The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

32 SEPTEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL tions is that the quality of our “bench” has declined. The country needs diplomatic knowledge and experience. The idea that the nation does not have people in these policymaking positions who’ve actually worked diplomacy and dealt with other coun- tries and handled the intricacies of international relations is not rational. You have to dramatically increase the numbers—the appro- priations—so there’s a larger stock of people that you can work with. And then you have to enforce the law. Schedule B and Schedule C appointees, in growing numbers, are supposed to stay only a short time, while there is a need, yet somehow they are sliding into career status. FSJ: How optimistic are you that the Foreign Service can over- come some of the challenges you describe? WCH: For starters, it has to relate to society as it is today, including the complexities of globalization, the Internet and social media, and ever-more rapid communications. But the impact of person-to-person diplomacy is still going to be very important. I think our country would suffer badly if the Foreign Service were eviscerated, leaving us vulnerable to the malady (to paraphrase President Dwight Eisenhower) of the military- industrial-congressional complex. FSJ: What do you mean by that? WCH: I mean our growing tendency to make the use of force our primary approach to foreign relations. There are many com- panies like my father-in-law’s that have prospered because of war. Defense spending has become important to our economy, and many members of Congress refuse to allow any military base in their district to be closed—even when it is a plain waste of money—because bases employ constituents. A good friend of mine, someone I met at my first post, has a son who rose to the rank of admiral. He retired from the U.S. Navy two years ago, and now has a very profitable job help- ing Lockheed Martin sell equipment to the Defense Depart- ment. All these trends are a great wheel that never stops turning. It makes it hard for us to get away from the sickness of resolving international problems by military means, although President Obama has tried. FSJ: Do you still recommend the Foreign Service as a career to young professionals? WCH: Yes. I also tell them that the best way to prepare for the Foreign Service exam is to read The Economist every week cover to cover. But my dear friend and previous recipient of AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions Award, George Landau, did not advise his sons to join the Foreign Service, and they didn’t. He felt it was not the best career move, that it’s tough on families and seemed to be losing influence. And yes, it’s hard for adolescents to break off their friendships and move every few years. But I do think my own four boys benefited from growing up overseas. They all speak French, and two of them use the language in their work. But I would begin to have misgivings about endorsing it as a career if the current trend continues of equating the Foreign Service with the Civil Service, of replacing professionals with employees who don’t have the background, don’t accept Service discipline, and don’t follow the same rules. Then I think it prob- ably will not be a good career, and young people will not neces- sarily commit their lives to it. And the United States will suffer: like other modern nations, it needs a competent professional diplomatic service. FSJ: Any final thoughts you’d like to share? WCH: Just a real regret that such a small proportion of the Foreign Service pays attention to the structure of the career and to the institution itself. They all are so busy doing their daily jobs, planning their careers and promoting the national interest—very successfully, for the most part—that they don’t pay much atten- tion to the state of their own profession. Just 20 percent of AFSA members voted in the last election, even as their system is erod- ing around them. So I wish we could persuade more members to devote their attention to strengthening and protecting the Foreign Service. FSJ: We’ll continue to work at that. Ambassador Harrop, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you very much for your lifelong support of AFSA and the Foreign Service. n I wish we could persuade more members to devote their attention to strengthening and protecting the Foreign Service.