The Foreign Service Journal, June 2021

10 JUNE 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS The Way We Were Among many FSOs there is a (half) joke by which we note with some wonder how interesting we all were as individu- als when we joined the Foreign Service X years ago, and how somehow over the years we have melded into the same type of person. Keith Mines’ “State’s Influence on Foreign Policy: Is This Really as Good as It Gets?” (March FSJ ) takes it out of the realm of a joke and poses some serious questions about our culture of conformity and lack of boldness (and toughness)— and the extent to which it contributes to our losing opportunities to lead in foreign policy. If we have learned anything over the past handful of years, it is that we should be speaking up more, not less. Our Ser- vice has taken a beating, but we are still an incredibly talented group of profes- sionals. The Mines article should be manda- tory reading for all interested in how we can seize this window of opportunity— with a president, vice president and Secretary of State who take us seriously and want to build us up. Mr. Mines argues that we should not just be one member at the table of foreign policy decision-making, but the key member, leading interagency meetings. His overall thesis and “six suggestions we could do to get out of our own way and secure a seat at the adult table of policy development” also bump up against our goals on diversity, equity and inclusion, in my view. I have had bright and talented young officers of color ask me if they can truly be themselves, try to develop their innovative ideas—or if by resources to language and other training programs for those already in the Service. In my day, the U.S. military pro- gram for training foreign attachés was a good example of how to do things right, although it did require specialization—in other words, the opposite of nearly every personnel program in the Foreign Service for the past 50 years. Maybe we should take a look at that system. James Schumaker FSO, retired San Clemente, California On Testing Positive for COVID-19 It was the road trip of unintended con- sequences. Seven months after arriving in our new home of Kyiv, as part of the U.S. diplomatic community, our family of six decided to take a break from the monot- ony of pandemic life in our post-Soviet neighborhood. Instead of opting for PCR COVID-19 tests, international travel, and sunny, warmweather, we decided to simply drive west for a change of scenery and fresh mountain air. No airports. No flights. Masked up. Exploring our new home. Several days into the trip, after an afternoon of snow tubing in a park 10 hours’ drive from Kyiv, I started having congestion and body aches. A few days later, I lost my sense of taste—a discovery made while I was feeding my 2-year-old M&Ms during the last hour of our drive home to Kyiv. Once home, I took a big spoonful of good old American peanut butter and gave it a try: no taste. That’s when I knew I was screwed. And most likely my husband and four children in my wake. So there I sat. A positive COVID test in Ukraine. Where health care is not good. Where hospitals were edging to capacity. doing so they’ll get labeled as “x” and stymie their careers. That is a difficult question to answer honestly. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could nourish those qualities that made us so interest- ing back when we joined—and those qualities we see now in our incoming and entry-level officers, including, or espe- cially, officers of color? Could we believe that by keeping some of that, we could actually be a bolder and stronger Foreign Service and ultimately more useful to foreign policy and to our country? Kristin M. Kane Chargé d’affaires U.S. Embassy Lisbon A Note on the Notes Some of the “Notes to the New Admin- istration” (March FSJ ) were very interest- ing. Others, well... I was particularly startled by a retired colleague’s suggestion that in addition to passing the written and oral exams, candi- dates should have either a 4/4 in a world language or a 3+/4 in a hard language. My Foreign Service class consisted of 34 very intelligent and accomplished offi- cers. Maybe five of themwould have been language-qualified. I suspect the situation would be even worse today. My first four overseas tours required Serbian, Russian and Dari. How many officers come into the Service today knowing any of those languages? Not many, I suspect. Already know- ing languages is, of course, very desir- able. But the real problem, as always, is devoting adequate