Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplomacy at Work, All-New Third Edition of the Essential Guide to the Foreign Service Book

Introductory Section 1

Why This Book? Shawn Dorman 1

What Is the Foreign Service? John Naland Susan Johnson 2

U.S. Presence in the World in 2011 4

Map: Department of State Locations 6

Flow Chart: Foreign Affairs Agencies Inside U.S. Embassies 8

Part I Profiles: Who Works in an Embassy? 9

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Embassy Yerevan, Armenia 10

Deputy Chief of Mission Dan Piccuta, Embassy Beijing, China 12

Consul General Elisabeth Millard, Embassy Casablanca, Morocco 15

USAID Mission Director Hilda Arellano, Embassy Cairo, Egypt 17

Commercial Officer (Foreign Commercial Service) Richard Steffens, Embassy Kyiv, Ukraine 20

Agricultural Officer (Foreign Agricultural Service) Holly Higgins, Embassy New Delhi, India 22

Political Officer Dereck J. Hogan, Embassy Moscow, Russia 24

Economic Officer Susannah Cooper, Embassy Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 27

Consular Officer Donald Moore, Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti 29

Public Affairs Officer Christopher Teal, Consulate General Guadalajara, Mexico 31

Management Officer Rachna Korhonen, Embassy Kuwait City, Kuwait 34

Regional Security Officer Nicholas Collura, Embassy Sana'a, Yemen 36

Provincial Reconstruction Team Director Jim DeHart, PRT Panjshir, Afghanistan 38

USAID Democracy Officer Bruce Abrams, Embassy Lima, Peru 41

Refugee Coordinator Nancy Cohen, Embassy Belgrade, Serbia 43

Regional Environmental Officer Bruce Hudspeth, Embassy Astana, Kazakhstan 45

Entry-Level Officer Carolyn Dubrovsky, Embassy Kathmandu, Nepal 48

Office Management Specialist Elizabeth Babroski, U.S. Mission to the OSCE, Vienna, Austria 50

Information Management Officer Mark Butchart, Embassy Pretoria, South Africa 53

Facility Manager Gary Hein, Embassy Cairo, Egypt 55

Medical Officer Mark Cohen, Embassy Nairobi, Kenya 58

Diplomatic Courier Edward Bent, Embassy Bangkok, Thailand 60

Locally Employed Staff Mimy Santika, USAID Mission, Jakarta, Indonesia 62

Locally Employed Staff Edgar Zamudio, Consulate General Tijuana, Mexico 65

Part II Foreign Service Work and Life: Embassy, Employee, Family 69

The Embassy and the Country Team 69

Minds Wide Open: The FSN-FSO Relationship Galina Sabeva 71

The Visit: The Foreign Service on Call Matthew A. Cenzer Scott Kofmehl Tristram Perry Michael Mullins 77

Not Just a Job: The Foreign Service Life 83

Twenty-Eight More Weeks: Life in Language Training Brendan M. Wheeler 85

Outside Opportunities: Sabbaticals, Fellowships, and Details Kelly Steve Adams-Smith 89

What If I Disagree? Dissent in the Foreign Service Ambassador Thomas Boyatt 94

The Foreign Service Family 97

Tai Tai: A Diplomat's Wife in the Middle Kingdom Donna Scaramastra Gorman 99

A (Non-Traditional) Tandem in India Clayton Bond 104

Waking Up in Vietnam Benjamin Winnick 106

A Cross Cultural Friendship Rachel Midura 109

A Spouse at Work in the Mission Aryani Manring 114

Part III A Day in the Life of the Foreign Service: One-Day Journals 119

A Consular Officer in Chennai, India Kris Fresonke 120

A Principal Officer in Recife, Brazil Diana Page 122

An Economic Officer in Dhaka, Bangladesh Carter Wilbur 124

A Consul General in Vladivostok, Russia Tom Armbruster 126

An Economic and Commercial Officer in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Pamela Hamblett 128

A Cultural Affairs Officer in Dushanbe, Tajikistan Anne Benjaminson 130

An Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer in Tegucigalpa, Honduras Jason Mclnemey 132

An Office Management Specialist in Stockholm, Sweden Lynn C. Stapleton 135

A Counselor for Public Affairs in Nouakchott, Mauritania Heather Carlin Fabrikant 137

A Consular Officer in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam James P. Du Vernay 139

A Community Liaison Office Coordinator in Buenos Aires, Argentina Candace Brasseur 141

A Political Officer in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo Tracy Whittington 144

A Political Officer and Arms Control Delegate in Vienna, Austria Hugh Neighbour 146

A Foreign Service Spouse in San Jose, Costa Rica Kelly Schierma 148

A Political/Economic Section Chief in Conakry, Guinea Shannon Nagy Cazeau 150

A Political Officer/Stabilization Coordinator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti David Becker 152

A Public Affairs Officer in Baghdad, Iraq Michael McClellan 155

A Commercial Counselor in Mexico City, Mexico Michael Lally 158

A Regional Medical Officer in Moscow, Russia Larry Padget 160

A Public Affairs Officer in Guangzhou, China Ed Dunn 162

A Consular Officer in Guangzhou, China Esther Pan Sloane 164

A Political Officer in Dhi Qar, Iraq Jon Donchner 165

A Consular Officer in Shanghai, China Jaimee Macanas Neel 168

An Ambassador in Harare, Zimbabwe Charles Ray 170

Part IV The Foreign Service in Action: Tales from the Field 173

Democracy Under Construction: Maldives, 2006 Anamika Chakravorty 174

After the Asian Tsunami: Thailand, 2004 Mike Chadwick 176

Ten for a Dollar: Liberia, 1996 Michael Bricker 178

Madonna in Kunduz: Afghanistan, 2008 Matthew Asada 179

Surviving a Terrorist Attack: Yemen, 2008 David Turnbull 182

One Riot, One Ambassador: Macedonia, 1999 Charles A. Stoneripher 184

Anatomy of an Evacuation: Guinea, 2007 Rosemary Motisi 186

Cyclone Sidr Relief: Bangladesh, 2007 Heather Variava 189

A Hot August in Kirkuk: Iraq, 2008 Jeffrey Ashley 190

In the Wake of Terrorist Attacks: Egypt, 2005 Jacqueline Deley 192

Disarming Iran's Nuclear Campaign: Austria, 2005 Matthew Boland 194

A New Country is Born: Kosovo, 2008 Christopher Midura 196

Watching Your Embassy Burn: Serbia, 2008 Rian Harker Harris 198

U.S. Security for the Beijing Olympics: China, 2008 Sean O'Brien 201

Al-Qaida Attack on the Consulate: Saudi Arabia, 2004 Heather E. Kalmbach 202

A Prayer for Democracy: Burma, 1998 Andrew R. Young 204

Part V So You Want to Join the Foreign Service? 207

A Guide to State Department Generalist (FSO) Hiring 207

Disabled and in the Foreign Service Avraham Rabby 209

Which Career Track Is Right for Me? Kelly Adams-Smith 215

Acronyms and Terms for the Assessment Process 223

Weeding Out the Dummies Anonymous 224

The Thirteen Dimensions of Foreign Service Work 229

Preparing for a Career in the Foreign Service: What to Read, Study, and Do Mark Palermo 234

A Guide to State Department Specialist (FSS) Hiring 236

Joining the U.S. Agency for International Development 241

Joining the Foreign Agricultural Service 247

Joining the Foreign Commercial Service 249

Joining the International Broadcasting Bureau 250

Internships and Fellowships Scott Kofmehl Danielle Derbes 251

Appendix 257

Acronyms and Abbreviations 257

Agencies and Organizations 257

Embassy Offices, Positions, and Related Terms 259

Foreign Affairs Online Resources 262

Selected Readings 263

Study Resources for the Foreign Service Officer Test 264