The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 5 Last June, shortly after returning from my second TDY in Iraq, I presided over a very moving AFSA Awards Day ceremo- ny where we hon- ored four colleagues for their constructive dissent. It was a pleasure to present awards to Betsy Orlando (the Harris Award for special- ists), Steven Weston (the Harriman Award for junior officers), Keith Mines (the Rivkin Award for mid-level officers), and Ron Schlicher (the Herter Award for senior officers). Each of these colleagues, in his or her own way, represented what is best in our Service: the readiness to stand up for what one believes is right, even if it involves career and personal costs. What our dissenters do is not just a nice thing. It is vital for the health of the Foreign Service. We need them, even the obnoxious ones. They are our gadflies, our shin-kickers, who force us to look again at our beloved assumptions, to ask the awful question “why?” and to remind us that all human wisdom does not reside in the Foreign Affairs Manual, in guidance from Washington, or even in the Foreign Service Act. They remind us that the realities of our violent and unpredictable world rarely conform to the bureaucratic guidelines and compromises of competing bureaus and departments. Think of Vietnam in 1975; Iran in 1979; Rwanda in 1994; and Iraq and Afghanistan in 2004. None of these places was orderly, and none of them conformed to any rulebook so far written. Since 1968 AFSA has recognized colleagues who show the integrity, ini- tiative and intellectual courage to take a stand for what is right. We are proud to present awards to those Foreign Service personnel who say “no,” or ask “why?” and “why not?” AFSA is proud to present awards to those who, like Betsy Orlando, Craig Johnstone, Ed Peck, Sam Hart, David Long, Keith Mines and Tom Boyatt, have challenged conventional wisdom and taken a risky or unpopular stand. For the sake of our Service and our profession, we must honor our dis- senters. I urge all of you to recognize colleagues who have had the courage to speak out by nominating them for one of our AFSA awards for construc- tive dissent: • The Tex Harris Award for a Foreign Service specialist; • The Averell Harriman Award for a junior officer (FS-4 to FS-6); • The William Rivkin Award for a mid-level officer (FS-1 to FS-3); • The Christian A. Herter Award for a senior officer (FE/OC – FE/CA). Recognizing dissenters is never easy. Doing so may mean swallowing our pride and admitting we were wrong — or could be wrong — about an issue. It may mean embracing an unpopular and contrary view on poli- cy or operations, or it may mean iden- tifying ourselves with an abrasive, dif- ficult personality. None of the above will come easily in a Foreign Service that values collegiality and consensus. Dissent is not only difficult; it can be ugly. In our close-knit Foreign Service community, which rewards discipline and loyalty, dissent can pit colleagues against each other. It can damage friendships and sometimes even family relationships. It can hurt careers and reputations. But the very difficulty of the process makes it all the more impor- tant. So I urge all of you: for the sake of our Service, go to www.afsa.org/ awards, and take an hour to write a nomination for a colleague who has shown the courage to stand up for what he or she believes is right. Do not wait for that colleague’s boss to write a nomination; he or she proba- bly won’t. And keep in mind that the person who deserves your nomination may well be working down the hall or in another section of a mission. Our profession will be better for your efforts. P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS Do You Know a Shin-Kicker? B Y J OHN L IMBERT John Limbert is the president of the American Foreign Service Association. Since 1968 AFSA has recognized colleagues who show the integrity, initiative and intellectual courage to take a stand for what is right.