I've taken on a surprising new assignment. I have a nice official title, but what it boils down to really is writer in residence. And what is this residence? I report to a cozy white cottage behind a row of heirloom corn off the beaten paths traversing the expansive training grounds of our nation’s foreign … Continue reading A writer in residence
State Department
The United States Department of State
Referred to as the State Department, State, and DOS, the U.S. Department of State has recently been called by an unfitting new label. I don’t care about the insult. Hearing it called “deep state department” glances off as a meaningless jab. I’ve long inured myself against the public bluster. What concerns me more is the … Continue reading The United States Department of State
About Mohamed
Every year this time my thoughts turn to Mohamed (his story is here). I had reason to conjure his story this fall and found the image below. Pictured is the American Library, Kabul, circa 1958. Is this the building where Mohamed learned to love the United States? Where he read American authors and watched American movies? … Continue reading About Mohamed
Swagger Stick
Not long ago, selecting deodorant came with a sense of... not humiliation, exactly. Not quite shame. Mild embarrassment? Here, in the grocery store, under fluorescent lights and warbling muzak, I admitted to an indefatigable human failing: my stinky pits. No more. Thanks to Old Spice, all dressed up for modern times, I need not hide … Continue reading Swagger Stick
Take Your Child to Work Day
My favorite work day of the year. The cafeteria never seems so alive. The visitor hall buzzes with energy. At State our children take the same oath of service---to uphold the constitution---that we took when we came on board. “I stachername, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United … Continue reading Take Your Child to Work Day
Let Us Not Be Quiet
Revisiting Remarque before peace eludes My copy of All Quiet on the Western Front is a tattered thing. The cover, already coming apart in brittle pieces, fell off entirely as I read. It was appropriate to the fate of narrator Paul Baumer to see that cover come away. It is the father of all modern war … Continue reading Let Us Not Be Quiet
Foreign Service Readings
Continuing a short list of blogs and independent websites offering an insider's view of U.S. diplomacy steeped in experience. Not officialdom. I previously posted this Foreign Service blog list. https://diplopundit.net Opinionated and often edgy, DiploPundit has no official connection to the U.S. Department of State. It wades into leadership issues, Foreign Service realities, international current events, and other developments in the … Continue reading Foreign Service Readings
Marine Security Guards at 70
The Marine Security Guard program this week celebrated 70 years protecting U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. Happy Fourth of July to the Ambassadors in Blue. Two books covering their service, one non-fiction, the other fiction: Greg Matos’ Shattered Glass—The Story of a Marine Embassy Guard... recounts the December 2004 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. … Continue reading Marine Security Guards at 70
Diplomatic Security
This trailer from the film America's Diplomats shows how our diplomatic security personnel train for the worst case scenario---from protests and threats to bombings and outright assaults on our missions overseas. Their storied bureau turned 100 this year. https://youtu.be/-QTzTP9vZRk Learn more about the daily grind of our DS personnel in Two Pumps for the Body … Continue reading Diplomatic Security
Peter Van Buren–We Meant Well
Van Buren's book stands shoulder-to-shoulder with many other great war books. The food is bad and the environment gritty. The Colonel’s in charge; body armor's strapped on; everybody piles into helos or Humvees to leave base. A young soldier, comrade torn by hot shrapnel, ignores the bloody gristle staining his cheek to stop the damn bleeding. … Continue reading Peter Van Buren–We Meant Well
Ben East Books 