62 APRIL 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Pat Haslach with her husband, Jon Wilks, and grandson Noah at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. COURTESY OF PAT HASLACH cluster bombs on the civilian population in Laos. In August 2021, I asked to help with the evacuation of Afghan refugees through Qatar. I wanted to use my experience on Afghanistan as the rst director of Afghanistan reconstruction after 9/11 and, later, as PDAS in the Bureau of Con ict and Stabilization Operations. e U.S. senior coordinator for Operation Allies Refuge in Qatar brought me on for several weeks to help identify Afghans who had connections to countries other than the United States, including 300 unaccompanied minors. I used my contacts in the diplomatic community and Qatar government to nd places for these refugees. Advice: You never know when your experience might be useful. Stay current on the places you served, and stay connected with former colleagues to see if there might be a role for you. Another way to stay involved is to volunteer and serve on boards. I was on the advisory board for King’s College in London, International School for Government. I joined three other organizations as a senior adviser. One of those was Path nder, which focuses on women and children’s health issues. Advice: Try something new. I followed a long-dormant passion for art and took courses, including one online on how to write a children’s book for our grandsons. In December 2023, my husband retired from the diplomatic service, and we moved to Oxford, where he is the registrar at the Islamic Studies Centre. I am busy setting up our new home and unpacking, I hope for the last time. Enjoy your retirement. n Pat Haslach’s Foreign Service career with the State Department spanned 30 years and a wide variety of postings. She served as ambassador to Ethiopia, Laos, and APEC; as acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary (PDAS) for the Bureau of Economic and Business A airs; PDAS in the Bureau of Con ict and Stabilization Operations; deputy coordinator for the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative; and as director for the O ce for Afghanistan. She also worked on Iraq reconstruction and the transition from a military to civilian operation under Deputy Secretary Tom Nides. Her other postings included Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the U.S. Mission to the European Union. RETIREMENT SUPPLEMENT
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