A Conversation with retired U.S. Ambassador James R. Bullington

Ambassdor James R. Bullington's early career included service in Vietnam, where he was the Vice Consul at the consulate in Hue from 1965 to 1966. He was the aide to U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr, at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. During the 1968 Tet Offensive, Ambassador Bullington was caught behind enemy lines in Hue, disguising himself as a French priest in order to escape.

From 1969 to 1970 he was assigned to Washington D.C. and detailed to the National Security Council Staff as a member of the Vietnam Special Studies Group. In 1971-73 he served as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Chiangmai, Thailand. From 1973 to 1975 he was Chief Political Officer for the State Department's Vietnam Working Group.

In the 1970's, he served as Consul and Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs in Burma; and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in N’Djamena, Chad, where he led the evacuation of Americans during the civil war. He was assigned as permanent charge d'affaires, also chief of mission, Cotonou, Benin. In 1982 he was Senior Advisor on African Affairs to the U.S. delegation at the United Nations. In 1983, he was appointed Ambassador to Burundi by President Ronald Reagan. In the late 1980's until retirement, he was the State Department's Senior Seminar Dean.

With this conversation, Ambassador Bullington discusses his book, "Global Adventures on Less-Traveled Roads: A Foreign Service Memoir," which details his career in the foreign service. He spotlights the basics of leadership, along with selected thoughts on what he believes should be the top priority of the United States Department of State today, 2021. In closing, he comments on the present situation in Afghanistan.