The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008

Corps, consisting of retired officers immediately available for service abroad in the event of emergency need. Why hasn’t the DG availed himself of this resource? I under- stand that AFSA also maintains a list of officers available for short-term assignment. Has the DG availed himself of this list? David Brighton Timmins FSO, retired Scottsdale, Ariz. The FS Volunteers Since the Vietnam War, the State Department has filled its overseas positions entirely with volunteers. Foreign and Civil Service employees have served in Iran, Pakistan, Haiti, Congo, Colombia, Grenada, Indone- sia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sudan and many other distant and hazardous postings. They volunteered with full knowledge and acceptance of danger and the possibility they could be killed, and many have been killed in the line of duty. Iraq has morphed into a special challenge, but it is important to note that it is the only country in the world where we are experiencing extra- ordinary problems with staffing — and only this year, at that. Vol- unteers for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and dozens of other countries with hardship postings have all come forward. Staffing problems for Iraq come down to a combination of an exceptionally large embassy that has already taken a huge number of volunteers and the fact that the postings are to war zones where our jobs are nearly impossible to carry out. Adding another 50 to 100 people in the Green Zone or on a firebase does nothing to change the fact that they can’t work effectively from bunkers or move around freely. Working-level diplomacy and de- velopment assistance activities re- quire a basic level of security that does not exist in Iraq. Those activi- ties just cannot be carried out ef- fectively on a battlefield. As was pointed out at the town hall meeting, in any other country, the embassy in Baghdad would be drawn down, not expanded. Why then build the largest embassy in the world? Most feel that the numbers are being pushed up as a political gesture to ensure that the J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 L E T T E R S * per night, single or double occupancy subject to availability Y our search is over, choose a hotel where the federal per diem rate is available year-round. * Luxurious Suites All rooms with full size kitchen & stove tops Fitness center Complimentary in-room coffee Full service restaurant Parking available Across fromMain State White House, The Mall, and Metro Foggy Bottom station (blue & orange lines) within walking distance Accommodations State Plaza Hotel 2117 E. St. NW Washington, DC 20037 Telephone: (800) 424-2859 (202) 861-8200 Parking Available Rated 1 / 2 by AAA www.stateplaza.com E-mail: reservationsagent@ RBpropertiesinc.com