The country of Sierra Leone caught the world?s attention in the late 1990s when a bloody civil war threatened the stability of the region and resulted in the largest UN peacekeeping operation in recent history. Embassy Freetown was evacuated three times in four years. During this period the embassy maintained an active presence in Sierra Leone on behalf of the U.S. government, supporting the UN peacekeeping operation and working with the British effort that finally succeeded in putting an end to the hostilities.
The embassy is under the Department?s Special Embassy Program, and it should remain small. Current staffing calls for around 14 Americans. However, successive evacuations and chronic understaffing have devastated the embassy?s administrative and consular operations. The Department needs to send temporary-duty teams to normalize these operations so that permanently assigned staff can continue them more effectively. The FSNs conducted themselves with dignity, integrity, and professionalism during periods of high stress and threats to their personal safety.
The embassy has been understaffed for several years, forcing executive management to devote time to operational matters at the expense of overall management and supervision. The Department needs to ensure that the vacant positions are promptly and adequately staffed.
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