The Foreign Service Journal, December 2022

34 DECEMBER 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Christian A. Herter Award for Constructive Dissent by a Senior Foreign Service Officer Benjamin Dille Challenging Leadership to Protect Embassy Kabul Staff W hile serving as minister counselor for management affairs in Kabul during the pandemic and through the August 2021 fall of the capital to the Taliban, Benjamin Dille willingly challenged leadership on health policies and departure contingency preparations, protecting thou- sands of embassy employees. When Dr. Dille arrived in Kabul, the city was in a full-blown COVID-19 outbreak with limitedmedical care available. He found stringent limitations in place: events andmeetings banned, telework and social distancing mandated, and few local staff permitted on the compound. This impeded the unprecedented work related to the impending U.S. military departure. His teambrought day staff into separate, safely distanced areas so they could work more effectively on-site. Benjamin Dille. the Department of State Act, to establish a senior-level office for the chief diversity and inclusion officer to improve retention and equity. To better support diplomats and their families, he introduced in the House the Foreign Service Families Act, which allows the State Department to offer similar benefits to Foreign Service families that the Department of Defense is permitted to provide to military families. The bill was signed into law in 2021. Joaquin Castro is an American lawyer and Democratic politi- cian who has represented Texas’ 20th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013. He is a longtime member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Rep. Castro was born and raised in San Antonio. His inter- est in public service developed at a young age fromwatching his parents’ involvement in political campaigns and civic causes. He graduated with honors from Stanford University with a B.A. in political science and communications, and earned a J.D. at Harvard Law School. “I am deeply honored to receive AFSA’s 2022 Foreign Service Champions Award for my work to strengthen our infrastructure for diplomacy,” he says. “In Congress, I am focused on creating a more inclusive For- eign Service that reflects our nation. This means establishing paid internship programs for young people interested in a career of service, protecting employees from discrimination, and ensuring that State Department personnel and their families are taken care of at home and abroad. “As we continue to make progress, I remain committed to advancing our diplomatic corps and highlighting the important role it plays in U.S. foreign policy.” – CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT – In response to a State Department policy of sending vaccines only for American staff—a morale hit to locally employed (LE) staff and endangering all—Dr. Dille quickly approved the pur- chase of vaccines from a reputable Indian company for all LE and third-country national (TCN) staff and contractors, with first doses administered before Ramadan. He advocated for this purchase despite the Bureau of Medical Services’ reluctance, and his team’s successful vaccination program ledMED to pull soon-to-expire doses fromother missions to send to Kabul. When Embassy Kabul’s policy of vaccinating LE staff family members was challenged by department leadership, Dr. Dille countered that it was implicit inmission responsibility and vital to achieving herd immunity. Thanks to his persistence, post eventu- ally administered 14,000 doses, with all LE staff, family members, TCNs, and willing American staff protected, as well as key Afghan military and government contacts, staff of alliedmissions, and U.S. military and other agency members struggling to obtain vaccines from alternative sources. Almost all Afghan staff and families evacuated to the U.S. were vaccinated, protecting them as well as the U.S. communities receiving them. American contractors’ resistance to vaccination (only 30 per- cent consented) endangered and provoked fear among colleagues and helped lead to a June 2021 surge of 250 cases, with some near death, and at least two deaths among LE staff. To incentivize vac- cination and reopen facilities crucial tomorale during a stressful