Life can sometimes be unpredictable in the Foreign Service. Serving as a development officer may perhaps be even more unpredictable,…
Tex Harris: Representing at Home the Officers who Serve Abroad
A lack of due process, serious disorganization, and inadequate representation. This was the state of affairs of Foreign Service labor…
Fighting Where the “Wango-Wango Bird Couldn’t Get”—U.S. Diplomats and the Ecuador-Peru Boundary Dispute
In 1895, the United States intervened in a long-standing border dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, forcing its resolution—and forcing…
The Foreign Service at War (Part 2): Rice, Roads, and Winning Hearts and Minds
“Winning hearts and minds” is at the very core of diplomacy. Sometimes that takes place in an embassy or a…
Backchannels at Home: The Relationship Between Congress and the Foreign Service
In 1979 Congress did something both bold and unusual. That year, President Carter was attempting to build a stronger relationship…
Barranquilla Nights—Braving a Difficult Time in Colombia
Annie Pforzheimer entered the U.S. Foreign Service when she was twenty-four years old and was immediately whisked away to Barranquilla,…
The Royal Family of Swaziland Raises Awareness About AIDS
In 1995 the Apartheid era came to an end in South Africa, yet many still found themselves shouldering Apartheid’s tragic…
Let There be Productivity—U.S. Aid Efforts in Europe and India
The world bore witness to an unprecedented degree of violence and destruction in the wake of the Second World War.…
When “All Hell Broke Loose” in Uganda
Under the rule of current President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda has seen a period of relative stability compared to the turbulent…
“Open Space at the Top of the World”—Defending the Thule Air Force Base in Greenland and Denmark
The purview of an ambassador in a U.S. embassy extends beyond the geographical borders of their host nation and into…