The Foreign Service Journal, November 2010

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 Know the Mission The mission statement for any or- ganization is the single most important document it produces, one that should stand at the very heart of its existence. It is a constant reminder to employees of why the entity exists and what its founders envisioned. As such, the statement must be vis- ible and regularly consulted by the en- tity’s employees to remind them why they are working for the organization in the first place and where they are head- ing. Here is the State Department’s mis- sion statement: “Advance freedom for the benefit of the American people and the international community by help- ing to build and sustain a more demo- cratic, secure and prosperous world composed of well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty and act re- sponsibly within the international sys- tem.” Strangely, this important document is virtually hidden among the many other links on the main State page (www.state.gov ) under the tab “About State.” And on the intranet site (http:// intranet.state.gov/), it is not visible at all. To ensure that all employees are mindful of the department’s mission, it would be wise to display the mission statement more clearly online — and not just on the department’s homepage, but on the Web pages of all its bureaus and offices. And how about going a step further and installing a framed copy of the document in the main lobby of each and every United States consulate and embassy worldwide? Krishna Das Foreign Service Specialist U.S. Embassy Manama A Visit to Remember I’d like to share a prime example of the value and effectiveness of the State Department’s International Visitor Pro- gram (formerly run by the United States Information Agency). I was the escort-interpreter for Joachim Gauck during his 1991 visit to the United States as an IV grantee. This past June, Gauck — the standard-bearer of the Social Democrats and the Green Party — lost the election for president of the Federal Republic of Germany to Chris- tianWulff, minister-president of Lower Saxony, who had been selected by Chancellor Angela Merkel as the nom- inee of the Christian Democrats and Christian Socialists. A former East German pastor, Gauck made his name following Ger- man reunification as head of a special office to investigate the old files of the Stasi, East Germany’s secret police agency. A charismatic speaker, he gained wide popularity as a nonpartisan national conciliator, and was praised as such across the entire political spec- trum of the German print media dur- ing the run-up to the election. Traveling with Gauck around the U.S. for a month was a rich experience. I still recall how much the throngs of Americans who visit our capital every day impressed him. During a visit to Capitol Hill, he asked former Senator Bill Bradley, D-N.J., what could explain such an outpouring of obvious patriot- ism, a phenomenon unparalleled in Germany, east or west. Bradley’s an- swer: “It all comes down to one simple thing: an idea.” I closely followed the election cam- paign in the German press and it was clear to me that had the population as a whole voted, rather than a special as- sembly of delegates bound by party dis- cipline, Joachim Gauck would be Germany’s president today. In that case, imagine the value of the connec- tion forged nearly 20 years ago by a sin- gle International Visitor Program grant! Dean Claussen FSO (USIA), retired Bellevue, Wash. ■ CORRECTION The September FS Heritage col- umn by Frank Brecher (“America’s First Ambassador to Israel: James G. McDonald”) should have specified that William Phillips was a former under secretary of State when he wrote to Ambassador McDonald in the 1950s. The Journal regrets the error. L ETTERS