The Foreign Service Journal, April 2003

Great Evacuation Coverage My compliments on the February FSJ ’s coverage of evacuations. Perhaps because I was fortunate enough never to be involved in an evacuation myself, I did not know any of the procedural angles cited in the various articles. It was a terrific pre- sentation which I hope gets coverage in other journals and newspapers. I do wish it had been mentioned that there have been something like 128 evacuations since 1988. Such sta- tistics always help, I have found, in perking up people’s ears. I use them in talks I give around the Washington area and elsewhere, precisely to make the point that our so-called “striped- pants” diplomats (thanks a lot, Ari Fleischer) are often in danger. Nor do they live in the luxurious circum- stances that so many non-Foreign Service people assume they do. My objective, of course, is to give our fel- low taxpaying citizens a better under- standing of what the Foreign Service does and what life is really like for us — neither of which is either well- known or fully appreciated. Again, let me reiterate my com- pliments on the high quality of your coverage. Gilbert Sheinbaum FSO, retired Vienna, Va. A “Must Read” I was very pleased to see that Ambassador Tibor Nagy (“Ambassa- dors and Post Morale: The Most Critical Element”; Speaking Out, February FSJ ) highlighted from per- sonal experience what is one of the most important items in the success of any mission: an ambassador who cares. I am sure that many field posi- tions around the world remain open for long periods due to individuals in the mission leadership having placed great demands on the staff, without responding to their efforts in a posi- tive manner. But this problem of not showing appreciation is nothing new or unique to the Foreign Service, of course: one can see the same phe- nomenon at other federal agencies, as well as in the private sector. We all want service, that very elu- sive quality — yet when we find it, we often forget to even say “thanks,” etc. So I believe Amb. Nagy’s article ought to be a “must read” — not only for new officers, but for newly assigned senior offi- cers, as well, regardless of their years of service, rank or title, before they take up their responsibilities. After all, we are all prone to forget how to deal with our staff at times, regardless of our rank or title. Woody Hickson FSO, retired Ft. Worth, Texas Praise for FCS Issue Thanks for your excellent focus section about the Foreign Commer- cial Service (January FSJ ). It is unfortunate that, perhaps reflecting political reality, services such as FCS are more nationalistic than global in outlook, based on mercantilist theories of how to achieve greater economic prosperi- ty for national benefit rather than mutual benefit (aside from dealing with the distortions created by intervention of other governments). The same is true of their trade and investment promotion counterparts in other countries. They all try to push exports and attract foreign investment, instead of realizing that international business is a two-way transaction which brings benefits to both parties, since otherwise the deal simply doesn’t get done. Following my retirement from State, I set up a new business, Global Direct Investment Solutions, to deal with the challenge of con- necting corporate executives, profes- sional service providers and invest- ment promotion officials worldwide to support direct investment projects (as opposed to just export trade pro- motion) by companies. That includes investment by foreign com- panies anywhere in the U.S. I believe my work may be of interest to many Foreign Commer- cial Service officers, even though our roles differ. Accordingly, I invite your readers to visit my Web site, www.gdi-solutions.com, fo r more information, and would welcome their insights and suggestions. In turn, there they may encounter executives who would value the expertise my colleagues offer. L ETTERS A P R I L 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7