In our Foreign Service, we select our assignments throughout our careers. Towards the conclusion of each assignment, be it foreign or domestic, we submit a list of our choices for the onward assignment that are called "bid lists," since we are literally "bidding" for jobs. These assignments are predicated on several factors. First and foremost, of course, is our desire to serve in that assignment - do we want to work in that job and live and work at that place? Secondly, and perhaps equally important - is that job career enhancing or is it some place that you simply want to go so you can sight-see or play golf! Of course, the job position and your grade have to match, a junior officer can't very well apply for position of a Deputy Chief of Mission, a Consul General, or a Counselor (Political, Economic, or Administrative)! Additionally you must have other job qualifications, such as language for that particular country, etc. So, in military terms, if you are a Major, you apply for jobs as a Major. You can request a stretch into a Colonel's job, but if there is a Colonel applying for the same job, you won't get it, no matter how good you may think you are!
Once you submit your list, normally, the personnel tries to get you the number one job on your "bid list." Your name and personnel file goes before an assignment panel and the panel decides after reviewing your qualifications. If the number one job on your list doesn't work out, then your name goes up for the number two job, so on and so forth until you are "paneled" or assigned. Normally, you will get your first or second choice, unless your selections were totally unrealistic! So, throughout your Foreign Service career, you are submitting assignment choices and end up serving in jobs and places that you selected, although it may have been the last place on your list! The one exception to that situation is when you reach a certain stage in your career and are at FS-1 grade level (equivalent to Colonel or O-6 in the military), then, you may be selected for "Senior Training" and assigned to the National War College or one of the other Military War Colleges (Army, Navy, or Air Force). This is the training that most Foreign Service Officers receive before being promoted into the Senior Foreign Service (equivalent to Flag or General Officer in the military). Of course, with the military it is mandatory for officers to receive War College training before being promoted to the senior ranks.
When you are assigned to attend "Senior Training," you really have no choice, you take it. If you refuse, your career will be dead in the water, since you are essentially saying that you don't want to be promoted! Generally speaking, about 70% of those selected for Senior Training, receive offers for the National War College. The National War College always has a few slots reserved for civilians from different agencies, mostly State, Defense, and Justice. Sometimes there are openings in the other services' War Colleges and some Foreign Service Officers are selected for training there. There is also one slot open periodically at Harvard's Center for International Affairs (CFIA) for an academic year as a fellow. This program is not the same as the JFK School of Government in Public Administration at Harvard. That program is open to middle grade officers, usually FS-3 or FS-2, equivalent to military ranks of major and lieutenant colonel. For this program, Foreign Service Officers list it in their "bid list" just like any other job for onward assignment.
Harvard's CFIA Fellows Program was established by Henry Kissinger when he was a professor there and also chaired the CFIA. It selects various "promising" Foreign diplomats, government officials, and even people from private sector (usually influential journalists!), to spend an academic year at Harvard's CFIA. The United States is represented by officers of O-6 grade from the three branches of service (Army, Air Force, Navy/Marines) and one officer from the State Department Foreign Service. This is, of course, an all expense paid deal. So, for foreign representatives it is a pretty good deal! The idea is to expose the foreign representatives to the academic life at Harvard, at the same time, familiarize them with the United States and also establish contact with other foreign representatives. There have been many, many foreign notable officials who were products of this program. It was designed to make friends for the United States as well as allow for development of personal contact between various foreign officials. An interesting concept that does seem to work.
At the end of my Guayaquil assignment in 1992, before I could submit my onward assignment "bid list" choices, I received a call from Washington notifying me that I had been selected for Senior Training and I was asked if I would be interested in Harvard's CFIA Fellows program. I was told that because of my academic background, I was a better fit for the CFIA program than the National War College for which I had apparently been selected first. But an opening had occurred in the CFIA program so I was given an opportunity to switch, which I did without hesitation. Frankly, I was not in any position to say "no," besides, I was pleased with the assignment, I thought it would make for a nice break from the typical overseas assignment and government work.
So, rather than preparing to go for another overseas assignment, Jo and I prepared to spend some time in the states. It was a new experience after all those years abroad! We came on home leave to Arizona and contacted a real estate agent in Cambridge area and looked for a place. We found a place and rented it for a year, sight unseen! It was going to be just the two of us and our dog Brandy and two cats. Our daughter Natalie was completing her final year of undergraduate studies at Sonoma State in California and our son Tony was in the army, at a place called Fort Polk, Louisiana, which he didn't seem to like very much.
When we got to Harvard, I discovered that I was in a relatively small group of Fellows in the CFIA program. Apparently, usually the Fellows program had about 30 or more participants, but ours was small, a bit over 20, representing only 18 different countries. Some countries were represented by two - UK, South Korea, Canada each had two representatives. The host country, the U.S. had four, one each for Army, Navy, and Air Force, and me representing the State Department. It was a fascinating collection of people. Finland was represented by their top woman television news anchor. Thailand was represented by a very influential congresswoman, and Greece was represented by George Papandereau who was the Interior Minister at the time. The rest were representatives of their country's Foreign Ministry or in case of those that had two members, one Foreign Ministry and one Interior or Home Ministry.
It was a fascinating academic year at Harvard. As fellows, we were all granted the privileges of faculty members, so we all had membership to the prestigious Harvard Faculty Club. We were all given office space, computers, etc. Obviously, Harvard was not operating on a shoestring budget! Family members of the fellows, could audit classes free of charge, so Jo got to audit some interesting classes! It also just so happened that Natalie, after graduating from Sonoma State, decided to come and stay with us and attend Harvard for her graduate work. This made it much cheaper for us, since she could stay with us and not have to pay for a dorm or apartment rent and eat a home! Luckily she was at Harvard for only two years for her Masters, so we essentially got away cheap the first year!
For me the highlight of the program was when we were invited on a five country Asian trip in the spring of 1993. We travelled to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, at the invitation of each respective government, all expense paid. Of course they wined and dined us and we spent about two weeks going from one country to another. It was amazing how much respect and clout Harvard had in each of those countries. It seems that being a Harvard Fellow carried an awful lot of weight. Some of us had spent time in some of those countries as U.S. officials, I had been in Japan as a diplomat, and my U.S. Army colleague had been in Korea as a Colonel and the U.S. Air Force colleague had just been on Okinawa (Kadena) as a Colonel. They all admitted that they had never been treated with such respect before! Amazing how academia in general and Harvard in particular is viewed in some parts of the world! At any rate, it was a fascinating experience, a real eye opener.
It seems everyone benefited from that year at Harvard. I don't know what happened to my U.S. Navy colleague, but the U.S. Air Force colleague was almost immediately promoted to Brigadier General and assigned as Commanding Officer of an air base in Japan! Lucky son of a gun! My army colleague was also promoted immediately to Brigadier General and assigned as the Commanding General of 173rd Airborne Brigade in Italy! George Papandreau, my Greek colleague went on to follow his father's footsteps and became President of Greece! Of course, under his watch, the Greek economy went to hell, so I don't know if Harvard helped! My Thai colleague ran for Prime Minister's office but didn't succeed, so I don't know what happened to her. All in all, everyone seemed to have done well. Perhaps the most intriguing and interesting case involved my Burmese (now Myanmar) colleague who was Burma's UN representative at the time he was at Harvard. Several years after, in late 1990s, I saw his photo appear on CNN and there was news coverage about his involvement in an illegal weapons purchasing scheme on a very large scale. Not pistols and rifles, no small stuff, but missiles and bombs, etc.! Apparently he was trying to purchase weapons illegally for an opposition group that was trying to overthrow the Burmese (Myanmar) government at that time. Don't know what happened to him, but obviously, he didn't benefit from his Harvard experience!
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