Organized labor holds power in the histories of countries all across the world, coming to the forefront as a political…
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…
Operation Sapphire: Nuclear Diplomacy in Kazakhstan
Working with nuclear materials is, by its very nature, volatile. Carrying out diplomacy over nuclear materials is even more so.…
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…
“Dealing with Ships is a Different World”—Maritime Difficulties in the Azores
The work of a Foreign Service Officer is rarely quiet or uneventful, and often involves navigating tricky relationships between the…
Surviving the Storm—Turkey’s Labor Movements Under a Junta
In the late 1970s, Turkey faced intense political fragmentation as its parties each struggled for a majority; due to lack…
“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…
An Honest Broker: Remembering Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft was an Air Force lieutenant turned two-time United States National Security Advisor who served under Presidents Gerald Ford…
Finding Resilience in the Bombing of the Al Rasheed: Beth Payne in Iraq
Life in the Foreign Service extends far beyond the office, following its officers into all realms of existence abroad, at…
An Unpopular Opinion: Tex Harris and the Yacyretá Dam Project in Argentina
To directly defy orders from one’s superiors undoubtedly takes nerve and, above all, conviction and belief in doing the right…