48 JULY-AUGUST 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL WHEN USAID DISAPPEARS America’s first line of defense—the professional, nonpartisan U.S. Foreign Service—is under threat. Career diplomats and development experts are being fired or sidelined, and the value of public service questioned and politicized. AFSA launched the Service Disrupted public awareness campaign in May to help illustrate the work of the Foreign Service and why it matters. We’ve been collecting testimonials from members to help illustrate the critical work of diplomacy and development and what is lost when the work is halted. We published the first set of Service Disrupted stories in the AprilMay FSJ, “Lives Upended: The Impact of USAID’s Dismantling on Those Who Serve." The second set, “What We’ve Lost: Firsthand Accounts from the Field,” was published in the June FSJ. Here we share the third installment. The stories have been lightly edited for clarity. Two are printed anonymously, but the authors are known to us. Please consider sharing your own story or that of a colleague. What is important about the work you do, and what will be (or has been) lost without you in the field? What does America lose as the result of your program and/or position being shuttered? What do you want Americans to better understand about the work of diplomacy and development and why it matters? We will continue to share your stories in the Journal and on AFSA social media channels. Send submissions of up to 500 words to us at humans-of-fs@afsa.org. —The Editors FEATURE
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