The Foreign Service Journal, June 2012

J U N E 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 Last September the AFSA Governing Board identified five strategic goals for its term, which runs through July 2013. Strengthening professionalism and effectiveness in the context of diplomacy and the Foreign Servicewas one of the five goals they set. Since then, a number of my columns have focused on facets of that broad topic. I have examined such questions as whether Marine Corps culture has any lessons for us; why a code of pro- fessional ethics and conduct is impor- tant for the Foreign Service, both as an institution and a profession; and whether the perception of the Foreign Service as elitist is justified, or accu- rately describes the nature of our pro- fession and service. The responses to those columns have been encouraging and show that several of these ideas resonate with members, both active-duty and retired. What emerges as the central question is this: How can we strengthen our diplo- matic and development services? If America wants to maintain a lead- ership role and real influence in global affairs in an ever more complex envi- ronment, it will needmore instruments in its statecraft toolbox than a strong, well-resourced professional military force. It requires an equally strong, pro- fessional and well-resourced cadre of diplomatic and development profes- sionals. U.S. military interventions and diplomacy have both had a deep impact on world affairs. The outcome of diplomatic ef- forts may not be as visible and dramatic as that of military in- terventions but, in the words of the diplomat and scholar Alan Hen- drikson, it is often “consequential.” Our engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan provide themost recent and clearest ex- amples of howmilitary effort and diplo- macy are intertwined. Flowing from last fall’s strategic plan- ning retreat, the AFSA Governing Board approved the establishment of an AFSAProfessionalismandEthics Com- mittee at its April meeting. The new committee has a broad mandate to de- velop and recommend programs, proj- ects and initiatives to the Governing Board encompassing such issues as re- inforcing the Foreign Service’s identity, core values and esprit de corps; strengthening professional education and training, formulating a professional code of ethics and conduct; reviewing AFSA’s constructive dissent awards pro- gramwith a view to using it more effec- tively to improve professionalism; offering input on the content of exhibits and outreach of theDiplomacy Center/ Museum of American Diplomacy, as well as other ideas ourmembers suggest. We are now in the process of stand- ing up the AFSA Professionalism and Ethics Committee. This involves defin- ing and formalizing its mandate inmore detail, and adopting and implementing a work plan based on specific projects or practical initiatives. We anticipate its membership will comemostly from the active-duty Foreign Service, with some retiree participation and with a recently retired ambassador or senior officer as chair, given the time constraints on active-duty members. AFSA will provide some staff sup- port, but we expect, at least in the initial phase, that committeemembers will be able to engage substantively with time and ideas. Once organized and focused on a work plan and specific activities, the time commitment should be simi- lar to that required of FSJ Editorial Board members. The scope of the Professionalism and Ethics Committee’s work will match the scope of its members’ am- bition and the Governing Board’s sup- port. Indeed, the number of AFSA members who have already expressed interest in participating and proposed areas to pursue suggests that this new committee will have a rich range of is- sues to explore. It may need to estab- lish subunits or advisory and con- sultative groups to facilitate its work, but this is not cast in stone and we will adjust as we proceed. If you would be interested in partic- ipating in some way in the committee’s work, please contact me at johnson@ afsa.org . P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS Establishing the New AFSA Professionalism and Ethics Committee B Y S USAN R. J OHNSON