Speaking Out

BY JOHN RINGQUIST

The words “joint,” “interagency,” and “interdepartmental” come with expectations and conjure up images of the challenges inherent in mixing different organizational cultures and the secret language of acronyms.

Service cultures in the military each have specialized jargon and shortcuts that make complete sense to members of that service, but baffle all but insiders.

Outside the Department of Defense (DoD) and its processes, many servicemembers find the communication and culture gap between the military and other agencies to be a learning curve.

Some of the problems that first-tour Foreign Service members and military personnel experience in an interagency setting stem from unfamiliarity about how the different agencies operate.

These organizational culture differences can be detrimental in an embassy if a deliberate effort is not made to translate and educate from the outset.

Mars or Venus?

In an embassy, the military is normally represented by the Marine Security Guards, who are directed by a Diplomatic Security Service regional security officer; the Office of Security Cooperation, normally staffed by a major or equivalent and their deputies (captains or sergeants); and the defense attaché, the senior defense official, usually a lieutenant colonel or colonel, depending on the branch.

Neither the military officers nor their sergeants are first-tour personnel. They are expected to behave in a disciplined and professional manner. They sometimes make mistakes, however. There are a number of areas in which misunderstanding can lead to trouble. For example, the military’s emphasis on aggressive initiative and direct action can be misunderstood. The military is used for direct action (breaking things), so when working with the interagency, military personnel must also learn a new language to collaborate with their interagency counterparts.

When assigned to embassies, military officers and sergeants receive some training on how to work with the interagency, but it is not emphasized. The ruling measure for the military is tact, professionalism, and mission.

But how that translates in an embassy is not necessarily self-evident for a member of the military. Military personnel wear uniforms that display their service résumés by means of the uniform’s cut, ranks, and badges. The uniform is a “document” that is legible to members of the military, an open guide to tactful, professional interaction.

By contrast, a first-tour Foreign Service officer may appear to a member of the military as a cypher, without similar markings. Civilian attire, combined with the FSO’s job title, may give the military person pause. Should they be addressed as sir or ma’am? Are they senior to me? What are their qualifications? The list can go on.

I’ve put together some recommendations and a collaboration checklist that can fill the interagency gap and smooth the interagency process, at least from a cliff to a hill.

Recommendations

■ Interagency partners should attend the social events held for new arrivals at the embassy or assignment location. Take advantage of the opportunity to meet your counterpart in civilian attire in a low-stress environment.

The social aspect of working in an embassy cannot be ignored. We’re in this together, and it helps to understand why sometimes our counterparts are stressed by certain scenarios.

The annual Marine Corps Ball is a great way to see the military on display as well as civilian formal attire. Ask about the accoutrements on uniforms. All military members have war stories.

■ Ask questions about your counterpart’s work. It’s not insider threat action to ask, and most military will answer. If they use acronyms, ask them to explain those also. Military members: Stop using acronyms in every sentence.

■ Learn by reading. Most members of the military have at least heard of the book Inside a U.S. Embassy, but it does not make up for lack of experiential knowledge. I recommend Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service to military officers so that they have a better picture of their counterparts’ career path and, of course, The Foreign Service Journal.

Conversely, I recommend New Army Officer’s Survival Guide and Army Officer’s Guide for new diplomats. Reading will help. You can also ask the senior defense official about service magazines from their combatant commands and the monthly deliveries of Army History and similar publications.

Organizational culture differences can be detrimental in an embassy if a deliberate effort is not made to translate and educate from the outset.

■ My final recommendation is for all parties to understand their role. The military has a saying, “One team, one fight,” and it holds valid for the interagency effort as well.

Military personnel assigned to interagency teams quickly learn that the ambassador calls the shots for the embassy. They have a military commander and orders, but military personnel must conform to standards of behavior and performance expectations as diplomatic representatives of their country while in a foreign posting.

If a military member has an issue with a Foreign Service counterpart, they should resolve it at the lowest possible level. If the issue originates from a culture clash, the individuals need to work together to deconflict this.

Collaboration Checklist

■ Check your ego. FSOs, if you do not understand, ask. Military, do the same.

■ Do your homework. Is there a culture conflict, or is the issue a result of lack of need to know? Not all information can or should be shared.

■ Is there a Marine Corps Ball fund? Support it, and wear the polo shirt or T-shirt. Military members at post will appreciate the gesture of solidarity.

■ Military, when you attend invitational events or parties, offer to help. Get involved.

■ All sides need to know where they are in seniority, not just rank. Ask any sergeant major if a lieutenant knows more than they do because of rank.

■ Do not create friction regarding pay and benefits. Military members and Foreign Service members receive different benefits. Military and interagency personnel receive foreign language and danger pay, but Department of State FSOs are also eligible for step increases and can voluntarily transfer leave to another Department of State employee.

■ Military spouses who may work in embassies do not have their servicemembers’ rank. Please be nice to them; they are between worlds and can be useful translators.

■ If you are interested in military doctrine, news, or current affairs that may involve the U.S. military, please ask. Military personnel are trained to understand that we do not make policy, we follow it. Our filter may help explain illogical military actions.

■ Institute a brown bag series to go over topics of interest. Both sides need to know why their counterparts do certain things. For example, why doesn’t the ambassador have a say in the military officers’ performance ratings?

■ A humorous way to deconflict interagency jargon and acronyms is to provide newcomers with a cheat sheet. In my own experience, the sheet can be one of the best ways to open dialogue. Title it: “Department of State to Department of Defense: A Guide to Gibberish.”

■ Respect goes a long way. Foreign Service officers are a select group of America’s finest. So are military personnel. The military servicemembers in an embassy seldom have less than five years of service, eight to 10 years for junior officers, twice that for more senior. Military personnel need to understand that first-tour FSOs have a lot of weight on their shoulders. Go easy and work to reach compromise.

§

The interagency process can be frustrating, especially with the differences between departments in how they conduct business. The military tends to limit the number of meetings by using a process of task delegation called mission command. The chain of command executes orders. Rarely is there a formal meeting process aside from the generation of courses of action and plans from those conclusions.

The Department of State, in my experience, uses more meetings and teams to tackle challenges. Neither system is wrong; both work, and both require participants to understand the process.

A lesson that first-tour FSOs and military personnel can take away from the interagency process is that communication is key and that open channels are essential. I recommend that whenever possible, everyone take advantage of Friday afternoons to take off the “agency armor” and enjoy an embassy social of any stripe.

John Ringquist, PhD, is an instructor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He has served as a security cooperation officer, Army attaché, and senior defense official in 11 countries and seven embassies.

Read More...

• “Working with the U.S. Military: 10 Things the Foreign Service Needs to Know” by Ted Stricker, The Foreign Service Journal, October 2015
• “The View from the Bridge: Sailing in Formation with the State Department” by Vice Admiral Fritz Roegge, The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2018
• “Working with the U.S. Military” by Larry Butler, The Foreign Service Journal, May 2022