Embassy Baghdad’s regional security office presented Nir Khadge (left) with a flag flown over the embassy to mark his 40th year with the Department of State, July 27. Khadge—who as a personal services contractor financial advisor with the regional security office, manages post’s $1 billion budget for Diplomatic Security (DS)—began his career with the Department in 1982 in Kathmandu as a locally employed staff senior financial specialist/alternate certifying officer. Khadge, pictured with former U.S. Mission Iraq Deputy Chief of Mission Greg LoGerfo, has supported financial operations throughout his career at high-threat posts including Tripoli, Sana’a, and Juba. From 2006-2015, he helped establish the Global Financial Center in Charleston. In his current role in Baghdad, Khadge manages the daily financial operations of the largest DS operation in the world, with nearly 60 agents, a dozen security engineers, and more than 2,500 security personnel across three sites in Iraq. Photo by Saher Altwal