The Foreign Service Journal, May 2006

and support transformational diplo- macy? No, many IRMers are becom- ing too specialized and ignore other core duties of the position. Does the current “certification” process just build good résumés? Yes, basically. It leaves a lot to be desired. With this in mind, here’s hoping State management will retool its training regimen for IRM profes- sionals to make it more useful in the field. n Carl E. Stefan entered the Foreign Service in 1990 as an Information Management Specialist, after 21 years with the U.S. Coast Guard. His overseas postings include New Delhi, Brussels (USNATO), Djibouti, War- saw and Manama. In Washington, he has served as an FSI instructor and is currently a desk officer in the Bureau of Information Resource Manage- ment, among other assignments. M A Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 S P E A K I N G O U T u Need to Sound the Alarm About Something? Why not write a “Speaking Out” column for the Foreign Service Journal ? “Speaking Out” is your forum to advo- cate policy, regulatory or statutory changes to the Foreign Service. These can be based on personal experience with an injustice or convey your hard- won insights into a foreign affairs-relat- ed issue. Writers are encouraged to take strong stands, but all factual claims must be supported and documented. Submissions should be approximately 1,500 words in length and should be sent via e-mail to journal@afsa.org . Please note that all submissions to the Journal must be approved by the Editorial Board and are subject to edit- ing for style, length and format.