The Foreign Service Journal, November 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2019 17 Mr. President, you have here a great democracy. Keep it going on. —President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, from the White House press briefing with President Donald Trump, Oct. 2. Heroes of U.S. Diplomacy I n a new State Department initiative, Foreign Service Officer Elizabeth Slater, who survived the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998, was honored Sept. 13 in the State Department auditorium as the first Hero of Diplomacy. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo introducedMs. Slater, noting that she was seriously wounded in the bombing, which killed 11 people. Ms. Slater stayed on at post tomaintain the embassy’s commu- nication systems and ensure that the post could communicate withWashington, D.C. “In most lines of work the caliber of courage displayed by Lizzie Slater would be one in a million,” Secretary Pompeo said. “But I must say here at the State Department, I have found it is represen- tative of the fine men and women who show up day in and day out to carry out America’s foreign policy. “Coming from a military background, I’m accustomed to hearing my fellow soldiers referred to as heroes, and right- fully so. But at the State Department we’re hesitant to lay claim to that term,” the Secretary continued. “We have to get past that reticence and share these stories.” During the event, Ms. Slater discussed her experience in Tanzania with Director General of the Foreign Service Ambas- sador Carol Perez. “I accept this honor on behalf of all the heroes,” Ms. Slater said. “There were many.” Under the Heroes of U.S. Diplomacy program, the State Department will recog- nize several heroes during the course of the next year. Ms. Slater shared her story in the July/August 2018 Foreign Service Journal that featured firsthand remembrances from Foreign Service members who survived the 1998 East African bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Stay-or-Go Discussion Continues S ome retired Foreign Service officers have made waves by discussing their reasons for resigning in recent columns in The Washington Post and The New York Times (see the October Talking Points) . In a Sept. 18 New York Times column titled “A Love Letter to the State Depart- ment,” Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, the depu ty assistant secretary of State for Central Africa and public diplomacy, discusses the reasons she decided to stay on. “I’ve had the privilege of serving as a Foreign Service officer for five presi- dents—some I voted for, some I didn’t,” she writes. “And my job is to serve each one to the best of my ability. It is our responsibility to provide our best counsel to those in power, even if—perhaps especially if—they do not immediately embrace our views. … “That is the role and the responsibility of career public servants in our demo- cratic system. Career members of the Foreign Service are the joists supporting the institutions so that each succes- sive administration—and the American people—can rely on their institutional knowledge, network of global relation- ships and subject matter expertise. Without the framework of a professional career Foreign Service, our nation is weaker and our global power reduced. If we all leave when it gets hard, who will be left to champion American diplo- macy? … “This is truly the toughest job you will ever love, and one you can’t do anywhere else. To my fellow Americans of all political stripes, please know that no matter what you read in the press, there are thousands of honorable patriots still hard at work at the State Department and that we will serve this president and his successor, and that president’s succes- sor, with dedication and excellence, just as we have done for generations.” Contemporary Quote Elizabeth Slater, left, recognized as a Hero of Diplomacy, chats with Director General of the Foreign Service Carol Perez in the State Department auditorium on Sept. 13. AFSA/CAMERONWOODWORTH