The Foreign Service Journal, May 2011

8 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 1 1 ice), the Washington, D.C., locality al- lowance was given to FS employees everywhere — with additional cost-of- living, hardship allowances and danger pay added on top. To keep Congress and others from viewing the pay situation as strangely skewed, it would seem to be a better idea to readjust base pay and add al- lowances in other areas as needed. Judy Chidester FSO, retired Las Cruces, N.M. Mastering the Diplomatic Chessboard The recent release of the Ameri- can Academy of Diplomacy’s long- awaited report on professional diplo- matic education and training has fo- cused renewed attention on that crit- ical issue. For my part, I would note that whether a chief of mission is accredited to a foreign government or to an inter- national organization, he or she must master the complex three-dimensional chessboard at the heart of modern statecraft. Successful “grandmasters” are not born, however, but forged by education, training and experience. A critical stage in this process occurs in mid-career, when a diplomat has enough experience to know the chal- lenges leaders face but remains open to new ways of meeting them. With that in mind, the State De- partment and Foreign Service ought to adapt the model of the U.S. Army Fel- lows program, which allows experi- enced colonels to do their mid-career training at major universities. That set- ting encourages Army Fellows to think outside the box in ways that a year at the War College would not. Fellows are placed at universities all over the Unted States, enabling them to escape the tyranny of the Beltway. There they can mentor future practi- tioners whom they encounter on cam- pus, and have their own assumptions challenged by those same students. Army Fellows also benefit from ex- posure to senior academics and practi- tioners who can help them step back from the operational grind to think through the best examples of statecraft available from theory and history. And they undertake original research on a topic of real-world significance to American statecraft, leading to a peer- reviewed article for publication. Whether or not participants receive an advanced degree, they come away with experience that prepares them to be effective general officers. A similar programwould helpmid-career Amer- ican diplomats prepare for future as- signments in leadership positions. Larry C. Napper Ambassador, retired, and Senior Lecturer George Bush School of Government and Public Service Texas A&M University College Station, Texas Contacts for a Lifetime I commend Joanne Grady Huskey for her article about the International Visitor Leadership program in the March Journal (“Changing Hearts and Minds”). She rightly spotlights one of the most useful and productive tools available for cultivating close personal relations with current and future lead- ers. Throughout my 25 years abroad as an FSO, I was constantly on the look- out for candidates for the programwho appeared likely to ascend to top lead- ership positions. While serving in Vi- enna from 1962 to 1967, for instance, I was the embassy political officer re- sponsible for contacts with the Austrian Socialist Party. In the process of widening my cir- cle of acquaintances, I met Fred Sino- watz, party secretary for Burgenland province, Leopold Gratz, secretary of the Socialist faction of Parliament, and Heinz Fischer, his assistant. I managed to get IVP grants for each in time. Some 20 years later, in 1984, I had occasion to revisit Vienna. Sinowatz was now head of government (chancel- lor), Gratz was foreign minister, and Fischer was science minister. Each one graciously made time for me in the midst of their busy schedules to renew our friendships. Two decades later, in 2004, Fischer was elected president of Austria and re- elected for a second six-year term last year. Also last year, he was prominently featured on a program celebrating the 60th anniversary of the IVP program in Austria. When our ambassador met the new president in 2004, Fischer said he had never forgotten his visit to the U.S. 40 years before — nor all those who had made it possible. Jack Sulser FSO, retired Alexandria, Va. Mea Culpa Call me chagrined and thankful that at least one FSJ reader is better at fact- checking than I am. Concentrating on the functional issue in my review of Philip Oldenberg’s recent book, India, Pakistan and Democracy: Solving the Mystery of Divergent Paths , I carelessly credited Mohammed Ali Jinnah with a presidency I knew he never occupied. However, the vital point I was mak- ing about the consequences of Jinnah’s choosing to become governor general L E T T E R S