Testimony of Steven Kashkett

Vice President, American Foreign Service Association

House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia

Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY)

Hearing on:

“Working in a War Zone: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Civilians

Returning from Iraq”

June 19, 2007

Mr. Chairman, the American Foreign Service Association welcomes the opportunity to speak before this subcommittee on the subject of the challenges and problems facing U.S. diplomatic personnel assigned to war zones, specifically with regards to post-traumatic stress disorder. We are grateful to you for convening this hearing and for helping raise the profile of this urgent issue with your colleagues in Congress and at State. I will make a brief opening statement and then look forward to answering your questions.

As you know, AFSA represents the members of the U.S. Foreign Service both as their official labor union and as their professional association. As AFSA’s elected Vice President for the State Department, my constituency includes more than 11,000 State Foreign Service employees assigned both domestically and overseas at more than 250 embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic outposts all over the world, including some 200-300 members currently serving in Iraq. All are volunteers. We estimate the number of our members who have volunteered to serve in Iraq since 2003 at close to 2,000.

Iraq – and Afghanistan – are unique cases where we are sending unarmed civilian employees of the U.S. government into active combat zones. Foreign Service members, while accustomed to serving their country overseas under extremely difficult conditions, are not soldiers and are not trained for combat. Yet in Iraq, they are often directly exposed to conditions of war which they may not always be well-adapted to cope. 

Foreign Service members assigned to our embassy in Baghdad experience frequent incoming fire in the Green Zone and sleep in vulnerable aluminum trailers.  Foreign Service members assigned to regional embassy offices and Provincial Reconstruction Teams in other parts of Iraq often live on U.S. military Forward Operating Bases in combat areas and work entirely in a “red zone” environment. Those who will be assigned to several newly created “EPRT’s” will be literally “embedded” with mobile combat units of the U.S. military in hostile areas.  All of our members assigned to Iraq are exposed to attack, including from the dreaded improvised explosive devices that have killed so many U.S. soldiers, when they make any move outside of their compounds. Many have lost Iraqi and American colleagues. Most have witnessed violence beyond the normal experience of civilians.

Not surprisingly, some of our members who have returned from these postings have complained of symptoms that are clearly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. We cannot know the precise number, although preliminary results from the State Department survey suggest that it may affect some 40% or more, similar to what has been reported for the U.S. military. We at AFSA have been in contact with – and are today speaking on behalf of – many of our members who are struggling to readjust to civilian life. The symptoms they have described to us have included difficulty in sleeping, nightmares, lack of concentration, feelings of depression, thoughts of suicide and bodily harm, and inability to cope with work in their onward assignment after Iraq.

It is imperative for the Department of State to take steps immediately to better prepare employees for deployment to war zones, to help them cope with what they will undergo while posted in a war zone, and to deal with any problems they may experience afterwards. Many of our members, upon returning from Iraq, have commented that they had little opportunity for proper counseling before, during, or after their assignments. Some felt they were penalized for raising their concerns about PTSD by having their medical or security clearances suspended.

This should not happen. Counseling should be thorough and mandatory for everyone so that no one can be stigmatized for participating in it. People should not have to “self-diagnose” for post-traumatic stress disorder in order to get help.

Foreign Service members by nature are tough, adaptable individuals, accustomed to difficult hardship postings and used to putting up with adverse situations without objection. We are therefore concerned that many who are suffering from post-traumatic stress may not be coming forward out of fear of being labeled as “complainers”. They also fear retaliation for speaking out.

We call upon the Department to act right away to address this urgent problem. We are pleased that State has launched a survey to determine the extent of these problems that date back to 2003, but we cannot wait for a full analysis. People are on the edge now. AFSA urges the Medical Director and Director General to ensure that special attention is focused on the needs of civilian employees who are sent unarmed into these war zones. The Department must accept the long-term responsibility for the mental health of employees whom it places in harm’s way.

Finally, I would note that we see this problem of post-traumatic stress disorder in the broader context of concerns about the size of our diplomatic mission in Iraq, about the security of our members in Baghdad and at the ever-expanding PRT’s, and about the ability of unarmed diplomats to perform the tasks assigned to them in the middle of a highly unstable internal conflict. These are all questions that merit open discussion.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for holding this very timely hearing. I would be happy to answer any questions you and your colleagues will have.