate the Annuity Supple- Choose the Best FEHB While unaffiliated with ment paid to employees Health Care Plan for AFSA, these groups offer an hired in the post-1983 “new” Your Needs ideal way to stay in touch retirement systems who Open season for changing with your profession, as well retire prior to age 62; reduce 2018 Federal Employees as friends and colleagues. the government contribution Health Benefit program You can find a full listing of to Federal Employees Health health insurance plans runs these groups at www.afsa. Benefits insurance premi- from Nov. 13 to Dec. 11. org/retiree-associations. ums; and decrease the rate AFSA purchases “Con- If there is no group in ADST of return of the Thrift Savings sumer’s Checkbook to your area, and you’d like Plan’s G Fund. The Association for Diplo- Federal Health Plans” as a to start one, contact AFSA Not on the list is matic Studies and Training service so members can Retiree Coordinator Chris- President Donald Trump’s invites Foreign Commercial shop around each open tine Miele (miele@afsa. proposal to eliminate Cost Service retirees to record the season for the most cost- org) for assistance. Some of Living Adjustments on oral history of their career. effective FEHB plans to meet existing associations lack federal pensions. ADST’s mission is to offer their changing health care current leadership, including The Senate version of the both experts and the general needs. Whether FEHB is your Eastern Washington-Idaho. bill does not call for cuts. public a record of how U.S. primary health insurer or a If you’d like to throw your Thus, the House-Senate Con- diplomats have advanced secondary insurer to supple- hat in the ring to head a ference Committee expected American interests abroad, ment your Medicare Part B, group, let us know! n to convene by early Novem- reported in the voices of the ber may strip them out. practitioners themselves. As a member of the With the support of the Don’t Miss the 2018 Foreign Service Annual Federal-Postal Coalition Una Chapman Cox Founda- Annuitant Newsletter. made up of 30 organizations tion, ADST would like to record Retirees were mailed a postcard in October advising that including the National Active the insights and suggestions the “2018 Foreign Service Annual Annuitant Newsletter” and Retired Federal Employ- of FCS officers on how the will be posted at https://rnet.state.gov under the “What’s ees Association and the large Foreign Commercial Service New?” tab. It contains the forms retirees need to make civil service unions, AFSA has can adapt its programs and elections on their benefits. co-signed several letters to training to the challenges If you need a hard copy or have questions, email Congress opposing cuts to of 21st-century commercial [email protected] or call 1 (866) 300-7419, or email AFSA retirement benefits. advocacy and diplomacy. at [email protected] or call (202) 944-5509. If any benefit changes ADST hopes that FCS retir-

56 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL STAY INFORMED. STAY CONNECTED. AFSA NEWS

AFSA Governing Board Meeting, October 18, 2017

Awards Committee: On behalf of the Awards & Plaques Committee, State Representative Josh Glazeroff moved to add a name to the AFSA memorial plaque. The motion was approved unanimously. Management Committee: On behalf of the Management Committee, AFSA Treasurer Ambassador Tony Wayne moved to increase dues by 2.2 percent for all active-duty, retired and associate members, based on the recently released Consumer Price Index. The motion was approved unanimously. 2018 AFSA Budget: Executive Director Ian Houston gave a presentation to the board covering the proposed AFSA budget for 2018. The Governing Board will vote on the budget at a future meeting. n

AFSA Welcomes 146th Specialist Class AFSA/GEMMA DVORAK AFSA/GEMMA

On Oct. 5, AFSA welcomed Service members and answer 62 members of the 146th their questions about AFSA Specialist Class to a luncheon and the many ways the asso- at the association’s headquar- ciation can assist, protect and ters building. advocate for them. AFSA President Ambas- Above, Senior Staff Attor- sador Barbara Stephenson ney Neera Parikh (left) speaks hosted the luncheon, while to the class about the func- State VP Ken Kero-Mentz, tions of AFSA in its dual role State Representative Law- as a professional association rence Casselle and other and labor union. More than members of the AFSA Gov- 80 percent of the participants erning Board were on hand to chose to join AFSA at the speak with the new Foreign event. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 57 AFSA NEWS

AFSA Book Notes: Global Adventures on Less-Traveled Roads

On Oct. 11, AFSA held the of service as Peace Corps 27th event in its popular director in Niger, as well as Book Notes series, hosting a post-retirement recall to a talk by Ambassador (ret.) diplomatic service in Senegal, James R. Bullington about where he worked to end a his book, Global Adventures 30-year insurgency. on Less-Traveled Roads: A Amb. Bullington’s wife, Foreign Service Memoir (Cre- Tuy-Cam, sat in the front row ateSpace, 2017). as he told his AFSA audience The memoir chronicles the story of meeting her and Amb. Bullington’s unusual falling in love during his first journey via “less-traveled assignment in Hue, Vietnam.

roads” from his “redneck He also talked about DVORAK AFSA/GEMMA roots” in Chattanooga, Ten- growing up in the segregated Ambassador (ret.) James Bullington speaks about his experiences in Dakar, nessee, to a successful career South, where he accepted Senegal, as he worked to end a 30-year conflict. as a diplomat. segregation as the “normal and threats from the KKK, the cate balance between keeping Along the way, he served order” until he encountered school administration and Americans safe overseas and as a “warrior diplomat” in Viet- the Freedom Riders in 1961. even Alabama Governor John accomplishing the mission. nam during the war, narrowly As editor of the student Patterson. A video of the event is escaping capture by posing as newspaper at Auburn Uni- A lively Q&A session fol- available on the AFSA website, a French priest when he was versity, Bullington wrote a lowed, covering topics from www.afsa.org/video. See trapped behind enemy lines. scathing criticism of segrega- the importance of conflict p. 63 for a review of the He also recounts six years tion, leading to harassment resolution training to the deli- book. n

Russian Roundtable: FSOs Speak with AFSA about Their Sudden Exit

On Sept. 14, AFSA President Service who had recently actions, interference in the The deadline for departure Ambassador Barbara Ste- been forced to return from 2016 U.S. presidential elec- was Sept. 1, leaving Foreign phenson, State Vice President postings in Russia. tion. On July 30, Russian Service families scrambling to Ken Kero-Mentz and Sec- In July, the United States President Vladimir Putin pack their household goods, retary Tom Boyatt hosted a Congress approved new retaliated by insisting that the obtain lodging in the United roundtable discussion with sanctions on Russia to pun- United States must reduce States and organize school- members of the U.S. Foreign ish them for, among other the number of staff at U.S. ing for their children. Some of diplomatic facilities in Russia those caught up in the draw- to 455, to match the number down had only been at post of people employed by the a few weeks, with household Russian mission to the United effects still in transit to Russia. States. The discussion was an The huge reduction in opportunity for participants employee numbers (755 over- to share their experiences all), affected many members and for AFSA to find out of the Foreign Service and what assistance people need their families, as well as locally during their unanticipated employed (LE) staff in Russia. transition. n AFSA/GEMMA DVORAK AFSA/GEMMA

58 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

AFSA Essay Contest Highlights Importance of U.S. Global Leadership DEPARTMENT OF STATE/MARK STEWART STEWART STATE/MARK OF DEPARTMENT AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson (far left), Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan (left) and USIP President Nancy Lindborg (far right), present 2017 AFSA essay contest winner Nicholas DeParle (second from right) with his certificate and prize in the Treaty Room at the Department of State.

On Sept. 28, this year’s win- stand why it matters. ner of the AFSA National In addition to the mon- High School Essay Contest, etary prize, DeParle will also Nicholas DeParle, a senior receive a fully-funded educa- at Sidwell Friends School in tional voyage from Semester Washington, D.C., was hon- at Sea on enrollment at an ored for his achievement with accredited university. a day of exciting activities. The party then proceeded The winning essay was to the Department of State to chosen from among 1,000 meet with Deputy Secretary entries from 46 states and of State John Sullivan, who 14 countries. presented State Department With his parents, Nancy- challenge coins to DeParle Ann and Jason, and younger and his brother. brother Zachary, DeParle Congratulations are due attended a reception in his also to the 2017 runner-up, honor at the United States Manuel E. Feigl of Simpson- Institute of Peace. ville, South Carolina, who While presenting the received a $1,250 prize and $2,500 prize, AFSA President a full scholarship to par- Ambassador Barbara Ste- ticipate in the International phenson expressed her hope Diplomacy Program of the that the leaders of tomorrow National Student Leadership think about what America’s Conference that is held annu- diplomats do and under- ally in Washington, D.C.n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 59 AFSA NEWS

Reigning Cats and Dogs in the Foreign Service

This is Jack, a Jack Russell, enjoying a two-kilometer walk to the vegetable farm in Cambodia. Originally from Maryland, Jack has also lived in Colombia. LAURA QUINN LAURA

Charlie the labradoodle KIMBERLY M. MURPHY M. KIMBERLY is living in Albania with All five of the dogs owned by tandem couple Kimberly and Michael Murphy his owner Emily Lindland. are from the countries where they have been posted. Back row, from left: Tedi, He enjoys chasing after rescued from the streets of Bosnia; Joey and Nikki, from a high-kill shelter in tennis balls, going on Botswana; and Cooper, from the streets of Kosovo. In front, little Bravo, who long hikes in the woods, was named after the gate in front of U.S. Embassy Kosovo, where she hung out running with the kids for several months before joining the Murphy family. and taking long naps in the sun. EMILY LINDLAND EMILY JESS MCVAY JESS Lady was adopted from GRREAT

(Golden Retriever Rescue, Education MICHELLE SCHOHN J. JULIA HARRISON JULIA GEORGE MESTHOS GEORGE and Training) in 2011 by Jess and Meet Noostie, a rescue dog from a Snickers is a 12-year-old Yorkshire terrier, This is Marley, enjoying a Chris McVay. Her first assignment shelter in North Carolina. A diplodog shown here in South Korea after a snow view of the Ponte Vecchio and was to Sudan in 2012. Shortly from 2004 until she passed away in day. A well-traveled pup, he has also been to Uffizzi Gallery in Florence, Italy. thereafter, when Jess found herself 2017, Noostie traveled to Jerusalem, Cameroon, Madagascar and Pakistan with Marley was originally rescued, on ordered departure, Lady remained Tallinn and Pristina with her owners, his owner, Julia Harrison. along with his littermates, in at post with Chris, tandem couple J. Michelle Schohn Bangladesh. and Mary Glantz. DEBORAH MILLER DEBORAH At left, Giorgi, a street cat adopted from Georgia, relaxes in a bathroom sink in India. At right, Sully, adopted from the streets of Kazakhstan, has learned the joys of sleeping in FABIO CATTARINICH FABIO the sink there. In the center, Mailo, adopted from Latvia, who does not enjoy lounging Edison Siberius (aka Big Eddy), a Siberian Neva Masquerade, in sinks! living the dream in Canada.

60 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL BOOKS

A Vietnam Spoiler Alert is directed to the 25 percent and nam: Iraq, Afghanistan and nothing to the 75 percent,” Phil- the Future,” Phillips laments Why Vietnam Matters: An Eyewitness lips quotes one Vietnamese the “Green Zone mindset” Account of Lessons Not Learned observer as saying. If the South that undermined a successful Rufus Phillips, Naval Institute Press, Vietnamese were not up to transition to a “functioning Iraqi 2017, $24.95/paperback, $23.70/Kindle, the task, Phillips comments, self-government.” 448 pages. “we would do it ourselves by After going to Afghanistan as Reviewed By Keith W. Mines bombing the North and killing enough an election observer, Phillips wrote a note Viet Cong in the South to force the to George Packer concluding that “the The timing couldn’t be better for the communist side to quit; then we would outcome of the Afghan struggle is ulti- paperback release of Rufus Phillips’ turn the country back over to the South mately going to be determined not by our firsthand account of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese.” unilateral actions or geopolitical moves, which was published in hardcover in Phillips continues: “We underesti- but by whom the Afghan people wind up 2008. It coincides with the release of the mated the motivating power of Viet- supporting, even reluctantly.” Ken Burns/Lynn Novick PBS series on the namese nationalism, and we failed to The primacy of shepherding a political war (in which Phillips appears), and with comprehend the fanatical determination process for struggling states is not, to Phil- recent decisions about how long we should of an enemy willing to sacrifice its entire lips, a theoretical exercise. He recognized stay in Afghanistan and to what end. people until only the Politburo was left. ... early in his career that the task of “politi- Unique among observers of the Viet- We thought in conventional World War II cal action,” as he came to call it, was not nam War, Rufus Phillips arrived there in battlefield terms, when this conflict was at assigned to anyone in our government. He 1954 and remained involved to the end, alternating between high-level meetings The primacy of shepherding a political process for struggling (including with President John F. Ken- states is not, to Phillips, a theoretical exercise. nedy) and on-the-ground work in the Vietnamese and Laotian countryside. He its heart a political one, a war of ideas and has written extensively since the publica- is still active in policy debates today. of the spirit.” tion of the book on the need for the State By 1956 Phillips had the spoiler alert Phillips believed that the natural Department to prepare to undertake for how the war would play out over the inclination of human beings for a true political advisory efforts beyond tradi- next two decades, and he watched help- say in how they were governed was an tional diplomacy as part of a competitive lessly as the American juggernaut came unstoppable force. He lamented the lost contest with our adversaries. and ultimately left in defeat. opportunity to “put Ho Chi Minh on the Nation-building is to Phillips a very What Phillips realized early on—draw- defensive by proposing truly free elec- human, personal and ultimately politi- ing from lessons his first boss, Edward tions” instead of adopting a constitution cal struggle that, because of “our natural Landsdale, had learned in the successful “primarily as a device to legalize and optimism, democratic ideals and lack of fight against the Huk insurgents in the consolidate Diem’s power.” cynicism,” Americans are better suited for Philippines—was that the conflict was So strong is his belief that the essence than we often give ourselves credit for. political, not military, at its core, and that of “nation-building-cum-counterinsur- I am with Phillips on 95 percent of the it centered on the ability of the South Viet- gency” is political, not military, that Phil- book, having experienced similar chal- namese to marshal their forces for a cause lips ignores most of the fighting, focusing lenges in Central America in the 1980s and that could stand up to the North Vietnam- instead on the evolution of successive in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11. But I ese nationalists. They never found it, and South Vietnamese regimes and the wildly question whether he gives enough weight the U.S. strategy of simply fighting harder gyrating American efforts to help them, to the fact that while democracy is a far could not compensate for the void. which generally amounted to delivering stronger force once it takes hold, in the “The anti-communist fight in Vietnam ever-increasing levels of troops, resources consolidation phase it can often be swept is 75 percent political and 25 percent and bombing. aside by totalitarian forces that are simply military. Yet everything America is doing In a closing chapter, “Beyond Viet- more brutal and better organized.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 61

From Lenin’s defeat of the Kerensky much of themselves in retired U.S. Ambas- Foreign Service jobs as “Foreign Minister government in Russia following World War sador Jim Bullington’s wonderful memoir. for Dallas, Texas”; a detour into academia I to the Hamas victory over the Palestinian Immensely readable, well-crafted and at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Authority in the Gaza strip in 2007, there engagingly written, Global Adventures Virginia; Peace Corps director in Niger; have been a host of examples where this immediately draws one in. Starting from and, finally, a recall to service to facilitate has been the case. More attention to what the author’s self-description as a “redneck the successful resolution of a decades-old it takes to consolidate power on behalf of truly democratic forces would make Phil- What makes this memoir truly exceptional is the author’s riveting lips’ premise stronger. account of developments in Vietnam as the war progressed. I keep thinking, as Phillips once did, that the lessons of Vietnam are getting stale. And then I look at Syria, Yemen, hillbilly” from the ochre soil of Alabama internal conflict in Senegal. Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan—or, closer to and the revelation that native curiosity led What makes this memoir truly home, Venezuela and Colombia—and him, early on, to send away for an analysis exceptional, however, is not so much the realize they are more important than ever. of his ancestry whereby he learned that 2.8 career that followed his initial assignment These lessons may be difficult to heed percent of his DNA came from Neander- to Vietnam, but his riveting account of at a time when hard power is the craze, thals—this memoir is intriguing. developments in that country as the war but at least no one will be able to say: “You Jim Bullington lived a Huckleberry Finn progressed (events there occupy nearly never told us how this was going to end.” childhood, but was determined to explore one-third of the book). This culminated in the wider world, becoming the first mem- his near-capture by the North Vietnam- Keith Mines is a Senior FSO currently serving ber of his family to go to college via a co-op ese Army in Hue during the Tet offensive as director of Andean affairs in the State De- program at Auburn University. While of 1968 and his escape, disguised as a partment. His forthcoming book, Boots on the there, he had a chance encounter with a Catholic priest in full clerical garb, aided by Ground, Wingtips in the Palace: How a Blend Foreign Service legend, Ambassador Clare a resident French priest. of Hard and Soft Power Makes Timberlake, that led him to the Foreign While working in Hue, he fell in love America Safer, will be published in Service—and against all odds with a Foreign Service National employee the spring of 2018. (namely the dominance of the (a receptionist and translator at U.S. Con- Ivy League-educated East and sulate Hue), Than-trong Tuy-Cam, who A Diplomat’s Life West Coast elites in the Ser- ultimately became his wife and insepara- vice), he won a place in 1962. ble companion. This memoir, then, is both Global Adventures on His career track was fairly a narrative of a Foreign Service life and Less-Traveled Roads: standard for an FSO of his time: an unforgettable and moving love story A Foreign Service Memoir an initial stint in the department describing the devotion a couple can have James R. Bullington, as a desk officer for the Central for each other and the symbiotic relation- CreateSpace, 2017, $19.95/ Treaty Organization, followed ship they create. paperback, 334 pages. by an assignment to Vietnam. Ambassador Bullington’s memoir is a Reviewed By David Passage (During the war, one-quarter of the very easy-to-read and fast-paced descrip- Foreign Service was assigned to Embassy tion of Foreign Service life—the work we Anyone with Foreign Service ties will Saigon, our consulates or to the Civil do, the perils that attend it, the risks we effortlessly identify with this book. Even Operations and Revolutionary Develop- run, the accomplishments we can achieve without a Foreign Service connection, ment Support program there.) for our country and the personal satisfac- those who have spent time in faraway Next came postings to Thailand, tion we derive. n places with strange-sounding names Burma, Chad, Benin and Burundi—the (a tip of the hat to an earlier inveterate latter two as ambassador—and various David Passage, who retired after a 33-year traveler and American jurist, the late jobs in the department, including as head Foreign Service career, served as U.S. ambas- Justice William O. Douglas) will also see of the Senior Seminar. Then followed post- sador to Botswana from 1990 to 1993.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 63 EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

Raising Multilingual Children in the Foreign Service

Raising children in more alf a century ago, linguists This news is important for Foreign than one language is believed that encourag- Service families, for whom raising children seldom straightforward ing children to speak in more than one language has become and can leave parents more than one language so common that the Foreign Service Insti- would result in confu- tute’s Transition Center has been offer- second-guessing their sion and subsequent ing a biannual course, “Raising Bilingual approach. Here is a look Hlanguage delay. However, recent research Children,” since the mid-1990s. at the challenges and has consistently demonstrated that not The Family Liaison Office reports that how to meet them. only is there no harm in exposing children in 2016 there were 11,391 school-age to multiple languages, but that children children living overseas as eligible family BY NICOLE SCHAEFER- raised in a bilingual environment may members (EFMs) of State Department MCDANIEL AND JENNIFER develop better problem-solving and employees. Many of these children attend KIRK DINOIA creative-thinking skills. school in countries where English is not Some researchers even argue that the primary language, some for a majority growing up with multiple languages may of their childhood. delay the onset of neurocognitive disor- According to the Office of Overseas ders, such as dementia, in old age. Schools (OS), approximately 7,000

Nicole Schaefer-McDaniel holds a Ph.D. in environmental psychology. She and her husband, John McDaniel, who joined the Foreign Ser- vice in 2009, have served in Brazil and Austria. They are currently posted to Mongolia, where Nicole teaches in the study abroad program at the School for International Training in Ulaanbaatar. Nicole is a native German speaker raising bilingual children of her own. Jennifer Dinoia is the spouse of Peter Dinoia, a special agent with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, whom she has accompanied to postings in Virginia, Venezuela, Iceland, California and Nicaragua. They are currently stationed in Turkey. In addition to having worked overseas for the U.S. embassy in Venezuela, the International School of Iceland and the U.S. embassy in Nicaragua, Jen is a longtime volunteer with Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide. She is trying to help her own children maintain and improve the second languages they acquired overseas. The authors would like to thank the staff at the State Department’s Family Liaison Office, the Office of Overseas Schools and the Foreign Service Institute for their input, as well as the Foreign Service parents they spoke to as they researched this article. Thanks also to Nancy Rhodes and Marjorie Myers, who provided expert advice and reviewed an early draft. ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/QVASIMODO

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EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

of these children were children in more than one enrolled in a Department Foreign Service parents have language, it is not an easy of State-assisted school. process, and Foreign Service While English is the primary unique opportunities to parents often run into the language of instruction at expose their children to same problems across the these schools, there are usu- globe. ally one or more additional multiple languages. A big commitment. It languages offered as a part of takes hard work and parental the curriculum. Minority Language at Home: In this dedication to stay focused on that second Foreign Service parents have unique approach, known as ML@H, the entire language when other languages are being opportunities to expose their children to family speaks a minority language at home used. multiple languages. Yet many struggle to (i.e., a language that is not spoken by Johanna Vannett, the mother of two find the best way to help their children the dominant community outside of the young girls, confesses that she often finds acquire and maintain these languages as home), even if neither parent nor caregiver herself mixing three languages into one they move from post to post, each with is a native speaker. sentence: “During breakfast I will ask her differing levels of support and resources. For example, a family living in the ‘encore oder all done?,’ mixing German, United States speaks Spanish at home, English and French.” Approaches: while English is the majority language of Mom Heike Terrell, the mother of a What’s the Best Way? the community and is spoken with every- now-adult and bilingual son, recalls the Parents who choose to bring up their one else. Sometimes referred to as “For- difficulty: “Since I’m bilingual myself, I children with more than one language eign Home pattern,” this approach has naturally respond in the language that is do so for various reasons. Some want many advocates. However, some children used to address me. Whether English or their children to become global-minded raised this way take longer to acquire the German, it’s all the same to me. I found it citizens who can move between cultures. community language than children who difficult to switch back to German when Some have a parent or other relative who grow up speaking solely the dominant my son responded in English.” is a native speaker of a language other than language outside of the home. The effort it takes to keep up the chatter English, and want to pass on that language Blended Approaches: OPOL and in a second language can be “exhausting,” as a way of preserving their culture and ML@H can be modified based on family says Ting Ting Wu, who wants to convey heritage. Other parents see their children context, composition and preference. For her native Chinese to her 3-year-old son. approaching fluency in the language spo- instance, some families choose to vary the “The community language is usually ken in the host country and want them to context in which languages are used by English for us expats. I find myself trans- hold onto that skill. speaking English in the home, but then lating into Chinese what my husband There are three primary approaches sending children to a local school or an says to [my son] in English, just so he can recommended by linguists and parent immersion school where classes are taught hear it, and pointing at things so I can experts: in another language. talk about them in Chinese to him, when One Person, One Language: Known Others vary language by day of the sometimes I would just like to sit.” as OPOL, this method involves assigning week or when they travel. These types of Sometimes children refuse to speak clear language roles to each person in the blended approaches are frequently used the minority language. Portuguese home. For example, one parent (or care- by Foreign Service families, since access to speaker Carla Reinisch Trunk says it’s a taker) may only speak Italian with a child, resources and languages greatly depends challenge to enforce the language with while another parent solely speaks English. on where the family is posted. her 4-year-old daughter when every- Advocates attribute this method’s success one outside the house speaks English: to the clear separation of languages and Real Life Challenges “What’s her incentive?” she asks. “One to ensuring enough exposure, although & Frustrations weekend with her American grandpar- supplementary resources and speakers Despite the wide availability of online ents, and she has defaulted to English.” may be necessary. resources for parents wishing to raise Lack of support. Some parents

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struggle when family and ity language-speaking friends fail to understand or There are numerous approaches spouse. That person needs respect how they are raising for children to learn multiple support and encouragement their children. for it to be successful.” Katherine Reilly, who languages, and no single Potential speech delay. is raising two bilingual Although researchers children under age 10, says approach is best for everyone. claim multilingual children other parents warn her that develop their language skills her children “will have a Still, she persists: “With the availability of at a similar pace as mono- speech delay,” and that I am causing them cartoons in all languages on YouTube and lingual speakers, some parents say they’ve “unneeded stress.” multicultural friends, our children will seen a delay in language acquisition. Parental lack of fluency. Parents also always be exposed in some form.” “We definitely saw a big delay in struggle when they can’t fully communi- The father of two girls, Joseph Zadrozny speech with our second child,” says Cath- cate in the second language or when they also struggles with his lack of fluency. “As erine Pierce. “He was almost mute until have limited resources. someone who grew up monolingual, I’ve age 3.” Despite the initial delay, Pierce Laura Paulus Guinn wants her children tried to be as supportive as possible while says everything worked out in the end; to speak Spanish. But, she says, “my Span- recognizing that I have relatively little to her son eventually caught up and even ish isn’t good enough to really continue contribute personally,” he says. graduated a year ahead of his class. the foundation for both my children.” “The biggest burden falls to the minor- Yvette Hulsman had a similar issue:

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she remembers feeling language point of view, but “sad and frustrated” when Some parents struggle when that’s really a small piece,” her daughter’s speech was family and friends fail to says Lisa Simmons, who delayed. Ting Ting Wu’s son enrolled her children at was also a late speaker, but understand or respect how Liceo Franco Mexicano in eventually “he exploded into they are raising their children. Mexico City. “I do not speak conversation and now talks the language of the school, about his day in French, and that has meant inse- Chinese and English.” noticed that when we went back home curity and unease with simple tasks like Keeping up speaking English. Parents and stayed with family. His Spanish, on shopping for school supplies, school pick- whose children spend significant time the other hand, couldn’t be better; it’s full up/drop-off, teacher communication, away from English-speaking schools and of colloquialisms and Mexican slang.” participation in school life and relation- countries may worry about their child’s Navigating a foreign school system. ships with other parents.” English proficiency when they visit family Parents who enroll their children in Ting Ting Wu agrees: “I spent a lot of in the United States or when children move local school systems at post experience time on Google Translate, trying to figure back “home” to continue their education. additional challenges as they attempt to out school instructions, snacks and what “My oldest son’s English can be hard navigate an unknown system in a foreign exactly they did in school that week.” to understand,” says Daya Stockdale, the language. Consistency across postings. Some mother of two boys under age 6. “We “I only thought about school from the parents worry that their children won’t

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be motivated to keep up are French schools in 130 an acquired language once Parents whose children spend countries. “Transitions are rel- they move to a new country atively seamless,” Evans says, with a different language. significant time away from because “each grade teaches “The major challenge for English-speaking schools and the same concepts, teachers us is knowing we’re going are trained in the same way to move every two or three countries may worry about their and the schools send all the years. Our youngest is cur- child’s English proficiency. records—you just leave school rently in a German/Spanish A and show up in school B.” nursery, but we only speak English at home,” says Molly McHarg, with a background in language educa- What Do the Experts Say? raising three children between 3 and 10. tion, suggests that parents consider the Raising children in more than one “We don’t have the resources to main- availability and resources of a minority language is seldom straightforward and tain two additional languages forever, but language or foreign school system to can leave parents second-guessing their we’re hoping maybe she can continue ensure consistency from post to post. approach. with one at the next post. We figure the Leah Moorefield Evans, a Foreign We turned to Nancy Rhodes, a world longer she has exposure to at least one, Service mother of four, points out that language education consultant at the the better off she will be.” the French school system can be a good Center for Applied Linguistics, and Joanna Parys, a Foreign Service parent option for FS families, because there Marjorie Myers, Ed.D., principal of the

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Key School, a bilingual public school in Comprehension is key. Many parents agreement” that outlines roles and Arlington, Virginia, for practical tips and want their children to achieve “balanced” responsibilities of each family member. advice on raising multilingual children. language proficiency—that is, they want Interaction is crucial. Languages are Here are some of their insights. their children to speak and comprehend best learned via natural social interac- The earlier, the better. Experts uni- each language fluently. This is a difficult tion, such as speaking and reading aloud. formly advise that the earlier the second goal and will not be feasible for many. Constant narration—describing what language is introduced, the better—from Remember that it is acceptable to aim is happening using both “I” and “you” birth on is optimal—and that the maxi- for less than fluency. The most important sentences—is important for modeling mum results are achieved before puberty. aspect of language learning is comprehen- correct language and grammar usage. There is no gold standard. There are sion, because this is the foundation for It’s normal to mix languages. numerous approaches for children to learn language acquisition and future learning. Multilingual children will often “code- multiple languages, and no single approach Be consistent. Expose children to as switch”—the term experts use for the is best for everyone. The best method is the much of the minority language(s) as you tendency to mix languages, even in the one that works best for your family. can; experts recommend about 30 per- same sentence. Don’t be alarmed when Remember that children go through cent of daily language exposure. this happens. Some experts view this as a phases in life, and will thus have different Have the same language spoken by sign of language mastery. phases and preferences in their language the same person or in the same context. Avoid power struggles. Never force learning. Consider creating a “family language children to speak a minority language.

Online Resources for Multilingual Families

Bilingual Monkeys http://bilingualmonkeys.com

Directory of Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Programs in the U.S. www.cal.org/twi/directory

Fluent in 3 Months www.fluentin3months.com

Linguistic Society of America— FAQ Raising Bilingual Children www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/faq-raising- bilingual-children

Multilingual Children’s Association www.multilingualchildren.org

Multilingual Parenting http://multilingualparenting.com

TedTalk by Mia Nacamulli: The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-speaking-multiple- languages-benefits-the-brain-mia-nacamulli#review

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If they answer in the “wrong” language, parents will inevitably struggle with their continue talking in the minority language choices. This is particularly the case for To Learn More… to increase exposure and to model lan- Foreign Service parents, since our choice guage usage. of career means our children will be con- he State Department peri- Get help. Stock up on resources like stantly exposed to different languages. Todically offers “Raising Bilingual books, games and movies in the target While the experts we spoke to provided Children,” a tuition-free evening language, and increase your network of valuable practical suggestions and reas- course designed specifically for speakers via playgroups, au pairs and nan- surance, there is still a need for specific Foreign Service parents. For information on the course, and to see an nies. If you are overseas, consider immer- research on raising multilingual children extensive list of available resources, sion and local school options. in the Foreign Service. go to bit.ly/BilingualFSKids. Take the long view. Raising children Finally, FS families might also benefit Consider joining a Facebook who can speak more than one language is from additional support. Even though FSI group: Multilingual Foreign Service not a short-term venture; don’t expect it currently provides a few resources, such as Kids is at www.facebook.com/ to happen in one short year. In fact, it may access to language experts and a seminar groups/MultilingualFSkids become a lifetime undertaking. on the topic, parents could also use finan- Raising Bilingual & Mul- cial support to cover educational expenses tilingual Children can be From Struggle to Success incurred to maintain minority languages, found at www.facebook.com/ With so many approaches to rais- as well as assistance in finding local and groups/106547209394767 ing children in more than one language, alternative school options abroad. n

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SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE Go to our webpage at www.afsa.org/education.

Gender International Holiday Annual Tuition, Page Percent Percent Levels TABS common Accept Miles to School Enrollment Distribution AP/IBu Students Break Room & Board Number Boarding Int’l. Offered application ADD/LD Int’l. Airport M/F Orientation Coverageuu (US $)

n ELEMENTARY/JUNIOR HIGH

Hampshire 100 25 All boys 100 5 3-9 N/N N Y 65 N N 58,500 Country School

n ELEMENTARY/JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH

The Brook Hill 91 670 50/50 30 15 PK-12 Y/N Y Y 90 Y Y 43,320 School

The Hockaday 76 1,093 All girls 7 3 PK-12 Day Y/N Y Y 17 Y N 55,742- School 57,155

Montverde 85 1,324 64/36 40 45 PK-12, PG Y/N Y Limited 25 Y N 51,350 Academy

Saint Andrew’s 73 1,285 50/50 18 9 PK-12 Y/Y Y Y/Y 30 Y N 55,700 School

Sandy Springs 84 609 49/51 17 12 PK-12 Y/N N Limited 35 Y Y 59,500 Friends School

n JUNIOR HIGH/SENIOR HIGH

Admiral Farragut 98 300 60/40 50 30 8-12 Y/N N Limited 22 Y N 50,000 Academy

Brandon Hall 103 147 59/41 46 20 6-12, PG Y/N Y Y 30 Y N 59,100 School

Chaminade 102 834 All boys 15 12 6-12 Y/N Y Y/Limited 9 Y N 39,788 College Preparatory School

Grier School 72 300 All girls 85 40 7-12 Y/N Y Y 120 Y N 54,500

Hargrave Military 84 225 All boys 77 11 7-12, PG Y/N N Limited 76 Y N 34,800 Academy

Linden Hall School 99 220 All girls 60 40 6-12 Y N Y 75 Y N 53,400

Southwestern 93 175 60/40 75 75 6-12, PG Y Y Limited 27 Y Y 39,900 Academy

Stony Brook 89 385 55/45 48 31 7-12 Y/N N Limited 50 Y N 53,700 School

n SENIOR HIGH

American Hebrew 75 150 50/50 95 50 9-12 Y/N Y Limited 6 Y N 42,000abe Academy

Asheville School 101 288 50/50 80 19 9-12 Y/N Y N 42 Y Y 54,900

CATS Academy 71 391 46/54 88 92 9-12 Y/N N N 15 Y Y 37,500 Boston

EF Academy 79 700 55/45 97 95 9-12 N/Y N Limited 38 Y N 41,985- New York 47,770a

George School NA 540 51/49 53 27 9-12 Y/Y Y N 40 Y N 57,550

The Hill School 81 522 56/44 80 19 9-12, PG Y/N N N 46 Y N 56,755

uAdvanced Placement/International Baccalaureate uu Dec. 25-Jan 1. NA, not applicable a Sibling discount b Financial aid available c Dollar value subject to exchange rate d Aid for federal employees e Gap year fNeed-blind admission; will meet full financial need g Host families

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SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE Go to our webpage at www.afsa.org/education.

n SENIOR HIGH (CONTINUED)

Kent School 99 570 53/47 90 30 9-12, PG Y/N Y Limited 90 Y Limited 60,400

Kimball Union 94 333 57/43 74 20 9-12, PG Y/N Y Y 125 Y Limited 62,624 Academy

Madeira School 90 321 All girls 52 16 9-PG Y/N Y Limited 12 Y N 59,990

Marian High 98 230 50/50 g 25 9-12 Y/N N Y 24 Y Y 22,800 School

Milton Academy 93 700 50/50 50 14 9-12 Y/N N Limited 8 Y N 57,650

Phillips Academy 96 1,154 50/50 74 12 9-12, PG Y/N N Limited 26 Y N 53,900f

South Kent School 77 170 All boys 86 35 9-12, PG Y/N Y Y/Y 80 Y Y 57,000

St. Mark’s School 92 362 54/46 75 21 9-12 N/N Y N 30 N N 59,685

St. Thomas More 88 110 All boys 100 24 9-12, PG Y/N Y Y 45 Y By appt. 53,900 School

n CANADA

Bishop’s College 100 270 60/40 75 40 7-12 Y/Y Y Y 108 Y Y 47,033c School

Ridley College 89 700 52/48 54 35 K-12, PG N/Y Y Y 41 Y Y 44,680ce

n OVERSEAS

American 99 57/43 NA 37 K-12 Y/N NA N 15 Y N 8,250- International 14,964 School - Kuwait

Berlin Brandenburg 68 700 50/50 10 70 K-12 N/Y N Y 15 Y N 48,890c International School

CAISL: 91 675 50/50 N/A 60 PK-12 N/Y N Limited 22 Y NA 9,344- Carlucci American 21,790 International School of Lisbon

EF Academy 79 160 50/50 100 100 11-12 N/Y N N 43 Y N 46,425ac Oxford

EF Academy 79 300 55/45 100 100 9-12 N/Y N N 26 Y N 32,930- Torbay 39,630ac

Frankfurt 95 1,800 50/50 NA 80 K-12 N/Y N Limited 19 Y N 22,120 International School

John F. Kennedy 95 1,617 50/50 NA 47 K-12 Y/N N Limited 15 Y N None School Berlin

Leysin American 81 340 50/50 100 80 7-12, PG N/Y Y Limited 75 Y N 88,000d School in Switzerland

St. John’s 67 650 50/50 4 83 PK-13 Y/Y Y Y 10 Y Y 9,000- International 32,000 School

80 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 81 SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE Go to our webpage at www.afsa.org/education.

n OVERSEAS (CONTINUED)

St. Stephen’s 103 295 47/53 15 62 9-12, PG Y/Y N N 12 Y N 40,900c School

TASIS The 83 680 50/50 26 39 PK-12 Y/Y N Limited 8 Y N 55,450bc American School in England

TASIS The 83 715 50/50 38 75 PK-12, PG Y/Y Limited Limited 40 Y N 83,000d American School in Switzerland

n SPECIAL NEEDS

The Gow School 70 150 87/13 87 33 6-12, PG NA N Y 20 Y N 65,800

Landmark School 97 477 65/35 32 2 2-12 NA N Y 32 Y N 55,900- 73,400

n DISTANCE LEARNING

Stanford Online 65 Stan ford Online High School (Stanford OHS) at Stanford University is an independent school for academically High School talent ed students in grades 7–12. Stanford OHS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Students come together from all over the world in real-time, online classes with expert instructor s passionate about teaching and learning. Tuition is covered by the State Department for Foreign Service families . For more information, go to ohs.stanford.edu.

Texas Tech 69 Tex as Tech University K-12 offers an online and print-based kindergarten-12th grade curriculum University with the option of earning a Texas high school diploma accredited by TEA and NCAA. K-12

Texas Tech 25, 87 Tex as Tech University Worldwide eLearning offers accredited online bachelor’s through terminal graduate programs. University Worldwide eLearning

n OTHER

AAFSW Publisher of Raising Kids in the Foreign Service. A volunteer organization that supports Associates of 94 Foreign Service employees, spouses, partners and members of household. www.aafsw.org the American F.S. Worldwide

DACOR 74 DAC OR Bacon House Foundation offers Dreyfus scholarships to children and grandchildren of FSOs attending Yale or Hotchkiss. www.dacorbacon.org

FLO 17 Family Liaison Office: Information and resources for Foreign Service families. Contact [email protected], or go to www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c1958.htm.

FSYF 102 Foreign Service Youth Foundation: A support network for U.S. Foreign Service youth worldwide. Go to www.fsyf.org.

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Educational Preparedness When an Evacuation Disrupts School

Like it or not, evacuations have become a fact of Foreign Service life. Here are some tips to ensure your child’s education is not compromised by a sudden departure from post.

BY MARYBETH HUNTER, CECILE MINES AND COURTNEY COLBERT

t’s the start of the school year. What is the best way families with fact, by being as prepared as possible to Kids are settled in, student goals school-aged children can be ready for tackle educational needs, families can established, school routines in the unexpected when confronted with maximize their sense of control at a time place, when suddenly families are an evacuation? By creating an educa- when they need it most. informed that they must evacuate tion preparedness plan that suits specific Here are some simple steps to get post. Sound familiar? Considering family needs. Think “go bag” with your started. Ithe impact of recent political events and family’s educational needs in mind. In the potential for natural disasters to affect Step One: Contact our Foreign Service families abroad, a the School at Post sudden departure from post is far from Before leaving post, time permitting, unlikely. families will need to request transcripts Sometimes families leave post during and standardized test results, plus an the school year without knowing when official letter from the school indicating (or if) they will ever return. While the dates of attendance, class titles, materi- average evacuation lasts about three als covered and student grades earned to months, time away from post can be date. These documents could be emailed much longer. Those families who prepare or faxed later, but it is optimal to have and plan for a longer period of time tend paper copies, originals or digital versions to experience fewer frustrations. on hand as you depart. Know the virtual capabilities of your Marybeth Hunter is the education student’s school before an evacuation. and youth officer in the State De- Often students may be instructed to work partment’s Family Liaison Office. their way through virtual or actual pack- Cecile Mines, lower left, ets of educational material developed and Courtney Colbert are by teachers from the evacuated post. FLO’s crisis management Families should know beforehand if their support team. student’s school will continue their stud-

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A “School” in the Hotel roviding an opportunity for the Pkids to get together to do a few structured activities was comforting for them. Setting up a “school” in a hotel is not a long-term solution, but I do believe it helped the children to adapt and deal with the sudden change. I think it was a relief for them to see familiar faces and know they were all going through this together. —Brooke Fox, evacuated from Kinshasa to Brazzaville in 2016

ies by accessing virtual schooling sites to complete teacher-developed modules or otherwise. Created in 2002, in association with the Office of Overseas Schools and the staff and students of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia, the World Virtual School Project was initially used to support the March 2002 evacuation of the International School of Islamabad. WVS assists participating schools and regions in terms of curriculum quality and continuity, opportunities for collaboration, progressive professional development and resiliency in the face of natural or manmade emergencies. The program is offered in 85 schools around the world, and almost all of the remaining State Department–assisted schools have their own online programs that are capable of supporting temporary continuation of schooling should an evacuation of our students occur.

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Step Two: Contact the School in the Safe Haven Location Making Choices for Your Family Occasionally, families may travel to a s parents, we need to take responsibility for our own children’s educa- country nearby to safe haven for a short Ation because everyone’s situation is different and every child’s needs period of time. In such cases, students are unique. Don’t sit around waiting for something to be done for your family. may be invited to attend the brick and We made the decision to move back into our home in Indiana during our mortar school at the safe haven post, or evacuation from Cairo. It was a stressful time for all of us, especially because may opt to work through assignments my husband had to stay behind. alone or virtually. The safe haven post But the best and most important thing we did was to settle the kids into may be able to assist with coordinat- schools of our choosing as soon as possible—within two days. ing attendance at the brick and mortar school. We elected to spend our own money to enroll them in a private school—it Evacuations are stressful times full was expensive, but it was the right choice for our family. Don’t forget that of uncertainty. Although an evacuation you have choices! cannot last longer than 180 days, there is The State Department did a great job of getting us out of Cairo safely … no guarantee—from Day 1 to Day 180—of and taking care of so many of our immediate needs, but it would have been exactly when or if the family will return to ridiculous to expect them to cater to my individual, personal circumstances. post. This is why it is recommended that —Marci Kilpatrick, evacuated from Cairo in 2011 families enroll their children in school

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Try to identify what schools will be able Planning for Continuity to accommodate your child’s particular y son and I discussed the work he needed to complete each day. course of study or individual needs. MAssignments he was not able to complete between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., It is crucial for parents of teens in high he completed in the evening after dinner because I wanted him to be able to school who have been enrolled in an participate in extracurricular activities and have social time outside of the International Baccalaureate or Advanced learning environment. Placement program to continue in a simi- The Brazzaville school opened up the campus after school hours, allow- lar program during the period of evacua- ing our children to come play basketball, football, etc., as well as hosting a tion at the safe haven location. movie night. My son returned to school feeling confident and not left behind In the Washington, D.C., metro area, as a result of the plans that had been implemented during the evacuation. the Family Liaison Office maintains a —Carmel Smalls, evacuated from Kinshasa to Brazzaville in 2016 list of short-term housing facilities; each facility listing includes the name or names of the local high school(s), which are where they safe haven. By doing so while It is a good idea to discuss with your tagged IB, AP or both. on evacuation status, families are able to family, before an evacuation happens, We encourage parents to visit the keep up with the valuable structure and where you might want to safe haven. This school’s website to determine if the same routines they have already established at type of planning will allow you to look at IB or AP classes that your child has been post. the schools in the area you might choose. studying are offered at these schools.

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Here are some useful websites to get you RESOURCES started: • www.ibo.org/diploma The following FLO webpages have been useful to Foreign Service families • www.ibmidatlantic.org worldwide: • international.collegeboard.org/ • FLO webpage on Public Schools in the Washington, D.C., area: programs/ap-recognition www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21970.htm Note that schools in the Washing- • FLO webpage on Private Schools in the Washington, D.C., area: ton, D.C., area are familiar with Foreign www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21978.htm Service students and work hard to provide the continuity needed while families • FLO webpage on Transition, Training and the Foreign Service Child: are evacuated. If you plan to enroll your www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21967.htm children in a specific public school in the • FLO webpage on Childcare and Preschool: D.C./Maryland/Virginia area, the Family www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21989.htm Liaison Office recommends selecting a • For more information, please contact FLO’s Education and Youth Team residence with school boundary details in at [email protected]. mind. FLO can provide a temporary hous- • For youth preparedness information and tools, check out ing list that indicates what schools are www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness. possible for attendance at each location.

94 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 95 96 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL While we are aware that some states do offer universal or government- funded preschools, the majority do not.

Step Three: Find and Pack School-Related Items to Hand Carry Foreign Service families will be required to comply with standard reg- istration requirements when enrolling children in school in the United States. So they should hand-carry the following documents when leaving post abruptly: • Proof of residence in the school district (e.g., temporary quarters contract, lease, mortgage). In some cases, you may also need to show a current utility bill to prove physical presence. • Original or certified copy of birth certificates (please check with your school district to see if a passport will be accepted in lieu of this). • Social Security number. • Photo ID. • Official transcripts. • Standardized test results. • Psycho-educational test results, if applicable. • Current Individualized Education Plan (for children with special needs), if applicable. • Physical exam forms, which can be downloaded from the school district website. Note: A physical exam that is less than 12 months old can be used. • Immunization records form, also found on the school district website. Note: A copy of immunization records can be used.

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• Proof of recent TB tests (within three months of enrollment), if you are coming from countries listed on the school district website. • Letters of recommendation. Though not required, they can be helpful, especially for high school students in preparation for college admissions.

Step Four: Contact the Family Liaison Office and the Office of Overseas Schools The Office of Overseas Schools (A/OS) and FLO’s Education and Youth Team are here to provide families with the information and tools needed to create the best education plan considering unique family needs. Regional education officers at A/OS will ensure that families have easy access to the documents they need from Department of State–supported schools overseas and will be available to guide parents on the mechanics of virtual schooling. FLO meets regularly with school administrators in the United States and can assist Foreign Service families as they seek placement and sort out requirements for schools stateside. While we are aware that some states do offer universal or government-funded preschools, the majority do not. Fami- lies should expect to pay for preschools in the United States as they do when serving abroad. Having an educational contingency plan in place in the event of an emergency can alleviate stress when a crisis at post occurs. Families in need of additional information should contact their Community Liaison Office coordinator at post or FLO (FLOAskEducation@ state.gov) in Washington, D.C. n

98 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 99 EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

FROM THE JUNE 2017 FSJ EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Facts and Updates: Making Sense of the Department of State Education Allowance BY MARYBETH HUNTER

any Foreign Service parents spend an enormous Liaison Office spoke with the Department of State’s Office amount of time determining which posts have of Allowances. Mthe best schools for their children. These are FLO: Which government employees are eligible for an delicate decisions that have a large impact on family life. education allowance? Do all agencies follow the Department Parents serving overseas may be eligible to receive an of State education allowance regulations? education allowance to help cover the cost of their chil- DOS Office of Allowances: Any U.S. direct-hire employee dren’s education. The education allowance is designed serving overseas with school-aged children may be eligible to assist in defraying education costs at post that would to receive an education allowance under the Department normally be provided free of charge by public schools in of State Standardized Regulations, Section 270. All federal the United States. government agencies follow these regulations, although Think about what is normally provided in a public each agency may have its own supplemental regulations school in America, and this will give you a reasonably that further clarify or restrict the allowance. … accurate idea of what you can expect to have reimbursed under the education allowance. Tuition and books, yes. Marybeth Hunter is the education and youth officer in the Afterschool activities or band instruments, no. State Department’s Family Liaison Office. Read her full interview To understand a bit more about education allowances, with the State Department’s Office of Allowances at bit.ly/ and find out about recent allowance updates, the family UpdateEducationAllowances.

100 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL

EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

FROM THE DECEMBER 2011 FSJ EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT College Applications Checklist for 11th Graders BY FRANCESCA KELLY

hen it comes to college admissions, junior year Wof high school is crunch time. This is when you’re expected to take the most challenging courses, get the best grades and start racking up those SAT or ACT scores. Junior year is the last full academic year that factors into acceptance decisions from colleges. It also provides an opportunity to bring up a mediocre grade point average and polish your resumé. In addition, you can finish—yes, finish—a whole swath of the applications process in 11th grade so that you do not get hit with a ton of pressure the next fall. This no-nonsense, month-by-month guide from December through August of your junior year will help you get a head start on the college application process and sail through your senior year. Francesca Kelly, a Foreign Service spouse, is a writer, university counselor and college essay tutor. She writes frequently on education issues and is a former editor of AFSA News. The complete article excerpted here is available online at www.afsa.org/educationarticles.

102 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FROM THE JUNE 2016 FSJ EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Applying to Boarding School: Lessons Learned BY JOHN F. KROTZER

he reasons parents choose the boarding school route Tare as varied as the students themselves: unsuitable schooling at post, special needs support, gifted student opportunities and the need for stability have all been regularly cited. In my conversations with these parents, one thing that most have in common is that boarding school was not part of their child’s long-term education plan. Something happened, and suddenly boarding school was an option they needed to evaluate quickly! Such was the case with us, and I began to quickly learn as much as I could about the process. Despite all of our research, we discovered a number of key things about the boarding school application process too late. I hope a few of these lessons will be helpful to those in the Foreign Service thinking about boarding school in the future. John F. Krotzer, a Foreign Service family member, is posted in Beijing. His complete article can be found at bit.ly/BoardingSchoolApplication.

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104 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FURNISHED LUXURY APARTMENTS. Short/long-term. Best locations: n REAL ESTATE Dupont Circle, Georgetown. Utilities included. All price ranges/sizes. Parking available. LOOKING to BUY, SELL or RENT REAL ESTATE in NORTHERN Tel: (202) 251-9482. VIRGINIA or MARYLAND? Former FSO and Peace Corps Country Email: [email protected] Director living in NoVA understands your unique needs and can expertly guide you through your real estate experience and transition. Profession- FULLY FURNISHED, PETS welcome, one & two bedrooms. alism is just a phone call away. Call Alex for solutions. Courthouse & Ballston Metro. Executive Lodging Alternatives. Alex Boston, REALTOR, JD, MPA Email: [email protected] Long & Foster 6299 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church VA 22044 DC LUXE PROPERTIES. In business for more than 20 years, our lux- Tel: (571) 533-9566. urious fully furnished and equipped apartments are uniquely ours. Email: [email protected] We don’t rent out “other people’s apartments” like most other provid- Website: alexboston.LnF.com ers of temporary housing. We specialize in fully renovated historic properties in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, close to everything, THINKING OF MOVING? Want to upsize or downsize? Call Katie to help for the authentic D.C. experience. All our apartments have their own you buy, sell, rent or rent out your home in your desired time frame, for washer/dryer units and individual heating/cooling controls, as well the best price and with the least amount of stress. FS references avail- as Internet and cable TV, etc. We never charge application or cleaning able. fees, and work with you on per diem. Please look at our website to Katie Kujawa view our beautiful apartments and pick out your next home in D.C. BHHS PenFed Realty Tel: (202) 462-4304. Tel: (703) 582-0478. Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: www.dcluxe.com Website: www.katarzynakujawa.penfedrealty.com

ARLINGTON FLATS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 BR flats/houses in 25 properties ARE YOU MAIN STATE OR FSI BOUND? For more than 30 years, I have located in the Clarendon/Ballston corridor. Newly renovated, com- guided hundreds of Foreign Service clients through buying and selling pletely furnished, all-inclusive (parking, maid, utilities). Rates start real estate. When making such an important financial and life decision, at $2750/mo. We work with per diem. Check out our listings. you deserve to have the guidance and expertise of a seasoned real estate Welcoming Foreign Service for the last decade! professional. Tel: (703) 527-1614. Ask for Claire or Jonathan. Contact Marilyn Cantrell, Associate Broker, licensed in VA and DC. Email: [email protected] McEnearney Associates Website: www.SunnysideProperty.net 1320 Old Chain Bridge Rd., Ste. 350 McLean VA 22101 PER DIEM SUITES FURNISHED APARTMENTS. Luxury, fully furnished Tel: (703) 860-2096. apartments ready to move in immediately throughout the Washington, Email: [email protected] D.C., area including Main State and NFATC. We accept government per Website: www.MarilynCantrell.com diem all year round. To learn more about how we can help you with your lodging needs while in D.C., please contact us. FLORIDA’S PARADISE COAST—Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero. Excel- Tel: (703) 732-5972. lent amenities, activities, cultural events in beautiful Southwest Florida. Email: [email protected] Outstanding home values. Interested in another area? With an extensive Website: www.perdiemsuites.com network, I am able to assist statewide or nationwide. Thomas M. Farley, LLC. Retired SFS. n PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty. Email: [email protected] NORTHERN VIRGINIA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. Are you looking for a competent manager to take care of your home when you go to SARASOTA, FLA. PAUL BYRNES, FSO retired, and Loretta Friedman, post this summer? Based in McLean, Va., Peake Management, Inc. has Coldwell Banker, have vast real estate experience and cite excellent worked with Foreign Service officers for over 30 years. We are active weather, amenities, health facilities and no state income tax to explain board members of the Foreign Service Youth Foundation and many Sarasota’s mounting popularity. Enjoy gracious living, no state income other community organizations. We really care about doing a good job in tax and an exciting market. renting and managing your home, so we’re always seeking cutting-edge Tel: (941) 377-8181. technology to improve service to our clients, from innovative market- Email: [email protected] (Paul) or [email protected] (Loretta) ing to active online access to your account. We offer a free, copyrighted Landlord Reference Manual to guide you through the entire preparation, n INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION rental and management process, or just give our office a call to talk to the agent specializing in your area. Peake Management, Inc. is a licensed, ADOPT WHILE POSTED OVERSEAS! Adopt Abroad, Incorporated, was full-service real estate broker. created to assist expatriates with their adoption needs. U.S.-licensed and 6842 Elm St., Suite 303, McLean VA 22101 Hague-accredited. We conduct adoption home studies and child place- Tel: (703) 448-0212. ment services, caseworkers based worldwide. Email: [email protected] Adopt Abroad, Inc. Website: www.peakeinc.com 1424 N. 2nd Street, Harrisburg PA Tel: (888) 526-4442. Website: www.adopt-abroad.com

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 105 n PET TRANSPORTATION

PET SHIPPING WORLDWIDE: ACTION PET EXPRESS has over 48 years in business. 24-hr. service, operated by a U.S. Army veteran, associate member AFSA. Contact: Jerry Mishler. Tel: (681) 252-0266 or (844) 323-7742. Email: [email protected] Website: WWW.ACTIONPETEXPRESS.COM

n EDUCATION

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TWIGA TUTORS. Certified American teachers support FS students in English, Math, Science and U.S. History. USG Reimbursements Apply. EFM-owned. Fun, effective, online, K-12 programs. Email: [email protected] Website: www.twigatutors.com

PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.60/word (10-word min). Hyperlink $11 in online edition. Bold text $1.00/word. Header or box-shading $11 each. Deadline: Five weeks ahead of publication. Tel: (202) 944-5507. Fax: (202) 338-8244. Email: [email protected]

106 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 107 REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

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Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)

1) Publication Title: The Foreign Service Journal 2) Publication No. 01463543 3) Filing Date: October 1, 2017 4) Issue Frequency: Monthly with January/February and July/August combined 5) Number of Issues Published Annually: 10 6) Annual Subscription Price: $50.00 7) Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 8) Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters of General Business Officer of Publisher: 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 9) Full Name and Complete Mailing Address of Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor: Publisher: American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990; Editor: Shawn Dorman, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990; Managing Editor: Susan B. Maitra, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 10) Owner: American Foreign Service Associ- ation, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 11) Known Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other You Are Our Eyes & Ears! Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: None 12) For Completion by Nonprofit Organizations Authorized to Mail at Special Rates: Dear Readers: The Purpose, Function and Nonprofit Status of this Organization and the Exempt Status for Federal Income Tax Purposes: (1) Has not changed during preceding 12 months 13) Publication’s Name: In order to produce a high-quality The Foreign Service Journal 14) Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2017 16) Extent and product, the FSJ depends on the Nature of Circulation: Average Number of Copies of Each Issue During Preceding 12 months: A. Total revenue it earns from advertising. Number of Copies: 18,096 B. Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (1) Sales Through Dealers and Carri- ers, Street Vendors and Counter Sales: 0 (2) Mail Subscription: 16,818 C. Total Paid and/or Requested You can help with this. Circulation: 16,818 D. Free Distribution by Mail (Samples, Complimentary and Other Free): 850 E. Please let us know the names of Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 200 F. Total Free Distribution: 1,050 G. Total Distribution: 17,868 H. Copies Not Distributed (1) Office Use, Leftovers and Spoiled: 228 (2) Returns from News Agents: 0 I. companies that have provided Total: 18,096 J. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 93% Actual Number of Copies of Single good service to you — a hotel, Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: A. Total Number of Copies: 18,116 B. Paid and/or Requested insurance company, auto Circulation: (1) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors and Counter Sales: 0 (2) Mail dealership, or other concern. Subscription: 16,519 C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 16,519 D. Free Distribution by Mail (Samples, Complimentary and Other Free): 800 E. Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 440 F. Total A referral from our readers Free Distribution: 1,240 G. Total Distribution: 17,759 H. Copies Not Distributed: (1) Office Use, Leftover, is the best entrée! Spoiled: 357 (2) Returns from News Agents: 0 Total: 18,116 Percent Paid and/or Requested Circula- tion: 91%. Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Tel: (202) 944-5507 (signed) Susan B. Maitra, Managing Editor Email: [email protected]

108 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ADWhen contactin g oneINDEX of our advertisers, kindly mention you saw their advertisement in The Foreign Service Journal.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Southwestern Academy / 93 DACOR Holiday Open House / 15 St. John’s International School / 67 St. Mark’s School / 92 CLASSIFIED ADS St. Stephen’s School / 103 Classifieds / 104, 105, 106 St. Thomas More School / 88 Stanford Online High School / 65 COMBINED FEDERAL Stony Brook School, The / 89 CAMPAIGN TASIS The American School in Foreign Service Youth England / 83 Foundation / 102 TASIS The American School in Fund for American Diplomacy / 62 Switzerland / 83 Next Step Travel / 21 Texas Tech University–K-12 / 69 Senior Living Foundation / 48 Texas Tech University– Worldwide eLearning / 25, 87 EDUCATION Admiral Farragut Academy / 98 FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND American Hebrew Academy / 75 TAX SERVICES American International School Carrington Financial Planning / 59 of Kuwait / 99 David L. Mortimer, CPA / 106 Asheville School / 101 MCG Financial Planning / 57 Berlin Brandenburg International State Department Federal Credit School / 68 Union / Inside Front Cover Bishop’s College School / 100 Brandon Hall School / 103 HOUSING Brook Hill School, The / 91 Attaché Corporate Housing / 59 CAISL: Carlucci American Interna- Corporate Apartment tional School of Lisbon / 91 Specialists / 47 CATS Academy Boston / 71 Extended Stay Housing Online / 106 Chaminade College Preparatory Per Diem Suites / 57 School / 102 Residence Inn: Arlington/ DACOR–Dreyfus Scholarships / 74 Rosslyn / 11 EF Academy / 79 Signature Properties / 106 FLO–College Questions? / 17 SuiteAmerica / 47 Foreign Service Youth Foundation / 102 INSURANCE Frankfurt International School / 95 AFSPA–Dental Insurance / 29 FS Hub / 94 AFSPA–Foreign Service Benefit FSJ Education Archive / 97 Plan / 21 Gow School, The / 70 Clements Worldwide / 4 Grier School / 72 Federal Employee Defense Hampshire Country School / 100 Services / 13 Hargrave Military Academy / 84 The Hirshorn Company / Hill School, The / 81 Back Cover Hockaday School, The / 76 MISCELLANEOUS John F. Kennedy School Berlin / 95 DACOR Bacon House / 15 Kent School / 99 Diplomatic Car Program / 11 Kimball Union Academy / 94 Eyes & Ears / 108 Landmark School / 97 Foreign Service Books / Leysin American School Inside Back Cover in Switzerland / 81 Patriots Colony / 3 Linden Hall / 99 Statement of Ownership / 108 Madeira School / 90 Marian High School / 98 REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY Milton Academy / 93 MANAGEMENT Montverde Academy / 85 Jean Reid, Weichert Realtors / 109 Phillips Academy / 96 McGrath Real Estate Services / 107 Ridley College / 89 Meyerson Group, Inc., The / 108 Saint Andrew’s School / 73 Property Specialists, Inc. / 109 Sandy Spring Friends School / 84 Washington Management Schools-at-a-Glance / 78, 80, 82 Services / 108 South Kent School / 77 WJD Management / 107

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2017 109 LOCAL LENS BY KELLY MIDURA n VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Please submit your favorite, recent photograph to thereal glass ornaments on sale at a Vienna Advent market. These beautiful be considered for Local ornaments and the Advent markets that featured them and many other Lens. Images must be high seasonal decorations every year were one of the highlights of our Austrian resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8” x 10”, or 1 MB or larger) tour. The photo was taken with a Canon Eos Revel T3i. n and must not be in print E elsewhere. Please include a short description of the Kelly Bembry Midura and her husband, retired FSO Christopher Midura, served in La Paz, scene/event, as well as your Guatemala City, Lusaka, San Salvador, Prague, Vienna and Warsaw before settling down in name, brief biodata and the Reston, Virginia. Kelly’s many travel stories and photos are online at wellthatwasdifferent.com. type of camera used, to [email protected].

110 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL