Chess With The Sheiks

[Outsidethewire]

In my 20 years in the Foreign Service, I had never had an overlap with my predecessor until I came out to my Iraq PRT assignment. The outgoing officer is usually desperate to get back to the US for a few weeks of summer leave while fending off his next boss who thinks any arrival later than late June is too late, while the incoming officer's previous boss is holding on to her with a grip of iron until late August, at least (in part to cover the gap because the guy replacing her isn't coming until September). State just doesn't have the bodies to cover all the bases, especially when you throw in training needs (which usually are addressed during the summer transition).

Baghdad is different, in this as in so many ways. The directive was established that all Baghdad assignments would ensure at least a two-week overlap, whether inside the Embassy or at PRTs. My sense is that this is in fact held to MOSTLY. I had a solid two-week overlap with my predecessor and really benefited from it. It's so important to "hand off" relationships properly, to have the time to go over longstanding problems for which solutions are only just developing and which must be carried to completion by the new team. This is especially critical in a place like Iraq, where nearly everybody turns over ever year. If you can't have continuity, you at least have to have a good hand-off.

I suspect this will be the last time I have that overlap, however Maybe someday, when State is properly staffed...but that's another thread.

Regards

[Ken White]

...Maybe someday, when State is properly staffed...but that's another thread.

another thread and one that deserves attention -- if this isn't a wake up call to DoD, State and the Congress to fix the imbalance in staffing and funding and get State up to speed for this Century, we'll never see one...

That really needs to be fixed. It is arguably (not to me, will be to some) more important than is the military argument over which next war do we prepare for.

State and the Intel community can stop a lot of wars before they start...