The Foreign Service Journal, May 2017

AFSA NEWS CALENDAR THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2017 47 May 3 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting May 5 Foreign Service Day/AFSA Memorial Plaque Ceremony May 11 4:30-6:30 p.m. Reception: FSJ Digital Archive Launch May 25 4:30-6:30 p.m. AFSA Networking Happy Hour May 29 Memorial Day: AFSA Offices Closed June 7 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting June 8 8 a.m. AFSA Election Voting Deadline June 20 4-6 p.m. AFSA Awards Ceremony July 4 Independence Day: AFSA Offices Closed July 15 New Governing Board Takes Office Continuing the Conversation: Securing Diplomacy for the Next Quarter-Century On March 15, AFSA held the second in a new series of events, “Con- tinuing the Conversa- tion.” Former Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Gregory Starr, a retired FSO, took part in a moderated conversa- tion with AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson on the topic of his article in the March issue of The Foreign Ser- vice Journal , “Securing Diplomacy for the Next Quarter-Century.” Amb. Stephenson kicked off the full-house event at AFSA HQ, saying “security is a responsibility, not just for DS agents, but for everyone,” a theme she had expanded on in her March FSJ president’s column “Working Together to Manage Risk.” Amb. Stephenson invited Mr. Starr to comment on the future of Diplomatic Security and how the agency is prepar- ing to respond to new threats worldwide. DS special agents should be trained in both “hard skills” and diplomatic tradecraft, Mr. Starr said, to be prepared for the new chal- lenges they will face. “We need to get back to the concept of service, and be talking openly to recruits and current members of the Foreign Service about the realities of the Service,” he added. Mr. Starr emphasized, for example, the importance of being clear from the outset that all members of the For- eign Service should expect to serve at an unaccompa- nied post (a post designated as unsafe for dependent family members due to ter- rorism or instability in the host country). He noted that DS special agents should expect to serve at such a post approxi- mately once per decade. Prior to 2001, an unaccom- panied posting generally happened only once over the course of an agent’s career. Amb. Stephenson and Mr. Starr also discussed the critical issue of risk management, and how vital it is for members of Emer- gency Action Committees at overseas posts to be involved in assessing and mitigating risk to effectively and safely conduct U.S. diplomacy. “The priority of the Foreign Service must be to implement U.S. foreign policy,” he said, and to do that you must be able to weigh and manage risk. Drawing on his experience as the United Nations Under- Secretary-General for Safety and Security, Mr. Starr helped to institute the Vital Presence Validation Process (known as VP2) at State. VP2 is a repeatable and transparent method to make risk-managed decisions regarding U.S. presence at missions which have been designated as “high-threat.” A VP2 analysis must be undertaken annually by high Former Assistant Secretary Gregory Starr (left) at an event continuing the conversation about how to secure diplomacy. Moderated by AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson (right), the conversation was followed by a Q&A session. Continued on page 56 AFSA/GEMMADVORAK threat posts, and weighs U.S. policy against risks in a particular location, taking staffing and resources into account. Mr. Starr recommended that VP2 reports be made available to all posts—even those not considered high threat—so that staff mem-