The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2012

J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 7 Foreign Service Pets: Not a Peripheral Issue By Susan R. Johnson R EFLECTIONS / 78 My Portable Consciences By Annie Pforzheimer L ETTERS / 8 C YBERNOTES / 10 M ARKETPLACE / 13 B OOKS / 62 I N M EMORY / 65 I NDEX TO A DVERTISERS / 76 J U LY- A U G U S T 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 5 C ONTENTS July-August 2012 Volume 89, No. 7-8 F O C U S O N F S I / F S Tr a i n i n g P URSUING THE E LUSIVE T RAINING F LOAT / 14 Adequate funding is a key piece of the professionalization puzzle, but not the only one. By Shawn Zeller F OSTERING A P ROFESSIONAL F OREIGN S ERVICE / 21 State and USAID should concentrate on protecting recent staffing gains, not programs, to cope with budget cutbacks. By Ronald E. Neumann T HE A RMY ’ S A PPROACH TO L EADER D EVELOPMENT / 27 A look at how the Army’s professional education system develops leadership skills offers possible lessons for the Foreign Service. By Jeffrey LaMoe and Ted Strickler A T FSI’ S H ELM : A N I NTERVIEW WITH R UTH A. W HITESIDE / 32 The director of the Foreign Service Institute reflects on the training center’s expanding role. By Shawn Zeller F E A T U R E S C ELEBRATING I NTELLECTUAL C OURAGE : AFSA’ S C ONSTRUCTIVE D ISSENT A WARDS / 39 Please consider nominating a deserving colleague — or even yourself — for an AFSA dissent award. By John W. Limbert T HE N EED FOR L ONG -T ERM P ERSPECTIVES IN F OREIGN P OLICY / 42 Successful foreign policymaking needs overarching principles, a vision and a mission statement declaring its purpose. By Jon Elliott F S H E R I T A G E J OEL R. P OINSETT : F IRST U.S. E NVOY IN L ATIN A MERICA / 46 Though mainly known today for giving his name to a Christmas flower, Joel Poinsett achieved much more. By Luciano Mangiafico Illustration by Torrence Delawie, from the watercolor triptych “Memory Places,” one of Ms. Delawie’s entries in AFSA’s 2012 Art Merit Award Competition.