There are two ways: His, which involved education, certification and selection for a lifetime of service to the Department of State; and the other, which involves either lots of campaign money — a million bucks is a pretty good start but not a guarantee, or a marriage into the family of the president, or a college career that involved rooming with the future president.

About one out of three diplomatic appointments are political. In the case of the present secretary, Rex Tillerson, knowledge of both English and Russian have proved to be assets.

Levine is in the majority of State employees, having chosen the field early in life, earned a college degree to be the basis of his service and served in a number of department jobs until he was appointed ambassador by President Obama in 2012.

Political appointees to ambassadorships are not utterly bereft of the guidance of career experts. By law the number two officer in line at any U.S. embassy, officially known as the Deputy Chief, must be a career officer. Beyond that requirement, appointed ambassadors are free to reorganize their embassy staffs as they choose. "In most cases," Levine said, "the political appointee recognizes the career officers."

Just like in the movies, an ambassador projects the system and values of the United States abroad, but it is less well known that any deference he or she is shown by the host country rests in the fact that ambassadors are entitled by law and treaty to all deference and respect appropriate to the President of the United States. This is reciprocated in the U.S. with foreign delegations.

Since Mr. Levine left the service in 2015 and is no longer therefore due the deference of the president, San Mateo Rotary was not required to stand or salute.

A U.S. embassy overseas coordinates many services occupying space within it. Basic services include virtually all the security services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, USAID, the Centers for Disease Control, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security, Department of Defense and others. The ambassador's role is to make all these agencies "fundamentally successful," of which a more perfect example of diplomatic speech cannot be conjured.

Ambassadors also provide constituent services. Mr. Levine, for example, visited 18 cocaine smugglers in prison every month to make sure they were well fed and not abused. He also dealt with American tourists who fell ill or even died abroad, who fell in love and married abroad or just needed help with mundane matters such as lost passports.

An embassy can have as many as 5,000 employees, as did the U.S. delegations in Egypt and Mexico. Generally, embassy staff is composed of about 150 Americans and 150 local nationals. The U.S. is among the few nations to insist on "universality;" that is, having an embassy in every nation on earth. The reason is that any message the country wants to communicate to the world can be communicated to every nation the same day, unless it is delivered by Tomahawk, in which case it can be communicated locally in about 30 minutes.

People are the 'embassy,' the building is the 'chancery.' You can have an embassy only in a nation's capital. Other State Department facilities spread around the country officially are 'consulates.' This is why there are over 200 embassies in Washington, D.C. and why, outside the White House, everyone in Washington is so polite.

Contrary to belief, embassies abroad are not 'U.S. soil.' They have no protection other than what the host country provides, but the rules and laws of diplomacy require them to be considered inviolable. No one, not even firefighters on a call, may enter without permission. That is why the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran in 1979 was considered such an egregious violation of protocol that the nation continues to suffer international sanctions — which have been enhanced many times over many additional issues having to do with its nuclear program and international meddling.

Host nations cannot arrest diplomats or their staffs; however, they can declare individuals 'persona non grata,' a declaration that follows you for life. Diplomatic immunity belongs to the government, not the individual, something to remember the next time that consular license plate blocks your driveway.

Mr. Levine explained why a posting to Estonia is not the equivalent of being given a Spinnings assignment: It is not a banishment to some backwater oblivion or a punishment for a pun or a slightly irritating play on words that may offend at least half the membership.

Estonia is the most vulnerable of the Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. It is located between Russia and the Gulf of Finland and "could be rolled over by the Russians in 24 hours if they wanted to." It is axiomatic that war in the Baltics will mean world war, and Estonia is fortified by U.S. and NATO troops for that reason.

The City of San Mateo's adopted military unit, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, recently has been rotated through Estonia and as a guy with a globalist assignment and a local mentality, Mr. Levine gave a shout-out to the group and to San Mateo Rotary for supporting Estonia.