Leadership Opportunities in Iraq PRTs

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001670 SIPDIS Please pass to NEA/SCA/EX Director William Haugh from OPA Director to request assistance in retransmitting as an ALDAC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: APER IZ SUBJECT: Leadership Opportunities in Iraq PRTs ¶1. Embassy Baghdad OPA requests that NEA/EX transmit following as ALDAC. ¶2. Dear Senior-level Colleagues: ¶3. We ask you to consider a position as Team Leader of an Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). Success in Iraq remains a vital component of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and the PRTs are central to President Obama's Iraq strategy. The State Department continues to need the very best to serve as PRT leaders to ensure that our effort in Iraq remains strong. ¶4. Our mission in Iraq, as laid out by the President, is clear: an Iraq that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant. Iraq PRT Leaders are at the forefront of shaping the U.S.-Iraqi relationship at the provincial and local levels and working to achieve these goals. We, your predecessors, have laid some of the groundwork, but the mantle needs to be taken up by individuals ready for the challenge of serving in a leadership position in Iraq. ¶5. As current and former Iraq PRT Leaders, we are proud to have worked in one of the most critical and challenging environments for U.S. foreign policy. Some of us have even taken up the challenge more than once because we sense the importance of the mission. We understand that our Iraq effort is a long-term commitment and that success in this endeavor is nurtured by the PRTs. ¶6. As a PRT Leader you may enjoy more autonomy and responsibility than at any other time in your Foreign Service career. The work is intense, exciting and dynamic. You can see and appreciate the tangible difference your work is making. It is not an exaggeration to say that the success of our strategy in Iraq will depend on you and your team. That is why PRT members who serve in Iraq leave with the feeling that their tour was among the most professionally and personally rewarding things they've ever done. ¶7. As diplomats in an increasingly "expeditionary" Foreign Service, we encourage you to bid on these positions which will afford you a once in a lifetime leadership experience. Again, thank you for your consideration. We invite you to ask us any questions you may have. ¶8. Respectfully, Current and Former Iraq PRT/REO/ePRT Team Leaders Ted Andrews Jess L. Baily John Bass Kevin Blackstone Thomas F. Burke Pasquale Capriglione Donald Cooke Philip Egger Paul Folmsbee Dan Foote Richard Hawkins Ken Hillas Darrell Jenks Howard Keegan Glen Keiser John Kincannon Michael Klecheski Alex Laskaris Brad Lynch John A. Matel Gary Mignano Cameron Munter John Naland Paul O'Friel Andy Passen Mark Powell Robert Reed Angus Simmons Anthony Spakauskas David Stewart Lucy Tamlyn Michael Thurston Eric Whitaker George White Timothy Zuniga-Brown Ford