The Foreign Service Journal, October 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2013 5 October 2013 Volume 90, No. 10 FOREIGN SERVICE AFSA NEWS AFSA Celebrates the 15th Annual National High School Essay Contest / 43 VP Voice State: Positions, Promotions and Paths: Oh My! / 44 VP Voice USAID: Growing Pains at USAID / 45 At USAID, Sixty-Plus Is the New Forty / 45 STOCK Act: A Victory for AFSA and Federal Employees / 46 Adair Lecture: Challenges Facing U.S. Diplomacy in Africa / 47 Diplomacy Begins at Sea / 49 Inside the U.S. Military with Inside a U.S. Embassy / 50 AFSA/TLG Intern Has a Rewarding Summer / 51 Life in the Foreign Service / 51 AFSA and ERM Partner for Education / 52 AFSA and AFGE Screen “The March” / 53 AFSAWelcomes Fall Interns / 54 COLUMNS President’s Views / 7 Our Relationship with Congress BY ROBERT J . S I LVERMAN DEPARTMENTS Letters / 8 Talking Points / 11 Books / 56 Local Lens / 66 MARKETPLACE Classifieds / 59 Real Estate / 62 Index to Advertisers / 64 On the cover: USAID FSO Harry Bader returns from field work in an insurgent-controlled valley in Kunar province, Afghanistan, 2009. Photo: David Poplack. Bottom: The old wharf in Lomé, as it looks today. Photo: Courtesy of Mark Wentling. FOCUS RISK MANAGEMENT FOR THE EXPEDITIONARY DIPLOMAT Paying the Price of Expeditionary Diplomacy / 17 The challenge today’s Foreign Service faces is how to determine the reasonable amount of risk worth taking to attain policy objectives. BY JAMES STEPHENSON Defining and Managing Acceptable Risk / 23 A self-professed adrenaline junkie traces the evolution of her thinking about spending most of her Foreign Service career in tough places. BY ANG I E BRYAN The USAID Civilian Response Corps / 28 Corps members have bolstered the peace and prosperity of the United States through their dedication to the alleviation of human suffering in the world’s trouble spots. BY HARRY R . BADER Rebalancing National Security Policy after Afghanistan and Iraq / 33 It is time to educate the American people about national security fundamentals, so we can conduct a meaningful reassessment of our current strategy. BY THOMAS E . MCNAMARA FEATURE Togo Today and in 1970 / 37 A former Peace Corps Volunteer and USAID FSO reflects on his longstanding involvement with Togo. BY MARK G . WENT L I NG