A US Embassy has no higher purpose than serving Americans overseas. When a fellow citizen loses their passport, ends up in jail, gets seriously ill, or dies in another country, specialized State Department officers are there to help them. Those State Department officers who focus on services for American citizens do plenty of work on nights and weekends, but they need a break sometimes.

So when an anxious family member or distressed tourist calls the Embassy late at night, the Marine on duty connects them by phone with the Duty Officer.

All the diplomats in a US Embassy take turns serving as Duty Officer, usually for a week, to be the helpful voice at the other end of the phone after hours.

Armed with only about an hour of training and a manual that describes how to handle typical situations, that week’s Embassy Duty Officer keeps the phone by their side day and night, to address whatever comes at them.

USAID’s Foreign Service personnel took their turn alongside all the other members of the Embassy community as that first line of support for fellow citizens in need.

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