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The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008.Pdf 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 Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. 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. I 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.
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