The Foreign Service Journal, March 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2021 39 ability to achieve success on matters of real importance. Active leadership by professionals in the front office of the U.S. Mis- sion to the U.N. will provide opportunities to move forward; but we don’t need to put lipstick on a pig, we need real change in America’s policy approach. Finally, we should have no political ambassadors, expand the Peace Corps and unleash USAID! Robert E. Gribbin is a retired FSO and former ambassador in Spring- field, Virginia. Prioritize Values Over Politics To reinvigorate U.S. diplomacy, the new administration should not permit politically motivated ambassadorial appoint- ments. Ambassadors must have diplomatic experience. Also, the administration should prohibit sales of weaponry and aid to countries that have declared they are against Ameri- can values or have corrupt governments. Noel Harrington, a retired State Department office management specialist, lives in Bend, Oregon. Unleash the Power of Diversity The Department of State’s tremendous effort to broaden diversity within its workforce rightly encompasses a more expansive understanding of what it means to be an American, including the immigrant and refugee experiences of women and men for whom the United States is an adopted home. To live up to the full potential of this effort, we have to lever- age the talents, language abilities and historical perspectives of diaspora Americans within the department’s ranks. Engaging substantively with State’s collection of employee affinity groups is a great place to start. Here are a few recommendations for consideration: • State’s regional bureaus should establish regular and ongoing policy consultations with the affinity group(s) most closely aligned with their geographic focus. • The policy planning staff should tap representatives from these groups to review and provide feedback on novel policy recommendations related to a specific region, conflict or bilat- eral partnership. • The Dissent Channel mechanism should be revamped to encourage the contribution of policy inputs (not just disagree- ments with current policy) from representatives of the wider workforce with linguistic, cultural and historical perspectives on a particular country, region or conflict, regardless of their formal portfolio. • The department should champion and elevate the unde- niable value of deep, contextualized knowledge about, or a personal connection to, a place, its people, its language and history. Too often, this degree of connection to a country or region is conflated with the concept of “clientitis,” discouraging the development of real geographic expertise. • The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should revamp its cri- teria in evaluating suitability for security clearances to expand opportunities for people with specific ethnic backgrounds to serve in those locations over the course of their careers. Foreign and Civil Service officers, including myself, have roots in Armenia, India, Vietnam, Mexico, Egypt and else- where. Some of us were born in these places; others have parents who immigrated to the United States in search of the “American dream.” Compartmentalizing this potent force or assuming we leave our personal identities at the door when we walk into the lobby of the Harry S Truman Building is neither realistic nor efficient. Finding mechanisms to tap into the full potential of the ethnic diversity within the Department of State will undoubtedly make U.S. international engagement and foreign policy formulation more effective. FSO Ruben Harutunian is a senior adviser at the Foreign Service Institute. Restore Presidential Recognition to the Foreign Service Because the new administration promised to rely on diplo- macy, President Biden should fill the top ranks of U.S. diplo- macy from the Senior Foreign Service and reward the best performers with the Presidential Rank Award. This award is the pinnacle of the system of executive incen- tives set up by Congress in the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The president can recognize exemplary service by annually award- ing the PRA to just the top 6 percent of the Senior Foreign Service. The PRA designates a member of the Senior Foreign Service as among the best—their service merits the nation’s thanks. While the money that accompanies the award is welcome, it is recognition from the president that means the most. From 2012 to 2017, the Senior Foreign Service did not receive the PRA, although the Senior Executive Service