The Foreign Service Journal, November 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2018 29 1945-2004: Long-Haul Transport by Military. Longstanding cooperation between the Courier Service and the U.S. military for the deliv- ery of classified pouches contin- ues after World War II. The U.S. military courier services provide “long-haul” trunk-line movement of diplomatic pouches, transfer- ring them to the civilians in the Diplomatic Courier Service for delivery to the final destinations. This arrangement continues until 2004. 1947: Back to Civilian Operations. With the end of World War II, military officers detailed for courier duty are gradually discharged. By 1947 the Diplomatic Courier Service is again an all-civilian operation, although it works closely with military counterparts. 1950s-1960s: Front Lines of the Cold War. Amid growing Cold War tension, diplomatic couriers become symbols of superpower intrigue as they carry sensitive documents around the globe and across the Iron Curtain. Movies and TV shows depict them as dashing secret messengers eluding foreign spies through exotic capitals. 1955-1956: First Black Couriers. The Diplo- matic Courier Service is ahead of many U.S. government organizations in racial integration. Nathaniel Ragsdale, an African American, enters service in July 1955, followed by Enoch Woodhouse in March 1956. 1961: Vienna Convention. The United Nations, through the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, formalizes diplomatic protocols and laws that have been informally observed for decades. Article XXVII of the Vienna Convention guarantees the inviolability of diplomatic pouches and the couriers who transport them. 1966: Operational Expansion to West Africa. With the growing num- ber of newly independent Afri- can nations, the Department of State moves away from reliance on the Military Courier Service’s Europe-focused network and establishes direct courier routes fromWashington, D.C., to West Africa, cutting average transit times by 50 percent. 1968: Hiring Practices. “Although there is nothing to stop them [women] from apply- ing,” a chief courier of the era explains, “none have ever made serious applications.” Applicants have to be single and between the ages of 21 and 31. They are required to remain single for the first year of their two-year tour of duty. Only 11 of the 79 current couriers are married, and family problems are a significant factor in retention. 1974: First Female Courier. After having first worked in department com- munications, Susan S. Carter becomes the first female courier. Her first courier mission is on Nov. 16, 1974. 1985: Couriers Join the Diplomatic Security Service. The Diplomatic Courier Service becomes part of the Diplomatic Security Service during a Department of State consolidation that includes creation of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The reorganization follows the 1983 bombing of Embassy Beirut and the subsequent threats of terrorist attack that have elevated the importance of security throughout the State Department. An American courier on his bicycle in 1919. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/DIPLOMATICSECURITYSERVICE Susan Shirley Carter, the first female courier, undertook her first mission on Nov. 16, 1974. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/DIPLOMATICSECURITYSERVICE