The Foreign Service Journal, January 2009

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 lic diplomacy affairs. The OIG team found near-unani- mous views among regional bureaus that sufficient sup- port costs for these positions had not been provided.” There was no money allocated for FY 2007 for transfor- mational diplomacy or the GRP, according to a Congres- sional Research Service report on transformational diplomacy. The overall budget climate and weak state of the dollar also contributed to the difficulties of supporting new posi- tions at embassies overseas. Travel within the host country was supposed to be a significant element for many GRP of- ficers, especially those who were assigned to open new posts. But many embassies were facing crisis-level financial stress and had to actually cut travel money for the mission. Space was also an issue for some posts. “There was no office space for the new positions and we received little additional support funding,” said one officer who served in a large mission that gained positions under the GRP. “There was never any thought given to the additional For- eign Service National staff needed in the general services office or at the constituent posts to support the increased number of American employees and family members.” “The support and funding have been grossly inadequate and the position has not been integrated into post opera- tions, other than nominally,” says one FSO in a GRP posi- tion who declined to be named. Going on, this officer says that “there was no financial support and little informational support.” “We had no say or warning that we were getting addi- tional positions,” said a senior diplomat formerly assigned to Nigeria. “Our new embassy compound was some 50 percent too small the day we moved in. There were no provisions for any additional support resources (housing, vehicles, furniture, admin staff) with any of the GRP posi- tions.” American Presence Posts: Not Present Question: How do you create new, one-person posts in cities across the globe with no new money? Answer: You don’t. F O C U S