The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

in your section will have to do it. The military trains and deploys groups together, and I can just imagine how this reinforces a sense of responsibility to each other, and increases their effectiveness. The State Department and the U.S. military have dif- ferent cultures for a reason: we have different mandates and strengths. I attended many meetings in Baghdad that would have been much more difficult if the U.S. had been represented by soldiers instead of diplomats. If State employees are going to be in war zones, however, our institution should learn from the military’s experience in supporting and preparing its staff for work in dangerous environments. In Baghdad, the safest place in the Green Zone is in the Republican Palace, which currently houses the embassy. But much of the most effective work is done outside the embassy, requiring difficult decisions on how to balance risk and effectiveness. We all work with colleagues who have returned from Iraq, some still dealing with the effects of life there. Many of us support the work through service in neigh- boring countries, or do more work with fewer resources as people and funds are diverted to our mission in Iraq. Worldwide, we face similar decisions as to how to balance risk and effectiveness, as our embassies respond to real increases in risk levels with higher walls and smaller win- dows. These decisions will have consequences for our effectiveness, which ultimately can also affect the risk we face overseas. I hope we are able to decide as an institution how to handle these challenges, and how we can best support each other in doing so. This past fall, we finally had a Service-wide discussion of the costs and benefits of direct- ed assignments to Iraq. State Department leadership, AFSA and members of the Foreign Service should focus now on how best to support our colleagues assigned there. Alyce Abdalla FSI Student “P LANES , T RAINS AND A UTOMOBILES ,” I RAQ -S TYLE Hilarious as the 1987 movie of that title was, traveling in Iraq — whether by Blackhawks, C-130 aircraft or armored vehicles — is serious business. Breaking your glasses while suiting up in the 40-pound Individ- ual Protective Vest because you absentmindedly left them in a pocket is just one of many hazards. Your riding suit includes helmet, safety glasses, ear protection and Nomex flame-resistant gloves, which come in handy if your vehicle burns because of an IED or accident. Operations sergeants are your travel agents and secu- rity forecasters, setting up your itinerary and providing wise travel counsel. Normally, 96 hours’ notice is required to secure a seat, and flights canceled are not rebooked by your friendly airline. So travelers must be proactive and cultivate good interpersonal relations to get a new flight. My worst experience involved a 14-hour delay at the now-closed Griffin Helipad at Camp Victory when trying to fly to Fallujah on a Marine aircraft. After four canceled flights and sleeping on the floor, I finally got on a 4 a.m. flight. Ground travel is normally frowned on for good reason, but my job requires daily runs to the provincial capital of Baqubah and weekly “outings” to Abu Sadia, Khalis and Muqdadiyah. While these trips are nearly always uneventful, two merit comment. After we attended a meeting with the mayor of Khalis, the company commander asked about taking a “side trip” to see the leader of the area Concerned Local Citizens group. This excursion in a 22-ton Stryker took us into an area still being secured near the Tigris River. During the meeting, we heard shots from a CLC check- point. We rapidly vacated the rooftop of the Iraqi Army post and boarded the Stryker for what I thought was the trip back home. Instead, we offloaded at the check- point, where I stayed behind while the commander took his platoon and the CLC on a foot patrol to find the shooter. The other memorable trip was from Muqdadiyah to Abu Sadia in an armored Humvee. After an IED dis- abled the Stryker ahead of us, the track commander gave the command to stop and report damage from what he believed to be a second IED, and instructed everyone to look for others. As it turned out, the single explosion was so loud that the reverberation echoed in the valley and had bounced back from behind us, sounding like a second explosion. Because I did not have the broken intercom headset on, tracking the sound was easier. It is important to speak in a confident voice at a time like that, and I informed the commander that there was only one explosion. I will always remem- ber the clicking of the metal sprockets from the over- head gun turret scanning the road ditch, houses and fields for signs of a complex attack, a distinctive sound. F O C U S 38 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 8