The Foreign Service Journal, October 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2015 35 where necessary, present leaders with a fait accompli to get what I wanted (yes, I admit it!). I also learned the meaning of “turf”—and not the kind made famous in the Astrodome. Any time you’re in a meeting with representatives of different agencies, one way to analyze what’s really under discussion is to recognize what turf is being protected or advanced, and modify your negotiating strategy accordingly. I learned these lessons as a new lieutenant and captain years before joining the State Department. My experience has been that junior military officers have many more opportunities to gain this experi- ence than new FSOs, who normally begin their careers overseas in consular and reporting jobs and aren’t exposed to the interagency community until a Washington assignment comes along. The other major fact about interagency work today is that on key policy issues, the big players at the table will surely be Defense Department representatives, whose knowledge and experience give them the inside track on shaping and implementing foreign policy. This asymmetry is compounded by the lack of senior State Department leaders with military experience. Howmany State personnel today would truly be comfortable participating in a meeting at the Pentagon? Imagine being seated at a table with high-ranking officers from different services, flanked in the sec- ond row by officers of lesser rank or civilians serving as note takers or advisers. For those like me, and the senior FSOs I knew when I first joined the State Department, almost all of whom had served in the military, that was no big deal. We would immediately recognize the different ranks and know the difference between an Air Force or Army captain and a Navy captain, and recognize at least some of the acronyms used in the discussion. Not having this back- ground, feeling a bit outnumbered, and being unsure of what particular service’s interests are being promoted or defended, can be a daunting challenge, to say the least. Some Practical Suggestions Four decades into the era of an all-volunteer military, it is likely that those assuming senior State Department positions in the future may not have the background that I had when I joined the Foreign Service in 1981. In some ways that might be a good thing, but understanding the role of our military and its importance in interagency decision-making should remain a high priority for diplomats—especially for those beginning their careers. So how can this happen today? Here are some ideas. First, do what we already do well when we prepare for any challenge: read, read and then read some more. The past decade has seen numerous books about the military’s role in Iraq and