The Foreign Service Journal, November 2014

SAVE THE FOREIGN SERVICE Open letter to members of the Foreign Service of the United States America’s professional diplomatic service is being weakened by its own leadership in the Department of State and the White House— at considerable harm to the nation. The Founding Fathers provided (Article II, Section 2) that U.S. diplomats—ambassadors, ministers and consuls— be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate as commissioned officers of the United States. Congress established (Rogers Act of 1924, Foreign Service Acts of 1946 and 1980) that a diplomatic service be appointed through exacting examination, be worldwide available, with rank in person, promotion by competitive merit, sub- ject to up–or–out provisions. But the State Department is consciously blurring the special character and role of the Foreign Service, undermin- ing its esprit, equating it with domestic personnel and transitory political appointees who are subject to none of these statutory disciplines. The Administration in office appoints increasing numbers of non-career individuals to work at all levels. They and Civil Service personnel increasingly occupy positions traditionally held by the Foreign Service, and are assigned to diplomatic posts abroad, distorting the career development of the professional service. The leadership echelons at State are predominantly non-career. Too little attention is paid to the training of Foreign Service Officers and Specialists, and appropriations are inad- equate to staff the global diplomatic presence of a world power. And, peculiar to the United States among industrial- ized nations, ambassadorships are regarded as patronage opportunities. Now, when diplomacy is of acute impor- tance to the nation, a third of our embassies, most in major capitols, are headed by appointees without diplomatic training or experience. It is time to recognize that the United States must maintain and nourish a professional diplomatic service to conduct our relations with other nations, to promote and defend our complex international interests. More attention must be paid to the professional education and formation of Foreign Service Officers and Specialists. We must contain the Department’s efforts to break down the Foreign Service Act by converting Foreign Service positions to Civil Service, by converting Civil Service and politically appointed personnel to FSO and FSS status. The Civil Service also needs improved training and career development, but not through disruptive lateral entry into the professional diplomatic service. AFSA and its members must be at the forefront of this campaign. If you agree with and support such an agenda, please let us know your thoughts at: SaveTheForeignService2014@gmail.com. From: Former presidents of the American Foreign Service Association Marshall P. Adair, Ken Bleakley, Ambassador Thomas D. Boyatt, Dan Geisler, F.A. “Tex” Harris Ambassador William C. Harrop, Ambassador Dennis K. Hays, Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes Lars H. Hydle, Susan R. Johnson, William A. Kirby, Jr., Ambassador Alphonse La Porta Ambassador John W. Limbert, John K. Naland, Ambassador Lannon Walker Theodore S. Wilkinson The appearance of advertisements in the Foreign Service Journal does not imply endorsement of goods or services. Opinions expressed in the advertisement above are the views of the individual signatories and do not necessarily represent AFSA policy. PAID ADVERTISEMENT