The Foreign Service Journal, April 2004

officials to protect Foreign Service employees and their dependents. Fortunately, resources for enhanced security have increased, but for years they were inadequate to the threats facing us abroad, as the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam demonstrated. We entrust our safety to them and should stick up for them when Congress or other public entities question their judg- ment or our diplomatic readiness. I have gained a lot of respect over the course of my career for consular, security and management colleagues and also learned that they can be very helpful in public affairs work. Many of them have valuable contacts and understand public diplomacy pro- gramming better than some political and economic officers. They are ser- vice-oriented and this means that they can get things done and make needed connections to key local contacts. When was the last time a senior consular or management FSO was promoted to career minister? Promo- tion incentives for all FS cones should be fair and equal, alleviating the appearance that certain kinds of work are more important. We all depend upon each other and should assume that we share the same standards of professional conduct and achievement. Bruce K. Byers FSO, retired AFSA Vice President, 1995-96 Reston, Va. At Sea on Dissent I couldn’t help but notice that the AFSA card asking members to nomi- nate officers for constructive dissent and not being afraid to “rock the boat” shows a person sitting in what looks very much like a very unseaworthy coffin. I know that many feel that dis- sent may be akin to putting a foot in one’s professional grave, but I’m sure that the image of burial at sea is not what was intended! A P R I L 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 9 L E T T E R S