The Foreign Service Journal, September 2010

8 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 an OMS, and I benefited tremendously during my 39 years in the Service from their invaluable support. The OMS with whom I was privi- leged to serve as chief of mission in Kenya and in Israel, Louise Saalfrank, was a force multiplier if ever there were one. A true professional — skilled, dedicated, a manager of people and a respected colleague—she reached the ceiling of FS-3, but her contribution to American diplomacy should certainly have been recognized above that level. During her career she extended the reach of three other ambassadors, John Holdridge in Indonesia, Robert Keeley in Greece and Frank Wisner in Egypt. Bill Harrop Ambassador, retired Washington, D.C. If Anyone Could Be a Four-Star General AFSA FAS VP Henry Schmick’s good AFSA News column (“Up or Out: The Five-Stars”) in the April issue invites an intriguing question: What caliber of talent would the armed services attract if they offered the following prospects? You will survive spirited competi- tion for appointment to one of the service academies. Subject 24/7/365 to military authority, you will undergo four years of rigorous academic train- ing in a variety of no-nonsense disci- plines, and spend summers in field maneuvers. You will be dropped at any point if you cannot cut it. Once commissioned at 21 or 22, you will face combat, take command and leadership training, and assume higher levels of responsibility and dif- ficulty. Your career will include fre- quent changes of assignment on short notice and service at remote hardship posts without family. You will remain in keen competition with your peers for training and choice assignments leading to promotion opportunities, but receive middling compensation (by American standards) for jobs of similar challenge. If you have the stuff, and survive combat, you might, after 35 years of winnowing, reach three-star rank. After several more years you could make the short list for four stars. But here the rules suddenly change. Half of those slots will go to political operators, big contributors to the winning presidential campaign, and family and social relations. They will be assigned to such perilous posts as Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Honolulu, Brussels and Tokyo. Conclusion: It takes 35 years of training, experience, competition and discipline to reach three stars. But anyone can be a four-star general. A developed democracy would never tolerate such an absurdity, would it? Richard S. Dawson Jr. FSO, retired Uzes, France The Foreign What? In his June letter, retired FSO Robert Illing notes from Porto, Portu- gal, the ignorance regarding the For- eign Service. He could have been speaking of the part of Wisconsin where for many years we have lived in retirement. The usual response after I answer the question, “What did you do?” makes clear that the other per- son has us confused with the armed services. The Department of State is almost as unknown here as its responsibility, whereas our military presence every- where is only too well known. Lee F. Dinsmore FSO, retired Elcho, Wisc. AFSA on the Cadillac Tax I am astonished that folks misun- derstood AFSA’s stand on the “Cadil- lac Tax” (Retiree VP column, “Health Care Reform,” June). I believe AFSA was absolutely correct in join- ing with other employee organiza- tions in objection to that part of the health care reform bill. And yes, we elected the Governing Board to rep- resent our interests in those issues that are frankly too complicated for us to have a clear understanding of them. I mean, who understood the bill? ■ Virginia Schafer Ambassador, retired Sun City West, Ariz. L E T T E R S Dear Readers: In order to produce a high- quality product, the FSJ depends on the revenue it earns from advertising. You can help with this. Please let us know the names of companies that have provided good service to you — a hotel, insurance company, auto dealership, or other concern. A referral from our readers is the best entrée! Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager Tel: (202) 944-5507 E-mail: miltenberger@afsa.org You Are Our Eyes & Ears!