The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2003

R ecently anAFSAmemberwrote toquestion the custom of havingFS employees serve as “dutyofficer,” the indi- vidualoncalltodealwithweekendandafter-hoursemer- gencies. Employees at overseas posts rotate the responsibility weekly. Americancitizens get arrestedor injured; parents back home call toask for help in locating a childwhohasn’t phoned home inawhile. Sometimes an important cable arrives in the middle of the night: the duty officer must go to the embassy to read it and decide whether its contents warrant waking the ambassador. At larger missions, employees may be tapped no more than once a year, while at the smaller ones, duty is more frequent. The complaint prompted me to think about the role of duty, of hardship tours, of other experiences unique to the Foreign Service and how they serve to bond us into a distinct clan or tribe. Recently there has been a spate of movies about the bonding experienced by those in the military. “Band of Brothers” extols the ties forged by combat. Marines share boot camp. Members of the Foreign Service share similar bonds, like duty. Foreign Service employees routinely take themselves and their families off to difficult places and work long hours to advance America’s foreign policy objectives. They do this not for the compensation, the glory or the ease of life overseas, but to serve their country. As I write this, many posts are bidding farewell to families departing due to a SARSoutbreakor terrorist bombings. As SecretaryPowell noted inrecent congressional testimony, “I send State Department officers out to the most difficult places ... where they may be separated from their families for a longer period of time than the average soldier gets separated fromhis family.” Like formerMarines, as soon as you learn that a stranger you’ve just met was in the Foreign Service, you immediately feel a kinship. Thevalueof these sharedexperiencesmayhavebeenwhatpromptedDirectorGeneral Ruth A. Davis to suggest that promotion boards take into consideration community service such as serving on a promotion panel, participating in a mentoring program, or servingonahousingboard. Sheunderstands that theseactivities contribute toemploy- ee welfare and strengthen the StateDepartment and the Foreign Service as institutions. AFSA concurred with her request and it also chose not to challenge the custom of “taking the duty,” believing instead that it strengthens the bonds among us. I recentlyhadamoment toroamtheWebsiteof theDiplomaticandConsularOfficers Retired (www.dacorbacon.org) an dreadseveral accountsof incidentsof life intheForeign Service. One gentleman posted the account of his role in saving State employees when theAmericanEmbassy inBenghazi was stormedbymobs in1967; they all got out alive, but the embassy was reduced to a burned shell. There’s the former consul general in Tangierwhovaliantly rescued twoAmerican staff of aUSIS center during the 1984 riots in Tetuan, Morocco. And there are colleagues who lifted off from the embassy com- pound inSomalia just as itwasbeingoverrunand thosewho lived formonths inEmbassy Kuwait under Iraqi occupation in 1991. Is there another career that, in spite of the danger and hardship, can provide such satisfaction? I doubt it. ▫ Like former Marines, as soon as you learn that a stranger you’ve just met was in the Foreign Service, you immediately feel a kinship. V.P. VOICE: STATE ■ BY LOUISE CRANE The Foreign Service Tribe 12 AFSA NEWS • JULY-AUGUST 2003 AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 3 AFSA Participates in “Michigan and the World” The U.S. Department of State, the Coalition for American Leadership Abroad (which includes AFSA), the city of Dearborn, and numerous national and Michigan-based organizations co-sponsored a state-wide conference titled: “Michigan and the World.” The conference explored the issues, views and roles of Michigan citizens and citizen-based organizations regarding U.S. foreign policy and world affairs. It took place on May 6, 2003, at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. Some 200 members of the Michigan foreign affairs community par- ticipated, and follow-up activities are being planned. BOOKFAIR The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide need your donations for BOOKFAIR, an annual October event for the last 43 years. Books in good con- dition (but no textbooks except for lan- guage instruction), artwork, collectibles, stamps and coins would all be gratefully accepted. Handicrafts from around the world are especially welcome — such items are popular and sell quickly. In the Washington, D.C. area, pick-ups can be arranged by calling Virginia Jones at (202) 223-5796. In the State Department, donations may be dropped off at the BOOKROOM (now located in B816) Monday through Friday, from noon to 2 p.m. or by appointment. Call (202) 223-5796. From Overseas, donations may be pouched to: AAFSW BOOKROOM, B816 Main State (HST). FSYF Reminder The Annual Welcome Back Potluck Picnic, hosted by the Foreign Service Youth Foundation, will be held on Sunday, Sept. 21, 4 p.m., at Lubber Run Park in Arlington. For more information e-mail fsyf@fsyf.org. ▫