Prior to a long career at USAID, Frank Almaguer first gained experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in British Honduras…
Life as a Diplomatic Courier: Connecting China to the World
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to jet off across the world continent-to-continent at a moment’s notice?…
The Pursuit of Perfection: Dilemmas in the Foreign Service
Capturing, preserving, and sharing the experiences of America’s diplomats. ADST’s maxim perfectly encapsulates the diverse nature of a Foreign Service…
A Fragile Peace: The Aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War
One of the greatest challenges in a diplomat’s career is serving in a country that is trying to rebuild after…
Gas Masks and Sealed Rooms: Serving in Israel During the Gulf War
The First Gulf War. The Persian Gulf War. Desert Storm and Desert Shield. All of these titles and operation names…
Living Through History with a Historian—Witnessing Monumental Societal Change in the Soviet Union from the 60s to the 90s
American diplomats and their families abroad become accustomed to living through exciting or harrowing events; but occasionally their lives provide…
Family First: On the Struggles of Familial Medical Clearances
The barriers to entry to the Foreign Service start off high and do not taper off. Individuals pass through written…
The Foreign Service at War (Part 1): A Diplomat on the Frontline in Vietnam
For U.S. Foreign Service Officers during the Vietnam War, an assignment to South Vietnam was unlike any other. For some,…
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,…
One for All and All for One: The Conception and Early Development of NATO
During his opening remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that “[I]n…