The Foreign Service Journal, May 2010

M A Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 thorities. While Congress may be sympathetic to a well- conceived strategy for training and professional develop- ment of Foreign Service personnel, it will not allocate the necessary resources in the absence of clear indications of how they will be used. Right now, while we still have new personnel coming on board with existing budget authority, is the time to begin setting aside some of these positions to build the training float (beyond language training) for the Service as a whole. Specifically, “A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future,” referenced earlier, recommends establishing 1,287 new positions for training, professional development, transitions and temporary needs at an annual cost of $309.8 million. That is an ambitious goal, to be sure. Yet even if the flow of resources for new positions shrinks in coming years, a detailed strategy will furnish a template to build on over time. Recognizing the current strains on the State Depart- ment as it deals with new officers, two wars and the chal- lenges of conducting the Quadrennial Diplomacy and De- velopment Review, the American Academy of Diplomacy proposes to use its resource of former senior officers to study and propose a comprehensive strategy that meets the needs described above. With the funding noted ear- lier, we intend to work with State, AFSA and outside ex- perts to propose solutions drawn from the best practices of others, as well as the unique needs of foreign affairs work. The State Department’s promised cooperation will be essential to assure that the study is grounded in reality and capable of being accepted and implemented. We plan to draw attention, as well, to key training needs in State’s sis- ter foreign affairs agencies (USAID, FAS, FCS and IBB). No doubt even the best plan will have deficiencies and raise some criticisms. Over time a strategy can and should be modified in the light of experience and chang- ing needs. Without a strategy, however, the discussion will remain as theoretical as it has been for half a century — and just as useless. ■ F O C U S