DEBATING DIRECTED ASSIGNMENTS PAST AS PROLOGUE AFTER THE TSUNAMI

$3.50 / JANUARY 2008 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

STATE OF MIND Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & the Foreign Service

OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S CONTENTS January 2008 Volume 85, No. 1

S PECIAL S ECTION

FOREIGN SERVICE MEMBERS SPEAK OUT ON DIRECTED ASSIGNMENTS / 15

F OCUS ON PTSD & the Foreign Service

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION / 26 How big a problem is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for the Foreign Service? By Steven Alan Honley

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A GUIDE / 28 Understanding what is happening when you or someone you know reacts to a Cover and inside illustration traumatic event will help you be less fearful and better able to cope. by Ian Dodds By Raymond M. De Castro, M.D.

RECOVERY: WHEN SURVIVING ISN’T ENOUGH / 35 My PTSD came about due to a posting in Iraq, yet State left me to fend for myself when it came to seeking treatment. PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 By Rachel Schneller Bench Strength By John K. Naland NOT ONLY FOR COMBAT VETERANS / 42 PTSD is not a new phenomenon within the Foreign Service. ETTERS L / 7 Nor do its effects ever entirely dissipate. CYBERNOTES / 11 By Kristin K. Loken MARKETPLACE / 12 ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO SEEK HELP / 46 State officially assures employees that undergoing mental health treatment BOOKS / 73 will not affect their clearances. But is that really true? By Anonymous IN MEMORY / 75 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS / 83 F EATURES REFLECTIONS / 84 A Cross-Cultural Friendship ECHOES OF THE PAST / 50 By Rachel Midura More than 30 years after the Vietnam War, Americans once again are tilting at windmills to confirm our preconceptions about democracy and freedom. By Dell F. Pendergrast

“PAINTING THE SKY”: A SCHOOL GROWS IN ACEH / 53 In the wake of the 2004 tsunami, a U.S. NGO collaborates with Indonesians to build a school that promises to have a lasting effect. By Margaret Sullivan

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 OREIGN ERVICE CONTENTS FJ O U R N A L S

Editor STEVEN ALAN HONLEY Senior Editor AFSA NEWS SUSAN B. MAITRA Associate Editor SHAWN DORMAN RAQ RIME ANDIDATE XERCISE ANCELED I “P C ” E C / 57 Ad & Cirulation Manager ED MILTENBERGER AFSA SURVEY RESULTS / 57 Business Manager ANDREW KIDD LAST CALL FOR DISSENT AWARD NOMINATIONS / 57 Art Director CARYN SUKO SMITH BRIEFS: BOARD CHANGES / 58 Editorial Intern MARC NIELSEN VP FCS: ON THE JOB / 62 Advertising Intern LOES WIERSTRA VP RETIREE: DEFENDING OUR OWN / 63 EDITORIAL BOARD ADAIR SPEAKER SERIES LAUNCHED / 65 TED WILKINSON Chairman AFSA SCHOLARS / 66 JOSEPH BRUNS STEPHEN W. B UCK UES ATES 2008 D R / 70 JULIE GIANELLONI CONNOR JIM DEHART LASSIFIEDS C / 70 JEFF GIAUQUE GEORGE JONES LAURIE KASSMAN YVETTE N. MALCIOLN DAVID MCFARLAND AL PESSIN

THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July-August issue by the American Foreign Service Associa- tion (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opin- ions of the writers and does not necessarily rep- resent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal sub- scription: AFSA members – $13 included in annual dues; others – $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of adver- tisements herein does not imply the endorse- ment of the services or goods offered. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045 FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.afsa.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2007. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to: AFSA Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street N.W. Washington DC 20037-2990

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4 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Bench Strength BY JOHN K. NALAND

When the dust settled last such as China and India. And the November 2007 “Smart November, the Foreign Service These new demands have Power” CSIS report documented the had, once again, stepped up to far outpaced hiring, leaving need for “more than 1,000” additional the plate to staff the U.S. the typical U.S. embassy to- State Department Foreign Service mission in Iraq entirely with day at only 79 percent of its positions to permit expanded training, volunteers. That assignment authorized staffing. Iraq is details to other agencies, and to meet process, however, left many the exception. It has been unforeseen contingencies. outsiders asking why the State consistently staffed at near Despite these unmet needs, for the Department had difficulty filling those 100 percent. past three years, the administration’s 252 positions. Here is how AFSA Since 2003, over 1,500 Foreign Ser- budget requests to narrow the staffing answered that question. vice members have stepped forward to gaps (which were quite modest com- With 11,500 members, the State serve in what is now the world’s largest pared to actual needs) were not fund- Department’s Foreign Service is less embassy. All have been volunteers. ed by Congress. than one half of 1 percent the size of But last fall, with the Foreign Service This poor support for diplomacy the U.S. military. The entire Foreign facing a fifth rotation into Iraq, the stands in stark contrast to the situation Service is smaller than a typical U.S. addition of 80 new positions to fill in at the Department of Defense, which Army division. The military has more summer 2008 at Embassy Baghdad is expanding the armed forces’ rolls by musicians than the State Department and in 25 Provincial Reconstruction 92,000 by 2011. Note that the State has diplomats. Moreover, in contrast Teams around the country pushed the Department’s deficits are little more to the military, which maintains 79 staffing strain to near breaking point. than a rounding error when compared percent of its personnel inside the The problem was a lack of sufficient to the resources being dedicated to the United States, a full 68 percent of the reserves with which to fill the in- Pentagon. Foreign Service is forward-deployed creasing number of positions in Iraq. The administration and Congress overseas. Two-thirds are at posts Imagine if a coach turned to the team must act decisively to strengthen the categorized as “hardship” due to dif- bench during a tough game only to diplomatic element of national power. ficult living conditions including vio- find it empty. That is the situation the Failing to fund a strong diplomatic lent crime, extreme health risks or ter- State Department faces today. capability will limit our nation’s ability rorist threats. For example, the June 2007 “Man- to build and sustain a more demo- Over the last few years, staffing aging Secretary Rice’s State Depart- cratic, secure and prosperous world. demands on the Foreign Service have ment” report by the Foreign Affairs Thus, AFSA continues to press for soared — for example, in Iraq, in Council, a nonpartisan umbrella group, additional resources for diplomacy. Afghanistan, in the State Department’s pointed to a 1,100-position staffing Although this is an issue that we hope new office to coordinate reconstruc- deficit in the Foreign Service. the next administration will focus on tion efforts, in training positions to The October 2007 “Embassy of the come 2009, the staffing needs are so meet the need for more Arabic- Future” report by the Center for Stra- urgent that we cannot afford just to speakers, and in 280 new positions in tegic & International Studies cited up- mark time hoping for a better recep- countries of emerging importance, dated State Department data showing tion in the future. AFSA and allied a 1,015-position shortfall — plus an groups will continue to make the case John K. Naland is the president of the additional 1,079-position deficit in for Congress to fund at least some American Foreign Service Association. training and related staffing needs. reinforcements this year.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 5

LETTERS

The Roaring Present out whom we would admittedly de- occupation by U.S. forces, this simply The beginning of 2008 seems a scend quickly to a brutish existence, was not possible, and honesty should fitting time to recognize the Foreign take years to formulate their thinking. compel us to admit it. Service Journal for its unique service The Journal invites everyone into But more important than arguing to those in the international com- “the roaring present.” over CORDS’ alleged successes and munity interested in knowing how the John J. Eddy more obvious failures is to learn from conduct of U.S. foreign affairs actual- FSO, retired our mistakes. This we failed to do ly operates. Rochester, Vt. when going into Iraq, and the price Veteran practitioners like Edward we are paying for that omission is Walker and Philip Wilcox (December CORDS Failed extremely high. 2006) have earned the right to be David Passage writes in the Passage is right to insist that the listened to anywhere in the world on November Journal that “the CORDS indispensable element of any nation- the Middle East. Ronald Spiers — program could not have been suc- building/counterinsurgency effort is who, in addition to his service in the cessful in today’s Iraq or Afghanistan.” security, closely followed by an in- Middle East, was a former under sec- I agree, but I’d also add that the Civil digenous government that can govern retary of the United Nations — Operations and Revolutionary De- in some way that is visible and can speak authoritatively about how velopment Support program was not acceptable to the population. We to reform that troubled institution successful in Vietnam, either. never were able to meet either (September 2006). I was with CORDS in Pleiku for benchmark in Vietnam, and the jury James Fox explodes the universal most of 1968, starting just before the is still out regarding Iraq. misunderstanding of USAID, which Tet offensive. Passage says that civil- I would also disagree with Pas- seeks to end, not increase, economic ian personnel in CORDS were “re- sage’s description of the training of dependence (June 2006). Shawn markably effective.” Not in my ex- “CORDSmen,” including language Dorman’s article about the Provincial perience we weren’t, and not for lack skills, cultural awareness and com- Reconstruction Teams in Iraq was of trying, either. After I left Pleiku, I petence in defensive weaponry. informed by the best firsthand experi- traveled frequently in 1969 to all four We were deficient in all three and ence one could hope for there among regions of Vietnam to see CORDS more, in both Vietnam and Iraq. the rocks and rats (March 2007). And projects in action. And although If we ever have to embark again the Journal’s pages are crowded with there were lots of them, I wouldn’t on a major counterinsurgency/na- fine writers like Deborah Cavin, call them effective. tionbuilding effort, I hope we’ll pay whose nicely paced, insightful review In 1973, I returned for a few better attention to the real lessons of Nicholas Sarkozy’s book appeared weeks during a rare quiet interlude. learned in Vietnam and Iraq and get in the November 2007 issue. Again, although the level of fighting it right next time. The Foreign Service is sometimes was down, real evidence of CORDS’ Bill Lenderking mindlessly ridiculed for its hesitation effectiveness was scarce. The sad FSO, retired and phraseology — “Yes, but … truth is that despite good intentions, Washington, D.C. Have you considered … Perhaps it lots of resources and some temporary would be better ….” But journalists gains and marginal improvements, CORDS & PRTs are jerked from country to country the program failed. Wasn’t its pur- I knew David Passage when we without the opportunity to get under- pose to win hearts and minds and were both CORDS participants. I neath a deliberative culture. Our enable the South Vietnamese to stand thought his November Speaking Out courageous military has an abhor- on their own and defend their column shed light on the subject and rence of doubt. And academics, with- country? Absent a prolonged military clearly spelled out differences be-

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7 L ETTERS

tween CORDS and today’s Provincial to AFSA I recognize and appreciate Erdos, prior and subsequent to his Reconstruction Teams. — I am very disappointed that an marriage, kept the company of male Perhaps another difference is that, effort was not made to recruit and lovers. After he was discharged from like CORDS, the Viet Cong and their build a slate that would better prison in Texas in late 1976, I saw him northern comrades sought to “win the represent the diverse concerns of with a man he called “my lover who hearts and minds of the people.” I retirees. Even the examples of the understands me totally.” This man see the current crop of bad guys in retiree agenda outlined by Ambas- happened to be a former military Iraq as totally unable to do this. Yes, sador Farrand may be of marginal officer. they have in some places built schools interest to much of his constituency. I saw Erdos later in California, just and clinics and such, but they do not I will, therefore, bide my time un- prior to his death, with this same man have the flexibility in their thinking to til a more representative board comes and one other. All were described as accommodate the concerns, ques- along. lovers. Thus, I think that the evi- tions and hesitations of a scared and Sandy Dembski dence will corroborate the fact that wavering people. FSO, retired homosexual affairs did, indeed, play a Leo Cecchini Bethesda, Md. role in the murder of Don Leahy. FSO, retired The behavior of the State De- Ft. Myers Beach, Fla. More on a partment was, at best, ambiguous. In Foreign Service Murder spite of countless incidents attesting to Where Are the Women? Len Shurtleff’s October article, “A Erdos’ violent temper and the ten- In a recent AFSA News column, Foreign Service Murder,” was truly dency to be a bully toward subordin- Retiree VP Bill Farrand encouraged illuminating. I knew Al Erdos — who ates, the department turned a blind retirees who are not AFSA members was convicted of the 1971 murder of eye. Erdos was regularly promoted to join. I agree that AFSA can play an Don Leahy, the administrative officer and rose through the ranks to become important role. In fact, I joined in Equatorial Guinea — in his pre- a deputy chief of mission. He seem- during my first week of A-100 over 30 Foreign Service days and then ed to lead a charmed existence. years ago and continued my member- happened to serve with him at two Perhaps his sterling reputation was ship when I retired two years ago. posts. He was obviously an able rendered somewhat more realistic However, I felt compelled to quit officer, but he was beset with all sorts with this article by Len Shurtleff. AFSA last summer after the Govern- of doubts and demons. Roy A. Harrell Jr. ing Board election. Local politics may have played FSO, retired During my nearly three decades in some role in the murder, but I am Ozona, Texas the Service, I saw great progress dubious about this assertion. In Con- made in creating a Foreign Service akry, Erdos saw communists hiding Memories of that looks like America — and it is the under every palm tree and suspected Equatorial Guinea better for it. The AFSA election last just about everyone, colleagues in- In 1968, my ex-husband and I summer, however, resulted in a board cluded, of being unpatriotic, sub- were celebrating Christmas in Dakar, in which all retiree representatives versive and steeped in communist looking forward to the new year in are retired male ambassadors. Clear- dogma. Senegal. The day after Christmas, ly, all were elected by the member- While Conakry was fertile ground the phone rang and my husband was ship and are probably very competent. for the communist bloc, some of asked if he would be willing to go to But there are reasons why the Erdos’ conclusions were clearly un- Equatorial Guinea to open a new post State Department seeks to recruit founded. The innocent act of not in that newly independent country. and develop a more diverse work listing American dollars before His Spanish-language ability was one force. Not only does it make the foreign currency on statistical charts of the reasons he was selected. Foreign Service more representative sent him into a rage. His violent The Biafran War was going on at of the citizens we serve, but it also temper regularly erupted at strange that time, and the International Red makes for a better, more effective times. Cross was using Santa Isabel, the organization. Moreover, while there was no capital (later renamed Malabo), as a While I do not mean to impugn sophisticated DNA-analysis technol- transshipment point for food aid to any of the retiree representatives — ogy in those days, there is strong Nigeria. When a group of U.S. con- whose service to the department and evidence available from two posts that gressmen traveled to the country

8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 L ETTERS The New 2008 C-30 Now Available at Diplomatic Pricing! to check the operation, they were promptly arrested by the suspicious Equatorial Guineans. Complicating matters further, there was no official American presence in the country at the time. Armed with the great seal of the United States (which later served, STARTING AT upside down, as a drinks tray) and a footlocker containing cash and one- $ time pads, the instant embassy and 19,995 chargé arrived at this difficult time. I followed several months later and Call for program details and additional specials. Contact Dana Martens at for several months was the only non- 202-885-5312 or email [email protected] for more information. African female in the country. After two years working at this amazing post, during which time we saw the estab- lishment of a chancery, the arrival of a Mobil Oil exploration team, the ex- 4800 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. 202-537-3000 pulsion of the Nigerian cocoa plan- tation workers, public executions and www.MartensVolvo.com the descent of Macias Nguema into paranoid insanity, we were due to be transferred out. My husband actually asked for an extension, but the State Department decided otherwise. In due course, a replacement arrived for me — Don Leahy — and for my husband — Al Erdos. We had requested two families to replace us, because it had been difficult for both me and my husband to be away from post at the same time. We knew right from the outset that trouble was brewing. Don Leahy had only one previous Foreign Service posting, in charge of a motor pool in Latin America (where he met his wife). He did not type, had no training in the administrative functions he was supposed to perform, and was the very opposite of a bon vivant. Al Erdos, who arrived a month or so later, was, to put it charitably, pompous. He was the type who could not bring himself to fetch something across the room from where he was sitting, and had to ring for a servant to do it for him. This at a post where my husband and I painted the chancery floor on our hands and knees, and I

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 L ETTERS

drove the 10-ton truck to the airport the October Journal about the stances prevailing in Mexico. And to to take delivery of the vault door. One murder of Donald Leahy to be of imply that any U.S. aid and assistance wonders how Personnel makes as- great interest. In an odd coincidence, to Mexico (or the rest of Latin signments like that. We tried to alert I happened to be in Malabo on a America, Africa, etc.) can result in the department, but the deed was routine TDY visit when this issue was “transformational” economic develop- done, and it was too late. published. In discussing the article ment reveals a misunderstanding of At Erdos’ trial, his defense at- with the officers currently serving at what drives development. torneys refused to take my hus- Embassy Malabo, it was most striking The Marshall Plan delivered band’s testimony because our exten- to observe how conditions there have necessary financial assistance to help sion request undermined Erdos’ changed since the incident. European countries get back on their claim of extreme hardship and threat Equatorial Guinea is undergoing a feet. Although devastated by war, driving him to temporary insanity. dramatic transformation, and the cur- they shared a long history of devel- As a postscript to the whole rent lifestyle there contrasts sharp- oped economies, educated and highly dreadful business, after Erdos was ly with the harsh conditions present skilled populations, rational labor laws released from prison and living in San over 30 years ago. I see it as a rather and efficient judicial systems. All that Diego — on full medical disability, I beautiful place with enormous poten- was needed was the financial in- might add — he actually had the tial, and feel that a tour in Malabo jection to get the engine running audacity to ask the director general to could be both personally and profes- again. Mexico has none of the ele- be reinstated in the Foreign Service! sionally rewarding. Hopefully the ments in place that contributed to the Carmen Cunningham article won’t deter bidders from con- success of the Marshall Plan in FSO, retired sidering a greatly changed Malabo for Europe. San Rafael, Calif. assignment. The answer to Mexico’s develop- Paul Beighley ment dilemma lies not in yet another A Lasting Tale Regional Medical massive U.S. aid program. Instead, Thanks for Len Shurtleff’s vivid Officer/Psychiatrist the country’s political, economic, legal account of the tragic, albeit intriguing, Embassy Accra and cultural elites must demon- story of the murder of Donald Leahy. strate the will to make the structural I first heard about it as a student at A Marshall Plan for Mexico: and cultural changes that can lead to FSI; then again as regional consular Bad Idea economic development. In short, officer (covering Malabo from Lagos); Geoffrey Chalmers, in “A Marshall nothing will change until the Mexi- and then when I met the former Mrs. Plan for Latin America” (November cans themselves decide to change. Erdos, who was consul in Accra two FSJ), correctly identifies the income As a final thought, Mexico could decades ago. disparity, both between Mexico and do worse than study and emulate the Even now, via two friends (both the United States and within Mexico model of Chile, a country that got its former envoys to Equatorial Guinea), itself, as driving the illegal immigrant economics right without huge injec- the story continues to have legs. problem in the U.S. He states: “For tions of financial and technical aid. Indeed, prompted by a notice in the the past several decades, U.S. support William H. Barkell DACOR Bulletin a year or so ago, I for economic development in Latin FSO, retired had a peculiar telephone interview America has been effective in some Arlington, Va. with someone who is writing a book cases, but not overwhelming and about it. certainly not transformational.” He As disturbing as the details were, then suggests (as have many others) Send your letter the piece served a useful purpose for that the answer lies in a U.S. Marshall to the editor or this reader. Plan, in this case for Mexico. Thomas R. Hutson To suggest that the success of the “Speaking Out” column to: FSO, retired $13 billion Marshall Plan (1948-1952) [email protected]. Thurman, Iowa can be applied to Mexico demon- Note that all submissions are strates a fundamental misunder- Equatorial Guinea Today standing of the historical and cultural subject to editing for style, As the regional psychiatrist cover- circumstances of post-World War II format and length. ing West Africa, I found the story in Europe compared to the circum-

10 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 CYBERNOTES

A Chilly Reception for Though this was the closest thing President Bush in February 2007, AFRICOM? to a formal statement of opposition after a 10-year deliberation process On Nov. 19, within days of Deputy from Africa so far, controversy over within the Department of Defense Secretary of State John Negroponte’s AFRICOM has been swirling and that focused on the emerging strate- visit to discuss the subject, the bubbling throughout the continent gic importance of Africa (www.afri Nigerian National Council of State, for months. “The prospect of Ameri- com.mil). According to its develop- that country’s highest presidential ca’s vast military presence in Africa ers, AFRICOM will have a very advisory committee, announced its has instigated a flurry of talk and fear different staff structure than other disapproval of the new U.S. Africa by Africans that, finally, all the chips U.S. commands. Specifically, it will Command. “The president restated have fallen into place of a long- integrate USAID, the Department of the position of Nigeria: That it is not planned recolonization of Africa,” State and other agencies involved in permitting the establishment of a wrote columnist Obi Nwakanma in Africa. The command is poised to U.S. base in our country or the [West the Lagos Vanguard on Nov. 18. interact with partner nations through- African] subregion,” council spokes- Creation of the new regional out the continent and support exist- man Bukola Saraki told journalists. military command was announced by ing regional organizations, such as the African Standby Force. Formally established as a sub- Site of the Month: www.lii.org unified command on Oct. 1, AFRI- The Librarians’ Internet Index is a useful directory of Web sites containing COM will function under the U.S. more that 20,000 entries. Cataloged into 14 main topics and nearly 300 related European Command for its first year. topics, the site averages over 10 million hits each month. (Created in 1990 by But according to the presidential reference librarian Carole Leita, the index became the Berkeley Public Library directive, it must be established as a Index to the Internet in 1994.) separate unified command no later Today LII is publicly funded through the Library Services and Technology than Sept. 30, 2008. U.S. officials are Act, which is administered in California by the State Librarian’s office. It is currently consulting African leaders maintained by a team of librarians who carefully select high-quality sites and on where to base the command and describe and compile them into the LII catalog. Each Thursday morning, LII what kind of presence it should have. sends out a free newsletter, “New This Week,” detailing the most recently According to the official Web site, added Web sites for nearly 40,000 subscribers. “the presence issue is still very much Users of the index can search Web sites by title, URL or description. Each a work in progress.” entry provides a detailed description of the Web site, publisher information To date, only Liberian President and related Library of Congress subject headings, and is accompanied by the Ellen Sirleaf has stated that her name of the librarian who prepared it and the date it was added to the catalog. country would willingly host the Sites are evaluated and added based on their availability, credibility, authorship command center. Morocco, Algeria and other characteristics. The criteria for selection, along with the and Libya are reported to have organization’s mission statement, are included on the “About LII” page. refused American requests to do so. Users polled in LII’s 2006 annual survey noted the standard of quality South Africa, another obvious can- upheld by LII in providing credible sources, the utility of the index for didate, has been ambivalent at best academic research and the openness of the cataloging system. about the project, Francis Kornegay, — Marc Nielsen, Editorial Intern senior researcher at the Center for Policy Studies in Johannesburg, told

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 11 C YBERNOTES

Council on Foreign Relations news the Tunisia IGF summit two years ago, editor Stephanie Hanson last sum- the U.S. refused to relinquish control. mer. But the issue surfaced again in Rio African critics cite what they see de Janiero, where Russia and Brazil as Washington’s overwhelming interest expressed support for a new system in Africa’s oil and mineral wealth and under international control. Russian the desire to counter Chinese, and representative Konstantin Novoder- even potential Indian, involvement ezhkin called on the U.N. secretary- on the continent — all concerns that general to create a working group have been more or less validated by that would determine how best to American experts who herald the bring Internet management “un- command’s creation, the May CFR der the control of the international backgrounder points out (http:// community,” the Associated Press www.cfr.org/publication/13255/). reported. The debate will un- But according to a recent BBC doubtedly resume when the IGF is News review of the controversy, held in New Delhi this year. many states are waiting for more ICANN, over which the U.S. details to become public before government retains veto power, was taking a stand (http://newsbbc.co. chosen in 1998 to oversee the domain uk/2/hi/africa/7026197.stm). name system. Advocates of the pre- — Susan Brady Maitra, sent system argue that the current Senior Editor arrangements provide stability and protect Web sites against censor- Internet Governance ship, which might occur if individual Combating cybercrime and bring- countries could pull entries out of ing Internet access to a billion more domain name directories. people were the key themes of the The organization, which operates U.N.-sponsored Internet Govern- out of Marina del Rey, Calif., recently ance Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro elected a chairman from outside the on Nov. 15. The IGF, which has no U.S. and began testing domain names decisionmaking power, was establish- in other languages, an issue that is ed in 2005 as a forum for world especially important to developing leaders to discuss Internet control, countries. free speech and cheaper access Another critical issue on the IGF’s (www.intgovforum.org/). agenda is Internet privacy. To start a Besides expanding Internet access Web site, owners must provide their and combating child pornography, full names, organizations, e-mail and credit card fraud and terrorism, postal address and phone numbers. members discussed the assignment Some privacy advocates want domain of Internet addresses, which remains name owners to have more options under the jurisdiction of the U.S. when registering, such as designating government and an American non- third-party agents. They say in- profit, the Internet Corporation for dividuals shouldn’t have to reveal Assigned Names and Numbers, or their personal information to have a ICANN. Web site. Several governments have sought The privacy advocates’ main tar- to strip the U.S. of this oversight get is Whois, a group of searchable position, concerned that the current databases that allows users to find out system allows the U.S. to exert undue who is behind millions of “.com” and influence over the way users access the other Internet addresses (www.who Internet. After debating the issue at is.net/). The site is used by trade-

12 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 C YBERNOTES

mark lawyers, journalists and spam- mers to determine Web site owner- y message today is not about the defense budget or military ship, and has been particularly useful Mpower. My message is that if we are to meet the myriad to law enforcement in combating challenges around the world in the coming decades, this country must fraud and theft. ICANN is presently reviewing strengthen other important elements of national power both sites like Whois and discussing how institutionally and financially. … In short, I am here to make the case to protect privacy while ensuring that for strengthening our capacity to use “soft” power and for better accurate information about Web site integrating it with “hard” power. ownership is available to those who need it without charge. — Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Manhattan, Kan., Nov. 26, — Marc Nielsen, Editorial Intern http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1199 Turkey: A Bridge in Danger During the last several months of senior American generals and the key’s southeastern border. The PKK, 2007, the world was reminded of Turkish General Staff. There, satel- listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey’s pivotal role in Middle East- lite and other actionable intelligence much of the world, has about 3,000 ern and global strategic dynamics on the rebels provided by both fighters based in northern Iraq, from when several crises erupted to chal- security forces will be evaluated. where they launch raids into Turkey. lenge the U.S. relationship with this Ankara still has some 100,000 Begun in 1984, the insurgency’s key NATO ally. troops and supporting tanks, artillery campaign for self-rule in south- In October, Turkey’s parliament and warplanes massed along Tur- eastern Turkey gained new momen- gave a green light to the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to invade Iraq in pursuit of Kurdistan Workers Party militants based there — a move that promised to destabilize the wider region. At the same time, a U.S. congressional bid to charge Ankara with genocide in the massacre of 1.5 million Armen- ians in Ottoman-era Turkey threat- ened to irreparably damage U.S.- Turkish relations. Only Ankara’s recall of its ambas- sador to Washington and a fierce lobbying campaign by the administra- tion, that included all living former secretaries of State, succeeded in quashing the resolution. Elsewhere, a hastily convened “neighbors’ conference” hosted by Turkey on Nov. 1, followed by Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit to Washing- ton on Nov. 3, began to address An- kara’s concerns on the Kurdish issue. In late November, plans for establishing a joint intelligence cen- ter, to be located in either Iraq or Turkey, were hammered out during a succession of meetings between

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 C YBERNOTES

between East and West. Though it is 50 Years Ago... the poorest and most controversial recent application to membership in I sometimes think that as a nation we become preoccupied the E.U., it has the biggest and most with the machinery of defense as an end in itself — or at least we have succeeded in giving that impression to too much of the world out- diversified economy, the deepest- side... With a strong, modern defense, we can move on to the real job of rooted secular democracy and the organizing the peace. most powerful army of all 57 countries in the Organization of the — Adlai E. Stevenson, “The New America” FSJ, January 1958. Islamic Conference. As such, it is an important model of a democratic Islamic nation. tum 20 years later, when the U.S. against the PKK, according to an In less than a decade, Turkey has overthrow of Saddam Hussein rein- Agence France-Presse dispatch from mastered runaway inflation, produc- vigorated Iraqi Kurds. Since the Ankara. At a meeting of his Justice ed a coherent, single-party govern- uprising’s start, nearly 40,000 lives and Development Party, he appealed ment and witnessed strong economic have been lost. for expanding the rights of the growth and rising levels of foreign Though Erdogan reiterated on Kurdish community to erode support investment. Europeans are keenly Nov. 24 that Turkey reserved the for separatism. aware that pipelines through Turkey right to send troops into northern “Let’s maintain pluralistic demo- could help relieve their energy Iraq if it were deemed necessary, he cracy and strengthen the climate of dependence on Russia. also re-emphasized the need for freedoms in order to secure the Moreover, Turkey has contributed diplomatic and political measures ultimate result in the struggle against strongly to Western peacekeeping terrorism,” Erdogan said. “Let’s look missions in Afghanistan, Congo and together for ways of winning over the Kosovo, and sought closer involve- people instead of alienating them.” ment with the European Security and The prime minister also renewed an Defence Policy. In 2004, the country appeal to Turkey’s main Kurdish came forward on Cyprus, as well: in a political movement, the Democratic referendum, two-thirds of Turkish Society Party, which holds 20 seats in Cypriots approved the U.N. plan to the 550-member parliament, to sever reunite the island (which, however, its ties with the PKK. was later rejected by Greek Cypriots). Ankara’s handling of the Kurdish For background resources and to issue is a central factor in the follow this pivotal nation and the country’s bid to join the European challenges it faces, go to the Web sites Union, now in the second year of for the Brookings Institution Web site negotiation. A recent E.U. Commis- (www.brookings.edu/events/2007/ sion report says limits on free speech 1011turkey.aspx); the Council on are undermining Turkey’s chances of Foreign Relations (www.cfr.org/ becoming a full member of the region/358/turkey.html); the Center organization, and calls on the country for Strategic and International to reform its judiciary, fight corrup- Studies (www.csis.org/component/ tion and strip the military of its option,com_csis_progj/task,view/i political powers if it expects to gain d,1115/); and the International membership (www.voanews.com/ Crisis Group (www.crisisgroup. english/2007-11-22-voa18.cfm). org/home/index.cfm?id=5013&l= There is some concern that the rise 1), as well as the Open Society of opposition to Turkish membership Institute’s EurasiaNet (www.eurasia in Europe and fatigue in Ankara net.org/resource/turkey/ind could doom this strategically impor- ex.shtml). tant initiative. — Susan Brady Maitra, Turkey is not simply a bridge Senior Editor

14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 Foreign Service Members Speak Out on Directed Assignments

ollowing Director General ments about the issue within the to do. But when officers have legiti- Harry Thomas’ Oct. 24 an- Foreign Service in public leave me mate reservations about the working F nouncement of a prime can- saddened and dismayed. The move conditions in Iraq, especially with didate exercise to fill the then-remain- struck me as purely political. It did regard to security and support, those ing 48 Iraq positions for summer 2008 little to change any misperceptions concerns should not be so easily (all the rest – 204 – had already been about the diplomatic corps on the dismissed by the department or used filled by volunteers), and the conten- part of the nation as a whole or against the Foreign Service for tious Oct. 31 town hall meeting, ameliorate existing tensions between political purposes. AFSA heard from hundreds of For- the Departments of State and De- Jerome P. Hohman eign Service members. The Journal fense in the field. FSO began receiving so many letters on the When I served in both the Embassy Paris subject that we have created this Regional Embassy Office and the special section for them. Provincial Reconstruction Team in Here in Iraq, to Serve Public airing of the most emotional Mosul, I witnessed firsthand the hard I have been watching the recent moments of the town hall meeting work and dedication of Foreign controversy over Foreign Service Iraq sparked the worst anti-Foreign Ser- Service officers to the Iraq mission. assignments. I am dismayed and sorry vice media blitz in years. With a few While I personally question the ne- to see what appears to be a lack of notable exceptions, an already under- cessity for increased numbers at Em- commitment by some people to the informed public was given fodder for bassy Baghdad, as well as the utility of mission and job at hand. Very few of further stereotyping diplomats as — the PRTs themselves, I fail to com- us think invading Iraq was a good to use the phrase most repeated by the prehend the need for directed assign- idea. However, that was nearly five Associated Press — “wimps and ween- ments when, as was proven again this years ago. It’s time to move on; our ies.” year, enough volunteers have come country needs us. We are com- The threat of directed assignments forward to fill every vacancy. missioned officers who have the to Iraq was called off on Nov. 16 Directed assignments set a bad pleasure and responsibility to serve because volunteers came forward to precedent that could allow future our country. fill all of the open positions. But the administrations too much leeway to I am the Provincial Reconstruction DG has already indicated that change the scope of the assignment Team leader for Sadr City and Ad- directed assignments to the next set of process to fit whatever short-term hamiya in downtown Baghdad. I had priority countries are a real objectives they may have at the already been promoted (from Haiti) possibility if too few volunteers step expense of long-term efforts else- and certainly did not need to come to up. The increasing number of “must- where. Iraq for my career. I did so out of fill” unaccompanied positions — in If the department truly holds its commitment to service — and I have Iraq and elsewhere — combined with current and former crop of Iraq met many other Foreign Service the Foreign Service staffing shortage, volunteers in such low regard, and if officers who feel the same way. I leave open the possibility that this recruiting only “qualified candidates” work with a magnificent group of prime candidate exercise may not be is of utmost importance, then one equally committed military officers the last. would expect that the example would from the 2/82nd Airborne. be set by the seventh floor and then We are making progress at the A Bad Precedent work its way down. local level on governance, reconcil- Recent actions by the State The Foreign Service has always iation and, to a much slower and Department to threaten directed stepped up to volunteer when we’ve lesser extent, on economic develop- assignments to Iraq and air disagree- heard the call. It’s what we signed up ment. Is the situation easy to deal

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with? Definitely not. Dangerous? assignment policy for Iraq staffing. “the troops” must have confidence Sometimes. But we all face danger at From beginning to end, I felt we that their leaders are fighting on times in the Foreign Service. Like were terribly ill-served by our leader- their behalf for things that matter to many FS members, I have war and ship. Some examples: allowing the them and their families, not just danger stories — not just from Iraq. If policy to be announced first through a enforcing the needs of “the system.” there are people out there who press leak; calling a catastrophically As the town hall meeting showed, expected to serve in Paris most of their poorly planned town hall meeting, in many FS staff justifiably lack that careers, they need to change careers. which the director general treated confidence. To restore it, department Let’s show our commitment and justifiably concerned personnel like management must tackle several discipline. We need our best officers crybabies; letting participants’ candid, issues now: out here. We don’t need people who off-the-record comments air on TV Staffing. The shameful neglect are not committed, who are not here and radio; and reminding FSOs that that has allowed an undersized For- for the right reasons. AFSA needs to management reserved for itself the eign Service to fall more than 2,000 represent this view, the view of so right to go to directed assignments for members below requirements must many other great officers in the non-Iraq positions after we had step- be corrected. That shortage was a Foreign Service. ped up and met management’s vora- major factor in the Iraq assignments Paul Folmsbee cious appetite for officers in Iraq. problem; allowing outsiders to blame FSO Yes, thank you, we know you have our members for it was indefensible. PRT Baghdad the right to send us where you want. Comparability Pay. Eliminating But why do you have to shove this in the ridiculous Washington vs. over- Choose Iraq our faces again, immediately after we seas pay gap is essential to give I volunteered to be the first leader have gone through such a wrenching department leaders the moral author- of the first PRT in Iraq. I consider it period? ity to demand ever more overseas an honor to have served in Mosul I understand that the role of the time. alongside our military colleagues. A department and its personnel is to Family-Friendliness. The Foreign number of talented Foreign Service fulfill the policy objectives of the Service is a corps of families, not officers served on my team; they were administration. That is not the issue. diplomatic Janissaries. Repairing the volunteers who did an outstanding Rather, the issue is how department recent losses in family-friendliness is job under difficult conditions. management goes about working with not a frill; it’s a necessity. I’m against directed assignments us to meet department goals. Instead Force Protection. Defending the to Iraq because, in my opinion, draft- of showing understanding for the very FS against the recent unjust attacks ees are less likely to perform well. difficult position directed assignments was primarily management’s job, not Rather, I urge all FSOs to volunteer put many of us in — choosing be- AFSA’s. That duty was generally for duty in Iraq, regardless of their tween families, careers and personal shirked; it must not be in the future. feelings about the origin of the safety — our leadership showed us These issues and others (such as conflict or the way it’s being carried contempt. fairness in assignments) are clear. It’s out. Take the risk willingly, and make Personally, I am disgusted. time for management’s “loyalty down” the effort wholeheartedly. This is, Woodward Clark Price on such matters to match the “loyalty after all, the most important Ameri- FSO up” that it requires, and that the can foreign policy challenge of our Embassy Athens Foreign Service has always shown. time — and I hope that capable, George Colvin dedicated Foreign Service officers Loyalty Goes Both Ways FSO will take it on. With the Iraq assignment issue Embassy Apia Cameron Munter temporarily resolved, it’s time for all FSO concerned to recognize that no other Support Goes Both Ways Embassy Belgrade agency can substitute for the State I support directed assignments. Department. A strong and effective We owe it to whatever administration Contempt from Management U.S. involvement overseas is indistin- we serve to provide our most suitable I would like to register my dismay guishable from a strong and effective people to carry out their policies. We at the way the State Department’s Department of State. receive a larger pension and an earlier leadership announced the directed To have that kind of department, retirement than our Civil Service

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counterparts, advantages granted to us by Congress because we serve in difficult and dangerous places. To take the prestige and financial bene- fits of a Foreign Service career and then shirk the most difficult task we have faced in a generation reflects poorly on us all. But the department has responsi- bilities as well, both to stand up for us with the press and to take care of us after we have served. Many of us have put our lives and those of our family in danger in the service of our country. To allow the media to paint us with a yellow brush does a great injustice to us, our families and our corps. The department also has a responsibility to care for the medical and psychological needs of our brothers and sisters who take on these most difficult assignments. And that care should be given freely, at no cost in financial or career terms. Good leaders understand that this is a give/give relationship. We give our best, sometimes all we have, and the leader gives us the support earned. Joe Cole IMO Embassy Paramaribo

Strike Two It’s reprehensible that most of us found out from the Washington Post that directed assignments were in the works. The DG took full responsibil- ity for this at the town hall meeting, yet most of us found out two weeks later, again from the Post, that there would be no directed assignments. I cannot understand why the media are learning about these things before the people who are affected. Will [Washington Post reporter] Karen DeYoung start getting our assignment cables before we do? Elizabeth Corwin FSO Washington, D.C.

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Is AP the New ALDAC? have stood up for us in public, instead directed assignments was a fiasco, and The prime candidate exercise for of generally remaining silent and his performance at the town hall unfilled Iraq positions created an letting us be pilloried. And in the meeting that followed left me slack- unnecessary black eye for the Foreign future, when it comes to personnel jawed. Releasing the cable after COB Service, never the best-understood actions, I wish management would on a Friday and speaking to the media segment of our government in any not confuse the Associated Press with before breaking the news to his own case. I can’t imagine why manage- ALDACs in communicating with us. corps are akin to a consular officer ment allowed a reporter into the town Nikolas Trendowski working in an American Citizen hall, an internal meeting, and let his FSO & AFSA Post Services section talking to a New York report touch off a completely un- Representative Times reporter about the death of an justified Foreign Service–bashing Embassy Belgrade American citizen before notifying the free-for-all in the media. next-of-kin. Such conduct was un- Within three weeks, all positions Staffing the FS professional, plain and simple. had been filled. But four days before Once again we have fully staffed There was a simple answer to Jack the cable on that subject arrived, I our missions to Iraq and Afghanistan Croddy’s comments at the town hall read about it in the Washington Post. with volunteers. But if these missions meeting (most of which I agree with): We should be able to count on are to grow, if our other posts around “Not only have we signed up for management to communicate with us the world are to be fully staffed, if our worldwide availability, we are obli- via cables and e-mails, not via news- global diplomatic reach is to be gated to work our hardest to ensure paper reports. maintained and if U.S. interests are to that the foreign policy objectives of The exercise itself was not without be protected, it is time to fully staff this country are achieved, regardless flaws, but we all knew it was coming. the Foreign Service itself. of our political affiliation or personal There was a lack of clarity about who Call it what you will — “Ameri- opinions about the wisdom and was chosen and why. The town hall ca’s first line of defense” (Secretary prudence of those policy objectives. meeting should have been held the Albright), or “America’s first line of If you can no longer do that, then it is, week before bids were due, not after. offense” (Secretary Powell) — our indeed, time to find another line of I don’t personally agree, at all, with country requires nothing less than a work. If you choose to leave because the notion that posts in Iraq must all Foreign Service fully staffed with its you can no longer actively support our be staffed at 100 percent while other most fundamental resource: people. Iraq policy, we respect that. To walk historically difficult-to-fill positions go Norman H. Barth away from a career on principle is an begging. FSO act of bravery that we will never We are diplomats. Our job is to try Washington, D.C. denigrate.” to prevent wars, among other things. The Foreign Service has been We are not soldiers. Worldwide avail- Salt in the Wound pilloried in the media for being a ability means being available to con- Before anyone attempts to dismiss bunch of cowards. I resent that deep- duct the business of diplomacy my opinion with an ad hominem ly. We risk our lives for the United around the world, not to fight wars. If argument that I’m a tea-sipping, States. We are this country’s foreign anything, this new notion that we’re cookie-pushing Euro-weenie, let me policy professionals, and we’re angry the same as the military insults us and stipulate that I have served at three for the following reason: Prior to the the men and women in uniform at the overseas posts: one a danger-pay post, Iraq invasion, no one with even a same time — quite a feat. another on authorized departure, and tertiary knowledge of the Middle East What’s happening in Iraq in most my current 20-percent hardship post. believed that the occupation of Iraq cases has nothing to do with foreign My father, brother and sister all would end well. relations, protecting American citi- served or are serving honorably as Iraq was a conglomerate of Sunni, zens or the other functions of the members of our armed forces. If Shiite and Kurdish factions held in Foreign Service. But in any case, the ordered, I would go to Iraq without check by a murderous tyrant, its Service has come through, every sin- hesitation. So lecture someone else borders drawn according to the gle time, to fill the ever-growing num- about unwillingness to sacrifice for interests of former colonial overlords. ber of positions. God and country. No one argues otherwise. The I wish someone in a leadership Director General Thomas’ hand- subsequent disintegration of “Iraqi position in the department would ling of the announcement regarding society” after the removal of Saddam

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was predictable. The informed This is the salt in the wound, and virtually every step en route to the analysis of experts in the State this is what the DG either doesn’t current fiasco. Department was ignored — in fact, it understand or refuses to acknowledge. No, this letter is about institutional was hardly even solicited — and cast Matthew E. Keene discipline. AFSA’s failure to explicitly aside in favor of political expediency, FSO & AFSA Post distance itself from the outrageous in favor of the agenda of an Representative remarks of certain colleagues ended administration that had already Embassy Sofia up implicitly endorsing ideas that are decided to march on Baghdad. totally incompatible with our profes- And now members of the Foreign Institutional Discipline sional obligations. Our AFSA repre- Service are being coerced to serve in I am writing to express my sentatives John Naland and Steve Iraq in an attempt to clean up a mess strongest disapproval at the appalling Kashkett sophomorically threw in they predicted would come. And behavior of certain colleagues, and irrelevancies like overseas compar- they’ll serve amidst gunfire, roadside my union, AFSA, at the Oct. 31 town ability pay and the Secretary’s stand- bombs, family separation and psycho- hall meeting. Let me be clear. This is ing in an employee poll. (As if being logical stress, knowing that if the not about AFSA’s mission to defend any U.S. diplomat, let alone the Secre- honest, accurate assessment of the the Foreign Service, which I wholly tary of State, is a popularity contest.) state of play in Iraq by proud, support. Nor is it about the In an explosive situation, the first duty patriotic Foreign Service officers, administration’s Iraq policy, which of leaders is to calm the situation and who had this country’s best interests most of us know in our heart of hearts return the debate to the issue at hand. at heart, had been listened to, they to be a failure of our elected leader- Our AFSA leaders instead fanned the wouldn’t be there in the first place. ship and their lack of vision at flames and cast discredit on us all.

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The decision to direct assignments ing to the table where money and problem: namely, the lack of support is ultimately made by the Secretary, a resources influence decisions. When from management for the Foreign Cabinet member appointed by our adversaries influence local leaders by Service. This was recently illustrated elected president and confirmed by giving resources to solve problems, by the results of an AFSA poll: 88 per- our elected Senate. We are commis- but FSOs only bring an admonition to cent of FSOs do not believe that State sioned officers of the president, and stay the course, hard-pressed leaders management is responsive to staff we took an oath to live up to our make the most expeditious choice, concerns. obligations to serve. It doesn’t matter, and another district is lost. Such concerns include the opaque so long as he is obeying our Consti- We have accepted the task of bidding and assignment process, a lack tution, whether our president sends implementing policy in a combat of consultation in personnel decision- us to Paris, Haiti, Iraq or Bos- zone, but have not changed how we making, a lack of openness to feed- nia. The president has the right to do business. We have to give our back on policy (especially personnel- send us where he may, and it is our volunteers what they need — flexi- related) decisions and the career obligation to serve. That’s why our bility, responsibility, resources and benefits of hardship tours. Real con- calling is named the Foreign Service. training. We can only engage when cerns that deserve real answers were The appropriate policy protest for dialog is possible. If our interlocutors raised at the town hall meeting. an honorable Foreign Service officer shut down dialog because it en- Though the discussion shouldn’t be is resignation, not histrionics in the dangers them and their families, what limited to Iraq, we might start by ask- halls of our State Department. Every is our role? If there is no group ing why our mission there is so large FSO has the right to resign. Dis- to engage with, what is our role? It’s and has been allowed to cause strain- cussion of terms of service is a not a question of patriotism, but a ed staffing levels everywhere else. personnel matter, not a policy one, question of competency: you don’t We might also ask that manage- and should be addressed rationally, send a baker into the field to grow ment be truly open to hearing doubts without emotion. Sure, the DG was wheat; you hand him a bag of flour about the sustainability of our current wrong to tell the press of directed when the wheat has been harvested. foreign policy there. And finally, let’s assignments before he told us, but If our volunteers get the resources honestly examine a major concern that’s irrelevant to the treatment he and training they need and are many FSOs continue to articulate: are received at the town hall meeting. deployed where they have a role to our skills as diplomatic officers really Let’s quietly debate our terms of play and are empowered to carry out well-placed in what is essentially a service behind closed doors, rational- that role, and if we acknowledge that military operation? ly, the way diplomats do, and not like our job includes combat and all the Of course, all Foreign Service the mobs that throw stones and chant responsibilities that implies, then we members salute our colleagues who hatred outside our chanceries. can be sure FSOs have the capacity to have bravely served in Iraq. But let’s Andrew Erickson succeed. We will see them at the not ignore the larger issues at the FSO table as key players. heart of many officers’ reluctance to Embassy Bogota But if we maintain a system that serve there. Until we work those out, expects results without resources, the directed assignments debate is The Power of Resources experts without training and officers just skimming the surface. Service in Iraq is not a death without responsibilities, and that out- Matthew V. Cassetta sentence. FSOs have served in war sources protection, we can only ex- FSO zones before and have succeeded in pect to remain marginalized, dis- Washington, D.C. Iraq and Afghanistan in the face of empowered, walled in and frustra- great odds. The problem today is the tingly unsuccessful. Confusing Danger challenge to succeed where officers Joe Mellott with Dissent lack resources, training and an FSO My recollection is that when one environment conducive to diplomatic Washington, D.C. is sworn into the Foreign Service, one and public dialog. agrees to serve at the pleasure of the Dialog is important, but we also Skimming the Surface president. That means going wher- need to empower officers with the In the discussion of our collective ever the Secretary of State tells you to resources to carry out their mandate. willingness to serve in Iraq, what go. If it’s dangerous, so be it. Without a budget, FSOs bring noth- we’re really getting at is a much larger We didn’t sign up for duties re-

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stricted to diplomatic cocktail par- have made their views known years lent slots, it is difficult — particularly ties. We were proudly, even snob- ago. Some did, and some even in our chronically understaffed For- bishly, distinct from the Civil Service, courageously resigned. But if they’re eign Service — to take them away, where one is transferred only if one simply worried about a dangerous even when the environment changes. requests it. We were much more like assignment, maybe they don’t belong It appears that we have decided the military, with a new post every in the Foreign Service anyway. that Baghdad will be our biggest U.S. few years, depending on the needs of William B. Stubbs embassy, bigger than Beijing, New the Service. Few of us volunteered FSO, retired Delhi, London, Cairo or Mexico City. for Vietnam, but many of us went. Ocala, Fla. There are those who call us unpatriotic And now Iraq. Foreign Service for questioning this, let alone question- officers are protesting that they might Supersized Mission ing why we are sending hundreds of get killed there. They are saying that During the Cold War, when diplomats into a war zone that has because they disagree with admini- Germany was the front line looking yet to be secured. These critics are stration policies, they should not be out at the Iron Curtain, we justifiably often the same individuals who would asked to risk their lives for the needs of beefed up our missions in Berlin and like nothing more than to eliminate the Service. They have a point. But I Moscow. The Cold War ended USAID and merge State into DOD. think they are mistakenly blending two around 1990, yet we did not draw Perhaps those who have criticized important and distinct precepts: down our personnel in those posts our right to dissent and blurred the dangerous assignments and dissent. until roughly 2005. We now have a distinction between civilian and If they strongly disagree with supersized Iraq mission. Once you military structures have done our administration policy, they should give a post those Full-Time Equiva- democracy the greatest disservice.

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Those members of Congress who well-being, its capabilities and its aggressively addressed by the depart- called members of the Foreign Ser- morale. ment. And frankly, now is the time vice wimps and traitors should resign The Foreign Service has again for AFSA to go charging to the Hill, in shame. stepped up to meet its responsi- with full and vigorous support from The world is not black and white; bilities. It is time for State leadership the Secretary, to press Congress on this is something the Foreign Service to not only set realistic goals, but to the longstanding issue of overseas understands. Those who believe it is support the entire team needed to comparability pay and the legislation should not be put in charge of foreign achieve them. giving income tax breaks to those who policy, or the result will be a mess that Alan J. Carlson serve in war zones. takes decades and many American FSO We will do our part, accepting the lives to clean up. U.S. Mission Geneva directed assignments and serving with Ralph Falzone dignity and professionalism in war FSO No á la Carte Policy zones to further U.S. policy goals. Embassy Hanoi I understand the dissatisfaction of But let’s not waste this opportunity to a number of my colleagues regarding impress upon the relevant decision- Intimidation Instead of the DG’s recent announcement of makers that they should give the Leadership directed assignments to Iraq. The Foreign Service appropriate consider- The Foreign Service is a risky Secretary herself should have been at ation when it comes to the legitimate calling. Extensive tours in violent and the town hall meeting. That said, I long-standing issues of locality pay wartorn countries have left me, like think we FSOs need to tuck in our and tax breaks. many of my colleagues, as accustom- collective chin and accept directed I hope AFSA and the department ed to gunfire and landmine explosions assignments without any further leadership will be assertive with re- as to the clink of wineglasses at a grumbling. gard to these responsibilities, now reception. We voluntarily accept, and The fact that there may be more than ever, as we FSOs accept even seek out, such duty in our desire legitimate criticism of our Iraq policy our duty to serve where our nation to serve our country. as ill-conceived from the beginning, calls us. It was therefore startling to learn or that our continued presence there David M. Birdsey — and from the media on a Saturday is unwanted (or at best grudgingly FSO morning, no less — that State Depart- tolerated), does not matter. When Embassy Kabul ment management had decided to we signed on the dotted line, we invoke directed assignments to agreed to worldwide availability. We Where’s Service Discipline? Iraq. The following week brought cannot eat á la carte from this I am puzzled by reports that the statements, not just by ill-informed administration’s (or any other admin- director general may have to resort to commentators but also by some sen- istration’s) policy menu. “drafting” officers for duty in Iraq on ior State officials, implicitly question- Service in Iraq, Afghanistan or pain of dismissal. I was at one time a ing the suitability for service and the any other post in a war zone is part of deputy member of the Board of courage of those FSOs who were our job. Standing up and accepting Examiners and thought that every reluctant to serve in Iraq. At a time directed assignments as the dedicat- prospective member of the Foreign when leadership is essential, we got ed professionals that we are is not Service was required to take an oath intimidation. only our duty, but the best argument “to defend the Constitution against all Iraq is one of a myriad of chal- against those who choose to remain enemies foreign and domestic” as well lenges to America’s security and pros- ignorant and yet obstreperously criti- as to serve in accordance with “the perity, and meeting those challenges cal of our work. needs of the Service.” We are at war. will require department leadership in At the same time, the State Where is the Service discipline of the building and retaining a robust For- Department owes it to those who it is current generation of Foreign Service eign Service, for Iraq and elsewhere, sending into harm’s way to provide officers? Are they a bunch of wusses for now and the future. The short- adequate training and support. There who joined the Service only for sight- sighted invocation of contractual are financial issues involved in seeing abroad at taxpayer expense? legalese needs to be set aside and separating families, in addition to One of the more useful accom- replaced by vision and a commitment those important but less tangible plishments of past DGs was creation to the entire Foreign Service — its personal ones that should also be of the Foreign Affairs Reserve

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Corps, consisting of retired officers many other distant and hazardous postings are to war zones where our immediately available for service postings. They volunteered with full jobs are nearly impossible to carry abroad in the event of emergency knowledge and acceptance of danger out. Adding another 50 to 100 people need. Why hasn’t the DG availed and the possibility they could be in the Green Zone or on a firebase himself of this resource? I under- killed, and many have been killed in does nothing to change the fact that stand that AFSA also maintains a list the line of duty. they can’t work effectively from of officers available for short-term Iraq has morphed into a special bunkers or move around freely. assignment. Has the DG availed challenge, but it is important to note Working-level diplomacy and de- himself of this list? that it is the only country in the world velopment assistance activities re- David Brighton Timmins where we are experiencing extra- quire a basic level of security that FSO, retired ordinary problems with staffing — does not exist in Iraq. Those activi- Scottsdale, Ariz. and only this year, at that. Vol- ties just cannot be carried out ef- unteers for Afghanistan, Pakistan, fectively on a battlefield. As was The FS Volunteers Saudi Arabia and dozens of other pointed out at the town hall meeting, Since the Vietnam War, the State countries with hardship postings have in any other country, the embassy in Department has filled its overseas all come forward. Baghdad would be drawn down, not positions entirely with volunteers. Staffing problems for Iraq come expanded. Foreign and Civil Service employees down to a combination of an Why then build the largest have served in Iran, Pakistan, Haiti, exceptionally large embassy that has embassy in the world? Most feel that Congo, Colombia, Grenada, Indone- already taken a huge number of the numbers are being pushed up as a sia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sudan and volunteers and the fact that the political gesture to ensure that the

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JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 23 L ETTERS

Department of Defense cannot shift ence in crisis management, I volun- sions, and that colonial administration the blame for failed reconstruction teered to go to Iraq. In fact, I had to has never belonged in the Depart- efforts to the State Department. fight to get permission to serve there ment of State. Many of those who might otherwise because I wear a defibrillator, but was However you judge the history of volunteer for service in Iraq believe finally medically cleared. In the end, the British and French empires, that there is little they can add bar- my office director would not let me London and Paris recognized that ricaded in secure areas or streak- go. their diplomatic and colonial services ing through the streets surrounded by Later, I decided to retire from the performed separate functions and security forces who strike terror in the Foreign Service, in part to protest our required diverse skill sets that only local population. policies and work for political change somewhat overlapped. My former Ultimately, enough people did from the outside by joining a cam- colleagues in the Office of the volunteer to fully staff the Iraq paign. Coordinator for Reconstruction and mission. Looking to the future, how- We can oppose the war. But we Stabilization can provide a detailed, ever, it may be worthwhile for Con- also took an oath when we joined the exhaustive listing of the many gress and the administration to em- department not to be fair-weather capabilities needed to rebuild and then power an impartial and broad-based government employees, serving only administer a country shattered by war. panel to examine the correlation when it is safe. I am still opposed to Very little of the required expertise can between security and working-level the war, which I find morally repug- or should reside in our — or any effectiveness, and to determine under nant. But even though I am retired, I nation’s — diplomatic corps. what security conditions mission would go to Baghdad today to serve If we, as a country, intend to activities should be drawn down, my country if asked. I would hope pursue further imperial adventures of setting out updated tripwires for others would do the same, putting the the sort we have undertaken in Iraq, consideration. Though the new good of the country over safer job then Congress and the American standard should not be compulsory, it placement. people need to enter into an open, could provide a benchmark for Larry Roeder honest debate about the creation of a comparison that would extend to all FSO, retired new colonial service. And that debate missions around the world. South Riding, Va. needs to address not only the Leo Gallagher administrative and logistical details, FSO A Colonial Service? but also the fundamental political Washington, D.C. Rather than treating the recent question of what the continued directed assignment brouhaha as a pursuit of such policies will ultimately We Are At War difficult exercise in personnel man- mean for the future of our republic. I have been reading about the agement — or, as some would have it, Keith A. Eddins protests against being assigned to a very public enforcement of Foreign FSO Baghdad. To be honest, I am offend- Service discipline — we need to Arlington, Va. ed. Our country is at war. I don’t like consider frankly, as a government and the war. We should not have gone a nation, how the U.S. diplomatic Caring Isn’t the Issue into Iraq to begin with. Our human corps is increasingly being assigned One of the testiest exchanges rights record and our failure to the role of a colonial service in Iraq during the town hall meeting oc- oppose waterboarding and other and elsewhere. curred when the DG vehemently torture techniques help the terrorists While I generally disagree with denied the assertion that Secretary and weaken America. columnist Robert Novak, he was spot Rice did not “care about” the Foreign Still, if the best and brightest on when he recently characterized Service. That was correct, however, refuse to serve (in other words, ask for diplomats as skilled negotiators and and for Amb. Thomas to deny it a deferment), less skilled officers will reporters, not nationbuilders (Nov. 15 ignores reality. manage things. That’s ethically unac- Washington Post). Novak was faulting In my almost 30 years with the ceptable, and just as wrong as draft- the Foreign Service for perceived department, including stints on the dodging was during the Vietnam War, shortcomings, but I would contend 7th floor and in HR working for when our embassy stayed open up to that diplomacy and nationbuilding (or several political ambassadors and the last day. rebuilding, as the case may be) assistant secretaries, I never met one Because I have decades of experi- represent two entirely distinct mis- who “cared” about the Foreign

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Service. I am not complaining; in- to demand more from management. it needs for Iraq or anywhere else. It deed, I have the utmost respect and Mr. Croddy’s questions about “Who appears as though neither elected admiration for most of them. They will take care of us?” and “Who will branch of government gives a hoot did not accept the president’s nom- raise our kids?” may not have been about the Foreign Service. And the ination because they cared about me well-articulated, but I know exactly American public hardly even recog- or my colleagues; they did so to assist what he means. nizes our existence or role in Iraq. the president in implementing his The military and Veterans Admini- In baseball, three strikes and you’re policies. stration, despite many problems, have out. Of more concern is the fact that come a long way from Jane Fonda’s Of course, as events unfolded, all department management is often “Coming Home,” but the Foreign the consternation was unnecessary. inept. How many times have we Service has done nothing I know of to In typical fashion, the Foreign Ser- heard that “State Department man- provide any assistance. And, as David vice rose to the challenge and filled agement is an oxymoron”? Unfortun- Passage points out in his Speaking the 48 remaining positions in Bagh- ately, when lives are on the line, that Out column in the November FSJ, we dad with volunteers, again proving is no longer a joke. don’t even provide the same prepara- that we are prepared to make the If we are to be forced into a war tion to FSOs going to Iraq that we did same sacrifices as our colleagues in zone, unarmed and with very little for those going to Vietnam. uniform. I hope that lesson is not lost training or preparation, and with Without pointing fingers, it is safe on management. extremely limited resources to deal to say that neither the administration Robert Downey with potential calamities and trage- nor Congress has adequately support- FSO, retired dies, we have a right to ask who cares, ed the department with the resources Abuja, Nigeria

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 25 F OCUS ON PTSD & THE F OREIGN S ERVICE

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: HOW BIG A PROBLEM?

BY STEVEN ALAN HONLEY

riting in the Decem- The MED/FLO Survey ber 2006 Foreign Ser- Last summer, recognizing the gravity of this chal- vice Journal, FSO Beth lenge, the Office of Medical Services and the Family Payne recounted her Liaison Office jointly surveyed FS employees who had struggle with Post-Trau- served unaccompanied tours between 2002 and mid- matic Stress Disorder fol- 2007. (The survey took place on the intranet and ran lowing her service in Iraq. The entire article, “Living from June 1 to July 15.) Of the 2,600 employees who Wwith Iraq” (www.afsa.org/fsj/dec06/livingwithiraq.pdf), is completed unaccompanied tours during the indicated well worth reading, but the following two paragraphs years, 877 — or one third — submitted responses. Of sum up our purpose in devoting this month’s issue to the that total, 358 had served in Iraq, 208 in Afghanistan, topic: 185 in Pakistan and 138 in Saudi Arabia. (Twenty-six “Why am I now sharing this story with my fellow percent of them had done unaccompanied tours in more FSOs, particularly given my concern about clearances than one place.) and my reputation? These concerns (which were not The survey asked about exposure to physical danger well-founded) almost stopped me from getting help. and the impact of danger- and isolation-related stressors Without help, I do not think I would have recovered upon a broad range of psychological symptoms and psy- from PTSD — and, based on my research, my mental chosocial functioning in these employees. Unsurprising- and, eventually, physical health problems would have ly, the results indicate widespread stress-related symp- become worse over time. toms among such employees, though there was a falloff “A significant number of Foreign Service personnel in the incidence of those symptoms over time after com- and family members have already experienced events pletion of the tour. that place them at high risk for PTSD. Given the num- Among a list of 17 symptoms often found in persons ber of people who now serve in dangerous posts and the enduring chronically high levels of stress, 10 were expe- high risk of being targeted by terrorists, the number will rienced by more than 20 percent of the respondents. continue to grow over the next few years. For those who For example, 47 percent admitted to insomnia and 33 have the condition, untreated symptoms can cause med- percent reported being irritable or unusually hostile ical problems, destroy families and sideline careers.” during the tour, while 55 percent reported problems in relating to their spouse or partner even after completing Steven Alan Honley, the editor of the Journal, was a the tour. (State Department employees can read the Foreign Service officer from 1985 to 1997, serving in full report on MED’s intranet site at http://med.state. Mexico City, Wellington and Washington, D.C. gov/.)

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Based on an initial review of the survey, the State responded to the AFSAnet solicitation we sent out this Department acknowledges that PTSD is probably pre- fall seeking contributions for this issue with stories of how sent in at least 2 percent of the respondents. An addi- their time there and in other war zones, or experiences tional 15 percent may possibly have this disorder, for a with massive natural disasters, still haunt them today, total of 17 percent. While it is important to bear in mind decades later. (Our thanks to all members who contact- that a thorough examination by a medical practitioner is ed us in response to that request.) required to make a definitive diagnosis, the fact that one Retired USAID FSO Kristin Loken served in two in six of the survey respondents are potentially at risk for countries undergoing civil wars in the early 1980s: El developing PTSD is worrisome. Salvador and Lebanon. Those MED has contracted with a traumatic experiences, along with data analysis firm to conduct a We hope that our the lack of institutional support as more detailed analysis to see if she attempted to cope with their responses differ depending on the coverage will raise psychological effects, taught her post where the unaccompanied the hard truth that PTSD is “Not tour was served, the length of the consciousness about Only for Combat Veterans” (p. 42). tour and the amount of time since Our longstanding policy is to departing the post, among other this growing problem. publish the names of all contribu- factors. This will allow for a tors. However, for reasons that will focused assessment of the stress be obvious when you read it, we impact in Iraq and Afghanistan, and possible further dis- are printing a commentary from an anonymous officer tinctions among places within those countries. We will who questions the credibility of State’s public commit- report on those findings as they become available. ment not to penalize employees who disclose the use of antidepressants or therapy when they seek a security or Our Coverage medical clearance (“Encouraging Employees to Seek Dr. Raymond M. De Castro, director of MED’s men- Help,” p. 46). tal health services division, begins our coverage with an While not suffering from PTSD, this contributor overview full of useful advice (“Post-Traumatic Stress sought professional care for depression, only to receive a Disorder: A Guide,” p. 28). While many readers may downgraded medical clearance as a result. (The individ- already be generally familiar with the condition, we hope ual’s security clearance was given additional scrutiny but that the checklists of background factors, symptoms, eventually renewed.) Such experiences, coupled with the treatment options and Internet resources will prove help- grossly inadequate coverage of mental health treatment ful. I would particularly call attention to the section in by many health insurance policies, lead the author to rue- which he discusses the impact of PTSD on family mem- fully conclude that “State seems to prefer that I go off my bers of the patient. meds and become the unhappy, less productive, less col- Next, FSO Rachel Schneller shares her own struggle legial employee I was a year ago.” with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As she explains in Today’s Foreign Service reality is that more and more “Recovery: When Surviving Isn’t Enough” (p. 35), impor- personnel have to serve in dangerous environments, tant as the decision to seek treatment is, it is just the first including combat zones. And because such places tend step of what can be a long, arduous journey. Note: This to be unaccompanied posts, they have the additional bur- is a searingly frank and detailed account of what she has den of being away from their families and other support endured, which some readers may find disturbing. networks just when they most need them. We believe While the incidence of PTSD within the Foreign that the open discussion of PTSD that follows is need- Service (and the military) appears to be increasing, it is ed to help ensure that proper support is given to those definitely not a new phenomenon. Though I know of no who may face this debilitating illness as a direct result official surveys concerning the psychological health of the of their dedicated service, and hope that it will con- thousands of Foreign Service personnel who served in tribute to updating State’s approach to mental health Vietnam during the war, several Foreign Service retirees issues generally.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 27 F OCUS ON PTSD & THE F OREIGN S ERVICE

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A GUIDE Ian Dodds

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS HAPPENING WHEN YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW REACTS TO A TRAUMATIC EVENT WILL HELP YOU BE LESS FEARFUL AND BETTER ABLE TO COPE.

BY RAYMOND M. DE CASTRO, M.D.

he medical profession classifies Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as one of 11 anxiety disor- ders. But PTSD is different from most mental health diagnoses because it is tied to a particular life event for which the witnessing or experiencing has a potential for death or serious injury and provokes intense fear, helplessness or horror. During Tsuch events, you may think that your life or others’ lives are in danger and that you have no control over what is happening.

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These events could be serious accidents, such as a car Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event wreck; natural disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, could develop PTSD due to strong biological responses floods, hurricanes or tornadoes; sexual or physical that create changes in brain chemistry and function. assaults, including child sexual or physical abuse; combat However, most people who go through a traumatic event or military exposure; or terrorist attacks. do not develop full PTSD, despite the early stress reac- The Foreign Service lifestyle has always posed some tion. Approximately 8 percent of men and 20 percent of degree of risk for certain of these traumas. Some employ- women do so. Women are more likely than men to devel- ees and families in the past reported being traumatized by op the disorder after all types of traumatic events except evacuations from embassies under siege. Today we have sexual assault or abuse (when men are sexually assaulted, larger numbers of unaccompanied tours, including some they are just as likely as women to develop PTSD). in the zones associated with the war on terror. While we cannot predict with certainty who will devel- Most trauma survivors experience stress reactions. op PTSD after a trauma, researchers have discovered People may typically describe feeling relief to be alive, some personal factors that are more commonly associat- followed by fear and/or anger. They also often find they ed with those who do develop the condition. You are are unable to stop thinking about what happened. more likely to develop PTSD if you are female; suffer Many will exhibit excess nervous arousal, sometimes to from another mental health problem; had an earlier life- the point of agitation. Such stress reactions are natur- threatening event or trauma, including being abused as a al responses to the extreme physiological changes child; lack adequate support from family and friends; or induced by a life-threatening event and have nothing to drink a lot of alcohol. do with personal weakness. There are also factors that involve the person’s relation Understanding what is happening when you or some- to the event itself that are seen more commonly in those one you know reacts to a traumatic event will help you be who develop PTSD, such as: how intense the trauma was less fearful and better able to cope. The symptoms of and how close you were to the event; if you were hurt or these stress reactions may last for several days or even a lost a loved one; how strong your reaction was; and how few weeks, but for most people, they will slowly diminish much you felt in control of events. over time. If these symptoms worsen or don’t resolve after a How Is the Condition Evaluated? month, then PTSD may be developing. Some may find While it may be tempting to identify PTSD for your- the symptoms of this disorder merely annoying; but for self or someone you know, the diagnosis should be made others, they can be terrifying. They may disrupt life and by a mental health professional. This will usually involve interfere with daily activities. Although symptoms usual- a formal evaluation by a psychiatrist, psychologist or clin- ly start soon after the traumatic event, they may not occur ical social worker who is specifically trained to assess psy- until months or years later, and in some cases they come chological problems. It can be difficult to know whether and go over many years. distress is a normal reaction or a symptom of something more serious. Even experts may require the results of a Who Gets PTSD? detailed evaluation to answer this question. It is far from rare to experience a traumatic event. In Several studies have pointed out that many victims of the U.S. general population, about 60 percent of men trauma do not believe that they need help and will not and 50 percent of women do so at least once in their lives. seek out services, despite reporting significant emotional Women are more likely to experience sexual assault and distress. Several potential reasons for this are: child sexual abuse, while men are more likely to experi- • Some feel that they are better off than others more ence accidents, physical assault or combat, or to witness affected and therefore “should not be so upset.” death or injury. • Others may not seek help because of pride, or out of fear that the distress indicates weakness of some sort. Dr. Raymond M. De Castro, a Foreign Service psychia- • Many individuals are more apt to seek informal sup- trist since 1998, is director of mental health services with- port from family and friends, which may not be sufficient in the State Department’s Bureau of Medical Services. to prevent long-term distress.

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• Many people are afraid to go While we cannot predict • PTSD can aggravate pre- for help because of concerns that existing physical health prob- others will lose respect for them, with certainty who lems. For example, a few studies or fear that it may adversely have shown a relationship be- affect their careers. will develop PTSD, tween PTSD and heart trouble. Nevertheless, it is recom- • It may not be PTSD at all: mended that you seek assistance researchers have having the symptoms of PTSD from your medical doctor or from does not always mean you have a mental health professional who discovered some factors the condition. Some of the is skilled in the treatment of trau- symptoms are also associated ma if you are experiencing any making that more likely. with other mental health prob- symptoms that are causing dis- lems. For example, trouble con- tress, are causing significant centrating or feeling less inter- changes in relationships, are impairing work function, or ested in things you used to enjoy can be symptoms of lead to either self-medicating with alcohol or drugs or clinical depression. Furthermore, different problems doubts about whether life is worthwhile or manageable. require different treatments. Here are some reasons why you may want to seek help: If you do not want to be evaluated, you may choose • Early treatment is better: dealing with symptoms “watchful waiting,” a wait-and-see approach. However, if now might help stop them from getting worse in the your symptoms do not get better after three months and future. they are either causing you distress or are getting in the • PTSD symptoms can adversely affect family dynam- way of your work or home life, please talk to a health pro- ics. You may find that you pull away from loved ones, are fessional. not able to get along with people, or are becoming angry In a few cases, your symptoms may be so severe that or even violent. you need immediate help. Call 911 or other emergency

What can the trauma survivor do to help himself/herself?

earn more about PTSD from Web sites or publications ical referral service or psychiatric department, or a univer- (see “Resources,” p. 34) that offer information on self- sity psychology department. L care and self-help guidance, including tips on both For support groups in Washington, you may call positive coping strategies to use and negative coping Employee Consultative Services at (202) 663-1815 for strategies to avoid. assistance in attending the biweekly Unaccompanied Tour If you do have PTSD, it’s important to get treatment. Support Group in SA-1 (Columbia Plaza). To find locations Taking steps early may help reduce long-term symptoms, elsewhere in the continental United States, check with the so talk to: Anxiety Disorders Association of America, which offers a • A mental health professional, such as a social worker self-help group network, or the National Alliance for Mental in the State Department’s Office of Employee Counsel- Illness, which has a Web site listing affiliates who provide ing Services, or your regional psychiatrist, who can be con- family support groups in different states. tacted through your mission’s health unit; If the traumatic event that triggered your PTSD was • Your mission’s regional medical officer or FS health work-related, the Office of Worker’s Compensation practitioner, or your private family doctor; Program, administered by the Department of Labor, will • A religious leader; or pay your medical bills without the out-of-pocket expens- • A close friend or family member who can support you es such as co-payments or deductibles that apply to FEP and find you help. health insurance use. Time off work can be taken with- If you prefer to seek professional help privately, you may out consuming sick leave. The paperwork seems daunt- use the mission health unit staff to see if there are local ing at first, but the Office of Employee Relations in the therapy resources. In the U.S., besides the State Depart- Bureau of Human Resources can help shepherd you ment resources listed above, contact your insurance through the OWCP application process to expedite provider, local mental health agency, local hospital’s med- receipt of benefits.

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services immediately if you think Seek assistance from a (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft). that you cannot keep from hurting There are also other medica- yourself or someone else. professional skilled in the tions that have been used with some success. Talk to your How Is It Treated? treatment of trauma if doctor about which ones Today, there are good treat- might be right for you. ments available for PTSD. A type you are experiencing any In addition to CBT and of counseling called cognitive- SSRIs, some other kinds of behavioral therapy and medicines symptoms that are counseling may be helpful in known as selective serotonin reup- your recovery from PTSD, take inhibitors are among the most causing distress. such as group therapy, brief effective treatments for PTSD. psychodynamic psychothera- Some examples of CBT are Cogni- py and family therapy. tive Therapy, Exposure Therapy, and Eye Movement For some people, treatment for PTSD can last three Desensitization and Reprocessing. to six months. But if you have other mental health SSRIs are a type of antidepressant medicine that are problems as well, the process may last for one to two effective for some anxiety disorders. These can help you years or longer. Depression, alcohol- or substance- feel less sad and worried; for some people they are very abuse problems, panic disorder and other anxiety disor- effective. Some examples include citalopram (Celexa), ders often occur along with PTSD. In many cases, the escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine treatments described above will also help with the other

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disorders. The best results occur when both PTSD and is not helping you, it might be useful to talk with another the other problems are treated together rather than one professional. after the other. About half (40 to 60 percent) of people who develop PTSD get better at some time. But about How Can Family Members Help? one out of three people who develop PTSD will always PTSD can adversely affect even a tight-knit family’s have some symptoms. dynamics. The survivor may act differently and get angry Getting help can make you feel more in control of easily. He or she may not want to do things you used to your emotions and result in fewer symptoms. Since there enjoy together. You may feel scared and frustrated about are many types of treatment for PTSD, you and your doc- the changes you see in your loved one. You also may feel tor will discuss the best approach for you. You may have angry about what’s happening to your family, or wonder if to try a number of treatments before you find one that things will ever go back to the way they were. These feel- works for you. ings and worries are common. You may feel helpless, but If you do not like your therapist or feel that he or she there are many things you can do:

The Role of the Office of Medical Services The Office of Medical Services oversees primary care mation is based on self-reports from peers who attended and mental health services overseas and occupational previous outbriefs in recent years and the anonymous sur- health services both overseas and in the States. In the vey that MED and the Family Liaison Office conducted in States, MED does not provide primary care or mental health 2007, to which 877 employees responded. services, with the exception of Employee Consultation 2. They are then advised about signs and symptoms Services, which is the State Department’s Employee that may indicate sufficient concern to warrant a profes- Assistance Program. sional consultation. In December 2003, when Iraq was still under the 3. Clarification is offered about the confidentiality of Coalition Provisional Authority, MED sent representatives medical histories and the fact that seeking help for mental to assess the medical effects of that environment on health issues in itself is never cause for an automatic Foreign Service workers. Shortly thereafter, MED began change in medical or security clearances. An opaque providing, in association with the Foreign Service Insti- boundary between MED and both HR and DS is well estab- tute’s Transition Center, a High Stress Assignment Out- lished, and an individual’s medical history is never revealed brief Program which was made mandatory for employees to either. However, employee medical clearances can affect returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This is held at the assignments as their purpose is to make sure that any Foreign Service Institute (FSI course code MQ 950) and is needed medical care is available at the post of assignment. done in a group format. The course is mandatory precise- 4. They are advised how to contact mental health pro- ly to remove any fear that it would stigmatize attendees fessionals and to contact HR/ER for processing claims for with a “mental health” label. workmen’s compensation. They are also informed that Furthermore, anyone who prefers to have an individual- Employee Consultation Services, (202) 663-1815, offers a ized outbrief, whether for the convenience of scheduling or biweekly support group in Washington for returnees from to bring up more personal matters in a private setting, can unaccompanied tours. do that instead (FSI course code MQ 951). These courses Even before deployment, these topics are introduced by are also available on a voluntary basis to any employee MED staff to all attendees at the mandatory pre-deploy- returning from any unaccompanied tour. ment courses offered by DS. Furthermore, in Iraq we have So as not to stigmatize those who served, no one is the only mental health provider in the Department of State forced to undergo a personal mental health screening. who is designated to provide services to the mission of one Instead, at the outbrief they are empowered to self-screen single country, with back-up support provided by our psy- by means of these four steps: chiatrist in Amman. 1. They are given information about the more common MED is currently developing a Deployment Stress mental health problems seen in people who serve at high- Management Program and hopes to hire two to three more stress posts, such as normal and self-limited stress reac- mental health specialists who will provide evaluation, sup- tions, Acute Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress port and, possibly, initial treatment for employees suffering Disorder, alcohol or other substance abuse, depression and from PTSD or other mental health problems upon return- other mood disorders, and marital problems. This infor- ing from unaccompanied tours.

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• Learn as much as you can about Depression, alcohol- • Encourage contact with friends PTSD. Knowing how it affects peo- and family. A support system will ple may help you understand what or substance-abuse help your family member get your family member is going through difficult changes and stress- through. The more you know, the problems, panic ful times. better you and your family can han- Bear in mind that your loved one dle the situation. disorder and other may not want your help. Sometimes • Offer to accompany your family social withdrawal can be a symptom member on doctor visits. You can anxiety disorders often of PTSD. A person who withdraws help keep track of medicine and may not feel like talking, taking part therapy, and you can be there to offer occur along with PTSD. in group activities or being around support. other people. Give your loved one • Tell your loved one you want to space, but tell him or her that you listen and that you also understand if he or she doesn’t feel will always be ready to help. like talking. In addition, he or she may feel angry about many • Plan family activities together, like having dinner or things. Anger is a normal reaction to trauma, but it can going to a movie. hurt relationships and make it hard to think clearly. Anger • Take a walk, go for a bike ride or do some other phys- also can be frightening. If it leads to violent behavior or ical activity together. Exercise is important for health and abuse, it’s dangerous. Go to a safe place and call for help helps clear your mind. right away. Make sure children are in a safe place as well.

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Talking through Anger • Don’t give advice unless you are asked. It’s hard to talk to someone who is angry. One thing If your family is having a lot of trouble talking things you can do is set up a timeout system to provide a way to over, consider trying family therapy. This is a type of talk even while angry. Here’s one way to do this: counseling that involves your whole family. The therapist • Agree that either of you can call a timeout at any helps the whole group communicate, maintain good rela- time. tionships and cope with tough emotions. Each person • Agree that when someone calls a timeout, the dis- gets to talk about how the problem is affecting them and cussion must stop right then. the whole family. • Decide on a signal you will use to call a timeout. This can be a word or a hand motion. Helping Can Be Hard • Agree to tell each other where you will be and what Don’t forget that helping a person with PTSD can be you will be doing during the timeout. Tell each other hard on the rest of the family. You may have your own what time you will come back. feelings of fear and anger about the trauma. You may feel While you are taking such a break, don’t focus on how guilty because you wish your family member would just angry you feel. Instead, think forget his or her problems and calmly about how you will talk Internet Resources get on with life. Or you may feel things over and solve the prob- National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress confused or frustrated because lem. Disorder www.ncptsd.org your loved one has changed, and After you come back: Anxiety Disorders Association of America you may worry that your family • Take turns talking about www.adaa.org/index.cfm life will never get back to normal. National Institute on Mental Health solutions to the problem. Listen All of this can drain you, www.nimh.nih.gov without interrupting. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Alliance affecting your health and making • Use statements starting with www.ptsdalliance.org it harder for you to help your “I,” such as “I think” or “I feel.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services loved one. If you’re not careful, Using “you” statements can Agency www.samhsa.gov you may get sick yourself, be- sound accusatory. come depressed, or burn out and • Be open to each other’s ideas. Don’t criticize each stop helping your loved one. So take care of yourself, even other. if that requires the help of others: • Focus on things you both think will work. It’s likely • Don’t feel guilty or feel that you have to know it all. you will both have good ideas. Nobody has all the answers and it’s normal to feel helpless • Together, agree which solutions you will use. at times. You and your family may have trouble talking about • Don’t feel bad if things change slowly. You cannot feelings, worries and everyday problems. Here are some change anyone. People have to change themselves. ways to communicate better: • Take care of your physical and mental health. If you • Be clear and to the point. feel yourself getting sick or feeling sad and hopeless, see • Be positive. Blame and negative talk won’t help the your doctor. situation. • Don’t give up your outside life. Make time for activ- • Be a good listener. Don’t argue or interrupt, but do ities and hobbies you enjoy. Continue to see your friends. repeat what you hear to make sure you understand. Ask • Take time to be by yourself. Find a quiet place to questions if you need to know more. gather your thoughts and recharge. • Put your feelings into words. Your loved one may not • Get regular exercise, even just a few minutes a day. know you are sad or frustrated unless you are clear about Exercise is a healthy way to deal with stress. your feelings. • Eat healthy foods. • Help your family member put feelings into words. • Remember the good things. It’s easy to get weighed For instance, ask: “Are you feeling angry? Sad? down by worry and stress. But don’t forget to see and cel- Worried?” ebrate the good things that happen to you and your fam- • Ask how you can help. ily.

34 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 F OCUS ON PTSD & THE F OREIGN S ERVICE

RECOVERY: WHEN SURVIVING ISN’T ENOUGH

MY PTSD CAME ABOUT DUE TO MY POSTING IN IRAQ, YET STATE LEFT ME TO FEND FOR MYSELF WHEN IT CAME TO SEEKING TREATMENT.

BY RACHEL SCHNELLER

n my latest nightmare, I get into months and years of operations and physical therapy if an elevator with another woman about my age. I press I am to recover. the button for the fourth floor, about halfway up the I tell this dream to my therapist, who is treating me building.I The elevator begins climbing. Instead of for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She asks me, in a stopping, the elevator speeds up and keeps ascending way that has become familiar over the past year of with us trapped inside. It shoots out the top of the treatment, to try and identify the most disturbing building, high into the air. The other woman and I aspect of the nightmare and then imagine an alterna- look at each other, knowing we are about to die. When tive, better ending for the dream. the elevator crashes to the ground, it will smash us The thought that pops into my head disturbs me so beyond recognition. We join hands and say a prayer, much that tears come to my eyes. The worst part of accepting our fate. The elevator speeds to the ground the dream, I tell her, is the pain I feel after the crash. and the impact is sheer pain. The alternative I immediately think of is to die, and But it doesn’t kill me. I am burned and mangled, avoid the agony and pain of recovery. The acceptance but somehow drag myself from the smoking wreckage. of the end of my life and saying the prayer with the I can barely breathe. Broken bones puncture my other woman was a spiritual, peaceful moment. lungs. Ambulance sirens wail in the distance, and I try Feeling like I might die at any moment, after all, is a to hold on a bit longer. I want to turn around to see if feeling I grew so accustomed to during my tour in Iraq the other woman made it, but I can barely move and that it doesn’t bother me anymore. have to use all my strength just to hold on for the ambulance. On top of the agony, I am aware I face Recovery Is Possible A lot has been written about PTSD — what causes Rachel Schneller joined the Foreign Service in 2001, serv- it, how many State Department personnel have it, and ing in Skopje, Conakry and Basrah, where she was a what the consequences of not treating it can be. Since Provincial Action Officer from 2005 to 2006. She cur- returning from Iraq over a year ago and being diag- rently works in the Office of Multilateral Trade Affairs in nosed with the disorder, I’ve gotten a crash-course on the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs. the subject. So perhaps I can contribute to the dialog

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in a way others cannot, by describ- If the State office had been murdered, and I’d ing what it is like to recover from dreamed of hanging myself from PTSD. Department is going my office light fixture. During Yes, recovery is possible, espe- leave, I asked the Medical Services cially with good treatment. When I to post employees to Bureau for help and they referred think about where I was a year ago, me to an in-house social worker. I have no doubt about being much war zones, it should be While telling him about the whole better. I sleep regularly through horrible situation, including the the night, and I recently read a prepared to deal with dream about killing myself, I broke book that was not directly related down in sobs. to Iraq — a first for me since the mental health The social worker was nice but returning. A year ago, there were offered me no actual treatment. only a few places where I felt aftermath. He did not refer me to a psychia- secure: my apartment, my office trist for an evaluation; he did not and my car. Now, there are more safe than unsafe loca- offer me medication for my depression; and he did not tions in my life. I still have nightmares, like the one address my thoughts of suicide. Disappointed, but fear- above, but not as often as I used to, and probably not ful of being labeled a “quitter” or worse, I chose to any more than most people. return to Iraq. The excellent treatment I have received for PTSD is When I think about how poorly State treated me in large part responsible for my recovery. The treat- when I sought help, I am outraged. After all, I was in ment is not passive, however, and it is not easy. I can no condition to make decisions about my own well- honestly say it was easier to survive my tour in Iraq than being, any more than an alcoholic can make a well- to recover from it. Making it through a tour in a dan- informed decision in a liquor store. Any competent, gerous environment depends on luck and making split- qualified mental health care provider would have second decisions that are immediately proven right or known this. I had requested help but found only more wrong. But recovering from the emotional and spiritu- danger. It was as if the ambulance coming for me in my al aftermath of witnessing and experiencing violence, elevator dream not only did not stop for me, but ran death and suffering takes conscious, constant self- over me in the process. I — and everyone else serving awareness and learning to discern between hundreds our country in a war zone — deserve much better. of moral shades of grey. The State Department could not have prevented me It has taken enormous amounts of energy and effort from developing PTSD as a result of my tour in Iraq, to endure and withstand PTSD treatment. To hazard any more than it could have saved my FSN from being a comparison to something I know nothing about, I murdered or halted the nightly rocket attacks on our would compare the process to learning how to walk compound. In any war zone, some people going again after a major car accident while kicking a cocaine through the experience will likely come out of it with habit. It was something I did because the only alterna- PTSD. But if the State Department is going to post its tive I had was to go through life in a zombie-like state employees to war zones, it should be prepared to deal of misery and despair, and I didn’t like that alternative. with the mental health aftermath and offer treatment to those who need it. Let Down by State I completed my Iraq tour at the end of July 2006 My PTSD came about due to the conditions I and returned to Washington, where I began my next endured while on assignment with the State assignment, long-term training at the Foreign Service Department, but State left me to fend for myself when Institute. After all I’d been through, I was grateful to it came to seeking treatment. be home alive and in one piece, reunited with family In June 2006, after having worked in Basrah for sev- and friends. But soon I just stopped functioning nor- eral months, I took leave to return to Washington for a mally. I was unable to sleep. I started getting lost on few weeks. A Foreign Service National employee in my my way home from work, waking up in a sort of fugue

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state blocks away from my apart- Fearful of being was that there was something seri- ment in Georgetown. I don’t ously wrong, because I couldn’t remember precisely how, but I labeled a “quitter” sleep or focus on anything. Be- burned myself several times so cause of my constant state of rage, badly that I scarred — yet I didn’t or worse, I chose to the only thing I wanted to do was feel it. I only noticed the burns the leap on the enemy and rip him to next day. Rage overwhelmed me. I return to Iraq despite shreds. nearly attacked another person in one of my FSI training classes, but my symptoms. Leaving the Enemy Behind walked out of the class in time and I thought therapy would help had a meltdown in the bathroom. me figure out who the real enemies (That poor woman had no idea how close she came to were, so I would know whom to attack. All the while, being strangled by me for making a completely inno- some part of me knew this wasn’t right: I had left Iraq cent comment.) I couldn’t keep up the pretense of and, logically, I must have left my enemies behind. being normal any longer. Still, I was not able to get rid of the feeling that I had After that incident, I began private treatment on to be on the lookout all the time, and that if I let my Aug. 24, 2006, and was diagnosed with PTSD almost guard down I might get killed. The world had become immediately — though it took months before I could a fundamentally dangerous place to me, and people accept that diagnosis completely. None of what I was who did not understand this or see things that way going through made sense to me, in fact. All I knew made me angry. After all, back in Iraq, people who

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acted like we were in a safe place It has taken toms — inability to focus, confusion put us all at risk and sometimes and anger — were related to my wound up dead. enormous amounts of chronic sleep deprivation. I now After about a month of therapy, know that I was going through a where I talked about what I had energy and effort to sort of stress hormone withdrawal. gone through in Iraq, I began Eye I had been living on a chronic high Movement Desensitization and endure and withstand of adrenaline and sleeping fitfully Reprocessing sessions with my for months on end. therapist. In my case, however, the PTSD treatment. Living like this helped get me therapist used tones instead of eye through my tour in Iraq, but trying movements. I won’t go into the to readjust to a Washington work details of this kind of treatment because a lot of infor- schedule was like enduring never-ending jet lag. It’s mation is available on the Internet for anyone interest- actually a form of withdrawal. There were times ed in EMDR. But, in essence, it involved experiencing when, sitting in my new office trying to focus on the most traumatizing moments of my tour in detail paperwork, I could feel the adrenaline still racing again while listening to tones alternating from one ear through me so fast that my skin would itch and I would to the other — which, I understand, helps the brain start to sweat and twitch like a junkie. process the events. The overall effect was sort of like reliving the worst Accepting My Diagnosis days of my life over and over again, leaving me wrung After about three months, I finally internalized and out and exhausted after every session. This was by far accepted the PTSD diagnosis I had been given on the the most difficult aspect of my treatment. There is first day of therapy. I had read through a document on nothing enjoyable about reliving traumatic experiences the condition and realized that most of the symptoms and feeling like you are about to die on a weekly basis. applied to me in one way or another. I don’t think I I managed to get through it only because my life had could have come to this realization sooner; I wasn’t able become so unpleasant and unlivable that there wasn’t to concentrate long enough to get through a list of 17 much difference. symptoms, for one thing. For another, the danger I felt Reliving these experiences in a room with a trained surrounding me was so real that I thought I was getting mental health professional was, however, preferable to help to figure out how to convince other people of that reliving them in the middle of the night alone. danger too, so we could all work together to counter it. Somehow the process helped me focus on the roots of Then I wouldn’t have to be so angry all the time. the experiences without actually feeling like my life was But gradually, I allowed myself to accept that my in danger at the moment I was reliving the trauma. It version of reality, while appropriate in Basrah, was no helped me gain an objectivity I lacked in the middle of longer appropriate in Washington. It helped to think of the night or when seized by rage. This was important PTSD the way my therapist described it: a normal reac- because it helped me gain control over the horror and tion to an abnormal situation. Living in a small com- the rage and distance myself from the feelings, while pound with rockets and mortars raining down at night still retaining the memory and a certain amount of con- and my employees being targeted and killed was not a trol over the events themselves. normal situation, and trying to conduct normal busi- After about two months of EMDR treatment, my ness in that sort of environment was intensely abnor- sleep improved. Instead of waking up every two hours mal. I came out a bit warped — so what? I started giv- and pacing around my apartment in a blind rage, I ing myself a break. At least I was still alive. started sleeping for four or five hours before waking In December 2006, I asked my therapist if could up, between 3 and 5 a.m., groggy and confused. take medication to help me sleep. Now, when I look Eventually after an hour or so, I would fall back to back at this, I see my request as a sign of progress in sleep for another hour or two before work. itself. I was looking for more options to get better. Looking back, I am sure some of my other symp- After all, I knew other people were taking medication,

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and I didn’t see why I shouldn’t if it Part of the recovery months I’d drunk for taste and plea- could help. Still, it took courage to sure rather than sucking it down ask for medication. I had never process has been because I desperately needed the tried any sort of drug treatment caffeine to get through the day. before and was apprehensive about accepting I’ll never Sleeping well and regularly gave it. But I decided that these med- me such a sense of euphoria that I ications existed for a reason, and be who I was before asked my doctor for reassurance people wouldn’t take them unless the medications I was taking were they did some good. going to Iraq. not addictive. She assured me they Within a few weeks of starting were not. After not sleeping more medication, I began sleeping solid- than four or five hours at a time for ly through the night on a regular so long, it was not surprising that basis. I remember waking up the first time I slept for sleeping felt so good. My focus at work improved and seven straight hours, about six months after returning my interest in my job increased, which helped take my from Iraq. I had that feeling you have after a good mind off Iraq. night’s sleep — a sensation I had not had in many months. I lay there in bed with a sense of wonderment A Messy Process and awe, trying to remember the last time I’d had a Recovery from PTSD is a messy process. It’s not a good night’s sleep. I couldn’t. That morning I slowly straight shot, uphill-only, one-way undertaking. For savored a cup of coffee. It was the first coffee in me, it has been full of ups and downs. Once I finally

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began sleeping soundly through the Reliving the I’ve also come to realize that night, I started having the night- recovery doesn’t mean reverting to mares I wasn’t sleeping well enough worst days of my life your old self, the person you were or long enough to have had before. before the trauma. This has been In early 2007, I started dreaming over and over again the hardest part for my friends and almost nightly about being back in family to accept. They keep waiting Iraq with the rockets and car bombs, left me wrung out and for the “old me” to come back. only this time with my friends and They seem to think that once I am family there, too. I dreamed of flash exhausted after better, I won’t think about Iraq any- floods sweeping away my friends and more, and I won’t be bothered by it. trying to save them. Insurgents kid- every session. I am touched by their concern, and napped us, and I would escape to try their support has been absolutely and rescue them, running hard and necessary; but sometimes I feel they fast for hours. don’t understand that I have to get better, not just be My dreams were filled with helicopters, concrete better. Besides, if I am not interested in trying to get barriers and gravel. Angry wild animals attacked me my old self back, why should anyone else be? and the people I cared about. I was so exhausted that sometimes I dreamed about sleeping, only to wake up Making a Difference sweating, heart racing, clenching my hands into fists or I didn’t go to Iraq looking for spiritual growth, but balling up the sheets. Still, I was at least getting a full one of the side effects of serving there was that it gave night’s sleep. me the chance to become a better person. It was mak- Some of the hardest months for me were after most ing the choice to recover from PTSD that actually of my physical symptoms were addressed, in the spring made me a better person. of 2007, when the situation in Iraq took a turn for the A major part of the recovery process for me has worse, as well. Of my former employees, all but two been learning that there are things worth losing a left the country because of threats on their lives. night’s sleep over. There are things worth getting angry Several of my Iraqi contacts were horrifically assassi- over. And there are things worth fighting for. The nated. I learned of their deaths by e-mail from other solution is not to refrain from ever getting angry. It is Iraqi friends, several times a month. My nightmares to make your battles ones worth fighting, and dying, for literally started coming true. — and to fight them without giving up. At first I felt a despair at being unable to do anything When I first came back from Iraq, even so mundane to help them, a despair so deep that I ceased being able a chore as standing in line at the pharmacy felt so dan- to function. I went through the months of March, April gerous to me that I usually gave up, dumped my items and May in a fog. Sometimes I was so miserable I on a shelf and bolted before making it to the front of broke down sobbing at my desk in my office. But even the line. I was preoccupied with the fear that a crimi- this was a sort of progress because at least I knew why nal would burst through the front door and shoot us all I was crying, and the senseless deaths of friends and down like sitting ducks. contacts was something worth crying about. Now that I’m getting better, I have made up my Part of the recovery process for me has been accept- mind that if that criminal ever does show up, I am ing that I will never be the person I was before I went going to throw myself in front of as many people as pos- to Iraq. I am not sure I believe that anyone can spend sible, push them to the ground, and try and tackle the a year in a war zone living under more or less constant guy. I just cannot stand the idea of watching any more threat of death by rocket, mortar or road bomb, expe- people get killed or hurt around me. Bolstered by that riencing the deaths of numerous Iraqi and American determination, I am now able to make it to the front of friends, and come out of that experience unchanged. the line and complete my purchases every time. And, even if it were possible, I don’t think I would want There have been other unexpected pluses to devel- to be such a person. oping and recovering from PTSD, which no one ever

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really talks about. For instance, I Once I finally began real possibility of dying a sudden used to be afraid of flying. and violent death. Turbulence would make me break sleeping soundly But it was through therapy that I out in a sweat, grip the armrests so learned that you don’t simply start tightly my knuckles turned white, through the night, sleeping through the night again. and envision a fiery plunge thou- Rather, you learn to focus on the sands of feet to the ground. Yet on I started having real issues that were keeping you my first airplane trip after return- up at night and address them, so ing from Iraq, I didn’t blink an eye. the nightmares you can sleep the sleep of the just, Somehow, going through an actual not just the sleep of the heavily life-or-death situation cured me of I wasn’t sleeping well medicated. worrying about fantasy ones. It took me several weeks to It also cured me of lots of other enough or long enough think of an alternate ending to my fears, like public speaking, intimi- elevator nightmare that didn’t dating colleagues and worrying to have before. involve my death. But I have it about what other people might now. The other woman in the ele- think of me. An interview with vator is the old me, the person I CNN about PTSD in diplomats? No sweat. Lots of was before Iraq. Right before impact, she holds on to things in life just aren’t worth getting that upset about, me and cushions me from the full force of the impact, which is a lesson I learned when faced with the very giving me the best shot possible for survival.

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NOT ONLY FOR COMBAT VETERANS

PTSD IS NOT A NEW PHENOMENON WITHIN THE FOREIGN SERVICE. NOR DO ITS EFFECTS EVER ENTIRELY DISSIPATE.

BY KRISTIN K. LOKEN

arrived in San Salvador in early departure. Few decided to leave at this time. However, 1979, very shortly after the country’s civil war began. I on March 25, 1980, the day after Archbishop Oscar later learned that these were probably the worst years to Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass, I was experienceI such a conflict, during the initial chaos and evacuated along with the remaining family members shock before the atrocities become commonplace and and non-essential personnel. Only staff members coping mechanisms are established. returned to El Salvador; family members were required My husband was assigned to the USAID mission. I to continue on to the United States under authorized accompanied him to post and soon found work in a part- departure. time intermittent position in the embassy’s consular sec- Because of my job and the necessary nature of that tion. I helped interview applicants for tourist visas and work, I was quickly returned to post. I still vividly was also in charge of the American Citizen Warden remember watching from my window in the embassy a System, working on evacuation planning. As the civil few weeks later as government soldiers fired from war heated up, I helped round up and evacuate the rooftops into dozens of men, women and children con- Peace Corps Volunteers and the Mormon missionaries ducting a peaceful demonstration. Through the warden once the embassy decided it was too dangerous for system, I had become acquainted with many of the them to remain in El Salvador. American citizens still residing in El Salvador, including In late 1979, as the situation became increasingly the four American churchwomen who were raped and dangerous and Americans were targeted, family mem- killed by U.S.-trained and funded Salvadoran National bers of official U.S. personnel were offered voluntary Guardsmen as they returned home from the airport on Dec. 2, 1980. Kristin K. Loken was a Foreign Service officer with the As both the embassy and USAID experienced great- U.S. Agency for International Development from 1980 er difficulty replacing the staff that had departed our to 2001. Since retiring from the Service, she has increasingly violent and dangerous post, I accepted a worked for an American NGO on women’s health and career appointment with USAID/San Salvador in the peace issues, and now writes and meditates at her home Health, Population & Nutrition Office. In addition to in Falling Waters, W. Va. the health development and family planning programs,

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we handled food and disaster assistance in that office. I around me. I could answer a direct question in a few worked with nongovernmental organizations that were words, but then could not say anything more for long distributing humanitarian assistance, finding temporary periods of time. I didn’t feel sad; I didn’t feel happy. housing for displaced persons and assisting torture vic- Often I didn’t seem to feel anything at all. tims from both sides. Gradually, I became aware that something serious One morning in 1981, my Salvadoran counterpart, was wrong; what I was experiencing wasn’t normal. Dr. Rosa Judith Cisneros — a spectacular woman whom The experiences I was having — the inability to talk, I had grown to admire greatly — was brutally murdered the nightmares and daymares, the visual hallucinations in the driveway to her house. — none of these experiences The previous day a photo of were normal. Nor were they her accepting a family plan- After returning to going away; if anything, they ning grant from the U.S. seemed to be getting worse. ambassador had appeared on Washington, it took several I went to my boss and told the front page of a local news- her I thought I was going paper, El Diario de Hoy. weeks before I realized through some postwar emo- Also during this period, tional problems and asked if some colleagues and I were I wasn’t getting back the State Department or carrying out a survey of the USAID had some counseling needs of displaced persons. to normal. services available. She said As we moved by helicopter she was sympathetic but between northern rebel-held thought senior people would territories, we were fired on probably frown on my having by guerilla troops. More times than I want to remember, emotional problems, and advised that disclosing my con- I came upon dead and sometimes mutilated bodies in dition might negatively affect my eventual tenuring with the streets of the city and along the highways outside of USAID. So it would be best to keep a “stiff upper lip.” town. There were shootings and bombings daily. Her advice was to see a private therapist, for which she would give me as much administrative leave as I needed. Reliving the Trauma That is what I did. After a couple of sessions, the In late 1981, after two-and-a-half years in this war therapist told me that I was suffering from “post-trau- zone, I returned to Washington. It took several weeks matic shock syndrome,” which is what I think they called before I realized I wasn’t getting back to normal. I still PTSD in the early 1980s. It helped me a great deal just jumped at loud noises and saw dead bodies on desks at to know there was a name for what I was feeling and that work at the State Department. Strong emotions would my symptoms were, in the words of the therapist, “clas- come and go without any relevance to what was happen- sic.” It also helped to be told that it would eventually ing around me. I had regular nightmares about running pass. away from uniformed men with guns trying to kill me. I continued to see the therapist for six months, Sometimes I would also have what I called “daymares.” though I doubt the sessions helped me much more. My I would encounter a person at work in a meeting and see own sense now is that the treatment of PTSD was not them suddenly fall victim to some horrible trauma — a very developed in 1982. However, I did slowly begin to car wreck, a shooting, a bomb explosion. These day- feel better. I started to talk again, stopped seeing dead mares struck quickly, then disappeared, leaving me sit- bodies and jumping at loud noises. I started to feel real ting in a meeting not knowing what I had missed. feelings. The nightmares were fewer and the daymares As I tried to regain normal functioning, I noticed that disappeared. Eventually, I terminated the therapy. My my mouth wouldn’t work right; I couldn’t talk properly husband and I went into marriage counseling soon and could hardly communicate with people around me. thereafter and ended up separating and divorcing. Our There was a great deal going on inside my head, but it divorce may or may not have been related to our had no relevance to what was going on in the world Salvadoran experience.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 43 F OCUS

A New Trigger Sometimes I had what husband and I were separating. My next assignment was to I ended up taking three months work on the Lebanon program, I called “daymares,” of leave without pay just to which entailed traveling back get my life, my emotions and and forth to Beirut on a regular in which I’d “see” my living arrangements back basis. In April 1983, I had just together. left the city and arrived back in a colleague in a meeting Taking my cue from my for- the U.S. when the embassy was mer boss, this time I never gave blown up. In the bombing, I lost suddenly fall victim to anyone the real reason for need- my mission director, Bill Mc- ing the leave. Other than the Intyre, our Lebanese secretary some horrible trauma. general outline of major events, and many other colleagues and I’ve never really been able to good friends with whom I had talk about the experiences in El worked for the last year. I helped with the disaster Salvador with family or friends. Somehow, the topic has response from Washington, mostly communications with always felt overwhelming to me, and I never knew where the families of injured and dead colleagues. to start a conversation about it. (Of course, very few I noticed that many of the symptoms of the previous people ever asked about it in any serious way.) PTSD episode returned at this time, but I felt that if I I have never again sought therapy for PTSD. Nor were patient, they would pass as they had the first time. have I ever taken any medication for related symptoms, It was an especially difficult time for me because my even though for several years, seeing violence in movies

44 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 F OCUS

could bring back the symptoms for It helped me a great I designed and negotiated the first an evening or even a couple of U.S.-funded Palestinian-Israeli Co- days. deal just to know operation Program. I went on to Painful as they were, these become one of USAID’s democracy experiences did not keep me from there was a name for officers, working to introduce con- seeking high-stress assignments. flict management into our develop- Following Lebanon, I worked on what I was feeling. ment programs. the West Bank/Gaza program for I eventually served again in El five years. In all the places I Salvador, from 1995 to 1997 (after served, I noticed that manmade the war had ended), and in Eritrea. disasters (war, occupation, civil unrest) were taking a During my last overseas assignment with USAID, in huge toll on USAID’s development programs, often India, I returned to the field of population/family plan- throwing all that money and effort right down the drain. ning. What we needed, I came to believe, were interventions More than two decades after I first experienced to better manage conflict so that our development invest- PTSD, the symptoms have for the most part passed — ments could pay off. except when I am overcome by exhaustion, physical With that in mind, I returned to graduate school to pain, illness or stress. Then I can feel myself slipping study conflict management, eventually obtaining a mas- back into a bad place. But at least now I recognize what’s ter’s degree in the field. It gave me great satisfaction that happening early and know to give myself the luxury of during my time with the West Bank/Gaza program, more sleep and less pressure until I’m back to normal.

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JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 45 F OCUS ON PTSD & THE F OREIGN S ERVICE

ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO SEEK HELP

STATE OFFICIALLY ASSURES EMPLOYEES THAT UNDERGOING MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT WILL NOT AFFECT THEIR CLEARANCES. BUT IS THAT REALLY TRUE?

BY ANONYMOUS

hope that this month’s gesting antidepressant medication; I think she was try- focus on how the State Department treats Foreign ing to determine whether the depression was situa- Service personnel who suffer from Post-Traumatic tional or chronic. I then called the regional psychia- Stress DisorderI will lead to changes that also benefit trist, who agreed and wrote out a prescription. personnel dealing with other sorts of mental illnesses. The medication kicked in immediately. From day After all, even for people not assigned to war zones, one, I felt lighter, happier, enthusiastic about life, this can be a very stressful career. more energetic and more interested in work. (While Though I do not suffer from PTSD, my concern overseas, I should note, I had no trouble being reim- about the department’s handling of mental health treat- bursed for the treatment and prescriptions. But now ment began a year ago. At that time, I sought help for that I’m back in the U.S., I’ve discovered that I need depression from a local psychologist whose name I got to be pre-certified for each visit to a mental health from my embassy’s Web site. Concurrently, I filled out practitioner. Otherwise, I’m penalized a considerable the online form to renew my security clearance. amount of money.) At my first session with the psychologist, she Just after the pills arrived, I went for my security expressed surprise that I wanted a receipt for insur- clearance interview with the deputy regional security ance purposes. She informed me that the many officer. His first question was whether anything had embassy employees she had seen over the previous changed since I had submitted the online form, and I decades had not wanted their counseling sessions doc- mentioned my weekly counseling sessions and the umented for fear that they would lose their clearances. antidepressants. He just nodded in a kindly fashion. I responded that the State Department had publicly Imagine my surprise when, last April, I received an stated a few years earlier that it encouraged its e-mail from a security officer in Washington. It de- employees to seek the help they needed. manded that I ask the regional psychiatrist to answer a The psychologist saw me a few times before sug- set of questions fully within the next 10 days, and warned me that my medical condition could “affect The author is a senior State Department Foreign [my] security clearance eligibility or suitability for em- Service officer whose identity is known to the Journal. ployment.”

46 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 F OCUS

A few days later, on May 4, 2007, I read the State ment surprised me once again during my recent med- Department’s press guidance on PTSD (see sidebar, ical clearance exam. I learned that I would receive a p. 48). Its reassuring, nonjudgmental tone differed Class II medical clearance because I am on antidepres- considerably from the alarming language in the DS sants. I had assumed that treating my depression with officer’s e-mail to me. medication would be on par with treating my osteo- porosis with medication, as other people treat their dia- A Gap Between Theory and Practice betes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure with pre- Although I was still waiting for the results of my scription drugs. Instead of applauding me for tackling security clearance update, I immediately wrote to the my problem head-on, however, State seems to prefer director general, with copies to DS officials, sharing the that I go off my meds and become the unhappy, less security officer’s language with him, and offering to productive, less collegial employee I was a year ago. help the bureau develop language that was both more No wonder so many FSOs are in bad moods! in keeping with HR’s language and less threatening to Despite several follow-ups, I’ve heard nothing from employees. DS about my offer to help them with their language. I A few days later, I was notified that my clearance have been told that DS is reviewing its investigative had been extended for five processes in light of recent years. I wrote again to the developments in the field. I DG to reiterate my offer to Discouraging people from really hope that it stays help craft language concern- focused on this, and that both ing mental health counseling, seeking help has led to a DS and MED develop consis- and received word that DS tent, supportive and helpful would respond directly. Foreign Service with an policies that accurately reflect In the meantime, I men- our times and the demands of tioned this exchange of e- unusually high percentage our profession. mails to colleagues and heard other stories along similar of people with obvious Holding on to Hope lines. Some felt that the ques- Colleagues have advised tions DS was asking amounted emotional problems. me to drop this issue. People to a sharing of treatment I’ve told about this article records, contrary to the safe- have expressed alarm and guards outlined in the press guidance. None of my col- concern about my ever getting another security clear- leagues sensed that DS saw counseling as a positive fac- ance. The way I figure it, though, my current clearance tor in eligibility determinations, despite the department’s is not up until 2012. So when I submit the paperwork assurances that it was. to renew it, I hope to receive a response from an Discouraging people from seeking help has, in my enlightened DS, along these lines: opinion, led to a Foreign Service with an unusually high percentage of people with obvious emotional Dear Colleague, problems: the guy who shoots his gun off in his back- As you know, your security clearance is up for yard in the middle of the night, the couple that neglects renewal. We noticed that you mentioned having had their small children, the woman who makes her subor- mental health counseling during the period mm-dd-yy dinates as miserable as she is, the guy who doesn’t care to mm-dd-yy. Concerns about your security clearance about his dog biting people — and a lot of employees should never deter you from seeking professional assis- who lie to DS about having sought professional help. tance — in fact, the department and DS normally treat This seems to me to be counterproductive to fostering mental health counseling as a positive factor in deter- a Foreign Service corps that is healthy in mind as well mining security clearance eligibility. as body. Nevertheless, we need the Office of Medical The department’s handling of mental health treat- Services to assure us that your condition will not affect

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 47 F OCUS

M/DGHR/DS PRESS GUIDANCE Friday, May 4, 2007 MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING / SECURITY CLEARANCES

Q: Does seeking mental health treatment following “Concerned Foreign Service Officers” to Foreign service in Iraq or Afghanistan jeopardize one’s security Service officers regarding seeking mental health care? clearance? The warning issued by Concerned Foreign Service Seeking mental health treatment following service in Officers to Foreign Service officers regarding seeking Iraq or Afghanistan does not jeopardize one’s security mental health care is completely unfounded. Furthermore, clearance. To suggest so is not only incorrect, but does a the department considers this “warning,” which has no disservice to our employees who have served so basis in fact, detrimental to the health of our employees. admirably in these dangerous assignments. Q: Are medical treatment records shared with DS? In fact, in October 2004, the department issued a No, employee medical treatment records are not notice to employees titled “Mental Health Counseling and shared with DS. On occasion, employee conduct may Your Security Clearance,” specifically stating that con- result in a referral to MED for a mental health evaluation. cerns about their security clearance should not deter any In those instances, employees are advised that the result employee from seeking professional assistance. of the MED evaluation may be shared with DS for securi- Q: What is our reaction to the warning issued by the ty clearance purposes. However, this evaluation process

48 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 F OCUS

your judgment and reliability regarding your public does not involve sharing medical treatment records with and professional behavior. DS. Thus, we would like you to speak to your regional Background for Spokesman: DS grants (and revokes) psychiatrist, who will help us determine whether your security clearances in accordance with Executive Orders security clearance can be renewed. The questions will 10450 and 12968, which require the department to make be about your ability to carry out your job and its a determination of an employee’s ability to safeguard responsibilities, and whether you might in any way classified information. Under the provisions of E.O. become a problem for the U.S., the State Department, 12968, no negative inference concerning someone’s eli- your colleagues or yourself. DS will not learn the gibility for a security clearance may be drawn solely on details of this conversation but will only receive the the basis of mental health counseling. E.O. 12968 fur- RMO’s recommendation. ther notes that “[s]uch counseling can be a positive fac- If you are able to speak to your RMO within the tor in eligibility determinations.” next 10 days, we would appreciate it. If this time peri- To the extent that employee conduct may cause DS to od does not work, please let us know when you might refer an employee to the Office of Medical Services for an be able to have the conversation. It’s in all our inter- evaluation, as noted above, the role of MED is to make a ests for your security clearance to be renewed as soon “whole person” assessment as to whether there is a con- as possible. dition present that may affect an employee’s judgment, Thank you for looking after your mental health. reliability or stability. Sincerely, Your DS Agent Executive Lodging Alternatives Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” [email protected] Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 49 ECHOES OF THE PAST

MORE THAN 30 YEARS AFTER THE VIETNAM WAR, AMERICANS ONCE AGAIN ARE TILTING AT WINDMILLS TO CONFIRM OUR PRECONCEPTIONS ABOUT DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM.

BY DELL F. P ENDERGRAST

dviser Pendergrast,” the young Indeed, in many ways, Americans and Vietnamese did not Vietnamese school teacher said, speak the same language even when using English. “Americans have suffered great casu- More than 30 years later, Americans once again are tilt- “ alties, but you must understand that ing at windmills in the Third World to confirm our pre- we Vietnamese have lost many more conceptions about democracy and freedom. Our mission supporting you.” Thanh and I were in Iraq is even more fragile and shaky than in Vietnam dur- nursing midafternoon beers in the ing the early 1970s. Bombings and mayhem proliferate on welcome shade of an outdoor café patio along a busy Iraqi streets; Americans hide in fortress-like compounds Aprovincial highway. It was early 1971, and I was well into and military camps; public services are haphazard in what my second year as a civilian adviser in Tay Ninh province, many believe is an emerging “failed state;” the country is which bordered Cambodia about 100 kilometers north of fragmented by sectarian and tribal rivalries. Saigon. During my 1970-1971 tenure in Vietnam, the war “But Mr. Thanh,” I reacted with some incredulity, unfolded mainly in remote rural and border regions. The “we’re supporting a free and democratic Vietnam. That daily lives of most Vietnamese were generally unaffected. really is why we are here.” A steady stream of U.S. and I routinely traveled unescorted across a serene Vietnamese Vietnamese army trucks raced by, suffocating us with countryside, something unimaginable by any American in clouds of diesel exhaust. Iraq today. Thanh smiled indulgently. Outside the classroom, he was a prominent local activist with the Dai Viet, a non- Filters or Blinders? communist nationalist movement. “Independence has Both in Iraq and Vietnam, Americans have been blind- always been precious to us. But in Vietnam, my friend, the ed by faith in exceptionalism: the tendency to view the words freedom and democracy have a very different mean- world through the filter of our own institutions and values, ing. This is your war and not ours.” even when surveying societies with vastly different histo- Thanh and most Vietnamese did not share or under- ries and cultures. stand America’s fixation on democracy and nationbuilding. This attitude is rooted in America’s origins and charac- ter. We are a nation united by ideas and not by the eth- Dell F. Pendergrast was a Foreign Service officer from 1965 nicity, religion, culture or tribal traditions dominating other to 1997, serving in Belgrade, Zagreb, Saigon, Warsaw, countries. The unifying ideology of the United States — a Brussels, Ottawa and Washington, D.C. After retiring from shared commitment to representative government and the Service, he was director of the George J. Mitchell individual freedom — succeeded and attracted millions of Scholarships program. immigrants seeking to share this dream. We passionately

50 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 want to believe that our experience is a template for soci- has limited competence and capability, especially in the eties trapped in repression or tradition. short term, to transform traditional values and behavior. As a result, Americans have difficulty accepting that Our economic, political and educational programs can sup- religion, ethnic affiliation, family or other traditional insti- port modernizing, democratic trends, but the main tutions often control human behavior more than does alle- impulse must originate in the local society, with change giance to Western-style democracy. We also tend to forget evolving over an extended period of time. Pretending that that without the underlying values of democratic gover- American resolve can accelerate or even miraculously sub- nance — compromise, tolerance, respect for majority rule stitute for this process only invites frustration and disillu- and minority rights, freedom of speech and conscience — sionment. It happened in Vietnam, and history is now elections are meaningless, and the American model with- repeating itself in Iraq. ers into irrelevance. We Americans are idealistic, optimistic, confident. Our zealous commitment, however, Such qualities tamed the frontier and often controls and defines reality — at built the most successful and enduring least in the short term. “Those villages democracy in human history. But that all voted, Dell,” my boss, a jut-jawed, same resolute determination flounders ramrod-straight Army colonel declared. Our mission in Iraq is in societies with completely different “Nothing else matters.” After all, the cultural and historical backgrounds. In United States had invested heavily in even more fragile and Vietnam, and now in Iraq, we have been proving that democracy worked in handicapped by a paucity of diplomats Vietnamese villages. shaky than in Vietnam and soldiers who know the language and “Sir, to be honest, some of those culture. councils were selected ahead of time by during the early 1970s. Heavy reliance on the ubiquitous village elders. The elections were just interpreters only creates another layer window-dressing to appease Saigon.” of potential misunderstanding and false The colonel roared in response to his intimacy. Without the local language civilian subordinate’s unwelcome candor. — and the associated grasp of local “I don’t care! We reported 100-percent election success. behavior, customs and traditions — Americans are blind That’s what Saigon and Washington wanted, and we gave it men and women in dark rooms groping wildly to compre- to them.” hend. As Graham Greene describes the young idealist in From the White House to the working level in districts his classic 1955 novel, The Quiet American: “I never knew and provinces, a relentless propaganda of success ruled our a man who had better motives for all the trouble he decade-long Vietnam experience. Prefiguring our current caused.” commitment in Iraq, the crusade in Southeast Asia seized America’s newest quagmire recalls a conversation I had on all available evidence (especially the American weak- a few years ago with an elderly Vietnamese man at a ness for statistics) to validate the nationbuilding vision. Borders bookstore in Tyson’s Corner, Va. We were inspect- But the legendary “light at the end of the tunnel” we per- ing a shelf of books about Vietnam, and our common inter- ceived turned out to be a roaring locomotive of harsh real- est led to a long discussion in the store’s café. A small, frail ity headed straight for us. man with a tired, resigned look on his face, Minh had been an officer in the South Vietnamese army, spent five years Change Must Come from Within in a re-education camp, and then escaped to join his fami- In 2000, George Bush and his principal foreign affairs ly in the United States. adviser, Condoleezza Rice, sharply criticized the Clinton “You Americans never understood our country.” His administration’s nationbuilding efforts and rejected any English was halting, heavily accented, but fluent. U.S. role as a global policeman. The Bush administration “You’re right,” I agreed. “But the Vietnamese never reversed direction sharply after 9/11, however, arguing that understood the Americans either.” Islamic terrorism created a new, overriding mandate to Mr. Minh sipped his tea. “Perhaps. All the talk about transform Middle Eastern societies. Terrorism replaced democracy confused my people. It really did not seem to communism as the global enemy that drives, sanctions and have anything to do with them. They wanted only to be sometimes distorts America’s worldwide mission. left alone and survive, the way Vietnamese have done for Even accepting the new strategic vocation, however, centuries. We were just a stage for your foreign policy. It does not change the practical reality we experienced in became your war and not our war. Once you gave up and Vietnam and continue to ignore today: the United States left, there was no reason to fight.”

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 51 Why should our plan to transform Iraq be any more successful than the decade-long effort to transform Vietnam?

Reality vs. Idealism America’s passion, despite the best of intentions, eventually becomes the problem, especially in a foreign society engulfed by an enormous U.S. pres- ence. No one questions the awesome power of our armed forces, irrefutably demonstrated twice in wars with Iraq. And no one underestimates the ser- vice or the sacrifice of the professional military and their families. But the ability to win on the battle- field should not be mistaken for the capacity to reinvent another country’s social, political and cultural funda- mentals. We have chased this fantasy in Vietnam and Iraq with equally dis- appointing and tragic results. Why should our plan to transform Iraq be any more successful than the protract- ed effort to transform Vietnam that cost so many lives and so much trea- sure? Despite the stumbling attempts at nationbuilding, our obsession with the distinctive American model always seems to cloud our judgment about a world of many different historical and cultural backgrounds. We tend to see the world that we want rather than the world as it is. Others simply do not define freedom and democracy in the same way that we have cultivated and worked out over 230 years. Lamentably, that lesson from Vietnam has been lost on the highway to Baghdad.

52 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 “PAINTING THE SKY”: A SCHOOL GROWS IN ACEH

IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI, A U.S. NGO COLLABORATES WITH INDONESIANS TO BUILD A SCHOOL THAT PROMISES TO HAVE A LASTING EFFECT.

BY MARGARET SULLIVAN

arly in January 2005, within days of the long-term binational associations that are an outgrowth of the tsunami disaster in Indonesia, our individual Foreign Service engagement in countries and phone in Alexandria, Va., rang. “Mar- regions. It conducts wide-ranging public education pro- garet, have I got a deal for you! The grams such as open forums, seminars, publications, scholarly U.S.-Indonesia Society is starting an exchanges and cultural performances to foster better under- Aceh school project,” said longtime standing between Americans and Indonesians — but had friend retired Ambassador Alphonse never done bricks and mortar. La Porta, a former Jakarta neighbor and then president of The society’s decision to help in Aceh came in response to EUSINDO. “Would you coordinate it?” the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004. I gulped. We first went to Indonesia in 1967, when my After the earthquake fractured buildings, the tsunami scour- husband was assigned to the embassy political section, and ed everything up to two to three kilometers inland along the have spent most of our professional lives in the Malay world. west coast of the province on the northern end of Sumatra, I taught English at the University of Indonesia and, with four the epicenter of the disaster, then continued around the tip children, got involved in education design through the tran- and a short distance along the Straits of Malacca. Whole sition of the Joint Embassy School into the Jakarta communities had been swept away, leaving 170,000 people International School. I then repeated the process in Cebu, dead and half a million displaced (out of a pre-tsunami pop- Philippines and — needing a portable pursuit, as trailing ulation of about 4.2 million). Some 3,000 schools and 2,500 spouses do — parlayed my growing experience into a range teachers were lost, as were about 1,000 civil servants, the of public education, project development and intercultural backbone of provincial and local government. communications undertakings. But I had never built any- Aceh, located at the northwest tip of Indonesia’s island of thing (well, the vice consul’s house in Kaduna, Nigeria, but Sumatra, was already one of Indonesia’s poorest provinces, that’s another story), and had never been in Aceh. Plus my despite vast riches in oil and minerals. The province had Indonesian was creaky. “Yes,” I replied. been wracked by 30 years of conflict between the Indonesian Amb. La Porta, who had been consul in Medan, the government and the Free Aceh Movement, devastating biggest city on Sumatra, filled me in on USINDO’s plan. much of whatever infrastructure existed, including schools. Founded in 1994 by the former American ambassador to It suffered from endemic corruption (when the tsunami hit, Indonesia, Edward E. Masters, and former Indonesian the governor was in jail and the acting governor was in Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, the society represents the best of charge), and has been essentially isolated from the rest of Indonesia. Margaret Sullivan, the wife of a retired FSO, has spent Even so, Aceh has its own proud historical memory and four decades living in or working on issues related to language, and a sense of identity as an ancient center of trade Indonesia and the Malay world. and education — the “front porch” of Islam in the country

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 53 with the world’s largest Muslim popu- lation. Acehnese are 98-percent Mus- lim, compared to 85 percent of Indo- nesians generally, with the added dis- tinction that the population is deeply devout, observant and conservative, so ingrained in their faith that most are not fanatic about it.

Launching the Project Two months to the day after the tsunami, I deplaned in Banda Aceh (the capital of Nanggroe Aceh Margaret Sullivan Darussalam, the formal name of the Painted on the remains of the house are the date of the tsunami and the names province) to conduct a needs assess- and ages of three children. ment. At first view, Aceh was, and is, quintessential Southeast Asia: rugged- standing wall. Some of these had pre-service practice under the guid- ly lush, with a backdrop of mountains freshly painted house numbers, the ance of master teachers. and rice fields forming a carpet date of the tsunami, or the names and The USINDO Board opted for the around the airport. ages of children lost. The whole area lasting impact that the proposal New arrivals would not be aware of was studded with small signs and flags promised. The society would collabo- the recent disaster if they did not signifying ownership. This was practi- rate with Indonesians on a project know. At the airport that February cal, as land records were either they wanted — a key to eventual suc- morning, the remains of massive relief destroyed or not there to begin with. cess. Led by Pak Darni, key universi- efforts were apparent but the scene Reconstructing ownership and restitu- ty staff formed the core of the project was no longer round-the-clock frantic. tion (unlikely as that is) are continuing team. The university provided land on Helicopters from many countries problems. In another sense, the mark- the campus — critical because obtain- stood at the end of the airstrip, and ers were also an affirmation that life ing land free and clear is a constant there was a hubbub of languages and belonging go on. reconstruction stumbling block. among the relief workers arriving or On the way to the airport to return The third major partner is the awaiting arrivals. The abrupt opening home with several project possibilities Sampoerna Foundation. One of In- of Aceh to the outside world is one of to propose, I made a cold call on Dr. donesia’s leading NGOs, it had been the lasting benefits to have come out Darni M. Daud, then vice rector (and doing educational work in Aceh for of the disaster. now rector) of Syiah Kuala University several years prior to the tsunami. Only part of Banda Aceh was in Banda Aceh. Ever since his return Sampoerna’s field representative, destroyed. About half of the city was 10 years earlier from graduate school Ramang Basuki, who first arrived in above the reach of the tsunami, but at Oregon State University, where his Aceh on the same plane as I, has been not the earthquake; and the rest, at sea daughters studied in American class- the truly irreplaceable man on the level, is flat. As I was being driven rooms, he had been dreaming — or, in ground. By August 2005, an MOU toward town that first time, my initial his phrase, “Cet langit” (literally, paint- was signed and establishment of the impression was one of bustle and ing the sky) — of a replicable center Syiah Kuala University Lab School dynamism, a frontier boom feeling. for educational excellence that would was under way. However, further into the city, we serve both students and teachers, guar- Building a school requires funds. drove down streets of empty shop- anteeing the future of education for Once the project was announced, gifts houses that became progressively generations. began to arrive, even from school- more damaged. Toward the coast, Pak Darni presented his “lab children. In particular, there was a almost everything was completely flat- school” vision, full-blown, as more pledge from Do Something, an orga- tened rubble, an unending yellowish- than just a building. High school stu- nization in New York that believes that gray sea out to the pristine blue ocean. dents would benefit from innovative by pooling their efforts, individual stu- There were cement house foot- teaching and modern facilities, while dents can make a difference. These prints amid indistinguishable junk. students in the university’s education gifts were announced at a USINDO Here and there were fragments of college would have opportunities for dinner in Washington for Indonesia’s

54 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoy- textbook storage room) and are innovative in a system that often is not. ono, in May 2005. Altogether, school- encouraged to do independent re- A yayasan (managing foundation) children in the United States and search; a computer/language lab; and was formed, mainly from the universi- those connected to the Jakarta Inter- science labs. The entire school will ty community and provincial and city national School contributed about have Internet connectivity and, at the education department representatives, $300,000. neighborhood leaders’ request, a com- but with USINDO, the Sampoerna Subsequently, major corporations munity center that can be used for Foundation and the Jakarta Inter- led by Newmont Mining AIG, Exxon- adult education after hours. national School as members, as well. Mobil and Boeing, as well as the char- Large, low windows were the The university named a principal, Ibu itable arms of Bank Indonesia and biggest point of contention (the small Syarifah, and a vice principal, Pak Bank Danamon in Jakarta, provided windows in traditional classrooms are Nasir, both well-qualified, delightful, over $2 million. JIS trained the prin- above students’ seated height). “The thoughtful and committed people. cipals and librarians and provided students will fall out.” “They will fight They have been central to the plan- engineers to monitor construction. and break them.” “If they can see out, ning. IBM has given computers and train- they will not pay attention to the The school advisory committee ing. Many other companies and indi- teacher.” At last, truth: “Well, in that decided that all of the teachers should viduals have also provided funds and case, we will just have to have better be young, so that they would not be much-needed equipment. teachers.” Pak Jalaluddin and his locked into old ways of teaching. Of Thus, bit by bit, the package came design team from the university engi- 200 applicants for teaching positions, together. And so did the school, slow- neering department translated these 13 were chosen. In June 2007, 102 ly, in fits and starts, just like the world ideas into working designs and, ulti- students were chosen out of 650 appli- around it. mately, into a cluster of lovely build- cants for the first class of 10th-graders. ings that are an elegant simplification Sixty come from the immediately sur- Ideas into Reality of Acehnese traditional architecture. rounding neighborhood to keep it a The central players (Pak Ramang Meanwhile, ongoing discussions truly community-based school, serving and I are the only non-Acehnese) have with the university’s College of Edu- an area that had been badly damaged been a team for nearly three years now cation and Training and the provincial and dislocated in the tsunami and the — again an advantage that other pro- and local education departments previous troubles. jects in Aceh have not always had. As focused on how the school should Rather than taking only the bright- project coordinator, I became a com- operate so that it fits within the nation- est test takers from all over the city, the muter — making 16 round trips in 34 al education system, yet at the same students were chosen for their range months. The effort involved honchoing time retains the special status that will of abilities and backgrounds. The design and construction, facilitating the allow it to be truly transformative and school motto is “Everyone can learn.” requirements for turning empty space into a truly exemplary school, and coor- dinating the myriad details that go into the complicated partnerships that are making it possible. We held discussions about how space affects learning and fosters pos- itive change and, therefore, what we needed to build: larger, more flexible, light and airy classrooms in safe build- ings with multiple exits that can with- stand earthquakes. And because they are two-story structures, these build- ings provide neighborhood safe havens should there be — God forbid —

another tsunami. Margaret Sullivan The design also includes a func- Students at their lockers between class — lockers are not the norm in tioning library, where students can Indonesian schools, nor are large trash bins (so that students can be responsi- actually use books (not the traditional ble for keeping the school picked up) or the habit of asking questions.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 55 Ultimately, the school will have 300 students in grades 10-12.

The Next Phase On July 16, 2007, the Indonesian flag was raised at the Lab School, and the inaugural class of the new, three- year senior high school was welcomed. That opening day was the first step of the project’s next phase. Now the pri- mary responsibility has shifted to the school community: the yayasan, the school staff, the parents and the teach- ers. Much remains to be worked through. Complicated and frustrating Margaret Sullivan as it can be, constructing buildings is During the first week of school (no uniforms yet), students enjoy phys ed. easier than creating and nurturing suc- cessful schools. ters of roads had been built. And the malpractice and bring miscreants to The tsunami also accelerated re- work continues. trial — which is, in and of itself, newal of peace negotiations between remarkable. Aceh and Jakarta, producing an agree- Lessons Learned • The planning required is over- ment on Aug. 15, 2005, two days • International organizations and whelming and, of necessity, has gone before the country’s 60th anniversary big charitable agencies that are experts by fits and starts. (So many of the basic of independence. The first-ever at relief are not always good at rehabil- institutions — and the people to staff provincial election took place in Aceh itation and reconstruction. Donors them — were destroyed or not there in in December 2006, overwhelmingly often push for “getting things built the first place.) electing a former Free Aceh leader, now” — before there has been time • Labor and construction material Irwandi Yusuf, as governor. for thoughtful planning or bringing shortages, compounded by the need Irwandi is actively confronting the the communities along. to bring everything in by sea or over a province’s immense challenges, not • There has been too much staking narrow, pot-holed highway from the least of which is integrating for- out of territory as “belonging” to one Medan, caused prices to skyrocket, mer insurgents into an imbalanced NGO or another (then not necessarily nearly doubling early reconstruction economy with vast resources desig- following through with promised cost estimates. nated for tsunami-afflicted areas and efforts), and not enough thoughtful Getting to know individuals is the more limited resources for allocation collaboration among them. Schools, most rewarding aspect of spending elsewhere. Planning for the long- for instance, have been rebuilt but not time in Aceh — and, compared with term sustainability of the infrastruc- furnished. rebuilding and changes in the land- ture that has been rebuilt or is still on • Only so much money can be scape, the hardest to write about. the drawing board is an additional absorbed into the wreckage of disaster Everyone has lost someone, or many challenge. and an already poor economy at any someones. Yet the Acehnese are wel- Responsibility for tsunami recon- given time. So funds remain to be coming, accepting, proud, reserved struction will be transferred from the spent, even though most of what was and persevering. These friendships national government-established Re- pledged has been obligated. Prodi- are a special blessing. habilitation and Reconstruction Agen- gious efforts have been undertaken As for the lessons I’ve learned from cy, or BRR, to the province in May and achieved — but not always pro- the project itself: patience and a sense 2009. As of June 2007, while some ducing the right thing in the right of humor are all-important. Things families were still in temporary hous- place at the right time. work — or don’t — in their own time. ing, many barracks had been razed; • With so much money around, Construction goes better with close 84,387 permanent houses (of the there is corruption — notwithstanding monitoring, usually. Great as it is, you 128,000 needed), 405 health facilities BRR’s insistence on and active prac- can’t count on e-mail, particularly (about 125 percent of the require- tice of transparency. Several NGOs when you need it most. And I still ment), 804 schools and 1,586 kilome- have stopped projects to weed out have so much to learn.

56 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 AFSAAmerican Foreign ServiceNEWS Association • January 2008

VOLUNTEERS STEP UP TO FILL IRAQ OPENINGS, AGAIN Iraq “Prime Candidate” In This Issue: Exercise Canceled BRIEFS: BOARD CHANGES ...... 58 BY SHAWN DORMAN SURVEY CHARTS...... 59 DISSENT AWARDS ...... 61 wo weeks after the prime candidate unjustified criticism of the Foreign Service VP FCS: ON THE JOB ...... 62 exercise began — an effort to fill the in the media. A brief chronology follows: VP RETIREE: DEFENDING T48 remaining open State Foreign Oct. 26: Friday evening, Director Gener- OUR OWN ...... 63 Service Iraq positions for summer 2008 (out al Harry K. Thomas Jr. sends out an ADAIR SPEAKER SERIES LAUNCH...65 of a total of 252) — it was called off. ALDAC telegram (“A Call to Service”) AFSA SCHOLARS ...... 66 Enough volunteers had come forward to announcing that the State Department had 2008 DUES RATES...... 70 fill all the jobs. Once again, the Foreign identified “prime candidates” for the 48 CLASSIFIEDS ...... 70 Service answered the call to staff the biggest positions in Iraq still open for summer 2008. U.S. mission in the world. AFSA’s companion message goes out AFSA-HQ UNDER RENOVATION The two weeks between the announce- shortly afterwards, offering to provide infor- ment of the directed assignments exercise mation and advice to those members des- and the cancellation of that exercise were ignated as prime candidates. Pardon dominated by an often emotional debate Oct. 26: The Associated Press reports Our Progress within the State Department and a wave of that State will initiate “the largest call-up of he AFSA headquarters building, at Continued on page 64 21st and E Streets N.W., is being ren- Tovated. Temporary headquarters are VIEWS FROM INSIDE THE SERVICE located in Suite 1250 of State Annex 15 at 1800 N. Kent St. in Rosslyn. (The Labor AFSA Opinion Poll Results Highlight Management Office in the Truman Building has not moved.) Phone and fax Disturbing Trends numbers and e-mail addresses remain the BY STEVE KASHKETT, STATE VICE PRESIDENT same for all AFSA staff.

FSA’s third annual electronic opinion poll attracted a record number of respon- dents — nearly 4,300 active-duty State Foreign Service members at virtually every AFSA Aoverseas post and in every domestic bureau — and provides a window into the Constructive thinking of our colleagues worldwide on the major issues facing our profession. Dissent As was the case in our analysis of survey results in past years, the thousands of often lengthy personal comments entered by respondents were at least as interesting and reveal- Awards ing as the basic statistical data, which are shown in the charts. p. 61 The poll data and comments reveal a Foreign Service frustrated by the growing over- seas pay disparity, struggling with Iraq staffing concerns, disturbed by perceptions of pervasive unfairness in assignments/promotions and diminishing family-friendliness in the department and largely dissatisfied with the 7th floor’s leadership in many key areas. Overseas comparability pay continues to rank as the top priority for our members. Continued on page 59

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 57 A F S A N AFSANEWSBRIEFS E W Life in the Foreign Service Notes from the Boards Both Ambassador Michael Guest and S BY BRIAN AGGELER Margaret Riccardelli resigned from their positions as active-duty State representa- tives to the AFSA Governing Board due to their retirement from the Foreign Service. For many years, Amb. Guest pushed for rights for Members of Household (and was honored in 2006 with a Constructive Dissent Award from AFSA for those efforts), but ultimately left the Service over a lack of progress. Amb. Howard Jeter resigned from his position as a retiree representative on the AFSA Governing Board in November due to scheduling conflicts. The Governing Board appointed two new active-duty State representatives, Anne Aguilera and Shayna Steinger, and one new retiree rep, Ambassador Barbara Bodine. Aguilera is a management-cone officer who joined the Foreign Service in March 1986 and has served in San Jose, Bogota, Bridgetown, Santo Domingo, Lima, Baghdad and Washington, D.C. She is cur- rently serving as the post management offi- cer for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau. Shayna Steinger joined the Foreign Service as a political officer in 1999. She has been posted to Sanaa, Baghdad, Beirut, Jeddah and Washington. She is currently serving as a desk officer in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau’s Office of Israel and Palesinian Affairs, responsible for Continued on page 62

AFSA HEADQUARTERS: Staff: Governing Board: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 Executive Director John Mamone: [email protected] Business Department STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: PRESIDENT: John Naland (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 Controller Twee Nguyen: [email protected] STATE VP: Steve Kashkett USAID AFSA OFFICE: Accounting Assistant Jon Reed: [email protected] (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 Labor Management USAID VP: Francisco Zamora General Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] FCS AFSA OFFICE: FAS VP: Vacant Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] FCS VP: Donald Businger Grievance Attorneys Neera Parikh: [email protected] and Holly Rich: [email protected] AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org RETIREE VP: Robert W. Farrand Office Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] FSJ: [email protected] USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: [email protected] SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris PRESIDENT: [email protected] USAID Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] TREASURER: Andrew Winter STATE VP: [email protected] Member Services STATE REPS: Anne Aguilera, Oscar DeSoto, RETIREE VP: [email protected] Director Janet Hedrick: [email protected] USAID VP: [email protected] Representative Cory Nishi: [email protected] David Firestein, Jim McRea, FCS VP: [email protected] Web-site & Database Associate: vacant Sandy Robinson, Shayna Steinger, Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: [email protected] Daphne Titus, Andrea Tomaszewicz AFSA News Outreach Programs Editor Shawn Dorman: [email protected] Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: [email protected] USAID REP: Michael Henning (202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244 Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] FCS REP: Stephen Anderson Congressional Affairs Director Ian Houston: [email protected] On the Web: www.afsa.org/news Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: [email protected] FAS REP: Vacant Scholarship Director Lori Dec: [email protected] IBB REP: Al Pessin How to Contact Us: to Contact How Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: [email protected] RETIREE REPS: Barbara Bodine, Elderhostel Coordinator Janice Bay: [email protected] Herman Cohen, Harry Geisel, David Passage

58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 A F Survey • Continued from page 57 system, an issue that ranks a close second to the growing over- S Numerous respondents expressed outrage that they now have seas pay disparity in our members’ priorities. Numerous respon- A to accept close to a 20-percent cut in base salary when they leave dents cited glaring examples of preferential treatment of certain Washington to serve overseas, while senior senior officers, people in key staff positions officers and employees of other U.S. agen- and inside “favorites” in certain bureaus. N cies do not. A whopping 70 percent of This mood clearly has an impact on peo- E W members attached “high importance” to the The steady shift toward greater ple’s views of Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s effort to correct the inequity, while anoth- call on the Foreign Service to do its duty by S er 21 percent gave it “medium importance.” hardship and unaccompanied volunteering for Iraq, which many decried With regard to Iraq, a clear majority as selective. believes that war-zone postings should service has highlighted the The steady shift towards greater hardship remain voluntary; some 68 percent oppose apprehensions on managing and unaccompanied service has highlight- directed assignments as unnecessary and ed the apprehensions of many of our col- undesirable. More than 2,000 FS members family life during the course of a leagues about their ability to manage their — including 110 currently serving in Iraq Foreign Service career. family life during the course of a Foreign and 295 who said they had previously done Service career. The survey comments indi- tours of duty there — provided comments cate a pervasive desire for the department on ways to encourage more people to vol- to take a much more active, long-term unteer for Iraq assignments. Many themes emerged repeated- approach to addressing the problems of family member ly: increasing the Separate Maintenance Allowance, getting tax employment overseas, the lack of status for members of house- exemptions for war-zone service, awarding meritorious step hold, the dwindling school options for children at many posts increases, shortening the length of a standard unaccompanied and the urgent need for a better support structure for families tour. But a large number of comments suggested a fundamen- separated by unaccompanied assignments. Many respondents tal disagreement with the whole approach of seeking ever greater linked this latter issue to their willingness to serve in Iraq, as well. incentives to staff an escalating list of Provincial Reconstruction This electronic opinion poll suggests one reason for declin- Teams and an expanding embassy; instead, many hundreds of ing morale: relatively few members appear to believe that the employees urged a downsizing of the U.S. mission there, both senior department leadership is working on their behalf. Only for practical and policy reasons. a small percentage of respondents rated as either “very good” or The survey comments reflect widespread resentment over a “good” the efforts of Sec. Rice and other senior officials to defend perceived lack of even-handedness in our assignment/promotion the Foreign Service (18 percent), to secure resources for the depart- ment and its people (14 percent), or to get Congress to autho- rize overseas comparability pay (12 percent).

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 59 A F S Rank-Order Priorities A * median score is the score above which are 50 percent of the responses and below which are 50 percent of the responses. The lower the score, the more votes for that priority. N E Priority for AFSA Advocacy Median Score Rank W Overseas comparability pay 3.7 1 S Fairness in assignments/promotions 3.8 2 Family-friendliness within the Foreign Service 4.8 3 Iraq staffing and security concerns 5.1 4 Opposition to directed assignments to war zones 5.3 5 Freedom to express dissent at State 6.2 6 Role of FS careerists in U.S. foreign policymaking 6.3 7 Unqualified political appointees 6.6 8 Members of Household 7.9 9 Excessive penalties for security infractions/investigations 7.9 10

60 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 A F Professional issues, while typically of S less immediate import to members than A “bread and butter” concerns, nonethe- AFSANEWSBRIEFS less remain very much on the minds of our colleagues. Nearly half of the respon- N dents listed “freedom to express dissent CarMax Won’t Sell to FS E W at State” and “role of FS careerists in U.S. AFSA has learned that CarMax has a policy not to sell a car to anyone who foreign policymaking” among their top S plans to take the car out of the U.S. We have heard that the policy was initiated five priorities for AFSA advocacy over the coming year. based on security concerns about how the cars could be used overseas. Our survey results point to one very dis- AFSA is contacting CarMax to suggest that members of the Foreign Service turbing trend. In response to the question, be exempt from this policy. “Have developments in the last few years made you more or less likely to remain FSN Relief Fund Needs Replenishment in the Foreign Service for a full career?”, The State Department’s Foreign Service National Relief Fund is in need of funds with which to some 44 percent said they would be less assist all overseas agencies’ FSNs who have suffered losses due to hurricanes and other disas- likely to remain. Significantly, this per- ters. Foreign Service members may donate by check, credit card or payroll deduction (go to centage was the same for those respon- dents still in the entry-level ranks. This State’s intranet site at web.rm.state.gov for details). FS retirees, FSNs and other locally-engaged raises serious questions about the long- employees may make check or cash contributions. Check contributions should be sent to State term health of the Foreign Service — Department Gift Fund Coordinator Donna Bordley, Department of State, RM/CFO Rm. 7427, and argues for immediate action to deal 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC 20520. Make checks payable to the U.S. Department of with many of the concerns highlighted State and write “FSN Emergency Relief Fund” on the note line. Please include a return address above. so a letter of acknowledgement for charitable tax-deduction purposes can be sent.

AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS & EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS Last Call for Nominations: Honor the Dissenters

FSA needs your help in identifying AFSA needs your help to continue to strated outstanding leadership, dedication, and nominating Foreign Service honor loyal opposition. If you know of a initiative and imagination in assisting the A personnel at all career levels who deserving colleague, please don’t delay. families of Foreign Service employees serv- have demonstrated the intellectual courage Send in your nomination now. The four ing abroad. and integrity to challenge conventional wis- awards for constructive dissent are: • The Avis Bohlen Award for a fami- dom, to question the status quo and to • The Tex Harris Award for Foreign ly member of a Foreign Service employ- stand up for their convictions, regardless Service Specialists ee whose volunteer activities with the of the consequences. • The Averell Harriman Award for American and foreign communities at post The open exchange of different points Entry-Level Officers (FS 6-4) have done the most to advance the inter- of view should not only be encouraged • The William Rivkin Award for Mid- ests of the U.S. within our Foreign Service, but should be Career Officers (FS 3-1) Further details on nomination proce- recognized and honored. As Edward R. • The Christian Herter Award for dures, additional guidelines and a nomi- Murrow said long ago: “We must never Senior Officers (FE OC-CA) nation form can be found on the AFSA confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the Nominations for the AFSA Exemplary Web site at www.afsa.org/awards.cfm. loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of Performance Awards are also being accept- From there, you can link to articles about America dies with it.” ed. These awards are: the AFSA awards and find a comprehen- Last year, AFSA presented only two • The Delavan Award for an office sive listing of past award winners. Constructive Dissent Awards, both to management specialist who has signifi- Please send questions to Barbara mid-level officers. We received no nom- cantly contributed to post or office effec- Berger, Coordinator for Professional inations that met the award criteria in the tiveness and morale. Issues, at [email protected], or by telephone entry-level, specialist or senior-level cat- • The M. Juanita Guess Award for a at (202) 719-9700. The deadline for sub- egories. community liaison officer who has demon- mitting nominations is Feb. 29.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 61 A F S V.P. VOICE: FCS BY DONALD BUSINGER AFSANEWSBRIEFS A Board • Continued from page 58 On the Job the West Bank and Gaza. Before entering N s we approach the summer 2008 assignment period and the Foreign Service, Steinger worked as a science policy analyst at both the National E my own reassignment from AFSA VP to a foreign post, W Institutes of Health and NASA, where she A thoughts of a succession loom just as the FCS man- began her federal career as a Presidential S agement team (at least the officers) is also turning over en masse. Management Fellow in 1991. What can I tell my eventual successor about the ups and downs During a three-decade Foreign Service of being the AFSA VP for Commerce/FCS? career, Barbara Bodine served as ambas- Within Commerce/FCS, it is well known that the AFSA VP sador to the Republic of Yemen from 1997 position is a half-time job. For several years, the other half of the job has been as senior to 2001, as deputy principal officer in adviser to the deputy assistant secretary for international operations. Commerce/FCS Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War and as deputy chief of mission in Kuwait during is the only Foreign Service agency that has a non-full-time AFSA VP. the 1990 Iraqi invasion and occupation. In Having just gone through the 2007 Selection and Promotion Boards cycle, along 2003, she was seconded to the Department with the “pay for performance” (or, if you prefer, “performance pay” cash awards) exer- of Defense to return to Iraq. Since retiring cise, the first thing I can tell a successor is that this job provides virtually no chance for from the Foreign Service in 2004, Amb. promotion and little to no chance of cash awards, Bodine has held positions at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government The best way to gain a sense regardless of how well the AFSA VP performs under either of the two hats. (On the plus side, and MIT’s Center for International Studies, of the issues we deal with there is time-in-class relief.) and lectures at a number of other universi- ties. The second piece of wisdom to pass on is that year-round is to visit our Josh Glazeroff left the FSJ Editorial Board the AFSA VP has excellent opportunities to pro- last fall and David McFarland joined. AFSA page of the AFSA Web site vide significant and responsive support to FCS appreciates Glazeroff’s valuable contribu- AFSA members facing problems big and small. tions to the Journal. AFSA also appreciates at www.afsa.org/fcs/. In that task, despite the half-time status of the posi- the service to the Governing Board and the tion, the AFSA VP receives a great deal of sup- membership of all the departing board port from the AFSA Governing Board and the AFSA staff. members. Welcome to the new members of both boards. On the other hand, our own agency appears to be only half-serious about its rela- tions with AFSA. Our 2005 proposals were finally accepted (in part) in mid-2007, but Last Call: AFSA Scholarship our 2006 and 2007 proposals have remained largely in limbo, with only promises of responsiveness. The AFSA VP’s relations with management may be contentious (as Applications Due Feb. 6 they were under Peter Frederick) or amicable (as they were under Chuck Ford). My Children of Foreign Service employees experience has been that relations tend to be mostly cordial but also largely ineffectu- who would like to be considered for the al, with a few exceptions. Our agency has maintained a dysfunctional approach to deal- AFSA financial aid college scholarship ing with AFSA. program for the 2008/09 school year What about day-to-day operations and impact? The AFSA VP can bring customer need to submit their applications by service to both members and management in the same way that FCS is highly respon- Feb. 6. Only tax-dependent children of sive to companies seeking export promotion assistance. The VP handles grievances, active-duty, retired, separated and problems related to tenure and discipline, assignments, benefits and a host of other issues deceased Foreign Service members are that affect our officer corps of over 200 (admittedly small compared to the thousands at State). The best way to gain a sense of the issues we deal with year-round is to visit eligible to apply. AFSA funds students our page of the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/fcs/. who attend both domestic and overseas The future of Foreign Commercial Service officers at the Department of colleges and universities. Commerce is ambiguous. As I noted in one of my first VP columns (“Whither the Academic and Art Merit Award appli- Commercial Service?” AFSA News, December 2005), our budget and roles encompass cations also need to be submitted by numerous strains that influence decisionmakers in Washington. Feb. 6 by Foreign Service high school The influence of AFSA on the Foreign Commercial Service is a small part of larg- students in their senior year. Please visit er relationships — the administration vs. Congress, State Department vs. Commerce, www.afsa.org/scholar/ for AFSA and FCS within the International Trade Administration — that seem to leave com- mercial officers with little clout. That said, AFSA is all we have. Please keep your mem- Scholarship Program details or call bership current and support my successor — AFSA is still your key advocate and your Scholarship Director Lori Dec at 1 (800) voice back home. 704 2372, ext. 504, or (202) 944-5504.

62 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 A F V.P. VOICE: RETIREE BY ROBERT W. “BILL” FARRAND S A Defending Our Own N E here to begin? I thought of being cute: “It was the Department’s right to assign its employ- W best of times; it was the worst of times …,” but quick- ees where they are most needed and FS S Wly dropped the idea because nothing qualified for the employees’ rights to express their pref- former. As I write in mid-November, all of AFSA’s energies erences in this regard. An uncomfort- are being directed to explaining to a confused public the ratio- able straddle? Not at all. The record nale behind the Foreign Service’s personnel assignment system. is clear: over the past 40 years, the Although the story has a happy ending, for now, it’s worth Foreign Service assignment system has successfully and con- retelling. tinually staffed over 260 diplomatic posts around the globe. Many For those few retirees who may have missed the brouhaha of these, including Baghdad, are in highly dangerous environ- over directed assignments, I’ll boil it down: In order to staff ments. Over 1,500 FS personnel have already voluntarily served Embassy Baghdad and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams — in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 200-plus volunteers had already described by Secretary Rice as our most important diplomatic stepped forward to fill next summer’s quota of 252. mission in the world — with some 250 of the Service’s best (to In the days immediately following the town meeting, anoth- meet Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s request), the State Department, er 19 officers stepped forward, thus reducing the shortfall to just relying on its traditional and tested system of assigning officers over 10 percent of the based on voluntary preference, came up short of the needed 252 total needed. Pretty by some 48 volunteers. Sec. Rice declared that unless a suffi- Unfortunately, news of the good numbers if you cient number of FSOs stepped forward by late November, the Secretary’s decision was first look at the system over- department would be forced to direct that number of assign- all: 90 percent of posi- ments to Iraq, a management tool last resorted to during the seen on the front page of the tions filled. The current Vietnam War nearly 40 years ago. Washington Post, causing a worldwide staffing norm Unfortunately, news of the Secretary’s decision was first seen is only about 80 percent. on the front page of the Washington Post, causing a furor with- furor within the Service. Within two weeks, in the Service. In order to calm the waters, the director gener- enough volunteers had al hosted a town meeting. The gathering became a testy exchange stepped forward to fill all between the DG and the audience of some 300 FS employees 48 Iraq positions. There would be no directed assignments after about the necessity of directing assignments to what one — all! Much ado about nothing? Yes, but for the fact that the nos- repeat, one — career officer injudiciously described as a “poten- trils of critics of the Foreign Service were (and I suspect still are) tial death sentence.” fully flared by this unhappy episode. John Naland’s essay, “Telling Unknown to the participants, an Associated Press reporter Our Story,” lays out the arguments for rebutting these critics was present and immediately filed a story highlighting the death as cogently as I’ve seen. (See www.afsa.org/101707presupdate. sentence comment. The AP report flashed across the country, cfm.) igniting a torrent of comment that generally put the Foreign Perhaps tellingly, Karen DeYoung’s report on the cancella- Service in a bad light, especially when its voluntary assignment tion of the directed assignments exercise in the Nov. 16 system was compared to the uniformed military whose mem- Washington Post, concludes: “While the controversy is expect- bers are routinely ordered into harm’s way. ed to subside for now, internal strains over personnel shortages In the rush to comment on the Foreign Service assignment and policy are likely to reappear as long as Iraq continues to be system, the media, with few exceptions, focused more on the a dangerous diplomatic assignment and to drain resources from sensational than on the factual. In the days following the town other posts.” meeting, AFSA President John Naland and State VP Steve Several members of Team AFSA vented their frustration to Kashkett faced a barrage of inquiries from the media, the pub- me that retirees were not heard from in this “worst of times” lic and AFSA members. The task before Team AFSA, working for the Foreign Service. They said retirees could have provid- nearly around the clock, was to educate an aroused public to ed an invaluable perspective on the Service to local media out- the inherent equity and discipline of our assignment system as lets across America. Some of us did speak up, but perhaps too e-mails flew, phones lit up and TV and radio interviewers few. Others even joined in the FS-bashing by echoing charges swooped down on them. we were hearing in the media. Next time, fellow retirees, let’s Through it all, AFSA stood squarely behind both the State do better at defending our own.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 63 A

F Prime Candidates • Continued from page 57 S sides of the Iraq staffing issue. Kashkett about the Foreign Service and Iraq staffing. A U.S. diplomats since the Vietnam War.” answers every one of the over 140 e-mails Naland appears on CNN and the News- Numerous national media report this story from State active-duty members identified Hour. Naland and Kashkett give several on Saturday morning, Oct. 27. as prime candidates. In addition, a pro- dozen interviews, including ABC, CBS, N Oct. 27, 30 and Nov 5: AFSA sends out fessional staff member from the AFSA NBC and others. Both Naland and Kash- E AFSAnet messages and telegrams updating State Labor Management Office also kett are quoted several times in the Wash- W members on the status of the prime can- weighs in on each prime candidate case ington Post and other national media, help- S didate exercise and calling on Foreign raised. ing to ensure more balanced coverage. Service members to consider volunteering Oct. 31: The DG holds a town hall meet- Nov. 2: Sec. Rice sends worldwide for Iraq positions. ing at the State Department to address con- telegram encouraging Foreign Service offi- Oct. 29: E-mail notifications begin to go cerns about the prime candidate exercise. cers to volunteer for Iraq assignments. out from State to approximately 230 For- The meeting turns contentious. Nov. 2: Naland and Kashkett meet with eign Service officers who have been iden- Oct. 31: An AP reporter present at this the director general urging him not to rush tified for one or more Iraq jobs. They have in-house meeting files a story including to implement directed assignments. AFSA 14 days to respond. details of the most emotional exchanges. expresses confidence that enough volun- Oct. 29: AFSA begins hearing from hun- The story is picked up by media all over the teers will step forward and that directed dreds of Foreign Service members about country, and is followed by numerous op- assignments will not be necessary. the prime candidate exercise. AFSA Presi- ed pieces criticizing the Foreign Service. Nov. 8: Steve Kashkett is a guest on the dent John Naland and AFSA VP Steve Nov. 1: AFSA is inundated with media Diane Rehm show along with Ambassador Kashkett respond personally to each of the requests for interviews and initiates major Thomas Krajeski (State assignments direc- hundreds of e-mails that come in on all outreach effort to correct misperceptions tor), Ambassador Edward “Skip” Gnehm (former director general) and former FSO John Brady Kiesling. Nov. 10: AFSA sends out a message, “Defending our Foreign Service in the AFSANEWSBRIEFS Current Crisis,” calling on Foreign Service members to help set the record straight in From the Legislative Affairs Desk the public mind by writing to their home- town newspapers. Members respond, and As we begin 2008, the 110th Congress has emergency itself on the staffing front. letters are soon published in the Boston a full agenda heading into the critical Further, the president’s Fiscal Year 2009 Globe, Sacramento Bee, Times Leader November elections. AFSA continues to budget request for international affairs, (Wilkes-Barre, Penn.), Bellingham Herald, weigh in with key decisionmakers on the known as the 150 Account, will reach the Ocean City Today, among others. An op- issue of pay modernization. We are proac- desks of lawmakers in early February follow- ed by Steve Kashkett in defense of the Foreign Service appears in the Nov. 20 tively engaging pressure points to influence ing his last State of the Union address. AFSA Washington Times. the process and continue to utilize unique and other organizations will collectively make Nov. 16: The Washington Post and other member stories to bridge differences. We the case as the budget moves forward that media report that the State Department will have not given up. We look forward to more Foreign Service positions must be fund- call off the directed assignments exercise working with the administration and ed, and that diplomats must be given the because enough volunteers came forward Congress to find a solution to this growing resources and tools they need to properly do for the 48 open Iraq positions. problem. their jobs in the field. Nov. 19: The State Department We also continue to work on appropria- A host of other issues — taxes, benefits and announces that qualified candidates for all tions issues. The president’s emergency sup- retiree concerns — round out AFSA’s full leg- 48 positions have volunteered and cancels plemental spending bill for the wars in islative agenda. We appreciate your support. the directed assignments exercise. Afghanistan and Iraq was still pending in late Please feel free to e-mail Legislative Affairs Nov. 19: The AP reports that the State Department has shifted focus to filling November. In October, AFSA worked hard to Director Ian Houston at [email protected] if positions in the next priority category for convince lawmakers that such emergency you have any comments or questions. summer 2008 — more than 500 jobs at spending for the wars should include funds Current information on what AFSA is doing unaccompanied posts. If those jobs are to expand the Foreign Service, which is on the Hill can be found on the legislative not filled by volunteers, directed assign- stretched too thin around the world. In affairs page of the Web site at www.afsa.org/ ments may follow. essence, the diplomatic corps is facing an congress.cfm. To Be Continued …

64 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 A F AMB. CHAMBERLIN ON “We don’t have the influence over Pakistan S U.S.-PAKISTAN RELATIONS that we think, and that Pakistanis fear.” She A highlighted the importance of Pakistan and AFSA Launches the role of Musharraf in the region, but con- N the Adair Speaker demned his suspension of the constitution. “He is not comfortable with the messiness E Series on American of democracy,” she said. W The event was made possible through S Diplomacy an endowed gift to the Fund for American Marc Nielsen Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin at the podium. BY MARC NIELSEN, EDITORIAL INTERN Diplomacy from former AFSA President Marshall Adair and Ginger Adair. This lec- Finn, daughter of Charles and Caroline mbassador Wendy Chamberlin, ture series will serve to educate students, Adair, attended the program on behalf of president of the Middle East Institute business leaders, senior citizens and the the Adair family. Ain Washington, D.C., inaugurated media on the importance of diplomacy and The perpetual gift from the Adair fam- the Caroline and Ambassador Charles W. a strong Foreign Service. ily to the Fund for American Diplomacy Adair Speaker Series on American Diplo- The Adair family created the endow- will be used to support and expand one of macy on Nov. 14, addressing some 110 fac- ment in 2006 in memory of Marshall’s par- AFSA’s most successful outreach programs, ulty and students at American University’s ents. Charles Adair, a retired ambassador the AFSA Speakers Bureau. The fund sup- School of International Studies. Amb. who spent 35 years in the Foreign Service, ports a variety of public programs that raise Chamberlin — who served as U.S. ambas- passed away at age 92 in 2006; Caroline had awareness about the importance of diplo- sador to Pakistan from 2001 to 2002, passed away 10 years earlier. Carol Adair macy and the U.S. Foreign Service. ambassador to the Laos People’s Demo- cratic Republic from 1996 to 1999, and as deputy high commissioner for refugees AFSANEWSBRIEFS from 2004 to 2006 — spoke on “The Critical Role of the Foreign Service in New Reports Highlight State Staffing Deficit Defending National Interests.” Reports continue to accumulate documenting the deficiencies in funding and staffing of the State Department Foreign Service: While serving as ambassador to Pakistan • The June 2007 “Managing Secretary Rice’s State Department” report by the Foreign in the months following the Sept. 11 attacks Affairs Council documented a 1,100-position deficit (www.facouncil.org/reports.html). in 2001, Amb. Chamberlin worked close- • The October 2007 “Embassy of the Future” report by the Center for Strategic & ly with President Pervez Musharraf to International Studies found a 1,015-position shortfall in current needs plus an additional advance the Bush administration’s coun- 1,079-position deficit in training and related needs terterrorism policies. In her talk, she (www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/embassy_of_the_future.pdf). described the challenges she faced, includ- • The November 2007 “Smart Power” report by CSIS cited a deficit of “more than 1,000” ing managing the complex relations with positions to meet training and related needs (www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071106_ the Pakistan government concerning mul- csissmartpowerreport.pdf). tiple crises, including the U.S. military An op-ed on Foreign Service staffing and funding issues by AFSA President John Naland, “Nation Lacks Bench Strength for Diplomacy,” was published in the Nov. 26 Federal Times. buildup in Pakistan related to operations AFSA continues to urge lawmakers to make at least an initial immediate down payment against the Taliban and al-Qaida in toward filling these staffing gaps, either in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget or in the Iraq supple- Afghanistan. mental request. AFSA also continues to urge the administration to make the strongest possi- Her description of the delicate person- ble push to obtain additional staffing resources for diplomacy. al relationship with Pres. Musharraf was especially timely. Offering insights into DACOR Scholarships Leadership Changes at Pakistan’s current leadership crisis, Amb. The DACOR Bacon House Foundation offers Chamberlin recommended that the U.S. USAID and State scholarships and fellowships to children and In November, the Senate confirmed continue to call for Pres. Musharraf to grandchildren of U.S. Foreign Service officers to the nomination of Henrietta Fore for resign from the military (as he later did) study at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, the positions of USAID administrator Conn., and at Yale University. All awards are and allow free and fair democratic elections. and director of United States foreign “Our relationship is with the Pakistani peo- based on merit. The deadline to apply is March 14. For more information about the DACOR assistance. The Senate also confirmed ple and is not based on Musharraf,” she awards and to find out how to apply, please Patrick Kennedy to be the under sec- stressed. contact Program Coordinator Kasia Helbin- retary of State for management, suc- Speaking about current U.S. relations Travis at (202) 682-0500, ext. 17, or ceeding U/S Fore. AFSA looks for- with Islamabad, Amb. Chamberlin said, [email protected]. ward to working with them.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 65 A F S A 2007-2008 Financial Aid Scholars N FSA is awarding $138,400 in undergraduate AFSA also offers Academic and Art Merit Awards E to recognize academic and art accomplishments of W college need-based scholarships for the 2007- S A2008 school year to 53 children of Foreign Foreign Service high school seniors. Under this pro- Service employees. In addition to the AFSA Financial gram, AFSA awarded a total of $28,500 in 2007 to 25 Aid Scholarships listed, AFSA administers the DACOR students. These $1,500 one-time-only awards Bacon House Scholarships as well as scholarships in were bestowed in May 2007, and the students were ac- the name of other organizations, such as the Associ- knowledged in the July/August Foreign Service Journal. ates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide and We are initiating a new tradition to honor AFSA the Public Members Association of the Foreign Service. financial aid scholarship recipients in the same way. All these organizations provide valuable support to the Scholars are listed here with photos where available. scholarship program. The students are shown in alphabetical order, with all

Financial Aid Scholarship Recipients

Morgan Anderson — attend- Paul Armstrong — attending David Bobb — attending St. Anne Byrne — attending the Alexandra Christoff — attend- ing Lynn University. Recipient the University of St. Thomas. Edward’s University. Recipient University of Colorado. Recip- ing Seton Hill University. of the DACOR Bacon House Recipient of the DACOR Bacon of the AFSA Robert Woods ient of the AFSA Landreth M. Recipient of the AFSA Selden Foundation Harriet C. Thur- House Foundation Harriet C. Bliss Memorial Scholarship, the Harrison Memorial Scholar- Chapin Memorial Scholarship, good Memorial Scholarship. Thurgood Memorial Scholar- AFSA Robert and Evelyn Curtis ship and the AFSA Julius C. the AFSA Susan Lowe Modi ship and the AFSA Clare H. Memorial Scholarship and the Holmes Memorial Scholarship. Memorial Scholarship and the Timberlake Memorial Scholar- AFSA Ernest V. Siracusa Mem- AFSA Evelyn K. and Horace J. ship. orial Scholarship. Nickels Memorial Scholarship.

Quinn Dempsey — attending Zachary Dubel — attending Caitlin Fennerty — attending Ryan Fennerty — attending Diego Fietz — attending Drexel the College of Charleston. Florida State University. St. John’s College. Recipient Yale University. Recipient of University. Recipient of the Recipient of the AFSA William Recipient of the DACOR Bacon of the AFSA Dorothy Osborne the AFSA Marcia Martin Moore DACOR Bacon House Founda- Benton Memorial Scholarship House Foundation Heyward G. and Theodore Xanthaky Mem- Memorial Scholarship and the tion Heyward G. Hill Memorial and the DACOR Bacon House Hill Memorial Scholarship. orial Scholarship. AFSA Jefferson Patterson Mem- Scholarship. Foundation Heyward G. Hill orial Scholarship. Scholarship.

66 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 A F S A those who submitted photos listed in the first section. average, attend an accredited two- or four-year col- N E Each listing includes the name of the university the stu- lege or university in the U.S. or overseas and show need W dents will attend and the name of the scholarship(s) the by completing the College Scholarship Service “PRO- S student is receiving. FILE.” Grandchildren of Foreign Service employees It is not too late to apply for an AFSA Financial Aid are not eligible for the program. Scholarship. Applications for the 2008-2009 school Visit www.afsa.org/scholar/ for the complete pro- year will be accepted until Feb. 6. Awards range from gram details and to download an application. If you $1,500 to $3,500. To be eligible for an AFSA Financial have any questions or are interested in establishing a Aid Scholarship, students must be tax dependents of scholarship in your name, please contact AFSA Scholar- Foreign Service employees, take at least 12 credits a ship Director Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504, or 1 (800) semester, maintain at least a cumulative 2.0 grade point 704-2372, ext. 504.

Uthman Claiborne — attend- Elliot Consigny — attending the Victor Copher — attending Nathan Daves-Brody — attend- Dylan Dempsey — attending ing North Carolina Central University of Wisconsin. Recip- Ohio University. Recipient of ing the University of New Mexi- Saint Leo University. Recipient University. Recipient of the ient of the AFSA Oliver Bishop the DACOR Bacon House co. Recipient of the AFSA of the DACOR Bacon House AFSA Albert E. Carter Memorial Harriman Memorial Scholar- Foundation Harriet C. Thur- Arthur B. Emmons Memorial Foundation Heyward G. Hill Scholarship and the AFSA ship. good Memorial Scholarship. Scholarship, the AFSA William Memorial Scholarship and the Martin G. Patterson Memorial Leonhardt Memorial Scholar- AFSA Robert E. and Florence L. Scholarship. ship and the AFSA Naomi Macaulay Memorial Scholar- Pekmezian Memorial Scholar- ship. ship.

Giovanny Fietz — attending the Evan Fritz — attending the Caio Geraissate — attending Alexandria Gilbert — attending Julia Groth — attending University at Buffalo. Recipient University of Mary Washington. Ohio State University. Recipi- Queen's University, Belfast. California Polytechnical State of the AFSA Charles B. Hosmer Recipient of the AFSA James ent of the DACOR Bacon Recipient of the DACOR Bacon University. Recipient of the Memorial Scholarship and the Bolard More Memorial Scholar- House Foundation Harriet C. House Foundation Heyward G. AFSA Clarke Winship Slade AFSA Brockman Moore Mem- ship and the AFSA Elbert G. Thurgood Memorial Scholar- Hill Memorial Scholarship. Memorial Scholarship and the orial Scholarship. and Naomi M. Mathews ship. AFSA Gertrude Stewart Mem- Memorial Scholarship. orial Scholarship.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 67 A F S A Financial Aid Scholarship Recipients N E W S

Carlos Grover — attending Catherine Huyett — attending Deanna Jefferson — attending Annaliese Johnsen — attend- Rebecca Konschak — attend- Tulane University. Recipient Texas State University. Reci- the University of Maryland. ing Northeastern University. ing the University of South of the DACOR Bacon House pient of the AFSA George and Recipient of the Heyward G. Hill Recipient of the DACOR Bacon Florida at Tampa. Recipient of Foundation Heyward G. Hill Mattie Newman Scholarship, Memorial Scholarship. House Foundation Heyward G. the AFSA Elizabeth M. and Memorial Scholarship. the AFSA William P. and Adele Hill Memorial Scholarship. William E. Cole Memorial Sch- Langston Rogers Memorial olarship and the AFSA Sheldon Scholarship and the AFSA Whitehouse Memorial Scholar- Gertrude Stewart Memorial ship. Scholarship.

Celeste Pedraza — attending Irene Pedraza — attending Liz Rische — attending St. Simone Ruiz-Smith — attend- Stephanie Ruse — attending the University of the Incarn- Saint Mary’s University of San Edward’s University. Recipient ing Cornell College. Recipient Washington University, St. ate Word. Recipient of the Antonio. Recipient of the AFSA of the AFSA John and Hope of the AFSA Suzanne Marie Louis. Recipient of the AFSA AFSA Adolph Dubs Memorial Beirut Scholarship, the AFSA Rogers Bastek Memorial Sch- Collins Memorial Scholarship, Rose Marie Asch Memorial Scholarship, the AFSA Howard Betty Carp Memorial Scholar- olarship and the AFSA Ruth the AFSA Lowell C. Pinkerton Scholarship, the AFSA Barbara Fyfe Memorial Scholarship ship and the AFSA Vietnam Frost Hoyt Memorial Scholar- Memorial Scholarship and the Bell Black Memorial Scholar- and the AFSA Col. Richard R. Scholarship. ship. AFSA John Campbell White ship and the AFSA Jacq Hallock Memorial Scholarship. Memorial Scholarship. Bachman Siracusa Scholarship.

Scholarship recipients Peter Harmon — attending James Kareem Kabra — attending Madison University. Recipient of Pennsylvania State University. who did not submit the AFSA Walter K. Schwinn Recipient of the AFSA Stephen photos: Memorial Scholarship, the AFSA Hubler/Carl Boyle Memorial Anna B. and John M. Steeves Scholarship. Jessica Carter — attending Memorial Scholarship and the Virginia Tech. Recipient of the AFSA Thomas G. Weston Anthony Mignano — attending DACOR Bacon House Foundation Memorial Scholarship. Kansas State University. Harriet C. Thurgood Memorial Recipient of the AFSA Louise Scholarship. Chad Johnson — attending Holscher Memorial Scholarship Northeastern University. and the AFSA Gertrude Stewart Rebecca Christensen — attending Recipient of the AFSA Dorothy Memorial Scholarship. Brigham Young University. Osborne and Theodore Xanthaky Diana Zayas — attending Recipient of the AFSA Harriet Memorial Scholarship. Northern Virginia Community Winsar Isom Scholarship and the College. Recipient of the AFSA Paris Scholarship. AFSA Philip C. Habib Memorial Scholarship, the AFSA Harry A. Havens Memorial Scholarship and the AFSA Elizabeh N. Landeau Memorial Scholar- ship.

68 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 A F S A N E W S

Garrett Lanzet — attending Robin Lutjohann — attending Natalie McNeill — attending Catherine Miller — attending Kristin Neuser — attending the New York University. Recip- McGill University. Recipient of the University of Delaware. the University of Michigan. University of Arizona. Recipient ient of the AFSA Everett K. and the AFSA Janet K. and Charles Recipient of the AFSA Marc Recipient of the AFSA Prabhi of the AAFSW Scholarship and Clara C. Melby Memorial C. Stelle Memorial Scholarship Grossman and Mildred Patter- G. Kavaler Memorial Scholar- AFSA Louise Holscher Memorial Scholarship and the AFSA and the AFSA Edward T. son Scholarship. ship, the AFSA George Shultz Scholarship. Defense of the Foreign Service Wailes Memorial Scholarship. Scholarship and the AFSA Scholarship. John C. Whitehead Scholar- ship.

Christian Ternus — attending Adel Terzic — attending Virginia Anne Tousignant — attending Elaine Tousignant — attending Madeline Wilson — attending the Massachusetts Institute of Tech. Recipient of the Public the University of Virginia. Re- the University of Virginia. Re- Sacramento City College. Re- Technology. Recipient of the Members of the Foreign Service cipient of the AFSA Wilbur J. cipient of the AFSA Dorothy cipient of the DACOR Bacon AFSA Harriet P. Culley Memorial (PMA) Scholarship. Carr Memorial Scholarship. Osborne and Theodore Xanth- House Foundation Harriet C. Scholarship and the AFSA aky Memorial Scholarship Thurgood Memorial Scholar- John Foster Dulles Memorial ship. Scholarship.

Bridgitte Mignano — attending James Tilghman — attending Andrew Witt — attending the Kansas State University. Lehigh University. Recipient of University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Recipient of the AFSA Louis C. the DACOR Bacon House Recipient of the AAFSW Boochever Memorial Scholarship, Foundation Heyward G. Hill Scholarship. the AFSA David K. D. Bruce Memorial Scholarship and the Memorial Scholarship and the AFSA Dalton V. Killion Memorial Maggie Yoder — attending AFSA Francesca Bufano Lapinski Scholarship. Randolph Macon College. Memorial Scholarship. Recipient of the AAFSW Peter Tilghman — attending Scholarship. Caitlin O’Dowd — attending Dickinson College. Recipient of Hamilton College. Recipient of the AFSA Gertrude Stewart the AAFSW Scholarship. Memorial Scholarship.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 69 A F S 2008 AFSA Dues Rates A FSA membership dues have been allows AFSA to continue offering excel- The box below indicates the new dues raised according to the AFSA lent member services and benefits. rates for 2008. N bylaws by 2.3 percent across all E A membership categories. This increase Rates for Active-Duty Members W reflects the 3rd-quarter Consumer Price CATEGORY NEW ANNUAL NEW BIWEEKLY S Index published on Oct. 20, 2007, by the FS 7, 8, 9 $82.75 $3.20 Department of Labor, and used by the FS 6, 5, 4 $156.45 $6.00 Social Security Administration to calcu- FS 1, 2, 3 $273.40 $10.50 late the 2008 Cost of Living Adjustment SFS $353.60 $13.60 increases. The new dues rates took effect on Jan. Rates for Retiree Members 1, 2008. Members paying dues via pay- CATEGORY NEW ANNUAL NEW BIWEEKLY roll deduction and annuity deduction will ANNUITY UNDER $25,000 $63.70 $5.30 see a small, automatic increase in the ANNUITY OF $25,000-50,000 $95.40 $7.95 amount deducted from their paychecks ANNUITY OF $50,000-75,000 $127.50 $10.60 and annuities. Members who pay annu- ANNUITY OVER $75,000 $159.55 $13.30 ally will be billed the new rate on their reg- RETIREE SPOUSE $50.00 $4.15 ularly scheduled renewal date. Member- ship dues account for approximately 75 Rates for Associate Members percent of AFSA’s total income. This rev- ASSOCIATE $98.05 enue provides the association with a sta- RETIREE ASSOCIATE $60.00 ble and predictable income source, which CLASSIFIEDS

TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES

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72 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 BOOKS

Winning Battles but Tse-Tung’s famous analogy of the Polk’s latest book fish in the sea. Terrorism is often Losing the War expands the focus the only tactic available to them at this stage. According to Polk’s calcu- Violent Politics: A History beyond Iraq to lations, this stage represents 80 per- of Insurgency, Terrorism & provide lessons about cent of an insurgency, on average. Guerrilla War, from the many different Next the insurgents create an American Revolution to Iraq insurgencies. alternative, anti-government ad- William R. Polk, HarperCollins, ministration in the country, a phase 2007, $23.95, hardcover, 273 pages. that lasts for another 15 percent of the struggle. Only the final 5 per- REVIEWED BY ROBERT V. K EELEY cent consists of traditional combat, yet that phase is what almost all Violent Politics: A History of Iraqis decide how and to whom to books about counterinsurgency Insurgency, Terrorism & Guerrilla sell their oil; and turning the Green focus on. War, from the American Revolution Zone over to the Iraqis. Regrettably, The book’s 11 chapters recount to Iraq is William R. Polk’s third their plan to extricate us from this the French failures in Spain, Algeria book in three years, all clearly stimu- disaster has been totally ignored by and Vietnam, the British defeats in lated by the war in Iraq. Like its the administration, and by Congress America, Ireland and Kenya, the predecessors, it offers uncommonly as well. (Both books were reviewed Germans’ losses in Yugoslavia and useful expertise and policy guidance in the Foreign Service Journal.) Greece, and the American experi- to anyone who is serving in Iraq, Now Polk has expanded his focus ence in the Philippines and Vietnam. dealing with Iraq, or just concerned beyond Iraq to provide a history of But the most instructive episode about the quagmire we have fallen insurgencies in many places over concerns Afghanistan, where the into there. three centuries. As he explains, the failing foreigners were by turns First came Understanding Iraq common thread among the case British, Russians and Americans. In (2005), a guide to a country and its studies is the fact that, in nearly fact, the long, painful history of that people and history that we knew every case, the insurgents lose all the most unfortunately located territory almost nothing about before invad- battles but still win the war. They is even more instructive than the sit- ing it. A year later, Polk and co- are able to do so because their uation in Iraq, for it resulted from author George McGovern spell- enemy is made up of occupiers, even greater ignorance and miscal- ed out precisely what to do to end colonists, invaders who seek to rule culation by successive foreign inter- our involvement there — by the end or otherwise establish their hegemo- veners. of 2007, no less! — in Out of Iraq: A ny; in other words, foreigners. Yet despite the weight of all that Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now. Insurgencies go through three history, and the many indications Some of their more prescient and stages, according to Polk. The first is that Iraq will be the latest entry on detailed recommendations included: political: pursuing a cause that that long list of debacles, it appears sending home the mercenaries like recruits a cadre to fight against the that the Bush administration has Blackwater; halting construction of foreigners. This force depends on a now set its sights on Iran. Heaven permanent bases in Iraq; letting the supportive population, as in Mao help us.

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 73 B OOKS

Polk concludes by quoting the exhortation remains as stirring, and First Line of Defense relates famous speech President Dwight relevant, as ever. dozens of instances where chiefs of Eisenhower delivered on April 16, mission have intervened successful- 1953: “Every gun that is made, every Three-time ambassador and retired ly to further U.S. interests, even warship launched, every rocket fired Foreign Service officer Robert V. sometimes at the risk of their per- signifies, in the final sense, a theft Keeley operates Five and Ten Press, sonal safety. These include the from those who hunger and are not a small, independent publishing experiences of Robert Strauss in the fed, those who are cold and are not company he founded to bring out Soviet Union, Walter Mondale in clothed. The world in arms is not original articles, essays and other Japan, Raymond Seitz in the United spending money alone. It is spending short works of fiction and nonfiction Kingdom, Frank Carlucci in Por- the sweat of its laborers, the genius of that have been rejected or ignored by tugal, Elinor Constable in Kenya, its scientists, the hopes of its children. mainstream outlets. Richard Carpenter in Spain, James … This is not a way of life at all, in any Jones in Mexico, James Blanchard true sense. Under the cloud of threat- in Canada, Frank Wisner in India, ening war, it is humanity hanging A Welcome Michael Armacost in the Philip- from a cross of iron.” pines, Harry Shlaudeman in Vene- More than a half-century later, Reissuance zuela, Robert Oakley in Pakistan, the prophetic power of Eisenhower’s and Thomas Pickering at the United First Line of Defense: Nations. Ambassadors, Embassies and Retired FSO Robert Keeley, him- American Interests Abroad self a three-time ambassador (Mau- Robert V. Keeley, editor; American ritius, Zimbabwe and Greece), lets Academy of Diplomacy, 2007, the stories he has compiled speak for paperback, 124 pages, $15.00 themselves, which they do quite elo- quently. Collectively, they demon- REVIEWED BY strate how effective diplomacy is STEVEN ALAN HONLEY essential in getting from policy con- ception to success. As we enter an election year, the Because the book offers multiple many pressing foreign policy chal- examples while remaining short and lenges on the agenda call for a public lively, it is particularly effective for use that understands the critical role of by those teaching international rela- diplomacy in handling them. With tions or trying to explain the diplo- that mission in mind, the American matic function to the public. Academy of Diplomacy has reprinted It is unfortunate that AAD was its flagship publication, First Line of unable to update the book’s contents Defense: Ambassadors, Embassies or add a new introduction, but none- and American Interests Abroad. theless the compilation remains use- When the book was originally pub- ful. It is available for purchase by lished in 2000, funded by a grant from sending a check to: the Nelson B. Delevan Found- American Academy of Diplomacy ation, there was little attempt to pub- 1800 K St. NW, Suite 1014 licize it. (The Journal did note its Washington DC 20006 publication as part of our first annual For more information, visit the compilation of books by Foreign Academy’s Web site at www.academy Service-affiliated authors, “In Their ofdiplomacy.org/publications/fld. Own Write,” in November 2000.) As html. a result, the book has not yet found a wide audience, something the Steven Alan Honley is the editor of Academy hopes to change. the Journal.

74 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 IN MEMORY

Olive Holmes Blum, 89, wife of Carribean to the sheep farms of Aires, attending annual “Asado” bar- the late Melvin Blum, a Foreign Ser- Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip. becues. vice officer with USIA, died on Oct. They were active in the American Following her husband’s death in 19 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in community in Buenos Aires, includ- 1994 of complications from cancer, Washington, D.C., of cardiovascular ing the Little League, church and Mrs. Blum continued living in Beth- disease. many Foreign Service activities, esda, where she participated actively Mrs. Blum was born in Buenos through which they formed long-last- in community life. In 2001, she mov- Aires to American parents working as ing friendships. ed to the Ingleside at Rock Creek, a Methodist missionaries. She grew up Returning to the U.S. in 1972, senior citizens’ home in Washington, in New York City, where she graduat- when Mr. Blum turned 60, they set- D.C., where she spent her final years. ed from Barnard College and receiv- tled in Bethesda, Md. Mrs. Blum Survivors include a son, Daniel ed a master’s degree in international worked in several jobs during that Blum of Silver Spring, Md.; a sister, relations from Columbia University. period, as they put their son, Daniel, Leo Brown of Jamestown, R.I.; and She was proficient in French, Ger- through school before retiring. two grandsons. man and Spanish. A world traveler, Starting in the 1990s, she also par- she also studied abroad, in Germany ticipated in the Women’s Health in the 1930s and Chile in the 1940s. Initiative, a long-term study of hor- She had an early career in New mone therapy, diet modification and David S. Burgess, 90, a retired York as a foreign policy analyst at the other treatments for postmeno- Foreign Service officer with USAID, Foreign Policy Association and the pausal women that was funded by the died on Oct. 21, in Vallejo, Calif., Voice of America. During this time, National Institutes of Health. She five days after suffering a heart she met her husband at a Liberal also spent about 10 years translating attack. Party meeting they both had been health surveys into Spanish for the The Rev. Burgess was born on drawn to out of concern over Sen. Westat Research Corporation in June 15, 1917, in New York City. Joseph McCarthy’s activities at the Rockville, Md., where she worked His parents took him as an infant to time. until the late 1990s. China, where they were YMCA mis- The Blums’ marriage began in Mrs. Blum was an elder and a dea- sionaries. In 1927, newly returned New York City, in an apartment with a con at Saint Mark Presbyterian to the U.S., he attended a Giants new baby named Danny and a cat Church in Rockville, and was active in baseball game and became a lifelong named Gentle Jackie. In 1962, Mr. local and international mission pro- fan of the team. As a teenager, he Blum accepted a job as labor attaché grams, including Friends in Action. nearly died of rheumatic fever. with the U.S. Information Agency in She went on numerous mission trips, From that ordeal and other illnesses Bogota and then in Buenos Aires. including excursions to Greece, he acquired another lasting passion: The family spent nine happy years Ireland and Bangladesh, in addition to healthy living, including jogging. He in South America. They explored the several journeys with her husband. graduated from Oberlin College in continent from top to bottom — from The Blums also kept up with their 1939 with a major in history, and the warm beaches of Cartagena in the Foreign Service friends from Buenos married Alice Stevens in 1941 while

JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 75 I N M EMORY

studying at Union Theological Sem- activist on housing issues, founding three years in Rome with the Multi- inary in New York. the Affordable Housing Affiliation national Force and Observers, super- Mr. Burgess took an unusual path and serving as its first president. vising implementation of the 1979 into the Foreign Service. After being The moderately priced Burgess Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace. ordained as a Congregationalist min- Point apartments and townhouses in Mr. Lucas was a member of the ister in 1944, he worked for more than Benicia are named in his honor. Veterans of Foreign Wars and the a decade with landless farmers and His autobiography, Fighting for Knights of Columbus. He and his migrant agricultural laborers in the Social Justice, was published by wife served for a number of years as South and as a labor organizer and Wayne State University Press in 2000. Eucharistic ministers and ministers to Georgia leader of the Congress of In 2005, he endured a personal trag- the sick in several Catholic churches Industrial Organizations. In 1954, the edy, the death of his eldest son Lyman in Florida. CIO offered to nominate him as a from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Mr. Lucas was preceded in death labor attaché abroad, and he served in Mr. Burgess is survived by Alice, by his wife of 54 years. He is sur- that position in India from 1955 to his wife of 66 years, of Benicia, Calif.; vived by three children, five grand- 1960. The family, with four (later children Laurel, John, Genie and children and one great-grandchild. five) children, lived in New Delhi, Steve; grandchildren Sam and Anna while he traveled widely in the coun- Koritz, Rachel Steele, Katharine and try, establishing links with the Indian Sarah Burgess, and Erica and Wesley labor movement. Castro; and great-grandchildren Nor- Ralph J. Ribble, 89, a retired In 1961, Mr. Burgess became head man Paquette and Beatrice Koritz. Foreign Service officer, died on Oct. of the Indonesia-Burma division of The family asks that in lieu of 15 at his home in Clarksville, Texas. USAID in Washington. From 1963 to sending flowers, donations be made Mr. Ribble was born in Roxton, 1964, he served in Jakarta, heading to the Affordable Housing Affilia- Texas, one of seven children in a the first Peace Corps program in tion, 110 East D Street, Suite C, family of beekeepers. He grew up Indonesia, which, due to the tense Benicia CA 94510. during the Great Depression with a political situation, consisted almost widely-acknowledged talent for breed- entirely of athletic coaches. He later ing queen bees. After taking the Civil served as a Peace Corps recruiter in Service exam in 1939, he was offered the United States. In that position he Robert T. Lucas, 83, a retired an appointment in 1941 as a clerk- sought to sign up people with indus- Foreign Service officer, passed away messenger at the Department of trial skills, particularly from the auto- on Oct. 15 after a brief illness. State, then located in the Old motive industry. In 1965 and 1966, he Born in Ottawa, Ill., in 1923, Mr. Executive Office Building. was a member of the State Depart- Lucas enlisted in the U.S. Army in As Mr. Ribble later described his ment’s Board of Examiners. 1942 and served for three years in entry into government service to his He resigned from the State De- the Pacific theater. son Richard, Mr. Percy Allen was partment in 1966 to move to Bang- In 1947, Mr. Lucas joined the assistant chief of personnel at that kok as director of the United Nations Foreign Service. During his career time, and he interviewed even the Children’s Fund programs in Thail- he served at 13 posts, including the lowest entrants to the department. and, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong opening of the liaison office in When Allen learned that Ribble had Kong. He moved back to the United Beijing in 1973. Other postings in- little training other than in beekeep- States in 1972 and served as a senior cluded Calcutta, Buenos Aires, Vien- ing, he asked him to describe the officer at UNICEF headquarters in na, New Delhi, Caracas, Copenha- entire process of raising a queen. New York, focusing on fundraising. gen, Ankara and Washington, D.C. When Ribble finished, Allen remark- In 1979, he returned to full-time His wife, Thelma, served as secretary ed that a certified beekeeper in the ministry, becoming pastor of two and receptionist at post during sever- State Department had to be a first. inner-city churches in Newark, N.J. al of his assignments. In this position, Ribble’s rotating In 1990, the Burgesses moved to Following retirement from the assignments included the reception Benicia, Calif. There he became an Service in 1981, Mr. Lucas served for entrances, from which he shuttled

76 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008 I N M EMORY

many a famous person around — Wriston Program. His first foreign him, from the lowest to the highest including Ernie Pyle, Clark Gable, assignments were in Rio de Janeiro echelons, but he could also be tough Japanese Ambassador to the United and Panama City. when necessary. States Kichisaburo Nomura and He returned to Washington in One such occasion arose during Special Envoy Saburo Kurusu, and 1961. There he served as deputy President Richard Nixon’s atten- Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. Nelson executive director of the European dance at a conference in Puerto Val- Rockefeller, Ribble once recounted, Bureau and was subsequently posted larta in the early 1970s, when Mr. was notorious for coming up to the to Rome in 1964. He was transferred Ribble was in charge of administrative desk with a cab driver at his heels to Mexico City in 1969. There he arrangements. Mexican officials had wanting to be paid — because served as administrative counselor, determined the best landing position Rockefeller never carried any money. counselor for consular affairs and act- for Air Force One for security, but From 1943 through 1945 Mr. ing deputy chief of mission. Nixon’s advance team insisted on Ribble served in the Navy in the Colleagues recall Mr. Ribble as a another site for photo opportunity Pacific theater. Returning from the man who was highly respected and purposes. war to the State Department, he much admired. A modest man, he “This is their country. The Mexi- worked in the Office of International worked in the background and was cans know what they are doing, and Conferences until joining the not much on formality. He had a you will not overrule them,” friends Foreign Service in 1955 under the personality that attracted people to recall Mr. Ribble telling the head of

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the advance team, who then backed down. He received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award in 1971 for his integrity, judgment, common E-mail your sense and ability to get things done “In Memory” with efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Mr. Ribble retired to Clarksville in submission to the 1972, and passed the years as a gen- tleman farmer, traveler and supporter Foreign Service Journal of the Texas Library Association. at [email protected], or Mr. Ribble’s marriage to the for- mer Katherine Johnston ended in fax it to (202) 338-6820. divorce. He leaves a brother, Joe Ribble of Paris, Texas; Mrs. Katherine Johnston Ribble of San Antonio, No photos, please. Texas; two sons, Jim and Richard; and a daughter, Anne.

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JANUARY 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 83 REFLECTIONS A Cross-Cultural Friendship

BY RACHEL MIDURA

am the 16-year-old daughter in a ously abstract event. I was angry that Foreign Service family. Guate- Lana’s austere house bombs happened to real people, not I malan huipiles (traditional hand- brought me down to just faces on CNN. On Sept. 11, 2001, woven blouses) adorn our walls, and earth. I remember it was Lana who helped me under- Zambian baskets sit on our shelves. I stand the magnitude of what had can’t remember a time when it was dif- thinking, where are occurred. We sat outside on the dewy ferent. Yet I didn’t realize how unusu- all her things? grass and discussed how it felt to be al my life really was until after I hated. Together we tried to compre- became friends with a girl named hend why complete strangers would Lana. want us dead, all because of what We had relocated to Prague just very little beyond that. seemed like ancient history. While I months before the new millennium, to I don’t know what Lana thought of had never had to face such animosity a house within walking distance of the me, but she must not have seen the before, Lana was familiar with being international school. Lana was in my shallow, naïve kid I felt like in that written off as an “arrogant Serb.” fourth-grade class. She was Serbian moment, because the afternoon went Now I’m back in the U.S., in high and spoke halting English, but I was perfectly. We entertained ourselves in school in a comfortable suburb near more than capable of filling any gaps in the same way our grandparents did — Washington, D.C., and Lana is back the conversation. I was drawn to her no television, no video games — and in Belgrade. As an American teenag- calm demeanor, and later delighted by that became the standard for our after- er, it’s easy to turn up my iPod and her quick wit. When she invited me to noons. Once, we spent hours writing tune out the world. It is easy to over- her house, I was happy to accept. secret messages with burnt-out match- look the news from Baghdad in favor The trip proved to be an adventure. es, then passing them from her lower of celebrity gossip, or a long and often Instead of her parents driving us — balcony to the one above. Another day pointless phone conversation with a the only mode of transportation I was we built a pillow fort that stretched friend. Lana and I have shared plen- familiar with — we headed to the through three rooms. ty of phone conversations since we nearest bus stop. After getting off the My friendship with Lana was the both moved, but our talks cover the bus, we dodged cars in a bustling main ultimate Foreign Service experience. meaning of life and the Kosovo situa- street, and hiked past apartment build- For four years, we explored Prague tion as well as my homecoming dress. ings and grocery stores. By the time together. If you cut through just the For the past two years, we’ve been we reached her front gate, I felt a right patch of trees, you would come planning a trans-Europe backpacking heady rush of adrenaline at having out on a rocky cliff overlooking the city. trip. Though we face the hurdles of done something so independent. There, while we dangled our legs and school, finances and a couple of thou- Lana’s austere house brought me basked in the rare sun, I explained the sand miles, we are both enchanted by down to earth. I remember thinking, United States to her and she explained the idea of exploring once more. where are all her things? Eventually I Milosevic’s Serbia to me. We rode our made the connection between the scooters to the Hotel Praha pool, the Rachel Midura is a high school junior starkness of her home’s interior and grocery store and the park. in Reston, Va. Born in Guatemala, she the news footage I had seen of bomb- Lana told me once about an has accompanied her parents (FSO ings and rallies in Belgrade. Lana and American bomb that had landed in Chris Midura is with the State De- her parents were refugees: they had sight of her house, and I was deeply partment) to Zambia, El Salvador and what they needed for a decent life, but shocked at being connected to a previ- the Czech Republic.

84 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JANUARY 2008