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 43 hen I ask friends what the State Department does, some respond, “what state?” Many people know some- thing about the cur- rent Secretary of State but not much about his agency. Even some who are reasonably well- informed tend to think that State is either like a lower- grade CIA where everything is “top secret, James Bond stuff,” or just another government bureaucracy that pushes paper but never accomplishes anything. If I then ask them what they think the Foreign Service does, their answers usually demon- strate similar confusion. Some people give answers like “it makes foreign policy,” “it negoti- ates treaties,” and so forth, which is true as far as it goes, of course. But few, if any, members of the general public have any idea that Foreign Service spe- cialists exist at all, let alone know anything about the many, varied and indispensable jobs we do. Sadly, I suspect few Foreign Service officers are much better informed about their specialist col- leagues, or have much interest in them at all. Just as Foreign Service generalists are relegated to the bow- els of the foreign policy machinery in the public’s per- ception, specialists are equally shadowy figures in the minds of most FSOs. After all, for those seeking prestige, and impressed by the mystique and sophistication traditionally asso- ciated with diplomacy, a position as a Foreign Service officer is the ticket to the top. And it is true that spe- cialists do not get to pull off major policy coups like concluding a trade agreement or helping two warring factions come to terms. But that doesn’t mean that we are any less committed to serving our country overseas. We see the Foreign Service as a natural progres- sion in a long and varied professional career, not just a job. Many of us have higher levels of education than our generalist colleagues; in fact, unlike FSOs, we are required to have advanced levels of education and training just to get into the Foreign Service. Part of the problem may be the fact that even though what specialists do is central to the very functioning of any overseas mission, we are generally noticed only when there is a problem with the com- puters or phones. Otherwise, except for interacting with post managers to obtain financial resources, we operate fairly autonomously. That is even more true back in Washington, where we run our own pro- grams, manage multimillion-dollar projects, engineer systems for worldwide installation, plan and design security requirements for emergency communication and interagency operability issues, teach and train at FSI, and much more. What do I like about what I do? As with many gen- eralists, travel is one of the things I enjoy the most about being in the Foreign Service. (Some might call me an “adventure junkie,” but I prefer to think of it as living life to the fullest.) And it’s a good thing I do enjoy it, because I spend a lot of time on the road! In conjunction with the Frankfurt Regional F O C U S O N F S S P E C I A L I S T S T HE L IFE OF F OREIGN S ERVICE S PECIALISTS B Y B RIAN C OEN I T ISN ’ T ONLY OUTSIDERS WHO DON ’ T KNOW WHAT FS SPECIALISTS DO — MANY FSO S ARE EQUALLY UNINFORMED . W