The Foreign Service Journal, April 2004

Fair Share — But Not for Him? “We believe in fair share, and we are enforcing it,” Director General W. Robert Pearson said in the interview carried in the February Journal . This statement strikes me as more than a bit odd, coming as it does from an officer who served 10 consecutive years in Paris and Brussels. In fact, it appears that the two-year tour he spent in Beijing very early in his career compris- es his entire service at hardship posts. As the interview recognized, there is great skepticism in the Foreign Service that the fair share policy is enforced in a uniform manner. May I therefore suggest that the director general show his support for this poli- cy by pledging to serve at a hardship post for his next assignment? Steve Muller FSO, retired Troy, N.Y. How Soon We Forget Dr. Jaime Suarez’s article on assess- ing Foreign Service morale (February FSJ ) brought back many fond memo- ries of my days as executive director of the Office of the Medical Director from 1977 to 1981 under Dr. Bill Watson and his successor, Dr. Eben “Dusty” Dustin. Soon after joining MED, we embarked on efforts to gain approval from department management to begin the regional mental health pro- gram, with the goal of stationing regional psychiatrists overseas to pro- vide coverage from key posts. We took a morale assessment trip that spanned three regional bureaus. Amazingly, the questions I asked and the answers I received from our Foreign Service members and their spouses in 1977 mirrored almost exactly the questions Suarez asked and the answers he received on his recent trip. The results of our survey were telling and useful. The cost/benefit analysis of medical evacuations, bro- ken assignments and family reloca- tions, versus early diagnosis, interven- tion and mental health care overseas helped convince MED, then led by Ben Read, to approve our proposal. During my assessment trip, I, too, found that morale at hardship posts very often was much higher than at “plush” posts. Additionally, the role of the ambassador, deputy chief of mis- sion and administrative counselor was key to post morale. I compared the three senior management officials at post with the key to winning baseball: strength down the middle from the catcher, pitcher, second baseman, and center fielder. The stronger these positions, the better the team fares. I was fortunate to have served with some of the best morale-building ambassadors in the Service. Produc- tivity under these chiefs of mission was exceptional. Unfortunately, I also served with one ambassador who mir- rored the unreasonable interpersonal traits Suarez describes in his article. I saw how quickly post morale could change under a self-aggrandizing amb- assador who did not have a well-devel- oped management approach. Not sur- prisingly, tour extensions became cur- tailments, post effectiveness decreased, and the costs to the department of doing business increased. The measurable product of the Foreign Service is the output of its per- sonnel. Good morale increases the effectiveness of that product. Good morale is a product of good manage- ment. Good management saves money. Gerald S. (Jerry) Rose FSO, retired Falls Church, Va. VOA’s Vital Role Your January issue is a goldmine of information on international broad- casting. Hopefully it will encourage those involved in foreign affairs to appreciate the increasingly vital role, at bargain cost, performed by VOA and the complex array of other public diplomacy outlets under the Broad- casting Board of Governors. Audiences tend to believe what they hear if they trust the messenger. America’s radio and TV voices must be accurate, comprehensive, objective and, yes, interesting. As Ed Murrow liked to say, “warts and all.” I hope our broadcasters are able to resist pressures to overemphasize entertainment in order to attract lis- teners like a sideshow barker. If Uncle Sam is to get his dollar’s worth he should be given room to explain U.S. policies to the world, in a reasoned, convincing way, just as a newspaper reserves unto itself the right to print editorials to make known its views. A good many listeners, including world leaders, yearn to know the rationale behind policies which affect them. Richard Cushing, Former VOA Acting Director FSO, retired Mills Valley, Calif. L ETTERS 6 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 4