re: "US ConGen Chennai: "Dirty and Dark" Tamil Remark Lands US Diplomat in Very Hot Water"

Domani Spero at Diplopundit ("Just one obsessive observer, diplomatic watcher, opinionator and noodle newsmaker monitoring the goings on at Foggy Bottom and the worldwide available universe.") explored how this could have happened.

Money quote(s):

"(A) US diplomat was caught in a very public row over her insensitive and thoughtless remark about Tamils during a speech at a local university in Chennai, India."

A fairly experienced individual, but new to formal diplomacy. Foreigners can be a mite tetchy about First World diplomats talking down to them, even if the diplomat didn't mean to do so.

"U.S. diplomats are on 24/7, 365 days a year. Even the lowest ranked, most junior U.S. diplomat is a representative of the United States Government.The press, and host country nationals in fact, will have high expectations even on the newest vice-consul. If there is a lesson to this, it is that no matter how junior a diplomat the individual might be, what he/she says and does reflect on the United States. The press, local or otherwise, will not make allowances that this is a diplomat's first assignment or whether or not he/she had lessons in public affairs and public diplomacy."

All true. It can be a bit heady; it's also quite dangerous (to the junior diplomats more than anyone).

Presumably V/C Chao's supervisor looked at her long experience in education and thought she'd be the ideal person to handle this particular speaking event. We all have to speak in public sooner or later; this is covered at least somewhat during the A-100 orientation that all FSOs attend.

"In a very competitive service, entry level officers often try to set themselves apart from the pack. Most volunteer for additional assignments, others use their portfolio assignments to stand out; in a pack of highly educated, talented newbies, they mostly want to be memorable to their bosses. But it can sometimes backfire.

In the last several years, there has also been a pushed for new officers to be out there. Even "newbies" on their first tours in consular sections are being asked to conduct consular public diplomacy outreach with radio, television and the print media. The State Department culture often presumes that a Foreign Service Officer, a generalist can do just about anything, whether they are trained for it or not. Some officers are indeed talented in dealing with the general public and the media; but others are not so."

First tour officers are worried about their annual performance appraisals; supervisors of those first tour officers are worried about coming up with something to write for each of perhaps as many as a dozen or more such individuals that makes each evaluation individual. So they get special projects or assignments, none of it make-work, that give them an opportunity to shine (or not).

I suspect that this vice consul's supervisor has had lots of occasion to reflect on all the ramifications of that.

"In another life -- in at least one consular section, I have seen a Consul General tasked entry level officers with extremely limited press training to go out and deal with the media in the section's public outreach. And it was not optional. The result was a group of new officers who desperately wanted to excel on something they were set to fail. For those naturally talented or PD-coned, the task was manageable; if you have the knack for it, you can get by by the skin of your teeth. For those who are non-PD coned, or those with no substantial experience dealing with foreign publics--some not always friendly to the United States, it was often like amateur hour. Why would a senior manager do something like this? Rumor had it that the Consul General was trying to impress somebody from his/her home bureau with an "innovative" program for new officers which carry no training cost. It was a shitty program but the junior officers were too afraid to complain or demand appropriate training." (Bold typeface added for emphasis. - CAA.)

All FSOs, but especially new ones, suffer (is the right word?) from varying degrees of Lake Woebegone-ness. That is, none of them can be described as being anything but above average. They can't be average (or below) to get anywhere within spitting distance of being hired into this line of work, no matter what fellowships or other line-cutting opportunities they're gifted with beforehand.

CAA admits to a certain trepidation when it comes to dealing with the media, but has benefited from generally U.S.-friendly interviewers and media outlets, which allowed him to gain experience without tongue-trampling too badly on camera (or in print).

"(E)ntry level officers who are on overseas assignment for the first time ought not deal with the foreign public/media without specific guidance/training from post's Public Affairs Officer. Some sections where bosses are not too addled with the illness known as promotiontitis, the officers get to do murder boards before they show up for public engagements. Despite what the name implies, a murder board does not involve actual murder and gets its origin from the U.S. Army's extensive training system; it simulates the actual presentation where the audience (usually colleagues) engaged in a role play including asking difficult and gotcha questions that the target group is likely to ask. It is a practice session that not only allows newbies to make mistakes in a learning environment; if handled effectively with appropriate feedback, it also help the new officers improve their persuasion, presentation and public speaking skills."

The concept of a "murder board" is also utilized when preparing political appointees for their confirmation hearings. The main drawback is time. Anyone who would be needed to put one of these together almost certainly has other things eating up the limited number of hours in their work day. So preparing media newbies for their first foray into the lion's den has to be made enough of a priority (by management) that it happens. To do otherwise invites media disaster, as we've seen.

8/15

re: "THIS MUST BE MORE OF THAT “SMART DIPLOMACY” WE WERE PROMISED"

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit noted some ill-considered remarks by a junior FSO.

This was not even a nine-day wonder at the time. What's tragic/ironic is that the JO clearly was trying, at the time, to express her fondness for India, based upon her earlier experiences there.

Aside: Why attempt to muzzle FS bloggers when there are so many dangerously open microphones out there?

8/14

re: "Grave Responsibilities Taken Lightly"

Madam le Consul at The Consul's Files ("ask questions, answer questions, question answers, express frustrations, engage in debate, disagree, and tell their favorite consular stories, uncensored and anonymous") affirmed probably the most crucial role of front-line consular managers (Those studs. And studettes).

Money quote(s):

"More than anyone else in the mission, the consular section chief is responsible for raising up the next generation of FSOs, giving them a good, strong, broad, confident start in their new profession."

"What is a consular section chief's ultimate goal with the ELOs? It is to train them so well that if the chief is run over by a milk truck tomorrow, the section will barely hiccup. If we haven't taught them everything we know, we have failed.

What is a consular section chief's penultimate goal with ELOs? It is to teach them the most basic requirements of their careers: do hard work well; do it with class and style; do it with kindness and generosity; do it with the biggest possible picture in mind. We don't do our work for gratitude; we do it because it's our work. We don't bring our personal baggage to the work station. We are on a par with every other officer in the mission, and will be treated with and will behave with perfect professionalism and respect."

&

"What if they aren't consular coned and will never do another consular tour? Why bother to teach them so much? Because some day they will be doing visa referrals, they will be principal officers, they will be DCMs. It will strongly behoove us to assure that they know a great deal about and have great respect for consular work, if for no other reason than to spare the next generation of consular managers excessive heartburn."

re: "The Importance of Making a Good First Impression"

NoDoubleStandards at Calling a Spade a Spade ("Rants of a Foreign Service Officer on the things that matter to you -- and matter to you not at all") had some great suggestions for first-line consular managers.

Money quote(s):

"As the wave of anticipation which began with the first day of A-100 crests with the arrival of Flag Day, for those who did not choose consular as their cone, one of the greatest hopes among junior officers about to be assigned to their first posts is this: will I luck out and avoid a consular tour my first time out?"

If anything, not getting consular assignment the first time out puts an entry-level officer at a major disadvantage the first time they are the embassy's duty officer at their first post, having had minimal preparation for dealing with late night calls from distressed American travelers, &tc.

Consular experience will stand every FSO in good stead throughout their careers for just that reason.

".... the reputation consular work still has as salt mine labor, where only sadomasochists spend the bulk of their careers. For everyone else, it's a purgatory one must endure before entering the "promised land" of work in your chosen cone.Think about what a challenge a consular manager faces when she receives a first-tour officer at post full of disappointment that he didn't at least score a rotational job: unhappy, unmotivated, perhaps, and looking to make this a relatively painless two years that will fly by quickly."

The challenge these new FSO's bosses have is to turn the "fly by quickly" and "relatively painless" expectation into something closer to "how do I make the most of this experience."

"(P)eople choose cones based on their own personal interests, their motivations and their personalities. A consular manager can't be expected to convert all his FAST officers into clones of Maura Harty. That said, if a consular officer doesn't appreciate with appropriate gravity the formative role he fills in the careers of the State Department's future leaders, he does us all a great disservice."

"The political section won't want to hear this, but ACS is hands down the most important work done overseas. How many congressionals do you get over botched or insufficient political reporting? And visas? These officers are the first line of defense in protecting our borders. The work consular officers do directly impacts American lives and the security of our nation in tangible -- not theoretical -- ways."

&

"(T)he accolades I treasure most are those I've received doing work that was extremely challenging for me -- jobs where I really felt like a fish out of water.

As officers who recognize the importance if the work CA does, we need to appreciate that the stint of every FAST officer who does consular work matters. Not one should leave their obligatory consular tours vowing never to have a thing to do with consular again. We need to be forward-thinking, understanding that those first two tours often set the tone for an entire career and leave lasting impressions of consular managers and consular work."

I agree about the accolades. When an experienced PD officer (one of the old-timers who came over from USIA) whom I'd worked with as a control officer encouraged me to bid on Public Diplomacy jobs because he thought I handled PD well, that made my month.

Manners of Substance

As part of the ongoing FS hiring push, the A-100 course (basic training for diplomats, that is; a.k.a. the "Foreign Service Officer Orientation") was recently reduced by about two weeks. That allows the Foreign Service Institute to schedule more training cycles into the training year and get more newly-hired FSOs out to the field sooner.

Some applaud the move, on grounds that the course is too long anyway. It's been awhile since I went through the course, and while my impression is that there are parts that could have the slack tightened out of them, that slack could be profitably employed by additional useful training.

Having knocked around the Foreign Service for a few years now, both as an entry-level officer (ELO, a.k.a. "junior officer") and afterwards, I've had occasion to observe more than once how we (we being those of us already in the Foreign Service) fail to prepare our ELOs for service abroad representing the United States.

One of those areas has to do with manners.

I'm not really talking about etiquette, or perhaps I am, but not as it's taught during the optional one-day class at FSI. That's a useful class as well, if you can remember enough of it by the time you find yourself in a situation where you're not sure which fork to use, or how to set a dinner table properly.

Once upon a time, your humble scribe was stationed overseas with the military. There was a Cold War in progress, something called NATO was taken pretty seriously by its member nations, and the U.S. Army was perfectly serious when it told its teenaged soldiers, fresh from boot camp, that they were American ambassadors. That is, in the dozens of interactions you might have every day with foreign nationals, civilian and military, the impression you left would be the one they had of U.S. soldiers, of the United States Army, and of Americans in general.

If that's true for soldiers, you can magnify its significance for diplomats who really are America's "ambassadors."

In other words, the eyes of Texas are upon you, each and every day. So it's important to make a good impression, or at least not a bad one.

This gets drummed into the minds of consular officers, with respect to the thousands of visa interviews and other professional interactions they have with foreign citizens, but it's equally true beyond the interview window.

For the most part, I think our ELOs do pretty well at this. They try to speak the local languages, eat the local foods, treat people respectfully whether they're shopping in the marketplace or trying to explain to the maid how to change the vacuum cleaner bag.

But at certain public events, some of our ELOs fall short. In many ways it's not really their fault. Let me give a few examples regarding public appearances.

First, each U.S. embassy will receive literally hundreds or even thousands of invitations during any given year. Mostly they're addressed to the ambassador him- (or her-) self but oftentimes will be for various agency or sections heads. Chiefs of consular sections are quite popular in this regard for reasons which should be obvious. The point is that other commitments will often prevent the invitee from attending any particular event and that the invitation can usually be passed to a less senior diplomat within the mission. This accomplishes two things: the embassy shows that it respects the invitation enough to send someone even if the ambassador can't make it as well as giving the less senior diplomat the experience of representing the United States.

So if you're getting these invitations yourself and can't attend for some reason (even though the event or the host is deserving of the U.S. embassy's representation) it's up to you as a supervisor to make sure your junior officers are getting experience at this.

That's a small "m" management issue.

The other issue is just how well are our ELOs prepared to represent the United States at various events. Oh, I'm not talking about the political aspects of who we are or aren't talking to at a given time, or about toeing the talking points correctly. That I think our training covers sufficiently.

What bugs me again and again are the little things that should have been covered in, ohletmesee, elementary school. But then it's my understanding that things like the Pledge of Allegience have been dropped from primary school programs so knowing how to behave when the national anthym (ours, their's, anybodys!) is played is perhaps too much to expect.

So here are some suggestions:

INVOCATIONS & BENEDICTIONS

These are prayers said at the beginning and end of an official program or event.

Show some respect. I don't care what your personal religion is or what you think the Bill of Rights says about not respecting religions (that's not actually what it says, look it up); if the bishop or chaplain or shamen says "Let us pray" (or the local equivalent, then you've got to show that you respect your hosts.

How to do that?

Well, if the prayer is preceded with a request that you "please, rise" then by all means stand up. Stand up straight. Place your feet about shoulder width apart, clasp your hands together and let them fall naturally to your front, and bow your head.

Former military will recognize this as sort of a modified "Parade Rest."

Be aware of your surroundings. If no one else is standing, then by all means stay seated. Place your hands together in your lap and bow your head. When the prayer is over, return to your previous pose.

NATIONAL ANTHYMS

Learn to recognize them, both our own and that of the host country. No one will expect you to sing the local national anthym (it's not yours, after all), but you should recognize it and show respect when it's being played or sung.

How do you do that?

First, about the Star-Spangled Banner. For most of us, particularly men, singing it is difficult due to the key in which it's composed. But if it's being played and you can manage it, by all means sing it. You are, after all, a U.S. diplomat. No one, least of all you, should be offended by your exhibiting a little formal patriotism.

But that's perhaps too advanced for this essay.

Stand up!

Veterans will know what to do: face the U.S. flag (if there is one) or straight ahead and stand at the position of attention and either place your right hand over your left breast (this is the civilian version of a salute). Military personnel in uniform will perform a military-style salute; this is now also an option for veterans either in uniform or out.

Non-veterans sometimes need a little help with this. Once standing, face the U.S. flag (if there is one) or straight ahead, place the heels (no clicking!) of your shoes together with your feet at a 45 degree angle, hold your head and face straight to the front, and let your arms fall naturally to your sides. Let your fingers curl inwards a bit and align your thumbs along the outer seams of your trousers before placing your right hand over your left breast.

When the song is over let your right hand fall naturally to the right side before relaxing your overall posture.

Believe me, no one is going to mistake a non-veteran FSO for some sort of militarized robot, but they are going to notice that you respect your own national anthym (and theirs).

For national anthyms other than the Star Spangled Banner, do just as for our own but omit the hand salute portion.

FLAGS

Flag ceremonies are often combined with the playing of a national anthym, so refer to the guidance above. Basically, if a color guard is presenting a national flag or passing in a parade, stand at attention. Only salute if it's the U.S. flag, but show your hosts at least the respect of standing up straight. Be aware of how the other guests or audience respond, but also be aware that some of them will be taking their cue on how to act from you.

SPEAKERS

I recently was at an Independence Day reception (one of our own), and while the chief of mission was giving his speech, ELOs at the back of the event venue were eating and talking among themselves. Perhaps they thought that the invited guests listening politely to the speech only a very few feet away from them were somehow deaf in that direction. I just don't know. But this is not a career enhancing move, no matter how hungry you are or how good the food is.

If someone is giving a speech, turn your fool cell phone to vibrate only. People will understand if you pull out your phone and look at it, even get up and head towards and exit. After all, diplomats can get genuinely emergent calls at any time and no one should get bent out of shape. But if the prime minister's speech is interrupted by the American vice consul's cell phone everyone is going to remember it.

Yes, lots of local guests will fail to heed this and their cell phones will ring and they may or may not be embarrassed. Don't worry about them; worry about you. And worry about your reputation.

REFERENCES

Every FSO should own a copy of Protocol. Any of the several editions will suffice. Short of an assignment as a staff assistant or protocol officer, no one will expect you to have memorized it, but you should read through it once just so you are at least familiar with the contents for later on when you realize you need to look something up.

Also highly recommended is Service Etiquette. For those of you serving in Commonwealth countries, I would also heartily commend to you any of Debrett's publications.