The Foreign Service Journal, June 2008

public diplomacy and public affairs, and management and organizational excellence. Given the central role these issues play in our foreign policy agenda, assignment to a functional policy position should be a requirement for promotion to the Senior Foreign Service. Under the current precepts, however, there is no such requirement: regional experience in more than one region is sufficient. Of course, that change will take time to implement, to ensure that offi- cers on the cusp of consideration for promotion are not unfairly disadvantaged. But it should be done, sooner rather than later. Expand the group of informal and formal deci- sionmakers on overseas assignments and promo- tions to include officials from T. Including such rep- resentatives to serve on the informal assignment panels and formal assignment committees for mid- and lower- level overseas positions that deal prominently with T issues, and for chiefs of mission and deputy chiefs of mis- sion, would ensure that these selection processes give due weight to familiarity with arms control and security issues essential for effective performance in such posi- tions. It would also strengthen regional-functional bureau collaboration. Representation on the department’s awards commit- tee — which currently does not include any representa- tive from the functional policy bureaus — would also sig- nal recognition of the importance of those issues to State’s overall mission. Consideration should be given to the inclusion of the other functional policy under secre- taries in these processes, as well. Establish overseas positions for advisers to embassies and missions on nonproliferation, coun- terproliferation, WMD/terrorism, political-military, and verification and compliance issues. State should consider increasing our overseas Foreign Service person- nel assets to assist selected foreign countries or regional groups (e.g., the African Union, the Organization of American States or the ASEAN Regional Forum) in building their capacity in these areas. F O C U S J U N E 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 41