The Foreign Service Journal, March 2006

42 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 F O C U S O N I R A Q A N D T H E F S S TAFFING B AGHDAD : T IME FOR D IRECTED A SSIGNMENTS oreign Service officers have had a good war in Iraq — the Foreign Service has not. There is still time for the Service to redeem itself and demon- strate that it is a disciplined member in good standing of the national security community. With the advent of Provincial Reconstruction Teams and the likelihood of an ongoing need for a surge presence in Iraq, the ques- tion of how to staff “extreme diplomacy” posts is not just for long-term planning, but one that needs to be addressed as an immediate operational issue. Foreign Service personnel provided much of the leadership of the Coalition Provisional Authority’s pres- ence outside Baghdad by service as regional and gover- nance coordinators, as their deputies and in other roles, including political, project and public affairs officers. FSOs were present in the field throughout CPA’s life- span beginning in the spring of 2003 and ending on June 28, 2004. All were volunteers and went through a cumbersome application and deployment process for the privilege of serving our country in a war zone, in circumstances ranging from the merely uncomfortable to the life-threateningly dangerous. The fact that we have lost only a few Foreign Service personnel reflects good fortune and the great skill of security profession- als, who have taken most of the casualties, rather than the lack of ill intent on the part of our enemies. Now, more than two years after the entry of the Foreign Service into Iraq, it is becoming increasingly difficult to staff key positions in the embassy and, par- ticularly, at posts outside Baghdad. The most qualified volunteers, in terms of language capability and area expertise, have already served their tours. A few have done much more than their time, signing up for a sec- ond stint or going out on short-term surge teams to cover special events, such as the Dec. 15 national assembly elections. Meanwhile, the Foreign Service and the State Department, continue to contort them- selves to find ever-more-exotic inducements to get Foreign Service personnel to go to Iraq. Beyond the Iraq service package, which can now total up to 80 per- cent of salary for a tenured Foreign Service officer, plus free food and housing and frequent trips home, the department is also considering allowing family mem- bers to reside at posts near Iraq and adding additional trips home. State is also still allowing TDY excursions of less than one year, although experience has shown that, at least for reporting officers, it takes longer than that to know the Iraqi personalities involved in an issue, much less the issue itself. F T HE F OREIGN S ERVICE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT SERVICE IN WARTIME NECESSITATES A COMPLETE COMMITMENT BY ALL PERSONNEL . B Y H ENRY S. E NSHER Continued on page 44