Those front-line troops who used to be on the border are no longer soldiers.  They are now our colleagues at the embassies.  They are now our front-line troops.  They are the ones who are going to help us move the world in the direction that we think it is proper for the world to move in.  We're going to do it from a position of humility; we're going to do it from the position of seeing no nation out there as an enemy unless that nation chooses to be an enemy, recognizing that we are part of the world because there is no nation that is not represented in the American rainbow.

And so our diplomats, all of the men and women in our missions around the world, are now on the front line of the battle, the continuing battle to bring freedom to the world.  I view it as my solemn obligation to make sure that they have and that you have all the resources you need to serve the American people.  You heard me say this before this past Monday at the wonderful welcoming ceremony you provided for me, as well as in my confirmation hearing.  You need the resources to do the job well, resources that will improve our facilities, resources that will provide adequate compensation, resources that will fix our infrastructure, resources that are necessary so that you can do your job well.

I want everybody in the State Department, all the wonderful parts of the State Department – whether Foreign Service, Civil Service or our Foreign Service Nationals – to have a chance to play their role within the Department to the best of their ability, and I will fight to get those resources.

As I mentioned on Monday, I am not only a foreign policy advisor to the President.  I believe that my charge is also to be the leader and the manager of the State Department.  My leadership style will become known to you in due course.  It is a very open, collegial kind of style.  But don't mistake it.  I'm still a general. (Laughter and applause)

So you will find an open style, you will find me bouncing in, you will find me wanting to talk to desk officers; I want to hear the rough edges of all arguments.  I don't want to concur things to death and coordinate things to death so I get a round pebble instead of a stone that has edges on it.  I want to hear from you.  I want to get all the great ideas that exist throughout the Department.