The Foreign Service Journal, September 2011

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 21 That assignment was my eleventh overseas tour. Never before nor since have I been so touched by the spon- taneous outpourings of a host coun- try. I could feel them weeping with us. Michael F. Gallagher Senior Foreign Service officer, retired Ocean View, Del. Tying Our Own Hands From 2008 to 2009 I served with an Italian Provincial Reconstruction Team in Tallil, Iraq. Our facility, a former Iraqi Air Force base, was now home to the 82nd Airborne Division (the All-Americans). State Department security measures often prevented me from carrying out my job, and put me at a distinct disadvantage vis-a-vis my Italian colleagues. Our team was staffed by British Special Air Service veterans with combat expe- rience, assisted by Iraqi local hires and Gurkhas. I had to submit a formal request to the regional security officer in Bagh- dad every time I wanted to leave the base. Worse, the RSO would not allow me to travel with Aegis, the British firm that provided our security, because it supposedly “did not meet American standards.” This was despite the fact that the Aegis team had already conducted more than 1,000 mis- sions during the existence of the PRT with no incidents. The Aegis team was desert smart, leaving the wire in a single nondescript vehicle. The team always included lo- cally hired Arabs from the leadership of the local tribes and negotiated transit throughout the province in advance. It left a light footprint and was well respected in the local community. C OVER S TORY Embassies have become much more secure over the past decade, but we have had to pay a price for this security.