The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2015

36 JULY-AUGUST 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A much bigger issue (untouched in the report) is the consis- tently subpar record of the career Foreign Service in weeding out FSOs and FS specialists with performance and conduct suitability or discipline issues. An even greater factor here are those supervisors who ignore or enable them—often shooting the messengers and blaming the victims in the process. We’re all about carrots, not sticks in the Foreign Service. Let’s start using the stick more effectively by being aggressive about ridding ourselves of those with performance and CSD issues, and denying poor career leaders promotions and plum assign- ments (including deputy chief of mission jobs and ambassador- ships). — Matt Weiller FSO, FE-OC (Management Officer) USAF Political Adviser Washington, D.C. Expanded Training and Mentorship Make Sense A side frommy A-100 swearing-in ceremony, and a regret- table “Aren’t-you-someone-famous” encounter in a Main State hallway, I have never met Ambassador Bill Burns. By most accounts, and as evidenced by news reports of his diplomatic accomplishments, he is a paragon of quiet diplomatic achieve- ment: the “secret diplomatic weapon” who rose from his 1983 posting in Amman to advise presidents of both political parties and to spearhead our nation’s most critical diplomatic negotia- tions. His success across the decades has led many to debate how to “find the next Bill Burns.” Indeed, 35 years since the passage of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, the Foreign Service is not only challenged by how best to “find” or even “build” the next Bill Burns, but also by how best to mentor, train and lead the next Bill Burns, should he or she be sitting in today’s A-100 class. The American Academy of Diplomacy’s American Diplomacy at Risk puts forward policy recommendations which address not only how to groom and train the next generation of Foreign Service leaders, but also how to clarify and preserve the distinct and congressionally mandated characteristics of the Foreign Service itself. To this entry-level officer who is, lamentably, no Bill Burns, the Academy’s call for expanded entry- and mid-level officer training and mentorship makes sense. The push for a consistent and strengthened mentorship regime is likely a relief for officers on the losing end of the pronounced and inexplicable mission- to-mission variance in mentorship programs. Those of us who have benefited from genuine and robust Foreign Service men- torship recognize the contributions that mid- and senior-level officers have made to our careers and want the same enriching experiences for all of our colleagues. The Academy’s rationale for their proposed six-month Washington practicum echoes feedback shared by entry-level colleagues who served in domestic assignments prior to report- ing overseas. These officers almost uniformly note how their Washington experience facilitated a richer appreciation of the State Department’s role in foreign policy formulation and pro- vided context for the outreach and reporting overseas missions conduct and produce. This practicum could serve to demystify Main State operations while providing a foundational exposure to diplomacy-in-action. The recommendation to provide entry-level officers with career track flexibility by designating their initial cone selec- tion as “temporary” could benefit officers and the Service alike. By assigning tenured officers to career tracks more consistent with their interests and abilities—and in alignment with Service needs—the department would no longer hold officers to career track selections made when they were the least knowledgeable about the Foreign Service. In the end, whether he or she is “found” or “grown,” deciding how to mentor and lead the next Bill Burns is not just an aca- demic debate. Nor is the question of how to manage and groom the next Ryan Crocker, Ruth Davis, Terence Todman, Anne Patterson, Robert Ford, Nancy J. Powell and John Negroponte, among others. In providing their roadmap for how to reach this goal, the Academy has initiated a thoughtful and critically important discussion. — Allyn Brooks-LaSure FSO, Consulate General Melbourne A second-tour officer, Brooks-LaSure joined with other entry-level officers for a 2014 roundtable convened by ADAR report authors. n