The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

28 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Diplomatic Readiness Today FSJ: Under your leadership, the American Academy of Diplo- macy has consistently advocated for more resources to be devoted to professional training for the Foreign Service. How would you assess the state of diplomatic readiness and the profession today? REN: The training has improved, but diplomatic readi- ness overall is weaker. On the training and education side, the resources have never been made available to do much of what multiple studies have called for. Nor has the State Department made professional education a requirement in anything like the way the military has. And over the last year, we have lost many experienced officers. So I’m looking at the combination of teach- ing and experience when I conclude that we are weaker. FSJ: The “American Diplomacy at Risk” report raised many problems and offered suggested solutions to “save” the Foreign Service. Two years later, how do you see that report and its impact? REN: A few pieces of it have been implemented. Many have not, although the report continues to be quoted and referenced in many other reports. It is useful to remember also that many of the issues we raised have been around for some time. FSJ: What are you working on currently at AAD? REN: We have two new podcast series going: “The General and the Ambassador” and “America’s Diplomats.” Both are designed to help Americans understand more about what diplo- macy is and does. We are also partnering with the McCain Insti- tute to produce scenarios to teach ambassadors and DCMs how to think through difficult and long-running security issues. This is a critical area that the State Department has never addressed in its training. We will turn the finished product over to the department at no charge. We hope they will make use of it. Finally, we are embarking on a new study of areas for mana- gerial improvement in the department, including a fresh look at some problems for FS specialists and Civil Service personnel. FSJ: How do you see AAD’s role in terms of advocacy? REN: We reach out within our capacity to Americans to talk about the value of diplomacy and what it is all about. With the department, we advocate measures to strengthen and make diplomacy more effective; but we are not AFSA, and gener- ally stay out of strictly Foreign Service issues. With Congress we advocate for proper funding for diplomacy. In one case we advocated against a nomination which, we felt, was contrary to professional diplomacy. During 37 years in the Foreign Service I often went home at night with frustration about this or that decision. But never once did I go home and wonder if what I was working on mattered. Ambassador Ron Neumann, standing middle, with U.S. Special Forces at Spin Boldak on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, 2006.