The Foreign Service Journal, April 2013

36 april 2013 | the foreign Service journal it had to be embraced by the rank and file, as well as by manage- ment. Fortunately, while management tended to analyze prob- lems from a macro, top-down perspective, we saw the issues from the inside and from the bottom up. In discussing how to publicize our message, we knew that numerous previous studies of the State Department, some by prestigious think-tanks, had produced little in the way of mean- ingful results and enduring change. We were determined not to produce yet another report that few would read and that would end up on a dusty shelf. Instead, we agreed that we should draft a letter expressing our collective views and have our Foreign Service and Civil Service colleagues endorse it. Furthermore, since our initiative could be seen as criticiz- ing the outgoing administration, we decided to address our concerns to the incoming Secretary of State, in the hope that he or she would be more open and receptive to our views. After 11 drafts, we released the final version of our letter on Oct. 20, 2000, which declared: “The Department of State is ill-equipped and ill-prepared to meet the foreign policy challenges of the 21st cen- tury. Outdated procedures and chronic resource shortages have taken their toll. The organizational structure is dysfunctional, its staff overextended…and the State Department’s traditions block needed change.” We therefore sought the new administration’s “support, involvement and leadership to undertake a long-term, nonparti- san effort to modernize and strengthen the Department of State.” In closing, our letter stated: “The country needs a well-equipped, adequately staffed and modernized foreign policy institution,” and called for “bold and decisive steps now to deal effectively with the problems of today, while preparing for the challenges of the future—a future that is as close as tomorrow.” A Parallel Campaign Lacking access to Facebook or other social media, we pursued our campaign by buttonholing colleagues in the department cafeteria during the noon hour and with e-mails to overseas colleagues. AFSA pitched in by setting up a dedicated Web site containing the text of the letter and related SOS for DOS material. Initial support grew slowly, before three developments that During his 34-year Foreign Service career, Ted Strickler served in Somalia, Ethiopia, Germany, Sudan, Egypt, Switzerland and Italy. A member of the SOS for DOS steering committee, he was later the 2002 winner of AFSA’s Christian A. Herter Award for constructive dissent by a Senior Foreign Service officer. Horror Stories from the Field As our campaign slowly gained momentum, we heard from numerous individuals who described their battles to cope with the consequences of inadequate resources, often compounded by poor management. Here are a few examples: • Junior officers at an Asian post attempted to form an infor- mal, unofficial JO association, but were met with resistance and eventually blocked by post management. They were told not to worry about anything other than their individual careers and to “look out for yourself and nobody else.” What started as a very enthusiastic group of new officers eager to work in the consular section ended with many pronouncing themselves “demoral- ized.” Several considered resignation. • An economic counselor serving at a Latin American post reported being told that the post did not have blank compact discs available, or funds to buy them, to make 20 additional copies of a CD-ROM detailing anti-counterfeiting techniques for distribution to the host government banking community. • In a moving and graphic letter of resignation from the Foreign Service, one officer expressed a passionate belief in “the importance of our mission,” but went on to say that “the profes- sional environment has finally become untenable for me. There is no more ‘more’ that I can do with less and less.” • An office management specialist working for the ambassa- dor at a post in Africa described her assignment as “going back in time,” referring to the outdated IT equipment and lack of classi- fied e-mail capability at post. Similarly, an information program officer lamented the department’s lack of a “baseline commu- nications system to give everyone in the field desktop access to OpenNet, full-service Internet and ClassNet, and all incoming/ outgoing cable traffic.” Part of the Problem—and the Solution We quickly realized that for any reform effort to be successful, Numerous colleagues described their battles to cope with the consequences of inadequate resources, often compounded by poor management.