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Ronald E. Hawkins Jr. – Deputy Chief of Mission Profile | Covenant for Forgotten Warriors

Ronald E. Hawkins Jr.

Former Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Lomé, Togo (May 2024–June 2025) | Former Deputy Chief of Mission | Senior Foreign Service Officer

Note: Official photo not available. Ronald E. Hawkins Jr. maintains a low public profile despite creating the institutional documentation that formalized years of abandonment.

Key Facts: Ronald E. Hawkins Jr.

  • Former Position: Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. (Acting Chief of Mission), U.S. Embassy Lomé, Togo (May 31, 2024 – June 17, 2025)
  • Current Status: Departed Embassy Lomé upon arrival of Chargé Richard C. Michaels (June 17, 2025)
  • Current DCM: Kim McClure now serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at Embassy Lomé
  • Rank: Senior Foreign Service Officer (Public Diplomacy Track)
  • Specialization: Public Diplomacy, Crisis Response, Consular Affairs
  • Education: BA & MA in International Affairs (American University); Master’s in Strategic Studies (U.S. Army War College)
  • Career: 20+ years in Foreign Service; Algeria, Iceland, Bosnia, Sudan, Romania, Uganda, Washington DC
  • Key Action in 2024: Created “The File”—comprehensive dossier on Kelvin Blas based on unverified character assassination from former commanding officer
  • Critical Decision: Accepted Captain Michael Burleson’s negative portrayal without investigation or verification
  • Institutional Impact: Transformed informal abandonment into documented policy passed to successor
  • Current Status: STILL SERVING as Deputy Chief of Mission under Chargé Richard C. Michaels

The Bureaucrat Who Institutionalized Abandonment

When Ambassador Elizabeth Fitzsimmons departed U.S. Embassy Lomé in May 2024, Ronald E. Hawkins Jr. assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires ad interim—the acting chief of mission. For thirteen months, he was the highest-ranking American official in Togo, with full authority over embassy operations and consular services.

During that time, Hawkins made a decision that transformed five years of informal abandonment into documented institutional policy: He created “The File.”

Rather than investigating why an American veteran had been stranded without consular services since 2020, Hawkins compiled a comprehensive dossier justifying why that abandonment should continue. Rather than seeking the truth, he accepted unverified claims from a disgraced commanding officer who had contacted the embassy to badmouth his former subordinate.

Rather than correcting years of discriminatory treatment, Hawkins ensured it would continue by creating official documentation that his successor would inherit as transition briefing material.

Ronald Hawkins didn’t just continue the abandonment. He institutionalized it. He made it policy. He ensured it would survive leadership changes.

When he handed “The File” to Richard Michaels and departed on June 17, 2025, his work was complete. The abandonment would continue without him.

The Timing: What Prompted “The File”

According to information received through Sgt. Kelvin Blas’s Togolese attorney, Captain Michael Burleson—Blas’s former commanding officer from his Afghanistan service (2016-2018)—contacted Chargé Hawkins sometime in 2024.

This contact came four to six years after Blas had been stranded in Togo. For over half a decade, Burleson had remained silent while his former soldier went without consular services, homeless and abandoned by his own embassy.

Then, suddenly, Burleson felt compelled to reach out to embassy leadership—not to help, but to badmouth Blas.

What Burleson Told Hawkins

According to the attorney’s account, Burleson characterized Blas as someone trying to “get rich,” framing him as the problem rather than as a veteran in distress who had fled circumstances Burleson himself helped create.

Burleson did not mention:

  • That he had involved Blas in an investment scheme in Afghanistan that led to financial trouble
  • That he had confiscated Blas’s military ID as Blas was fleeing Afghanistan, telling him “you won’t be needing those”
  • That his actions had contributed directly to Blas’s inability to prove his military service and identity
  • That matters had occurred serious enough that Blas felt he had to flee for his safety

Instead, Burleson painted Blas as problematic, greedy, and untrustworthy—a characterization designed to preemptively discredit anything Blas might say if he ever made it home.

Hawkins’s Response: Acceptance Without Verification

When Ronald Hawkins received Burleson’s contact, he faced a choice:

  • Investigate the claims before acting on them
  • Contact Blas to hear his side of the story
  • Review Blas’s military service records to verify his status
  • Consult with the Togolese attorney who had been accompanying Blas to embassy visits
  • Consider why a former commanding officer would wait years to badmouth a subordinate
  • Question whether Burleson’s characterization served his own interests rather than the truth

Hawkins did none of these things.

Instead, he accepted Burleson’s version without verification and created a comprehensive file documenting why Kelvin Blas should not receive consular services. What might have been one officer’s biased perspective became the embassy’s official understanding, formalized in “The File” and designated as important enough to brief the incoming chief of mission.

The Public Diplomacy Specialist Who Failed at Helping Citizens

The irony of Ronald Hawkins creating “The File” becomes especially bitter when considering his professional specialization: Public Diplomacy.

Throughout his 20+ year Foreign Service career, Hawkins has built a reputation for:

  • Community engagement and outreach
  • Crisis response and humanitarian coordination
  • Public affairs and relationship building
  • Cross-cultural communication

His Humanitarian Work in Togo

During his tenure as Chargé d’Affaires, Hawkins spearheaded numerous initiatives demonstrating his commitment to helping people in need:

  • USAID-backed World Food Programme distributions for crisis-affected populations in northern Togo
  • Border governance and community resilience projects
  • Security, health, and civil society development partnerships
  • Humanitarian relief coordination through U.S. diplomatic programming

These are legitimate accomplishments. They demonstrate Hawkins’s capability when he chooses to help vulnerable populations.

But when an American veteran—a Black American veteran—showed up at his embassy seeking the consular services he was legally entitled to receive, Ronald Hawkins chose to create a file justifying why that veteran should be abandoned.

He found time, resources, and compassion for Togolese citizens in crisis. He found none for an American citizen in his jurisdiction.

What “The File” Contains (Based on Available Information)

While the full contents of “The File” remain subject to FOIA litigation, based on the circumstances of its creation and information from embassy sources, it likely includes:

  • Captain Michael Burleson’s 2024 communication and his characterization of Blas as trying to “get rich”
  • Documentation of Blas’s fifteen embassy visits, including the nine times he appeared with his Togolese attorney—framed through Burleson’s negative lens
  • Justifications for maintaining the “romance scam” designation despite evidence contradicting that narrative
  • Internal embassy communications about how to handle future Blas contacts
  • Rationale for service denials spanning multiple years and multiple consular officials
  • Guidance for incoming leadership on how to continue the abandonment
  • Possibly references to Ambassador Stromayer’s alleged “Americans aren’t Black” statement and discussions of how to handle that incident

“The File” was not routine case management. It was institutional memory designed to ensure abandonment would survive leadership changes.

The Handoff to Michaels

On June 17, 2025, when Richard C. Michaels assumed the post of Chargé d’Affaires, Ronald Hawkins didn’t just brief him on routine embassy operations. Hawkins specifically transferred “The File” as important transition material.

Think about what that reveals:

  • Hawkins considered Blas important enough to warrant comprehensive documentation
  • He deemed “The File” significant enough to be part of formal leadership transition
  • He wanted to ensure his successor would inherit his characterization of Blas
  • He prioritized continuity of abandonment over correcting discriminatory treatment

Four months after receiving “The File,” on Veterans Day 2025, Richard Michaels presided over an embassy where security physically assaulted Kelvin Blas and told him “You are not welcome here.”

Ronald Hawkins created the institutional framework. Richard Michaels inherited it and watched it escalate to violence. Hawkins’s work continued after his departure—exactly as he intended.

Professional Background and Career Highlights

Position Location Years
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. U.S. Embassy Lomé, Togo May 2024 – June 2025
Public Affairs Officer U.S. Embassy Kampala, Uganda 2018–2020
Public Affairs Officer U.S. Embassy Bucharest, Romania Years not specified
Public Affairs Officer U.S. Embassy Khartoum, Sudan Years not specified
Various Positions Algeria, Iceland, Bosnia-Herzegovina Years not specified
Various Assignments State Department HQ, Washington, DC Throughout career

Education and Training

Degree/Credential Institution Field
Bachelor of Arts American University, Washington, D.C. International Affairs
Master of Arts American University, Washington, D.C. International Affairs
Master’s Degree U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies

Professional Reputation

Within Foreign Service circles, Ronald Hawkins is recognized for:

  • Hands-on operational leadership in conflict and post-conflict environments
  • Strong program management and substantive work
  • Fluency in multiple languages
  • Experience across diverse regions: Africa, Eastern Europe, the Balkans
  • Advocacy for community engagement and humanitarian relief
  • Frequently serving as acting embassy lead during crisis periods and ambassadorial transitions

This extensive expertise in crisis management and community engagement makes his creation of “The File” even more damning. He knew better. He had the skills. He chose abandonment anyway.

The Pattern Hawkins Perpetuated

Ronald Hawkins’s tenure as Chargé d’Affaires (May 2024 – June 2025) fell in the middle of a documented pattern of abandonment:

  • March 2020: Ambassador Eric Stromayer allegedly tells Blas “Americans aren’t Black”
  • 2020-2024: Multiple consular officials maintain “romance scam” designation despite contradictory evidence
  • 2022-May 2024: Ambassador Elizabeth Fitzsimmons presides over continued abandonment; takes no corrective action
  • May 2024-June 2025: HAWKINS SERVES AS CHARGÉ—creates “The File,” institutionalizes abandonment
  • June 2025-Present: Chargé Richard Michaels inherits “The File”; assault occurs under his watch

Hawkins didn’t start the abandonment. But he ensured it would continue by creating official documentation that would outlive his tenure. He transformed what could have been corrected into institutional policy.

The Questions Ronald Hawkins Must Answer

Although Ronald Hawkins is no longer serving at Embassy Lomé, he remains accountable for creating the institutional framework that continues to justify abandonment:

  1. When Captain Michael Burleson contacted you in 2024, did you investigate his claims before acting on them? Did you seek verification from any independent source?
  2. Did you contact Sgt. Kelvin Blas to hear his side of the story before creating “The File”? If no, why accept one version without seeking balance?
  3. Did you review Blas’s military service records to verify his status as a veteran? If no, how could you create comprehensive documentation without basic fact-checking?
  4. Did you consult with Blas’s Togolese attorney, who had accompanied him to nine embassy visits? If no, why ignore available local legal representation?
  5. Why did you consider the Kelvin Blas case important enough to create a special file and brief your successor? What made this different from routine consular cases?
  6. Did you investigate Ambassador Stromayer’s alleged “Americans aren’t Black” statement during your thirteen months as acting chief? If no, why not?
  7. How does maintaining a “romance scam” designation reconcile with fifteen documented embassy visits, nine with legal representation?
  8. As a Public Diplomacy specialist with expertise in crisis response, why did you choose to create documentation justifying abandonment rather than providing services?
  9. Did you recommend any disciplinary action for consular officials who had maintained the discriminatory treatment for years? If no, why not?
  10. When you departed Embassy Lomé in June 2025, did you leave any guidance to correct “The File” or investigate its claims? Or did you ensure the abandonment would continue after your departure?

Ronald Hawkins created “The File.” He cannot claim he doesn’t know the details. He cannot claim this is someone else’s problem. He built the institutional framework that continues to justify abandonment—even after his departure.

His Legacy: “The File” That Continues to Justify Abandonment

When Ronald Hawkins departed Embassy Lomé on June 17, 2025, he left behind more than just routine transition materials. He left a documented framework that would continue to justify abandonment long after his departure.

“The File” that Hawkins created accomplished exactly what he intended:

  • It provided his successor with an official rationale for denying services
  • It transformed Captain Burleson’s unverified character assassination into institutional knowledge
  • It ensured the “romance scam” narrative would continue despite contradictory evidence
  • It created bureaucratic cover for continued abandonment
  • It made the abandonment policy-driven rather than discretionary

The November 11, 2025 assault—which occurred four months after Hawkins’s departure—can be traced directly back to the institutional framework he created. When security guard Abdulai Majeed told Kelvin Blas “You are not welcome here,” he was enforcing a policy that Hawkins had documented and formalized.

Hawkins is no longer at Embassy Lomé. But his work continues. “The File” remains. The institutional memory he created persists. The abandonment he formalized endures.

The Current Leadership

As of November 2025, Embassy Lomé leadership consists of:

  • Richard C. Michaels – Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. (inherited “The File” from Hawkins)
  • Kim McClure – Deputy Chief of Mission (current DCM, succeeded Hawkins in that role)

Both current leaders inherited the institutional framework Hawkins created. Both have the authority to reject “The File” and provide services. Neither has done so.

Documentation and Resources

Official Sources

Related CFW Documentation

FOIA and Accountability

Demand Accountability from Current Leadership

While Ronald Hawkins departed Embassy Lomé in June 2025, the institutional framework he created remains in place. Current Chargé d’Affaires Richard C. Michaels and current Deputy Chief of Mission Kim McClure have inherited “The File” and have the authority to reject its framework and provide services.

Hawkins created the problem. Current leadership can fix it.

Contact the State Department:

Report Similar Cases:

Contact CFW

A Note on Historical Accountability

This profile documents publicly available information about Ronald E. Hawkins Jr.’s creation of “The File” during his service as Chargé d’Affaires at U.S. Embassy Lomé, Togo (May 2024 – June 2025). Hawkins is a senior government official whose actions directly established the institutional framework for ongoing abandonment of an American citizen.

Although Hawkins departed Embassy Lomé in June 2025, “The File” he created continues to be used by current leadership to justify denial of services. His institutional legacy persists, making transparency about how he transformed informal abandonment into documented policy essential to the public interest.

If you are a current State Department employee with information about “The File” or the handling of Sgt. Kelvin Blas’s case, please preserve all relevant records. You may contact CFW confidentially at [email protected].

Transparency about how abandonment becomes institutionalized serves the urgent public interest.

Truth Has No Borders™

Accountability Has No Borders™

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