The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 41 dards. After the report was issued, the situation became even worse as a result of the department-wide pay freeze that caused LE staff wages in high-inflation countries to plummet. The State Department has been addressing this situation on a case-by-case basis, but a more comprehensive solution is needed. The effectiveness of our missions abroad depends on our ability to attract and retain talented local staff members. I urge the new administration to make fair pay for our LE staff colleagues a top priority and to seek funding from Congress to make it a reality. Mary Grace McGeehan FSO, retired Cape Town, South Africa America’s First Line of Defense The Foreign Service is America’s first line of defense. Should the Foreign Service fail to resolve an existential dispute, the U.S. military then takes over. The Foreign Service and the State Depart- ment are de facto, and generally unrecognized, national security organizations. Langdon Williams FSO, retired Reston, Virginia Recognize the Service in Foreign Service We understand that many Americans don’t have a clear under- standing of what we do—at home or abroad—compared to our fellows in other agencies and departments. My colleagues—whether Foreign Service or Civil Service, military or foreign local employees—work long hours every day because they want to serve our government. No matter the politi- cal leanings of the administration, we believe in American leader- ship in the world, and we want to ensure good governance and defend and advance the interests of our nation and the principles our country stands for. Our collective dedication, experience and, yes, counsel, can be a powerful asset—and I urge the new administration to please take advantage. H. Martin McDowell FSO Fairfax, Virginia Understand What We Do I am a Midwesterner. I had no connection to the Foreign Service prior to joining. I have proudly served America in six countries during my career—helping in a mass evacuation after an earthquake, visiting Americans in prison to make sure their rights were protected, assisting an American in the middle of the night who was destitute and had just been assaulted, uncovering various smuggling rings and preventing cartel members from being issued visas. I served in Bogota, where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army, known as FARC, blew up car bombs; and I served in Havana when we were considered the imperialist enemy. My wife and kids adapt to a new posting, language and culture every few years. My career isn’t unusual—this is what we in the Foreign Service do, and we are proud to do it. Robert Neus FSO, Diplomat in Residence Chicago, Illinois Elevate Public Diplomacy It is time to take public diplomacy out of the State Department and give it back the agency status it once had. We are losing the war of ideas around the world. Social media has changed the way we practice public diplomacy, and we are not keeping up with it. To help make America great again, we need to do a better job tell- ing its story and explaining its policies. Ray Burson FSO, retired Doniphan, Missouri Our Most Important Role The most important role of the Foreign Service is to get foreign- ers to do what we want. To be most effective in that, we need an understanding of foreign societies, interests and leadership. Our embassies need to be secure and supplied with the right people and equipment to allow interaction with host governments and people at every level, including outside the capital. We use these contacts and relationships to develop policy recommendations