The Fall of Saigon is perhaps one of the most infamous moments of the Vietnam War. Following the fall of…
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…
One Size Fits None—U.S. Reform Dilemmas in South Africa
One reform to fix them all. What could be more ideal than this? Unfortunately, such a dream will forever lie…
The State Department Under the Red Scare: McCarthy’s Campaign
The inauspicious rise of Joseph McCarthy began in 1950, when the Wisconsin senator was asked to give a speech at…
Nettling the New Guard—PNGed out of Singapore
Singapore’s story of economic success under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew has catapulted the nation to the status of…
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…
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…
Life as a Vietnam War POW
In 1966, well into the Vietnam War and three years into Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, Charles Graham Boyd took his…
Leveraging a Unique Perspective in Manila Amid Heightened Tensions
Robert H. Stern’s life as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) took him in many different directions all across the globe.…
To Aid, or Not to Aid—Breaking the Feudal System in Developing Nations
Fifty billion dollars. That is the most recent figure for U.S. yearly spending on foreign aid. However, even though this…