The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2016 13 Rather than trying to merge the Civil Service and Foreign Service (as was the goal of “Wristonization” back in the 1950s) or the more recent efforts under Secretary of State Colin Powell to soften the distinctions between the two entities, maybe we need to recognize the need for a third path, one that helps bridge the two services. Stuart Denyer FSO U.S. Embassy Algiers Mutual Understanding The FSJ continues to play a vital role in exploring sensitive issues that benefit from airing. Publishing Larry Roeder Jr.’s October Speaking Out column (“Seek- ing Parity Between the Civil and Foreign Services” ) is a particularly timely case in point. Two letters to the editor responding to Mr. Roeder’s views in the December issue ( “Civil and Foreign Service Relations ” and “Parity Is Not Equality” ) reflect the intense sentiments on the topic. As they note, seeking parity among the services does not make sense: we sign up from the start for different duty. Complementary, but different. “One team” is the mantra. But resent- ment bubbles close to the surface. In the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, for example, FSOs are generally seen as waltzing in for two years and moving on while experienced program officers have nowhere to go—a situation that is exacerbated by a hiring freeze. ECA is also a bureau that has had only political-appointee assistant secretar- ies. While they may be qualified in other areas, political appointees are unlikely to address intra- and inter-service (Civil Service-Foreign Service) problems about which they themselves know little. It seems ironic that a bureau dedi- cated to promoting mutual understand- ing shows little regard for the problems and misunderstanding between and among the various parts of the bureau- cracy. Civil servants view FSOs as arro- gant and shallow. They aren’t all wrong (it’s been a longtime dream that the A-100 orientation course would include a segment on humility). But there is another side to the story, too. This was brought home to me over