The Foreign Service Journal, March 2006

promise … many of us had to go hat in hand to other sections look- ing for an assignment more in line with our individual interests.” “I serve in a nice European city, and I see an increasing number of new arrivals coming from Iraq,” writes an FS-3 who has not served in Iraq. “I think those who stepped up to serve in Iraq will have an advantage in assignments and promotions for a long time to come, which is the way it should be. As someone who has not gone to Iraq, and probably never will, I believe those who volunteered deserve to be recognized by the system, even if that means those of us who don’t go will be disadvantaged as a result.” . Please describe one day on the job anywhere in Iraq. Nine of the day-in-the-life submissions we received are printed along with this report. We selected days primarily from personnel who leave the embassy com- pound in the course of their work rather than those confined to an office inside the compound. Many peo- ple wrote that there is no typical day in Iraq, and many others noted that they were simply too busy to write up a day. What do you see as the main issues for the Foreign Service in staffing Iraq? This question was addressed to both those who have and those who have not served in Iraq. The issues most frequently raised were: how to get enough qualified people to serve there, how the Foreign Service can play a relevant role there and how staffing Iraq affects other missions around the world. Many respondents expressed the view that if the level of danger in Iraq existed anywhere else, that embassy would have been either evacuated or drawn down. “The ability to get the most qualified (language and regional experience) to serve there” is a key issue, writes a senior-level officer who has served in Iraq. Echoing this sentiment, an officer comments from Baghdad: “The department is staffing Iraq with junior officers, 3161s, Civil Service and others with little Foreign Service experience. They do not have the training, judgment and experience to provide the top- quality work expected of more senior FSOs. We need our best and most experienced people in Iraq, including a strong cadre of mid-level officers.” The main issue facing the Foreign Service, according to an officer serving in Baghdad, is “staying relevant as DOD con- tracts out the same functions, as political appointees and IRMO contractors take key policy roles. No one makes an effort to explain State to these actors, so in the end it is ignored. … State needs to see itself as vital and pitch itself as such to military commanders, who are willing and eager to integrate us. As long as there’s combat, State can only be a force multiplier; we are not intelligently integrating ourselves into what is essentially a military environment. I would shake the whole system up, put a political adviser at every military command equal to or larger than a divi- sion, and put State officers at key deployment centers in the U.S. Have a State officer with recent Iraq expe- rience explain what State’s role is, give cultural aware- ness, Middle East background, current Iraq updates, etc. Also, have these officers do orientation for the companies with major contracts in Iraq.” “Security” is the main issue, says one officer serving in Baghdad. “It seems crazy that we have so many diplomats in Iraq, given that our military is still sorting things out. With daily car bombings and an insurgency that doesn’t want us there, it’s way too soon for a large diplomatic presence. What can we really hope to accomplish, if security considerations force many diplomats to stay within the Green Zone? Members of the military can defend themselves, but diplomats don’t carry guns and thus are sitting ducks.” “Iraq is not really a Foreign Service environment,” writes an officer serving in Baghdad. “The embassy is a civilian [entity] embedded within a large military establishment. Military procedures and culture dictate the daily routine. Lack of individual autonomy — to travel or engage outside contacts — is very unlike a normal embassy environment. Foreign Service [per- sonnel] on the ground in Iraq are caught between the military on one side and close Washington oversight on the other. Not a lot of freedom of action.” “For many people,” writes a political officer who F O C U S 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 6 “Iraq is not really a Foreign Service environment.” — An officer serving in Baghdad