The Foreign Service Journal, December 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2020 39 While current policy allows for DSS personnel to negotiate the use of dedicated official vehicles for emergency response, Mr. Heddleston argued that such authorities and procedures should be grounded in official department policy and not sub- ject to the whims of individual post management or changes in post leadership. “I hope that my cable provides a one-stop resource justify- ing the use of dedicated vehicles for overseas law enforcement and security functions, the legal and federal precedence for such use, and the benefit of allowing DSS special agents to uti- lize vehicles instead of keeping them secured in motor pools,” he says. Mr. Heddleston also discussed the importance of dissent for a healthy Foreign Service. “Meaningful dissent offers a mechanism for dedicated professionals to voice concern and offer recommendations to the most senior leaders, without alienating management and leaders who may concur with the concepts but not hold the authority to implement them,” he says. “I am not the only member of the Foreign Service to vocal- ize concerns over DSS’ ability to deliver effective service to our constituents abroad. It is the actions of my dedicated colleagues and senior leadership in response that make my dissent relevant. I am proud that my dissent resonated with leaders, implementers and policymakers who shared similar concerns and took action to reexamine the department’s over- seas law enforcement and security response measures.” Mr. Heddleston currently serves as the first supervisory special agent at DSS’ newly established presence in Orlando, Florida. His previous overseas assignments include Iraq, Nigeria, Libya, Kenya and Oman. Domestically, he has served at the Washington Field Office, the Office of Special Investiga- tions and the Office of Protective Intelligence Investigations, where he conducted extraterritorial counterterrorism and hostage investigations. He began his federal law enforcement career in 2001 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps, rising to the rank of sergeant. His overseas military deployments include two tours of duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of South Florida. In 2019 and 2020, he earned master’s degrees in criminal justice administration and diplomacy through Norwich University. I am not the only member of the Foreign Service to vocalize concerns over DSS’ ability to deliver effective service to our constituents abroad. It is the actions of my dedicated colleagues and senior leadership in response that make my dissent relevant. —Dave Heddleston Dave Heddleston working in Oman in 2018.