The Foreign Service Journal, February 2009

channels that, while they change slightly from unit to unit, usually result in a daily or weekly order. Though I understand that meeting times fre- quently change and opportunities can come up quickly, I strongly encourage PRT members to utilize these chan- nels as much as possible and submit requests as far in advance as possible. In cases where an unexpected meeting or opportunity does arise too soon for the orders process to take place, going directly to a subordinate unit can be a touchy technique. If you and the battalion and company com- manders that support you have a good working relationship, and they are made aware of how that meeting or opportunity will help them accom- plish their mission, then picking up a phone or walking over to a battalion headquarters to ask for help directly should not be an issue. On the other hand, if a professional relationship is not already present and these com- manders don’t understand the impor- tance of what you are trying to accomplish, a request that uses unof- ficial channels is not likely to be looked upon favorably. The techniques I suggested earlier — holding formal introductory meet- ings, explaining your goals in shorter timelines and nesting your priorities with those of the commanders that support you — can go a long way to establishing the necessary relationship that will allow you to occasionally take advantage of unofficial channels. Learn Military Speak Foreign Service officers need to take the time to read up on military terms and acronyms before coming to Iraq or Afghanistan. The military’s constant use of jargon makes it almost a language unto itself, and the fact that each unit seems to have its own slang and unofficial acronyms only compli- cates the situation. I recommend that you pick up a copy of Barbara Schading’s A Civil- ian’s Guide to the Military (Fraser Di- rect, 2007), which provides an excel- lent, concise overview of the various branches of the military, its rank structure and some useful protocol. I gave it to my fiancée after our engag- ment, and she found that the stream of acronyms and professional terms that constitute work-related conver- sations with my fellow military offi- cers became significantly clearer after she read it. Let me hasten to add that she is no slouch when it comes to na- tional security. But just as a physicist might not be able to follow every- thing a zoologist writes about, For- eign Service personnel are not trained to use the professional terms of the military (nor the other way around). Finally, while it is a technical issue, another major obstacle to an efficient and productive relationship with the military is the fact that many PRT members do not have access to the Defense Department’s Secret Inter- net Protocol Router computer net- work. Almost all reporting and e-mail co- ordination in a deployed unit is con- ducted via the SIPR, so if PRT members lack reliable access to this network, fewer people will be able to read their reports or benefit from their assessments. If your team does not have the SIPR or there are consis- tent problems with access, I would en- courage you to make this one of your top priorities when seeking assistance from the embassy. You may also be able to request technical support from the military units with which you are colocated. I hope this advice serves some of you well as you prepare to work along- side your military partners in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have seen firsthand the success that our two organizations can achieve together when our relation- ship and areas of responsibility are clearly defined, and hope that success will continue in the future. F E B R 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 29