PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2024
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 5 May 2024 Volume 101, No. 4 Celebrating 100 Years of the U.S. Foreign Service & AFSA 22 Looking to the Future By Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken 24 At the Center of Smart Power By Hillary Rodham Clinton 25 The Best, Brightest, and Most Loyal By James A. Baker, III 26 Planting and Growing Seeds of Prosperity and Justice Worldwide By USAID Administrator Samantha Power 28 AFSA: A Vital Voice for Small Agencies By Director General Mark Petry, Foreign Agricultural Service 30 AFSA and the Evolution of the Foreign Service Career By John K. Naland 32 The U.S. Foreign Service and AFSA Through 100 Years of the Journal 52 Foreign Service Proud: 100 Words for 100 Years By FS Members 65 CENTENNIAL WRITING COMPETITION: FIRST PLACE A Look at the Ideal Foreign Service for the Next Generation By Toby Wolf
6 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 101 Reflections Raising Children in East Berlin By Otho Eskin 102 Local Lens Nairobi, Kenya By Armando L. Muir On the Cover—AFSA centennial logo design by Jeff Lau, cover design by Driven by Design. Marketplace 67 Centennial Congratulations 94 Real Estate 99 Classifieds 100 Index to Advertisers 7 President’s Views Building on 100 Years of Service By Tom Yazdgerdi 9 Letter from the Editor Born Together in 1924 By Shawn Dorman 18 Speaking Out It’s Up to Us to Implement the Learning Policy By Don Jacobson Perspectives Departments 10 Letters 12 Talking Points 83 In Memory 91 Books 75 Lights, Camera, Action! 76 S tate VP Voice—Celebrating Asian American Leadership 77 U SAID VP Voice—Remembering Our Fallen USAID Colleagues 78 FCS VP Voice—Do the Math: FCS Makes Sense 78 In Memoriam: Esther Coopersmith 79 Retiree VP Voice—Follow the Money 80 2023 AFSA PAC Report 80 AFSA Hosts Global Town Hall 80 AFSA, GTM Meet with Employee Orgs 80 AFSA Meets with Working in Tandem 81 AFSA and Global Ties 81 AFSA Webinar—Managing Your Retirement Portfolio 82 AFSA’s Good Works: Exemplary Performance Awards 75 AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 7 Building on 100 Years of Service BY TOM YAZDGERDI Tom Yazdgerdi is the president of the American Foreign Service Association. PRESIDENT’S VIEWS As we celebrate the rich history of the Foreign Service in this centennial edition, I have been inspired by the dozens of entries we received for the Journal’s Centennial Writing Competition and the contributions for our “Foreign Service Proud: 100 Words for 100 Years” campaign. I was honored to be one of the judges for this writing competition that asked contestants to describe the ideal Foreign Service for the next century. There were so many creative ideas and compelling narratives that it was difficult to choose a winner and the two runners-up. The experience got me thinking about what I would want to see in the next 100 years for our Foreign Service. I would hope that well before that next milestone, we would see a Foreign Service that: • Fully supports its members, leaving us free to engage our counterparts overseas without worrying about our partners, our kids, our elderly parents, and our pets. • Promotes transparency and fairness in the assignments and promotion processes. • Has the resources for effective preventive and accountability measures that address bullying behavior and toxic work environments. • Values and supports generalists and specialists equally, and fully values locally employed staff, consular fellows, and Foreign Service family members. • Remains highly competitive to join but without systemic barriers that have reduced diversity. • Includes and respects all voices. • Continuously learns, accesses, and uses cutting-edge, emerging technology and data science to further its mission. • Receives appropriate funding from Congress to win the global strategic competition and where career ambassadorial nominees are respected, not subject to partisan intrigue, routinely confirmed, and account for the vast majority of chief of mission appointments. • Is, most important, supported by the American people, who understand the link between what we do and the security and prosperity of our country. We were bowled over by the number of our members who chose to take part in the FS Proud campaign. Reading these inspirational entries, it is impossible not to be filled with an immense sense of pride. What we do really matters. This is true on the macro level as we work through disasters, crises, and coups. But it also matters on the “human level”—as official Americans, we represent our country to the local government and demonstrate for their citizenry the best our country has to offer. What comes across in the FS Proud narratives is the sacrifice and dedication that are the hallmarks of our profession. If you’ll indulge me, I have my own FS Proud tale to tell: It was the fall of 2007, and I was the political-economic chief in Pristina. The talks between Serbia and Kosovo, meant to lead to an agreedon final status for Kosovo, were going nowhere. It was clear that the only way for Kosovo and the region to move forward peacefully was through independence. Under the ambassador’s skillful direction, my colleagues and I across the many agencies at post worked tirelessly with the staffs of the prime minister and president and individual members of parliament (MPs) to help lay the groundwork for what would culminate in Kosovo’s Feb. 17, 2008, declaration of independence. We assisted the Kosovars in drafting a constitution that secured their rights and liberties and in lining up support from influential countries so the declaration would have widespread credibility from the start. Showing the respect and admiration they had for the United States, the Kosovars asked for an American to participate in the committee to choose the new country’s flag and national anthem—and I was that American. They also honored us by having each MP sign the declaration of independence, recalling what our Founding Fathers did so many years ago. It’s not every day that you are present at the creation of a new country. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Foreign Service— no other profession would have offered me the opportunity to be an integral part of such a moving and historic event. Wherever you are, please use this centennial opportunity to share your FS story with your local media, representatives and senators, academic institutions, world affairs councils, and more. Thanks for what you do—and here’s to another 100 years! n
8 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL www.sfiprogram.org SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE SFI-01268 Certified Sourcing Editor in Chief, Director of Publications Shawn Dorman: dorman@afsa.org Deputy Editor Donna Gorman: gorman@afsa.org Senior Editor Susan Brady Maitra: maitra@afsa.org Managing Editor Kathryn Owens: owens@afsa.org Associate Editor Vacant Publications Coordinator Hannah Harari: harari@afsa.org Business Development Manager— Advertising and Circulation Molly Long: long@afsa.org Art Director Caryn Suko Smith Editorial Board Vivian Walker, Chair Lynette Behnke, Gov. Bd. Liaison David Bargueño Hon. Robert M. Beecroft Gaïna Dávila Hon. Jennifer Z. Galt Steven Hendrix Harry Kopp Aileen Nandi Dan Spokojny Hon. Laurence Wohlers THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly, with combined January-February and July-August issues, by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board, or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by email. The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. AFSA reserves the right to reject advertising that is not in keeping with its standards and objectives. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply endorsement of goods or services offered. 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Email: journal@afsa.org Phone: (202) 338-4045 Fax: (202) 338-8244 Web: www.afsa.org/fsj Address Changes: member@afsa.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2024 PRINTED IN THE USA Postmaster: Send address changes to AFSA, Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street NW Washington DC 20037-2990 AFSA Headquarters: (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 State Department AFSA Office: (202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 USAID AFSA Office: (202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 FCS AFSA Office: (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 GOVERNING BOARD President Tom Yazdgerdi: yazdgerdi@afsa.org Secretary Sue Saarnio: saarnio@afsa.org Treasurer Hon. John O’Keefe: okeefe@afsa.org State Vice President Hui Jun Tina Wong: wong@afsa.org USAID Vice President Randy Chester: chester@afsa.org FCS Vice President Joshua Burke: burke@afsa.org FAS Vice President Lisa Ahramjian: ahramjian@afsa.org Retiree Vice President John K. Naland: nalandfamily@yahoo.com Full-Time State Representative Gregory Floyd: floyd@afsa.org State Representatives Lynette Behnke: behnke@afsa.org Kimberly Harrington: harrington@afsa.org C. Logan Wheeler: wheeler@afsa.org Whitney Wiedeman: wiedeman@afsa.org USAID Representative Christopher Saenger: saenger@afsa.org FCS Alternate Representative Jay Carreiro: jay.carreiro@afsa.org FAS Alternate Representative Zeke Spears: spears@afsa.org USAGM Representative Steve Herman: herman@afsa.org APHIS Representative Joe Ragole: ragole@afsa.org Retiree Representatives Mary Daly: daly@afsa.org Edward Stafford: stafford@afsa.org STAFF Executive Director Ásgeir Sigfússon: sigfusson@afsa.org Executive Assistant to the President Maria Benincasa: benincasa@afsa.org Office Coordinator Therese Thomas: therese@afsa.org PROFESSIONAL POLICY ISSUES AND ADVOCACY Director of Professional Policy Issues Julie Nutter: nutter@afsa.org Director of Advocacy Kim Greenplate: greenplate@afsa.org Policy Analyst Sean O’Gorman: ogorman@afsa.org FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Director of Finance Femi Oshobukola: oshobukola@afsa.org Director, HR and Operations Cory Nishi: cnishi@afsa.org Controller Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org Member Accounts Specialist Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org IT and Infrastructure Coordinator Aleksandar “Pav” Pavlovich: pavlovich@afsa.org COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH Director of Communications Nikki Gamer: gamer@afsa.org Manager of Outreach and Internal Communications Allan Saunders: saunders@afsa.org Online Communications Manager Jeff Lau: lau@afsa.org Manager, Outreach and Strategic Communications Nadja Ruzica: ruzica@afsa.org Communication and Educational Outreach Coordinator Erin Oliver: oliver@afsa.org MEMBERSHIP Director, Programs and Member Engagement Christine Miele: miele@afsa.org Program Coordinator Vacant Membership Operations Coordinator Mouna Koubaa: koubaa@afsa.org Coordinator of Member Recruitment and Benefits Perri Green: green@afsa.org Counselor for Retirees Dolores Brown: brown@afsa.org Member Events Coordinator Hannah Chapman: chapman@afsa.org LABOR MANAGEMENT General Counsel Sharon Papp: PappS@state.gov Deputy General Counsel Raeka Safai: SafaiR@state.gov Senior Staff Attorneys Zlatana Badrich: BadrichZ@state.gov Neera Parikh: ParikhNA@state.gov Labor Management Counselor Colleen Fallon-Lenaghan: FallonLenaghanC@state.gov Senior Labor Management Adviser James Yorke: YorkeJ@state.gov Labor Management Coordinator Patrick Bradley: BradleyPG@state.gov Senior Grievance Counselor Heather Townsend: TownsendHA@state.gov USAID Labor Management Adviser Sue Bremner: sbremner@usaid.gov Grievance Counselors Erin Kate Brady: brady@afsa.org Benjamin Phillips: PhillipsBE@state.gov FOREIGN SERVICE CONTACTS www.afsa.org
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 9 Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Born Together in 1924 BY SHAWN DORMAN With those founding words from our predecessors, we launch this centennial edition of The Foreign Service Journal. Our aim here is to both honor the past—the history of the Foreign Service and AFSA and the Journal—and look to the future. Secretary of State Antony Blinken leads the Focus with an inspiring message to the Foreign Service, including these words: “You’ve represented our nation with courage, character, and a commitment to our highest ideals. You have done this work in dangerous places; so many of you have served thousands of miles away from your loved ones. As times have changed, you’ve adapted, advancing new missions, learning new skills, and engaging in innovative ways with more audiences. No matter the challenge, and no matter the odds, you’ve shown time and again that the Foreign Service doesn’t back down. You dive in.” We then hear from two distinguished former Secretaries of State—Hillary Rodham Clinton and James A. Baker, III. USAID Administrator Samantha Power offers a tribute to the USAID Foreign Service. Foreign Agricultural Service Director General Mark Petry discusses the vital significance of AFSA as a voice for small agencies. AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi offers hopes for the FS future in “Building on 100 Years of Service,” while AFSA Retiree Vice President John Naland (a former AFSA president) gives a concise look at “AFSA and the Evolution of the Foreign Service Career.” The FSJ team compiled a lively record of moments from the history of AFSA and the Foreign Service, with illustrations and text drawn from the pages of the Journal over the last century. If you view this online, you can click on any excerpt and reach the full original story in our digital archive. Tapping our membership, we feature 60 microstories about moments that made them “Foreign Service Proud: 100 Words for 100 Years.” Closing out the Focus is the first-place essay from the FSJ Centennial Writing Competition, FSO Toby Wolf’s “A Look at the Ideal Foreign Service for the Next Generation.” Look for the second- and third-place essays in the June and JulyAugust editions, respectively. In other exciting centennial news, we are about to publish the fully updated second edition of the AFSA–Foreign Service history book, The Voice of the Foreign Service, by Harry Kopp. Get the whole story there. Pick up a copy at AFSA or order online at afsa.org/fsbooks. Our gratitude goes out to the FS community for chiming in and speaking up about and for the Foreign Service. As we know from our founding documents, AFSA and this magazine only exist because of you—and for you. We look forward to honoring the tradition and amplifying your voices for the next 100 years. n September 1924 American Consular Bulletin: “Resolution No. 1: ‘Whereas, in view of the enactment of legislation constituting a Foreign Service of the United States (Rogers Act), the organization of a Foreign Service Association and the publication by the Association of a Foreign Service journal, for the purpose of fostering and promoting an esprit de corps throughout the Service and for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Service in legitimate and appropriate ways, is deemed both opportune and desirable, therefore be it Resolved, By the American Foreign Service officers in the city of Washington assembled in this meeting, that a Foreign Service Association be organized to which all career officers of the American Foreign Service shall be eligible for membership.’” October 1924 American Foreign Service Journal: “Readers of the American Consular Bulletin will recognize in this, the first issue of the American Foreign Service Journal, the traits with which an honorable heredity has endowed it, for it owes its existence to the fortunate legacies of goodwill and finance, bequeathed it by the Bulletin, which, phoenix-like, died to give it birth. Mindful of these legacies, the Editors of the Journal, representing both branches of the Foreign Service, desire to make it plain that the future of this magazine lies entirely with its readers, who are at the same time its owners, managers and contributors.”
10 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS Measuring an FSO’s Effectiveness In 1974, when serving as a consular officer in Abu Dhabi, Ambassador John Limbert helped my mother return to the United States under difficult circumstances. She was a toddler. She had been kidnapped by my grandfather to one of the Gulf states when a U.S. court awarded custody to my grandmother. It was a dangerous situation, and without assistance, her prospects in life were grim. Amb. Limbert’s acts at that time enabled my mother to return to the United States and, eventually, start an American family. I recently joined the Foreign Service, and during the last few months, I have reflected on my family history and what it means to serve. To me, this episode demonstrates the interconnectedness of our work; but it also shows how difficult it is to appraise the results of our actions. We have lots of performance metrics, but it’s much harder to capture the implications. As I see it, the measure of effectiveness of Amb. Limbert’s actions is an American family that would not have existed but for the kindness and diligence of a Department of State employee in 1974. Today, some 50 years later, I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to our mission. A New FSO San Francisco, California The “Career Taper” Problem In the March 2024 FSJ, Retiree Vice President John Naland mentions in passing that he would “support raising the mandatory retirement age to 67 to match the full Social Security retirement age.” I agree and would highlight a separate but related issue, which I will call “career taper.” An example will demonstrate what I mean: A 63-year-old officer may not bid on a three-year deputy chief of mission assignment because they would not be able to complete it before mandatory retirement. As a result, officers approaching retirement age must “taper” their ambitions to fit their time remaining. While changing the retirement age would require legislation, I wonder if this problem could be fixed by policy. Specifically, for officers who are paneled to a job before their 65th birthday, an automatic career extension would be provided, ending at the conclusion of that tour (with no extensions allowed). Although the Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory retirement itself is not discriminatory, it appears that these restrictions prior to retirement may be. After all, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination in any aspect of employment, including job assignments. George N. Sibley FSO, retired Nordland, Washington Championing Diversity I commend AFSA and AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi for continuing to champion diversity in the State Department. In the March 2024 President’s Views, however, this sentence gave me pause: “Miami Dade College (MDC), with the largest undergraduate enrollment of any college or university in the country, can be a rich source of talent for the Foreign Service and help the department and other foreign affairs agencies better reflect the face of America abroad and at home.” This should not be news. We have had Diplomats in Residence (DIR) based at MDC—and Florida International University—for decades. At least within the Bureau of Global Talent Management, these HispanicServing Institutions are well known and a focus of recruitment. Touching on several other topics raised there—the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) and the Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA)—one of the most heartbreaking experiences I had as a DIR was to find that so many enthusiastic and talented candidates at these schools come away disappointed when they are unable to overcome these hurdles and, as a result, lose interest in the department. I know the Board of Examiners (BEX) has taken many a deep dive as to why standardized tests and other screening tools disadvantage certain groups, so I’m happy to see the department and AFSA discuss and experiment with alternate methods. Edward Loo FSO, retired Diplomat in Residence, South Florida (2012-2015) McLean, Virginia Diplomatic Treasures I have no connection to the Foreign Service but was very excited to see the March 2024 Speaking Out by Glyn Davies, “Needed: A New Approach to Protecting America’s Diplomatic Treasures.” Because the article was so interesting, if also somewhat esoteric, and so aligned with my interests, I thought I would write to give it a thumbs-up. As an art collector and someone concerned with the preservation of architecture and art, I found the article by Ambassador Davies very well researched. I totally agree that a timely approach to the conservation of the collection of diplomatic buildings and artifacts is something that should not be neglected.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 11 Perhaps some lesser works gathering dust could be sold at auction and the proceeds realized used for conservation? Andrew Fayle FSJ reader Isla Mujeres, Mexico 1950s AFSA In his article “AFSA’S First Hundred Years” (January-February 2024 FSJ), Harry Kopp cites a characterization of AFSA from the 1950s into the 1960s as an “effete club of elderly gentlemen.” As an elderly individual myself, I’d like to say a word in defense of AFSA presidents in that period (along with their ages at the time): George Kennan (46), Robert Murphy (61), Charles Bohlen (67), U. Alexis Johnson (55), Livingston Merchant (51), and Lucius Battle (44). Not exactly a gerontocracy! As noted below, not all former AFSA presidents qualified as “gentlemen.” The greatest threat to the Foreign Service in the 1950s was the persecution of FSOs, notably the “China hands,” on spurious security grounds. AFSA’s response to this challenge was decidedly mixed. George Kennan was forced out of the Foreign Service in part due to his efforts in support of John Davies. And in a January 1952 FSJ editorial, AFSA took a strong stand on behalf of another China hand, John Service: “For the American people a fundamental of law and government has been contravened. ... Every effort must be made in our collective self-defense to utilize all available means ... to make certain that justice prevails in the case of the loyalty of John S. Service.” Service’s purgatory, which lasted for seven more years, was cruelly ended by a confidential memorandum placed in his personnel file on Aug. 11, 1959, by Loy Henderson, an FSO, Career Ambassador, and former AFSA chairman (1945-1946), who served as State’s top management official from 1955 to 1961. Henderson’s biographer, historian H.W. Brands, attributes this assignment primarily to the fact that his “conservative credentials were in impeccable order.” States Brand: “Henderson’s distrust of New Dealers was a matter of record. ... When McCarthy blasted the department and foreign service ... he excepted Henderson by name.” In the memo, Henderson stated: “Mr. Service’s action in the Amerasia Case was reprehensible and has brought serious discredit upon the Foreign Service. This fact should be given proper consideration by any Selection Board considering Mr. Service’s performance record.” The memo destroyed Service’s career prospects, as Lynne Joiner points out in her book Honorable Survivor: Mao’s China, McCarthy’s America, and the Persecution of John S. Service (2009). McCarthy was dead, but his spirit lingered. On Jan. 30, 1973, AFSA paid belated tribute to the China hands before a capacity crowd of 250 in the Benjamin Franklin Room. In his remarks to the gathering, John Service said: “I wish I could say that the Foreign Service itself has always supported the value of reporting and area expertise ... negative examples have not been few.” As the China hands learned from bitter experience, not all their enemies were outside the tent. Bob Rackmales Foreign Service officer, retired Belfast, Maine n
12 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL TALKING POINTS I came into the business when it was still the Cold War, and it was very much a bipolar world. And then we had this moment where we thought, after the Soviet Union fell, that we would be able to knit both Russia and China into the democratic family. We would have this great lifting of all peoples in all boats. And then, of course, that became harder and harder. So what I would say is it’s essentially the same as it’s always been, that both our democratic allies around the world, but also countries that are fragile, countries that need support, will always look to the United States for help in coming up with democratic, free and open solutions. —Career Ambassador and former Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland reflecting on her retirement from government on NPR’s Morning Edition, March 29. Contemporary Quote Virginia House Resolution for FS Centennial Virginia House delegates David Reid (D-28) and Paul Krizek (D-16) sponsored a joint resolution honoring the Foreign Service and AFSA on their dual centennials. The resolution passed on March 6. AFSA retiree member Jim Meenan was instrumental in getting the resolution drafted. Meenan approached Del. Reid at a community event in Ashburn, Va., to propose the idea of a resolution, and, said Meenan, the result was an “outstanding document highlighting the history of the Foreign Service and the devotion of its members.” The resolution notes that more than 13,900 Foreign Service members are currently posted at 279 diplomatic missions around the world and that more than 321 have died in the line of duty. It also recognizes passage of the Rogers Act, which created the modern Foreign Service. Since then, the resolution reads, “the United States Foreign Service has carried out vital diplomacy, implementing the foreign policy of the United States, and provided assistance to American citizens living, working, and traveling abroad.” The resolution continues: “Members of the United States Foreign Service continue to provide accurate information, expert counsel, and wise guidance to policymakers, the media, and scholars.” The FSOA Goes Virtual Beginning with candidates who took the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) in February 2024, the department is moving to a fully virtual Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA). The move “significantly increases accessibility for candidates” by eliminating financial and other logistical hurdles that have prevented some qualified candidates from applying. “We knew for a fact that we were losing good candidates who simply couldn’t afford it,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Talent Management Lucia Piazza told Federal News Network (FNN). This change to a fully virtual format follows nearly four years of conducting virtual Foreign Service Specialist Assessments (FSSA), which have demonstrated the benefits of a more accessible process while maintaining the rigor and effectiveness of the assessments. AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi said: “We’ve heard from our members who have asked, ‘Can you really size someone up virtually the same way you can in person?’ The department says, ‘Yes, we can.’ We have an open mind and have seen a preliminary demonstration, so we are hopeful this will work.” The virtual test retains the same three components—a case management exercise, a group exercise, and a structured interview. The “13 dimensions” for evaluation have changed somewhat, and there are now 11 total. Piazza said the new test is “streamlined, tighter and more closely tied to the skills that we believe we need in our diplomatic corps.” The other change is in the name, from FS “oral” assessment to FS “officer” assessment. Piazza told FNN the change recognizes that not everyone communicates orally. “We’ve had a number of candidates who communicate using sign language, and we want to make sure that we’re being inclusive,” she explained. New CDIO Appointed On April 2, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the appointment of a new chief diversity and inclusion officer (CDIO). Zakiya Carr Johnson will lead the department’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She replaces the department’s first CDIO, Ambassador Gina AbercrombieWinstanley, who served in the role from April 2021 until June 2023. Carr Johnson worked at the State Department from 2010 to 2017 as a senior adviser and director of the Race, Ethnicity, and Social Inclusion Unit. She was also previously co-chair for the White House Inter-Agency Committee on Gender-Based Violence Monitoring and Evaluation.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 13 Our consular service is poorly paid, perhaps underpaid, and yet there are redeeming features which render that work wonderfully attractive to those who have curiosity regarding strange places and peoples and who enjoy travel for travel’s sake. Indeed, it is difficult to read a long list of consular appointments and transfers without one’s imagination thrilling. During the past week Secretary Hughes gave out such a list which is enough to induce a fellow to stoke his old kit bag and begin a world hike. We see where fellows have been ordered out to such intriguing places as Tientsin, Darien, Callao, Nogales, Salaverry, Patras, etc. The latter two probably are spots the average man could not find on any map without some guidance, for although he might, from the name form, pick Patras as Greek, it would take some nosing about over the map to stop the little port near the entrance to that sheet of water of old formation known as the Gulf of Corinth. But Salaverry, unless one were well up on South America, would be more difficult to discover on the Peruvian coast. However, it is not of the new appointments, even though they be to fascinating places, that we intend to speak, but of the weird shifts of consular locations recorded in Secretary Hughes’ order. Thus, Mr. Anslinger is to be moved from Hamburg to La Guayra—from the bustling city of North Germany struggling with afterwar difficulties, to the ultra-Latin port of Venezuela. Harry V. Boyle is being shifted from Durban, South Africa, to the peaceful Isle of Tahiti, land of Polynesian pippins made famous by artist and romancer, by Melville, Gauguin and O’Brien. Harry Campbell goes from Asuncion to Iquique, thus boring deeper into the strange heart of South America. … And thus the list continues juggling men from tropics to arctics, from wilderness to metropolis, from savage lands to civilization and back again. Yes, it’s the life! —American Consular Bulletin, May 1924, sent to the Bulletin by Consul General Alban G. Snyder, printed first in the Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Like Shifting Sands 100 Years Ago This advertisement appeared in the May 1924 edition of the American Consular Bulletin. NBC News reported that Carr Johnson will face a difficult task, pointing to a 2022 internal department survey that found 44 percent of respondents had experienced discrimination and 27 percent had reported harassment, including sexual harassment. New Science Envoys On March 13, the State Department announced the selection of four new U.S. science envoys whose job is to inform the department, other U.S. government agencies, and the scientific community about opportunities for international science and technology cooperation. The program was established in 2010 by then–Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Thirty scientists have previously been selected for the role, but this is the first time that the cohort has been all women. The new envoys—Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, Dr. Stephanie Diem, Dr. Sian Proctor, and Dr. Dawn Wright—were chosen “to take advantage of their expertise in key issues facing the world today: Artificial Intelligence; Fusion Energy; Civil Use of Space; and Ocean Sustainability.” Sweden Joins NATO On March 7, Sweden became the newest member of NATO, ending its 200-year policy of neutrality to join 31 other countries in the alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the whole Alliance more secure. Today’s accession demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open and that every nation has the right to choose its own path.” Orbán Visits D.C. Right-wing Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán visited Washington, D.C., on March 8, bypassing the current
14 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL administration to visit leaders of the Heritage Foundation, which has developed Project 2025 for the next Republican administration. The project aims to reshape the executive branch and, among other things, reinstate Schedule F, a controversial measure that would make certain civil servants in policymaking positions at-will employees and strip them of labor protections. Orbán also visited presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Havana Syndrome: Link to Russia? On March 31, 60 Minutes, The Insider, and Der Spiegel released a report and a 60 Minutes broadcast based on a five-year collaboration that has now seemingly uncovered evidence that the Russian government was likely behind the attacks that cause anomalous health incidents (AHI), also known as Havana syndrome. Evidence includes cell phone records, eyewitness testimony, and even a copy of an award given to a Russian military officer for his work on the “potential capabilities of non-lethal acoustic weapons during combat activities in urban settings.” C ouldn’t get enough of Arthur Brooks’ talk on happiness at the State Department on Feb. 23? You’re in luck: Mr. Brooks also made a recent appearance on the Prof G Show, where he talked about “the pillars of happiness” more generally. The popular Prof G Show is hosted by NYU professor, bestselling author, and entrepreneur Scott Galloway, who covers tech, business, and artificial intelligence in an engaging manner that has won him almost 200,000 YouTube subscribers. Past guests have included Admiral James Stavridis on the state of global affairs and journalist David Leonhardt on the state of the U.S. economy. Podcast of the Month: The Prof G Show (https://profgmedia/the-pod/) The appearance of a particular site or podcast is for information only and does not constitute an endorsement. The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) on April 1 released a detailed report on both AHI and previous incidents, including microwave bombardment on the U.S. embassy and ambassador’s residence in Moscow dating back to the 1950s. The State Department, the Pentagon, and the White House are all standing by their 2023 assessment that it is “very unlikely” the symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence told 60 Minutes, in part: “Most IC agencies have concluded that it is very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible for the reported AHIs.” But FPRI reminds readers that “the historical record is clear—at one time during the Cold War, something very similar was done against American facilities and diplomats overseas. The Soviets weaponized the use of microwaves against American officials, which led to debilitating illnesses, and some US officials hid this truth for decades.” The FPRI report also links to the JanuaryFebruary 2022 FSJ article “Before Havana Syndrome, There Was Moscow Signal.” Meanwhile, two medical studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published on March 18 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) looked at more than 80 individuals who claim to have fallen victim to AHI, comparing their brains to those of healthy people. The studies found no clinical signs or brain image indications to explain their symptoms, though Dr. Leighton Chan, who led one of the NIH studies, said despite the lack of clinical findings, “these individuals have real symptoms and are going through a very tough time.” Chan added: “Individuals with functional neurological disorders of any cause have symptoms that are real, distressing, and very difficult to treat.” The new studies contradict a 2018 JAMA study that found signs of “possible acquired brain injury from a directional exposure of undetermined etiology” in U.S. government personnel who had served in Havana. In a March 18 JAMA editorial, Dr. David Relman, co-chair of a panel of experts convened by the intelligence community in 2020, details “multiple problems” with the new NIH studies, arguing that the way they were conducted was “simply asking for trouble.” AFSA continues to advocate for those affected by the mysterious illness and has urged the State Department to investigate the claims in the 60 Minutes broadcast. More Diplomats to Kyiv On March 8, Foreign Policy reported that “up to 30 to 40 additional staff” would be assigned to the U.S. embassy in Kyiv to help oversee military aid and other forms of assistance that have been flowing into Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. Diplomats will also be allowed to travel freely throughout the region, from the cap-
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 15 ital city to the Belorussian border, without prior approval from the White House. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor told FP the embassy is “overworked and understaffed,” but the staffing increase should help ease the burden. U.N. Resolution on AI On March 21, the United Nations adopted a nonbinding, U.S.-led resolution on artificial intelligence (AI) safety protocols. The resolution was cosponsored by more than 120 nations. The resolution calls on member states to seize “the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy” AI systems that respect international law and human rights and address global challenges including poverty elimination, global health, food security, climate, energy, and education. The resolution was adopted unanimously. On April 1, another AI agreement was signed, this time between the U.S. and the U.K. The two countries announced a partnership to accelerate work “across the full spectrum of risks, whether to our national security or to our broader society,” according to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Generals Blame State for Evacuation Woes At a March 19 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, retired general Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and retired general Kenneth McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command, both blamed the State Department for problems with the August 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan. McKenzie told the committee that, while the department had an evacuation plan, their military counterparts “struggled to gain access to that plan.” Milley said the department’s decision to evacuate U.S. citizens “came too late.”
16 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan and DCM Bart Gorman raise the Pride flag at Embassy Moscow on June 25, 2021. U.S. EMBASSY MOSCOW On March 23, the Biden administration endorsed a $1.2 trillion spending deal including a provision that limits the types of flags that can be flown at U.S. embassies overseas, effectively banning the flying of the Pride flag. This bill would reverse the 2021 State Department authorization allowing Pride flags to be flown at government buildings. White House Assistant Press Secretary Michael Kikukawa told Forbes that “President Biden believes it was inappropriate to abuse the process that was essential to keep the government open by including this policy targeting LGBTQI+ Americans.” Kikukawa added: “While it will have no impact on the ability of members of the LGBTQI+ community to serve openly in our embassies or to celebrate Pride, the Administration fought against the inclusion of this policy and we will continue to work with members of Congress to find an opportunity to repeal it.” New Spending Bill Bans Pride Flags
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 17 Haiti Evacuation On March 10, as local gangs took control of the capital city of Portau-Prince, the U.S. military arrived in Haiti to strengthen security at the U.S. embassy and to evacuate nonessential personnel from the mission, according to NBC News. Family members and others had already left post in July 2023. Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya to finalize a U.N.-approved deal to send a Kenyan-led international police force to Haiti when gangs attacked the main airport, shutting it down and preventing Henry from returning to the country. On March 17, the State Department chartered a flight to evacuate U.S. citizens to Miami. On March 20, Reuters reported that the department chartered helicopters to fly to neighboring Dominican Republic, continuing the evacuation. Although the State Department has been warning U.S. citizens not to travel to Haiti since at least 2020, there were still hundreds of Americans in country and trying to leave as of late March. Silence on Sudan U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield penned an op-ed on human rights violations during the Sudanese civil war, writing on March 18 in The New York Times: “The world’s silence and inaction need to end, and end now.” Thomas-Greenfield called on the U.N. to “appoint a senior humanitarian official based outside Sudan to advocate humanitarian access, scale up relief efforts, and mobilize international donors.” On Feb. 26, President Biden appointed Tom Perriello as special envoy for Sudan. A release announcing the appointment stated that Perriello “re-joins the Department having previously served as the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the Democratic Republic of Congo and as the Special Representative for the second Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.” The U.N. Security Council called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” on March 8. n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Donna Scaramastra Gorman.
18 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SPEAKING OUT Don Jacobson joined the Foreign Service in 1992 and has led some of the State Department’s largest consular operations, such as those in Mexico, Brazil, and India. He currently serves as acting deputy assistant secretary for passport services. Publication of its new Learning Policy in September 2023 was a watershed moment for the State Department. For the first time, the department’s leadership has made the creation of a culture shift regarding training and education an explicit priority. Achieving this goal would be transformational, as it would significantly enhance the capacity of our organization while fostering motivation throughout our ranks. The Learning Policy includes a number of important components that are a big step forward, such as 40 hours of professional development per year for all direct hire employees, eligible family members, and locally employed (LE) staff. It also encourages widespread use of individual development plans (IDPs). These measures provide a firm foundation, but we cannot allow them to become mere box-checking exercises. Culture is the cumulative effect of individual behaviors, so creating a “learning culture” will require we achieve a critical mass of managers who make developing their people a central part of how they lead. My favorite definition of leadership comes from John Mellecker, a former financial services executive: “Leadership is the creation of an environment in which others are able to self-actualize in the process of completing the job.” Below I outline eight practices managers can use to develop the next generation in the process of getting the job done. PRACTICE #1 Hold One-on-One Meetings Weekly (or biweekly) one-on-one meetings are a leadership superpower. One-on-ones are a great way to get to know your direct reports and learn about their strengths, motivations, and goals. Done well, these meetings can foster psychological safety, which is necessary for candor and strong teams. (Candor is like oxygen for an organization.) Regularly scheduled one-on-ones are also a critical tool for ensuring we are getting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accountability right. Our priority as managers should be to get the best out of every employee. Weekly one-on-ones enable us to get to know every one of our direct reports and ensure they feel seen and have opportunities to discuss their ideas and professional development with the boss. I have encountered employees who go months without a one-on-one conversation with their boss. This makes them feel invisible, which is a horrible feeling. Weekly one-on-ones do require a time commitment, of course, so it’s important to put them on the calendar. Early in my career as a manager I realized one-on-ones would be useful, but I failed to put them on my calendar. As a result, they got squeezed out by the press of day-to-day work. Once I started scheduling them, I found that they saved me time because we were able to identify and solve problems when they were still small. I now spend much less time putting out fires and more time engaging with my people. Researcher Steven Rogelberg estimates that half of all one-on-one meetings are conducted in an ineffective manner, so it’s important to learn to do them well. I highly recommend Dr. Rogelberg’s book Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings and his November 2022 Harvard Business Review article, “Make the Most of Your One-onOne Meetings.” PRACTICE #2 Make It Safe to Ask for Help During my first “get to know you” one-on-one with each employee, I share that I have three pet peeves: “Rudeness to Our Customers, Rudeness to Colleagues, and Not Asking If You Don’t Know How to Do Something.” That last one is designed to counter a common It’s Up to Us to Implement the Learning Policy BY DON JACOBSON It is important for managers to model a commitment to continuous learning.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2024 19 fear among new FSOs that it is not safe to show they don’t know everything. Our work is complex, and no one was born knowing how to do it. Asking for help is a sign of strength and courage, while failing to do so can waste time and create the need for unproductive re-work. PRACTICE #3 Delegate Effectively to Develop Your Employees’ Skills Managers often fall into the trap of not delegating because they believe it is easier to complete a task than to delegate it. That may be true in the short run, but if we persist in doing things that others would benefit from learning, we will be ridiculously busy while our teams are frustrated and underdeveloped. Effective delegation does take some time up front, but by making that investment we can help our team members improve their job skills and motivation—and we, as managers, will have more time to think strategically and develop our team. Two helpful (and short) books about delegation are The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey and If You Want It Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself! It’s important to remember that delegation involves a conversation, and the employee needs to leave that conversation with a clear understanding of the desired outcome, how the task ranks with other priorities, when it is due, and how to get help if they become stuck. PRACTICE #4 Invite Innovation My first supervisor in the Foreign Service put in my work requirements that he wanted me to take a hard look at the whole operation and make recommendations for improvement. I took him literally and had a blast with it. I proposed many ways to make the operation more efficient or improve service. Not all my ideas were ready for prime time, but it was incredibly motivating to know that my supervisor was open to my ideas—and exciting to see some of them make a difference. I found that practice so motivating that, when I became a manager, I wanted my officers to have that same feeling. I put that mandate to look for better ways of doing things in the work requirements of all my officers once I became a supervisor and have continued that practice throughout my career. When I started managing frontline supervisors, I added a line in their work requirements saying that I expected them to elicit innovative ideas from their teams. I wanted to make sure they didn’t quash good ideas from the front lines. This practice is also a great way to grow leaders. Effective leaders take ownership of their sphere of influence and work with the team to make things better. Getting more junior employees in the habit of identifying problems and owning them prepares them to do the same when they are in positions of leadership. The experience of implementing their innovative ideas also gives them valuable practice working across organizational boundaries, influencing others, and obtaining resources. PRACTICE #5 Give People Feedback to Help Them Succeed Giving feedback is a fundamental part of every supervisor’s job. When preparing to deliver feedback, it’s important to approach the conversation with the intention of helping the employee be successful. Be curious about what led to the behavior requiring correction. It’s important to remember that we do not know what is going on in the lives— or heads—of other people. Just deliver the feedback and then let them talk. If you start with anger or a punitive mindset, the conversation is likely to harm the relationship and/or cause performance to deteriorate further. Avoid making the feedback feel like a personal attack. Adjectives like “unprofessional” or “lazy” will simply make the person defensive and resentful. Pare the message down to its essence: the specific behavior you observed and the impact that behavior had. It’s also important to make the feedback future-focused (i.e., explain what behaviors you want to see going forward). If you only focus the conversation on what the employee did wrong, it may feel like you are punishing them. Also, don’t forget to give positive feedback. Even the best employees may become unsettled if they aren’t sure where they stand with the boss. Gallup’s research indicates that employees benefit from having positive interactions with their supervisor at least weekly. PRACTICE #6 Host Professional Development Days Since 2005 the Bureau of Consular Affairs has asked consular sections around the world to set aside one day per month for professional development. Consular Development Days can include brainstorming sessions, formal training sessions, guest speakers, team activities, and time for special projects. We have found that the busiest sections often need this time the most—and productivity typically increases the rest of the month because this practice
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