The Foreign Service Journal, March 2006

Keith Mines FSO Governance Coordinator Al Anbar Province | 2004 0500 Wake up. 0515 Check e-mails while the system is working. 0520 System goes down. 0530 Run and work out. 0630 Queue up for shower; if no water, resort to three bottles of water poured over head behind the barracks — one for dousing, one for washing, one for rinsing. (Reflect on the fact that most Iraqis have running water but we do not; as occupations go, this one is a little strange.) 0730 Chow at mess hall, catch up with 82nd Airborne Division staff officers. 0815 Attend daily intelligence and operations briefing with 82nd Command and staff. 0830 Join Civil Affairs convoy for trip downtown. 0900 Arrive at Governance Building in downtown Ramadi. 0915 Check in with Governor Burgis and go over day’s work plan with Civil Affairs chief and contractor chief. 0930 Attend meeting with key provincial governorate officials; discuss police development, infrastructure projects, provision of basic services. Usually [there are] a litany of things that we don’t have the resources to fix, but we generally get a few things moving from these meetings. 1130 Meet with local sheik seeking information on his nephew who has been detained by local security forces. 1200 Meet with the Falluja Scientific Development Council, a startup NGO. 1300 Go over agenda for next provincial council meeting with council head. 1330 Review project proposals with team project coordinator, select contactors and get them lined up. 1500 Visit Sheik Ammer at his home with commander. 1600 Return to base. 1700 Chow. 1800 Attend coordination meeting with Civil Affairs unit. 1900 Check in with 82nd Commander and staff officers. 2000 Write daily reports and memos to the Coalition Provisional Authority. 2200 End day. A Day i n t he L i f e o f . . . F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 39 political force and funds into a solution that is out there,” writes an FSO serving in Iraq. “When we staffed [the first] Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq, not one person in management thought it would be useful to convene a conference to study lessons learned from Afghanistan. The inefficiencies and duplication and wasted efforts we tolerate [are] beyond comprehension.” “There is virtually no internal communication about day-to-day service/life at post and this only leads to rumor and speculation,” observes a public affairs officer in Washington. “What is needed is leadership from the top down,” comments one mid-level security officer who has not served in Iraq. “There are many senior positions that are filled by stretch employees and such job openings are always couched in terms of ‘this is a great opportunity for Iraqi business leaders select their representative to the Anbar Provincial Council, January 2004 Steven Bitner