The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2020 65 the following day. Nightly huddles in the improvised stor- age and operations center in Praia typically wrapped up late, with one team member, who drew the short straw, assigned the midnight-to-6-a.m. security shift to stand watch over the pouches. We all played every role, and the missions made for extremely long hours. We began dispatching couriers and OPMED personnel on round-robin flights, servicing up to four posts per day and mak- ing adjustments on the fly. In one case, as our flight approached Niamey, Niger, we were waved off by the control tower who abruptly—and mistakenly—told us that we did not have landing clearance. With fuel running low, we had to change our course and head to our next destination and refuel. We then confirmed that U.S. Embassy Niamey had indeed secured permission to land before convincing the tired and reluctant flight crew to make another attempt. Lessons were learned daily, and relationships were forged within the team. We worked together to solve not only DCS problems when issues were related to classified material but also OPMED concerns when the problem involved medical equipment or repatriation. Local officials grewmore comfortable with us each day as we demonstrated a high level of professionalism and respect for the Cabo Verdean protocols put in place to ensure the safety of local staff. The experience gained during this inaugural mis- sion validated a road map for subsequent missions based out of Diego Garcia, Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Boca Raton and Ramstein Air Base, facili- tating the eventual support of more than 150 diplomatic posts worldwide. The combined DCS/OPMED effort managing these colos- sal challenges saved lives, provided comfort and reassured our global diplomatic colleagues that they were not alone in a time of crisis. DCS and OPMED have worked together through several crisis situations in the past. But it appears the present collabora- tion, planned to continue for the next few months, feels like, as Humphrey Bogart puts it in the film Casablanca , “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Stephen Donovan is regional director of the Washington Regional Diplomatic Courier Division. A diplomatic courier with the Depart- ment of State for 21 years, he was deputy director of the Diplomatic Courier Service, responsible for classified pouch operations world- wide, from 2016 to 2019. He served previously as the supervisor of diplomatic courier hubs in Pretoria, Manama and Seoul, and also served in Bangkok and Frankfurt. He is married to Dessislava Donovan and has a son and two daughters. Casey Roberts (at right, front) and the author under the wing of an aircraft during a torrential downpour in Monrovia. In Cabo Verde at the makeshift secure storage/ operations center. Left to right: Steve Donovan (DCS), Joseph Kazacos (DCS), Jared Strom (DCS), Laurean Pope (OPMED) and Casey Roberts (OPMED). Not pictured: Travis Wildy. COURTESYOFSTEPHENDONOVAN COURTESYOFSTEPHENDONOVAN