The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 31 s a State Department diplomatic courier, it’s my job to make sure America’s classified documents are shipped around the world safely. “Dip” couriers are some of the world’s most frequent fliers, yet most people don’t even know we exist, let alone hear about our adventures and challenges. Like the time I flew into Uzbekistan … Somewhere over the Caspian Sea, approaching Almaty, Kazakhstan. Dead of winter. It is 9:30 p.m. local time. The purser announces that snow on the runway prevents us from landing. We must land in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and spend the night in a hotel. I find the purser and inform him that my responsibility is to remain with my pouches, loaded in a giant container in the airplane’s belly. There are consultations with the pilot. In the meantime, Embassy Tashkent is informed that I’m here and may or may not need help. Imagine the embassy duty officer’s enthusiasm for coming out to the airport and sitting all night in a car with me, staring at the cargo door of an Airbus 340 in sub-zero weather! Someone performs a miracle and I am allowed to sleep alone in the plane with the small concession of having a security guard in and around the plane during the night. The pilot shows me how to open and close the big door leading out to the stairs and bids me farewell ... for a time. I later agree with the guard that we don’t really need the humming auxiliary power on. He stops it, and the plane begins to settle — snap, crackle, and pop! Ah, the comforting sounds of home. A few hours later, dawn comes and brings a gaggle of uniformed guards: security, army, who knows? They stamp all our passports and begin to search the entire plane’s overhead bins, seat cushions, and pockets behind seat backs. I realize they are probably looking for drugs since many pass through this region. No one bothers me, though I hear them whispering about “the diplomatic courier.” Eventually the crew arrives, followed by the well-rested and well-fed passengers, all inquiring into my well-being after spending the night alone on the plane. Finally, we are airborne for Almaty by 11 a.m. I have to admit that even though I’m hungry and need a shower, it wasn’t such a bad experience after all. At least I wasn’t sleeping on top of my pouches in some cold warehouse — a pleasure a few of my fellow couriers have had. Diplomatic couriers are no longer chained by the wrist to their pouches like Tyrone Power in the classic film “Diplomatic Courier,” but they are conscious every sec- ond of the location of their loads. Whether containers in the belly of an airplane, loose-loaded pieces in the bag- gage compartment or simply a small piece in their brief- case, couriers know precisely where the diplomatic pouches are at all times. Have you noticed the passenger who always arrives last on the plane or the passenger who jumps out of his seat like a jack-in-the-box the second the plane arrives at the gate and the seat-belt sign goes off? If so, you’ve proba- bly observed a courier in action. Couriers have an exciting, but sometimes lonely, job. We travel all the time, spending numerous hours waiting under planes for the loading to end or the unloading to begin. In our time off, we find ourselves alone exploring new and exotic cities. We are all incurable tourists. So, if you ever find yourself sitting next to a dip couri- er on a plane, you have the opportunity of a lifetime to hear some great tales from a veteran traveler. But what- ever you do, don’t ask what’s inside the pouch — that’s classified! ■ F O C U S O N F S S P E C I A L I S T S T HAT ’ S C LASSIFIED ! B Y B ARBARA J ACQUIN A Barbara Jacquin has been posted to Belgrade, Suva, Mbabane, Ouagadougou, Port-au-Prince, and the Frankfurt Regional Courier Office. She dedicates this story to Seth Foti, a courier who perished in the line of duty in August 2000. This account, along with numerous others, can be found in the 2003 edition of AFSA’s Inside a U.S. Embassy: How the Foreign Service Works for America.