A few months ago, I found myself standing in the cavernous expanse of McCormick Place during the Chicago Auto Show. Amid the gleaming electric vehicles and pristine concept trucks, the Department of Defense had carved out an empire. It was an impressive, high-octane display of raw American power: interactive flight simulators, armored tactical vehicles, high-tech gear, and polished, sharp-looking recruiters ready to talk to anyone who walked by. Even my toddlers were awe-struck.
This piece builds upon the ideas I laid out in my recent Foreign Service Journal piece, Shaping the Next 250 Years of U.S. Diplomacy: Vision, Humility, and Action. (https://afsa.org/fsj/foreign-service-journal/shaping-next-250-years-us-diplomacy-vision-humility-and-action)
It was impossible not to compare it to the recruiting footprint of the United States Department of State. If the military's presence was a blockbuster film, State’s presence in the domestic public consciousness is more like an indie art-house film that only plays in select ZIP codes.
As a former U.S. diplomat now working to prepare the next generation of global leaders, I often hear the same refrain from think tanks, current diplomats, and scholars: “If only State had a DoD-sized budget to recruit, we could solve our talent and diversity crises.”
It’s an attractive, simple narrative. But it misses the structural reality of how the Department actually works. If we want a diplomatic corps capable of navigating the complex geopolitics of the 21st century, we don’t need pull-up bars at auto shows (although fun). We need a fundamental rebuild of our domestic outreach, starting with the neglected Diplomat in Residence (DIR) program, and a massive, overdue overhaul of the engine that processes them: the Board of Examiners (BEX).
1. The Forgotten Mandate of the DIR
Established in 1964, the Diplomat in Residence program was designed to place senior Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) on college campuses across the country. The goal was noble: demystify foreign policy, mentor students, and recruit a diverse class of future diplomats from outside the traditional corridors.
When the program works, it relies on individual alchemy. A dynamic DIR at a public land-grant university, an HBCU, or a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) can single-handedly alter the life trajectory of a student who has never even owned a passport.
But over the decades, institutional neglect has turned the DIR program into a structural afterthought:
The "Pre-Retirement" Detour: Within the Department, a DIR tour has often times (though not always) been treated as a low-velocity, pre-retirement assignment. In the military, commanding a recruiting district is a career-making milestone. At State, stepping out of the policy loop in Washington or a high-profile embassy to teach in the Heartland has historically been viewed as a promotion killer.
The Solo Operator Trap: At any given time, only about 16 DIRs are tasked with covering the entire United States. They are typically given inadequate budgets and administrative support. A single officer is expected to cover a multi-state region, handle their own travel logistics, answer thousands of cold emails, and deliver lectures completely solo.
It is a setup for administrative burnout, not strategic talent cultivation.
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