The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

56 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL some flexibility in dealing with local procedures. From the perspective of LE staff, time is important in building good rapport and strong networks. This can be challeng- ing to American personnel because they are on two- to three-year tours that do not allow a long-lasting experi- ence, so it is up to the local staff to maintain continuity. To overcome this challenge, Americans might save time by getting involved in community events on arrival. For example, it would be interesting to organize icebreaker events for new families at post that include LE staff. Overall, my advice about working with local staff is to get interested in the culture prior to arrival, but also get involved in your own experience at post for a more interesting and long-lasting relationship with the local population. Culture is the main bridge to link up two different worlds, and if it starts on a solid base it sets the way for a very secure and lasting interaction. The level of integration in local culture makes a big difference in corporate performance. I am honored to be part of the Women Mentoring Program at Embassy Rabat. It is a group of female direct-hire Americans, paired with Moroccan LE staff. The program not only provides a forum to discuss women’s issues in the workplace, but is also a cultural bridge—for American and Moroccan women to get to know each other better, and for everyone to get to know new people in different sections or agencies at the embassy and stand as one team. Empowerment is the key to success. I think U.S. culture is more advanced in this respect than the Moroccan way of doing business. FSNs Can Do Even More n MELANIE MCGOVERN, CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATOR, REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE, U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL, MONTREAL, CANADA Not all criminal fraud investigators (CFIs) and Foreign Service National investigators (FSNIs) are retired generals or police chiefs. Just as the Diplomatic Security Service hires special agents from a pool of people with diverse backgrounds and experience, its Locally Employed staff reflects the DSS empha- sis on drawing from a wide range of skills and expertise. For example, in Canada, the greatest need of an FSNI or CFI isn’t necessarily to make a midnight call to the chief of police, but to be able to thoughtfully and diplomatically articulate mission goals to our partners and stakeholders. Through relationships cultivated with our Canadian part- ners over 15 years, I worked with the DSS resident offices located along the U.S.-Canadian border (St. Albans and Buffalo Resident Offices) to found and develop Operation North- ern Watch, an ongoing interagency visa fraud investigation into the misuse of U.S. nonimmigrant visas to cross the U.S. border into Canada for the purpose of claiming asylum. As a CFI in Canada, I get expo- sure to a wide range of investigations because a travel document facilitates most international and organized crime. I never expected to develop the type of expertise that I have in seeing the “bigger picture” in any criminal act. Most other agencies focus on the specific crime in front of them, whereas DSS looks at crime from a macro perspective. I get to work with people around the globe, and my competencies grow exponentially when opportunities arise to physically meet with my counterparts. It would be helpful to train new CFIs like DS agents headed to their first field office tour by letting us tag along with new arrivals for a weeklong training session. That way we can learn the basics of opening a case, filing pre- and post-arrest documents, inter- viewing, surveillance, U.S. court procedures, etc. CFIs hired from outside of the consulate’s consular section would also benefit from taking the basic consular course (ConGen). CFIs can fulfill temporary duty (TDY) opportunities. For example, I helped open two offices in Montreal: the Regional Security Office in 2003 and the ARSO-I Office in 2012. I would love the opportunity to help open new DSS offices at other posts. Pay More Attention to Career Development n GANDJAR GUNADI, CHAUFFEUR AND ADMINISTRATIVE CLERK, U.S. EMBASSY JAKARTA, INDONESIA As a chauffeur and administrative clerk, my duty is to assist the program coordinator and the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) adviser with transportation and logistics. I develop flight itineraries for training participants, book hotels for visitors from other countries and work with Indonesian agencies’ representatives to set up the Melanie McGovern.