The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

Establishing the teams in Iraq has been challenging, in part because of high-level wrangling between State and the Defense Department over who would provide securi- ty, support and funding. Initially, DOD was skeptical of the program and there was much confusion about how the PRTs were supposed to function and exactly what the teams were supposed to do. No memorandum of under- standing was in place to delineate each agency’s responsi- bilities. By many accounts from those who were sent out to the first PRTs, the process has been ad hoc, with more or less success depending on the personalities involved and the acceptance, or lack thereof, of the civilian pres- ence by the U.S. military. A common refrain from Foreign Service members speaking about their experiences in new PRTs is that they have felt like “pins on a map,” sent out so officials in Washington could say they were there. They felt “cut off,” and were not given clear instructions on their role or on how the chain of command between military and civilian members was to be defined and function. Support from F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 Heading to my new post, dressed in 30-pound full metal body armor with helmet, I met my military escort officer at Embassy Baghdad at 10 p.m. to leave for my hook-up to Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi, in Al Anbar province. We left the embassy and walked over to the launch site to take our flight. Once there, we checked in with the Marines on duty and they wrote on my hand with a black marker the code to Blue Diamond so that if there were any questions as to where I was going, I could show the Marines piloting the Black Hawk or Chinook helicopter my hand (over the noise) and keep it straight where I was to be dropped. They jokingly called this “using my palm pilot.” Life is pretty hard and dangerous at PRT Anbar, definitely not for everybody. Living conditions are spartan; when I arrived at the 10x10-foot portion of my hooch (trailer), it con- tained only a wooden bed and a chair. I had to put one of my abayas up to the window to keep out light and prying eyes. I share the trailer with a female Marine corporal. We have mice in the trailer and in the offices, and they found nests of cobras hibernating underneath our hooches. There are no roads in the location of our hooches and when it rains, we must tread through thick mud to get back and forth from work. It is the cold season right now, but I understand that when it gets hot, it really gets hot! We will be swarmed by mosquitoes at night and flies in the morning. You can’t be too fussy about bathroom facilities. Often there are no wet toilets, so we must use port-a-johns; often the toilets are communal (men and women), so you might need to arrange your time to go. Hot showers are a luxury, in short supply and great demand. I have six telephones, including a Blackberry, but none work where I am stationed. The satellite phone supplied by the office does work, but only for a three- to five-minute con- nection. Communications are one of our greatest challenges. Keeping in touch with Baghdad, Washington, or even our local contacts, is hard! Contacting other PRT team members is also difficult. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger in the 1970s. The conditions of the PRT remind me of those times; however, the conditions here are even more difficult. In Niger the most remote village would still have been a luxury post compared to PRT Anbar. Working here at this time is fulfilling and historic, in spite of the dangers and the hardships and isolation. I wanted to work where I could use my knowledge of Arabic, cross-cul- tural and interpersonal skills, and my knowledge of public diplomacy programming. This is the perfect job for me, and an opportunity to make a difference and do real diplomacy! PRT Anbar members, from right: U.S. Navy Commander Geoffrey Schuller, PRT Administra- tor Sam Foursha, Angela Williams, Locally Em- ployed Civil Engineer and Translator Jamal Refat, U.S. Navy Commander James Lee and USMC Colonel and Deputy PRT Team Leader John Ewers. Working at PRT Anbar By Angela Williams, Public Diplomacy Officer