HSU Insider

State Department Hometown Diplomat Program Features HSU Alumnus Charles Davis

• By Dave Coffield
• Posted July 16, 2007 1:35 PM
• 0 Comments

Over 120 Abilene business leaders, civic officials, as well as HSU faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, gathered at Fairway Oaks Country Club to meet HSU alumnus (class of 1984), former Cowboy Band tuba player, and now foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State Charles (Chuck) Davis as he put a personal face on an agency of the federal government that many know too little about.

Col. McCormick, vice wing commander of the 7th Bomb Wing, visits with Davis

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell launched the Secretary’s Hometown Diplomats Program in 2001. In the former Secretary Powell’s message he said, “The Department's great people can explain best why Americans should care about what happens around the world. Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel have fascinating stories to tell about their careers. They can explain how we stop drugs and disease, improve the environment, make the world safer, and open up economic opportunity for Americans. They can explain what the State Department does, how foreign policy affects Americans' lives, why we need more resources to do our jobs, and how interested people can join our team. Reaching out to the public in this way puts a face on foreign policy.�

A former pastor, missionary, and BGCT staffer, Davis likened his call to foreign service to that of a call to ministry, “in many ways it’s the same thing, you have a passionate feeling in your heart that you can do something good and make a difference in people’s lives,� said Davis. He should know; he’s seen both. After graduating from HSU, he worked with expatriate youth in Taipei, Taiwan under the direction of the International Missions Board. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Theological Seminary in 1992, and worked with the BGCT to fund and coordinate international relief projects for Texas medical students and faculty to remote and impoverished regions of Mexico and Central America.

After passing the Foreign Service exam in 1998, he served in the Hong Kong and London consulates, and last year, during the Israel/Lebanon crisis, helped evacuate over 14,000 American citizens from Israel, the largest evacuation of Americans in history. He will move his family to Jordan later this summer as he takes on duties as the Supervisory General Services Officer for the Iraq Support Unit, providing critical services for the U.S. Government’s efforts throughout Iraq. “I’ll give off-site support to contractors performing services in Iraq under the auspices of Embassy Baghdad,� says Davis.

Davis described the administration’s three-pronged approach to the Iraq war: clearing the insurgents, holding the territories, and building within them. “It’s the building phase that will be the most challenging for me and for the nation of Iraq. Right now it’s like that famous quote from Thomas Jefferson, ‘We have the wolf by the ears and feel the danger of holding him or letting him loose.’ However, if the country can develop economic and entrepreneurial opportunities in a secure environment, then the infrastructure will thrive.� Although he will be based in Jordan, his duties will take him into Iraq as the building phase ramps up. He admits that he and his family look at those trips with some trepidation, but realize that nothing good comes without boldness in the face of risk.

As to the war itself, Davis says, “The key is getting the factions to work together. If we can get initiatives, such as the hydrocarbon law (which apportions revenue from oil to the groups) to work, then the factions will realize they can work together. With our hearts and minds we can win over the Iraqi citizens community by community.�

Department employees are nominated by their Ambassador, Consul General, Under Secretary or Assistant Secretary, to participate in the program. During their scheduled trips back to their hometowns, they will talk to local organizations, visit schools and local government officials, and participate in media interviews. They may talk about foreign policy topics, their careers and the varied work of the Department, and employment opportunities. Participants may establish and maintain relationships with hometown groups, particularly elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities they visited, throughout the year.