PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION OCTOBER 2014
THE NEW SPECIALISTS
FLYING MONKEYS IN THE EMBASSY
WORKING WITH WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN
FOREIGN October 2014 SERVICE Volume 91, No. 10
FOCUS FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALISTS AFSA NEWS Celebrating the Life of Career Ambassador Terence A. Todman / 49 The New Specialists / 21 State VP Voice: Conversions and Here is a look at the wide world of Foreign Service Specialists. the Foreign Service / 50 We explore who they are, the many critical things they do, and how their work FAS VP Voice: Member Survey Identifies Needed Changes / 51 has evolved with our changing times. Deputy Secretary Burns Meets AFSA BY FRANCESCA KELLY Board, Committee Members / 51 USAID VP Voice: The Cost of Longer CPC Tours / 52 Specialists Reflect on Their Work / 33 A USAID History Lesson / 53 A compilation. AFSA Holds Town Hall for State Constituency / 53 CFC: Support AFSA’s Fund for Best. Job. Ever. American Diplomacy / 54 BY WILLIAM MIDDLETON Adair Lecture Explores Diplomacy- Development Relationship / 55 King for a Day Active After Active Duty: BY W. PAUL MARGULIES JR. FSO Bikes Across the U.S. / 56 Congressman Seeks Insight A To-Do List from a Financial Management Ocer on FS Life / 57 BY AN FMO AT AN ASIA POST AFSA Program for Interns: Amb. John Limbert on Life in the FS / 58 Despite Challenges and Change, We Make a Dierence Book Notes: Writing as Therapy BY HENRY MENDELSOHN for PTSD / 59 AFSA Welcomes First HECFAA Intern / 59 DACOR Keeps Foreign Service FEATURES Community Connected / 60 A Conversation with FSO Author Learning from Women’s Successes in Afghanistan / 38 Matthew Palmer / 61 Family Member Matters: Sensitivity and technical know-how are at a premium when working Letter to My Global Nomads / 62 in these fragile and insecure environments. AFSA Awards Nearly $200,000 in Financial Aid Scholarships / 63 BY SANDYA DAS COLUMNS Flying Monkeys in the Embassy / 41 President’s Views / 7 Two Secrets of the Foreign Service For 24 hours, the most heavily fortified building in Colombo BY ROBERT J. SILVERMAN was compromised by a monkey. Letter from the Editor / 8 BY CHRISTOPHER TEAL Specialists Today BY SHAWN DORMAN Speaking Out / 17 FS KNOW-HOW What Specialists Want You to Know COMPILED BY Child Custody Issues in Foreign Service Divorces / 44 FRANCESCA KELLY Here is a primer on the custody issues involved in Foreign Service Reflections / 73 Refugee to Diplomat: A Journey divorces and how to approach them. BY TONY HORNIK-TRAN BY SUSAN KEOGH, ANN LA PORTA AND DIANE HOLT DEPARTMENTS Letters / 9 Talking Points / 11 Books / 68 Local Lens / 74
MARKETPLACE Classifieds / 64 On the cover: Diplomatic Courier Ed Bent, at right, manages pouches in Frankfurt, July 2009. Real Estate / 70 Photo courtesy of Inside a U.S. Embassy, 2011. Below, a school for Afghan refugee children. Index to Advertisers / 72 Photo: Embassy Islamabad.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 5 FOREIGN SERVICE
Editor Shawn Dorman: [email protected]
Managing Editor Susan Brady Maitra: [email protected]
Associate Editor Debra Blome: [email protected] CONTACTS AFSA Headquarters: LABOR MANAGEMENT Editorial/Publications Specialist (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 General Counsel Brittany DeLong: [email protected] State Department AFSA O ce: Sharon Papp: [email protected] Ad & Circulation Manager (202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 Deputy General Counsel Ed Miltenberger: [email protected] USAID AFSA O ce: Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] (202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 Labor Management Specialist Art Director FCS AFSA O ce: James Yorke: [email protected] Caryn Suko Smith (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 Senior Sta Attorney Neera Parikh: [email protected] Editorial Intern GOVERNING BOARD Sta Attorney Trevor Smith President Raeka Safai: [email protected] Robert J. Silverman: [email protected] Advertising Intern Sta Attorney Secretary Angela Dickey: [email protected] Allan Saunders Andrew Large: [email protected] Treasurer Hon. Charles A. Ford: [email protected] Labor Management Counselor Contributing Editor State Vice President VACANT Steven Alan Honley Matthew K. Asada: [email protected] Executive Assistant USAID Vice President Editorial Board Lindsey Botts: [email protected] Sharon Wayne: [email protected] Jim DeHart, Chairman USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser FCS Vice President Hon. Gordon S. Brown Douglas Broome: [email protected] Steve Morrison: [email protected] Stephen W. Buck USAID Sta Assistant FAS Vice President Ruth Hall Chioma Dike: [email protected] Maria C. Livingston David Mergen: [email protected] Richard McKee Retiree Vice President MEMBER SERVICES Beth Payne Lawrence Cohen: lawrencecohenassociates@ Member Services Director John G. Rendeiro Jr. hotmail.com Janet Hedrick: [email protected] Duncan Walker State Representatives Membership Representative Tracy Whittington Clayton Bond VACANT Clayton Bond (AFSA Governing Board liaison) Ronnie Catipon Retiree Counselor Todd Crawford Todd Thurwachter: [email protected] THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS Chuck Fee Coordinator, Retiree Counseling PROFESSIONALS Neeru Lal and Legislation The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Ken Kero-Mentz Matthew Sumrak: [email protected] Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is pub- Ronita Macklin Administrative Assistant and O ce Manager lished monthly, with combined January-February and Elise Mellinger Ana Lopez: [email protected] July-August issues, by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Homeyra Mokhtarzada Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the Nancy Rios-Brooks COMMUNICATIONS writers and does not necessarily represent the views of Sue Saarnio Director of Communications the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries USAID Representatives Kristen Fernekes: [email protected] and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. The Director of New Media Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, Jeri Dible photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. Andrew Levin Ásgeir Sigfússon: [email protected] The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply FCS Representative Publications Manager endorsement of the services or goods o¥ered. Journal Shawn Dorman: [email protected] subscription: AFSA member–$20, included in annual William Kutson dues; student–$30; institution–$40; others–$50; Single FAS Representative Mark Petry Online Communications Specialist issue–$4.50. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; BBG Representative Andre de Nesnera Je¥ Lau: [email protected] foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid APHIS Representative Mark C. Prescott Special Awards and Outreach Coordinator at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing o¨ces. Perri Green: [email protected] Indexed by the Public A¥airs Information Services (PAIS). Retiree Representatives Marshall Adair Speakers Bureau Director Email: [email protected] Hon. David Greenlee VACANT Phone: (202) 338-4045 F. Allen “Tex” Harris ADVOCACY Fax: (202) 338-8244 Hon. Edward Marks Advocacy Director Web: www.afsa.org/fsj STAFF Javier Cuebas: [email protected] © American Foreign Service Association, 2014 Executive Director Senior Legislative Assistant Ian Houston: [email protected] David Murimi: [email protected] PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Executive Assistant to the President Professional Issues and Policy Adviser Postmaster: Send address changes to Patrick Bradley: [email protected] Janice Weiner: [email protected] AFSA BUSINESS DEPARTMENT SCHOLARSHIPS Attn: Address Change Director of Finance Scholarship Director 2101 E Street NW Femi Oshobukola: [email protected] Lori Dec: [email protected] Washington DC 20037-2990 Controller Scholarship Assistant Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] Jonathan Crawford: [email protected] Assistant Controller Cory Nishi: [email protected] www.afsa.org
6 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL PRESIDENT’S VIEWS
Two Secrets of the Foreign Service
BY ROBERT J. SILVERMAN
his month let’s take a look at The legal team at AFSA is an agent for change, and the two institutions of the Foreign Senior Living Foundation helps retirees in need. Service that deserve wider T recognition and appreciation. e AFSA legal division and the Senior Over the years, AFSA lawyers, alongside gap and helps, from one-time grants for a Living Foundation of the American Foreign representatives from Gays and Lesbians wheelchair or hospital co-pay to monthly Service are each important to our careers in Foreign A airs Agencies, continued to visits from a volunteer and support over the and our moral well-being. challenge homophobic biases. course of one’s retirement. e foundation e legal team at AFSA is an agent for Today societal views have changed, and helps a lot of Foreign Service folks, more change. In U.S. history, change often begins policies are catching up. At the start of my than 1,200 since it started in 1988. not through legislation or executive at Foreign Service career, that wasn’t the case. I have seen it intervene to prevent the but in case-by-case legal challenges that Personally, I wondered about the justi ca- eviction of a Foreign Service widow, who go beyond the individual context to alter tion for this policy, but like so many others I was selling her personal possessions to pay procedures, laws and eventually societal did nothing, unfortunately. And to be hon- her rent and medical expenses. In another consensus. at has been the way of the est, AFSA itself as an organization was not case, a retired FS O ce Management Spe- AFSA legal team. in the forefront of challenging this policy. cialist needed monthly assistance as her Here is one example from recent his- AFSA lawyers were. eir role in the diabetes worsened and she was paying for tory. Two decades ago, being gay or lesbian system is to advocate for individuals, and insulin out-of-pocket. in the Foreign Service could have led to they did their jobs well. In the end, they Here’s the problem: the Foreign Service a determination that one was an unac- also helped shape policy, under the old leadership of the foundation, people like ceptable security risk, resulting in the loss common-law approach of one case at a Joan Clark, Bill Harrop, Roz Ridgway, Alan of one’s clearances and the end of one’s time. Lukens and Bob Blake Sr., are themselves career. I had never heard of the Senior Living not getting any younger. We need more e theory was that homosexuals were Foundation before starting this assignment support from recent retirees and active- susceptible to blackmail from foreign spies one year ago. After working with Executive duty folks to ensure that the foundation based on their sexual orientation. is Director Paula Jakub over the past year, I remains healthy into the future. theory perfectly dovetailed with social want to report to you how vital this institu- If you want more information on ways prejudices, but faced a problem: the lack of tion is. to support this worthy cause, please visit factual evidence supporting it in individual e foundation supports retired Foreign the foundation’s website at www.SLFoun cases. Service members and their families who dation.org or contact Paula Jakub at (202) at is where AFSA’s legal need nancial help and personal 887-8170. team came in. It represented care. Here is the reality we are ese two institutions aren’t really employees in security inves- all aware of: spending our lives secrets, but they do deserve to be better tigations and in grievances largely overseas often means we known. Each in di erent ways keeps us on before the Foreign Service have not built and sustained the the straight and narrow. Grievance Board. AFSA’s family and domestic networks Be well, stay safe and keep in touch, general counsel led an needed in retirement. Bob amicus brief in the U.S. Court e foundation steps into that [email protected] n of Appeals on behalf of a gay Foreign Service o cer. Robert J. Silverman is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 7 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Specialists Today
BY SHAWN DORMAN
any members of the Foreign members—specialist, o cer/generalist, tion of three short commentaries and Service community lack o cer, diplomat—can be perceived as one to-do list from specialists in various a complete picture of the perpetuating hierarchies, both between career tracks. Mwide variety of critical roles specialists and generalists and among Elsewhere in this issue, Foreign Foreign Service Specialists play. So this some specialists. Service Know-How takes an in-depth month we shine the spotlight on Foreign To address these and other concerns, look at child custody. As if divorce and Service Specialists, both to give a sense we have tried to bring as many Foreign the related custody issues aren’t hard of what they do and to illustrate com- Service Specialist voices into our cover- enough, add the FS lifestyle and you get monalities between life and work for age as possible, reaching out to them for a truly dizzying array of complicating them and the rest of the Foreign Service. input through various channels, includ- factors. ree experts walk us through First, some basics. About 40 percent ing an AFSAnet invitation. how to navigate such a situation. of the current State Department Foreign Still, I am concerned that a number Sandya Das from the State Depart- Service corps are specialists; as of June, of potential authors were reluctant to ment’s Bureau of Population, Refugees there were 5,832 FS Specialists and 8,076 write for attribution this month. We lost and Migration writes about “Learning FS Generalists. FS Specialists also make at least two articles for that reason, and from Women’s Success in Afghanistan.” up about 40 percent of AFSA members. another was not submitted because its And on the lighter side, follow the brave Specialists follow 19 distinct, profes- authors were unable to get clearance. team at Embassy Colombo on a mad- sional career tracks (as spelled out by One specialist who declined to give cap adventure in Chris Teal’s “Flying State’s Human Resources Bureau): his name speculated that specialists may Monkeys in the Embassy.” And in his Financial Management O cer, Gen- fear that speaking up about professional President’s Views column, Bob Silver- eral Services O cer, Human Resources concerns can hurt their promotion man shares “Two Secrets of the Foreign O cer, Construction Engineer, Facility potential, which is already highly limited Service.” Manager, Information Management in many cases. Nonetheless, we hope Finally, a note on style. Bowing to Specialist, Information Management this focus will open the door to more “the pressure of the acronym” (yes, that Technical Specialist (Radio), Informa- articles and contributions, both by and is a thing) in this month’s focus, we have tion Management Technical Specialist about Foreign Service Specialists. taken some liberties with capitalization. (Uni ed Communications), English Francesca Kelly’s cover story explores Our usual style (following Associated Language O cer, Information Resource the wide world of “ e New Specialists”: Press) is to minimize capitalization of O cer, Health Practitioner, Regional who they are; the critical roles they play job titles unless they come before a Medical O cer, Regional Medical O - at overseas missions and in the United name. cer/Psychiatrist, Regional Medical Labo- States; how their work has evolved; and But that gets awkward when lower- ratory Scientist, O ce Management what their concerns are. One comment casing makes them sound generic, Specialist, Diplomatic Courier, Security stands out: “Specialists are hired on so this month we are swinging the Engineering O cer, Security Technical experience; generalists are hired on pendulum toward the upper case. In Specialist and Diplo- potential.” other words, we’ve gone wild with caps! matic Security Special is month’s Speaking Out column Should this be a one-time exercise, or Agent. is a collection of comments getting at does it make reading easier? Please Foreign Service “What Specialists Want You to Know.” weigh in with feedback. n language to categorize And we close our focus with a compila- Next month, look for our popular annual focus on books by Foreign Service Shawn Dorman is the editor of e Foreign Service Journal. authors, “In eir Own Write.”
8 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS
The Need for PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSO C I AT ION a “de-meritocracy.” Foreign Service. Like all of my colleagues S E PT E M B E R 20 14 Unvarnished Truth Using U.S. govern- with similar military experience, I’ve In the September issue of the ment leverage to prune always seen the State Department’s mis- Journal, Ambassador Kenneth Quinn back corruption was the sion as a joint endeavor with the armed eloquently asserts the need for central tenet of a Dissent forces to defend U.S. interests globally. ON ASSIGNMENT WITH AFSA’S 2014 AWARD WINNERS unvarnished feedback from younger TURNING THE TABLES ON Channel paper I authored On reection, and with all due STU KENNEDY o cers to senior policymakers. MARC GROSSMAN in 1970 with two Foreign respect, it is unfortunate that our current TOWARD A “NEW” DIPLOMACY Ken and I joined the Foreign Service colleagues—Basil administration does not appear to share Service at about the same time 45 Scarlis and Stephen Cum- this notion of America’s defense. Nor do years ago, when U.S. leadership in foreign mings—who, like me, were serving on they seem to value the lifelong loyalty of a airs seemed paramount and, hence, detail to the Civil Operations and Revolu- diplomatic warriors like Amb. Holbrooke. the State Department was a logical venue tionary Development Support program, On another note, recognizing that from which to make a di erence in the known as CORDS. some of my Management O cer and world—our mutually held view. In a six-page secret airgram sent in IRM Bureau colleagues may not be State’s Dissent Channel is designed from Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker’s regular readers of e Foreign Service to help do this, but it is not clear that it is embassy, we were dismissed as young Journal, I felt compelled to share with getting the job done. eld o cers who did not have the big them Shawn Dorman’s unique Letter As he relates, Ken was one of the rst picture. from the Editor in the July-August issue in or outside of the State Department to I hope that today dissent is taken on embassy reporting. report on the ruthless activities of the more seriously. I have just subscribed I’m sure that many active-duty col- Khmer Rouge and the fact that they were to the Journal and rejoined AFSA after a leagues can appreciate the outstanding not subservient to the Vietnamese com- lapse of decades in that hope. linkage of past tradecraft with modern munist leadership in Hanoi. Let’s try to make a di erence in reporting that it highlighted. For retired For this, Ken deserved more than the improving U.S. policies and programs colleagues who served with me in AFSA Herter Award; his reporting mer- in today’s complicated “glocal” world by Embassy Moscow during the nal year of ited worldwide recognition. More impor- reinforcing all mechanisms, including the USSR, the letter invoked nostalgia for tantly, it should have been factored into the Dissent Channel. that historic time. State Department policymaking. Instead, Lionel A. Rosenblatt In response, nearly all of my email Embassy Phnom Penh demanded that FSO, retired recipients joined me in praising the time- Quinn cease reporting! Washington, D.C. liness and inspirational tone of Dorman’s With my FSO colleague Craig John- letter. ey also agreed with me that it stone, I was co-recipient of AFSA’s Rivkin Diplomatic Warrior and was one of the very best FSJ editorials yet. Award in 1976 for dissent in connection Embassy Reporting Bravo! with the evacuation of Vietnam. Setting politics aside, I must express Timothy C. Lawson But my earlier experience with the Dis- my admiration of former Secretary Hill- Senior FSO, retired sent Channel related to corruption, which ary Rodham Clinton’s e orts on behalf of Hua Hin, ailand was a central issue in Vietnam. While not the late Foreign Service o cer who was unknown in our own federal, state and likely our greatest since George Kennan: Thanks for Guidance local governments, corruption is endemic Richard C. Holbrooke. I wholeheartedly I would like to o er a heartfelt thank in many other countries, where it is fur- agreed with her proposal for Holbrooke’s you to AFSA for recent help with a tax ther fueled by the aid money and materiel burial at Arlington Cemetery, and was concern relating to my state of domicile. I that the U.S. and other countries infuse. disappointed to learn that the White was able to successfully resolve the issue In Vietnam, the result was that most House refused to endorse it. by following guidance from AFSA. goods, services and key jobs were for sale. Unlike Ambassador Holbrooke, I Ed Luchessi Instead of a meritocracy, the interna- served in the U.S. military on active duty Management O cer tional community unwittingly facilitated in addition to spending 27 years in the Consulate General Nogales n
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 9
TALKING POINTS
Breaking Ground for Diplomacy n Sept. 3, ve former Secretaries Oof State assembled in the George Marshall Conference Center at the State Department to take part in the o cial groundbreaking ceremony for the United States Diplomacy Center. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, James A. Baker III, Madeleine K. Albright, Colin L. Powell and Hill- ary Rodham Clinton each made brief remarks at the indoor ceremony. ey then broke ground at the construction site at the 21st St. N.W. entrance to the Department of State’s Harry S Truman AFSA/Debra Blome AFSA/Debra building. From left: Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Madeleine K. Albright, Henry Under Secretary for Management Pat- A. Kissinger, John F. Kerry, James A. Baker III and Colin L. Powell break ground for the rick Kennedy was master of ceremonies United States Diplomacy Center at the Department of State on Sept. 3. for the event. He was joined by Ambas- sador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, senior educational center featuring interactive Specialist Blogs, advisor in the O ce of the Secretary, who exhibits and diplomatic simulations that In Particular was instrumental in garnering support will explore the history, practice and boon to American diplomats, blog- for the project, and Ambassador William challenges of U.S. diplomacy. A ging o ers a fun and easy way for C. Harrop, chairman of the Diplomacy e $25 million construction project is members of the Foreign Service to keep in touch with extended family, and with each other, as they move around the world Calling diplomacy a “force for good in the world,” Secretary representing the United States. Kerry briefly saluted the “first-ever museum to tell the really e blogs are also a kind of public ser- remarkable story of American diplomats.” He also used his time vice, helping to spread awareness of the at the podium to focus on the “next generation” of diplomats and work FS members do and the lives they the current foreign policy debate. lead more broadly, in and outside the Service (see this month’s focus, p. 21). No less diligent as bloggers than the Center Foundation. expected to take 18 months. Construction generalists, Foreign Service specialists Calling diplomacy a “force for good in of the museum and fabrication of exhib- also gure in the ever-popular FS blogs the world,” Secretary Kerry briey saluted its will be nanced through a private- list on the AFSA website (www.afsa.org/ the “ rst-ever museum to tell the really sector capital campaign. e Department blogs). remarkable story of American diplomats.” of State will contribute space, sta and ■ 110 to 220 is by a Foreign Service He also used his time at the podium security for the center in a public-private Specialist who is currently on domestic to focus on the “next generation” of partnership with the Diplomacy Center assignment in Washington, D.C. e diplomats and the current foreign policy Foundation. writer works on communications and debate. A video of the ceremony can been computer systems in U.S. embassies and e 40,000-square-foot USDC viewed at http://bit.ly/usdcremarks. consulates around the world. According has been designed as a museum and —Debra Blome, Associate Editor to the blog, “the website’s name is an
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 11 electrical analogy comparing U.S./foreign blog includes nearly 4,500 photos of the life. We use 110 volts to power simple author’s experiences abroad. devices, whereas most of the world uses ■ My Journey to Join the U.S. Foreign 220 volts.” Service is a photo-blog recording life as a ■ Are We ere Yet? is a travel blog Foreign Service Facility Manager. It o ers maintained by a Foreign Service Spe- some amazing photos that depict life cialist from Colorado Springs. With 423 abroad for a real Foreign Service family, AFSA Scholarship posts from 20 di erent countries, the AFSA.org/Scholar
AFSPA 50 Years Ago AFSPA.org
Clements Worldwide t seems to me that in exercising his freedom and clements.com Iobligation to pick the best man for the job, a president will wish to give as much importance to Cystic Fibrosis experience in diplomacy, or in a related field, as he esiason.org gives to experience when he names a general or an admiral, and that, in the absence of such experience, he will wish Embassy Risk Management to assure himself that the person he names possesses qualities and qualifica- Embassyrisk.com tions that fully compensate for his lack of experience. The possible penalties The Hirshorn Company of failure to select qualified ambassadors are now so great that no president hirshorn.com/USFS will want consciously to risk them. From the summer of 1953 to the day Mr. Castro rode a tank into Havana, Inside A U.S. Embassy our ambassadors to Cuba were political appointees, without previous expe- afsa.org/Inside rience in diplomacy, and unable to communicate with the Cuban people because they didn’t speak the language of the country. If we should ask United Palestinian Appeal ourselves whether, during those crucial years, we took reasonable advantage helpupa.org of opportunities open to us to try, through the legitimate exercise of diplomacy on the spot, to avert the loss of Cuba to communism, the answer would have WJD Management to be that we did not. That is a harsh thing to say, in the light of what has hap- wjdpm.com pened in Cuba, but it is true nevertheless. Perhaps the most powerful reason for naming career ambassadors is that unless a high and growing percentage of career men are appointed to top jobs, we won’t have an e¨cient Foreign Service, and without an e¨cient Foreign Service our national security will be gravely imperiled. We need well-trained, e¥ective diplomats as much as we need a well- trained, e¥ective army. Our hope of avoiding a nuclear holocaust depends on our not having to use our military forces, in large-scale war at least; and our ability to stave o¥ large-scale war depends to a high degree on the quality of our diplomacy. The quality of our diplomacy, in turn, will depend on the quality of the men who carry it out. —From “The Ambassador” by Willard P. Beaulac, FSJ, October 1964. The article was a chapter from Beaulac’s book, Career Diplomat: A Career in the Foreign Service of the United States (Macmillan, 1966).
12 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL along with helpful background informa- gency,” the most dire rating the organiza- tion. tion can assign. e four are Syria, South ■ Gwen’s Adventures in the Foreign Sudan, the Central African Republic and Service is a blog chronicling the life and Iraq, the latter added to the list on Aug. 14. career of an O ce Management Special- e “Level 3” designation facilitates ist. With her husband retired and her “mobilization of additional resources in daughter out of college, Gwen uses the goods, funds and assets to ensure a more blog to update family and friends on what e ective response to the humanitarian is happening in her new life as a Foreign needs of populations a ected by forced Service Specialist. displacement,” according to Nickolay ■ In-Flight Movie is written by a Foreign Mladenov, special representative of the Service Specialist currently at her second United Nations Secretary General. post, in London, with her husband, her e Inter-Agency Standing Commit- preschool-aged son and her “unruly tabby tee, a team of U.N. and nongovernmental cat,” after two years in Belize. humanitarian organizations, is responsi- ■ Phenomenal Phnews is co-authored ble for making the determination, which by two Foreign Service Specialists to is given to countries experiencing civil update their family and friends on their unrest that causes the displacement or lives in Phnom Penh. Jeremy and Erica removal of thousands of people. Unlike have two additional blogs, Home Leave natural disasters, conicts put humani- Files: Tales from Visits Back to the U.S. tarian workers in the cross re, making and Our African Home: Tales from Nai- relief e orts that much more di cult. robi, Kenya. Iraq became a particular concern ■ e Accidental Diplomat is a newly after the situation on Sinjar Mountain engaged Foreign Service Specialist of six escalated and thousands of Yazidi years, who “became a diplomat quite families were trapped on the mountain by accident” and writes about her life in without water, nourishment or any form the Foreign Service while planning her of sanitation as “Islamic State” ghters dream wedding. surrounded them. Despite numerous ■ e OpSec Blog is written by a Secu- Department of Defense airdrops over a rity Engineering O cer who has served weeklong period in August, 1.5 million in many countries around the world and Iraqis are in need of humanitarian help, traveled to many others providing secu- according to the U.S. Agency for Interna- rity services to U.S. missions overseas. tional Development. Are you a specialist who has a blog? USAID estimates that 10.8 million Let us know! Email your blog to fsblogs@ people are in need of humanitarian assis- afsa.org, and we will add it to the list. tance in Syria; 2.5 million in the Central —Cecilia Dazovi, African Republic, with 900,000 more Communications Intern displaced; and 1.1 million displaced in South Sudan. U.N. Declares “ is is the rst time in our agency’s Four Countries in history that we have been called on to “Level 3 Emergency” manage four large-scale humanitarian or the rst time in decades, the United responses at once—in addition to reach- FNations has declared four of the ing other vulnerable populations world- world’s humanitarian crises “Level 3 Emer- wide and preparing communities ahead
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 13 Contemporary Quote It is a great privilege to be here with four other former secretaries of State. We have shared common experiences of the indispensable role of the United States in working for peace and progress in the world, the privilege of working with the Foreign Service—the most distinguished group of public servants that I know—and we also know that we will never do anything more challenging in our lives than to serve these objectives. … The essence of diplomacy is to build permanent relationships. It is essential to create confidence so that when the dicult issues come up and the close decisions have to be made, that it’s a basis on which the minds can meet. It is essential for diplomacy to deal with people before you need them, so that they have faith in what you’re saying when you do need them.
Moving? —Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, speaking at the U.S. Diplomacy Center groundbreaking ceremony at the State Department on Sept. 3.
of natural disasters,” USAID Administra- agency is merely a whipping boy in the tor Rajiv Shah said. larger ght over U.S. policy toward Cuba, UNICEF, WFP, UNFPA, UNHCR, the revelations have given some pause. CARE USA, World Vision USA, Save the AP reported on Aug. 4 that, begin- Children, Oxfam America and many ning in 2009, young Latin Americans other NGOs are currently operating in were secretly dispatched to Cuba under these four countries. ousands have the cover of health and civil programs been saved from death, and millions of to organize political change as part of a individuals have been helped to get back USAID project. on their feet. USAID contractor Creative Associates e U.S. government alone has sent International hired nearly a dozen young Take AFSA more than $2.8 billion in assistance to people from Venezuela, Costa Rica and these four countries; but there is still Peru for as little as $5.41 per hour to With You! more to be done. With places like Gaza, undertake the potentially dangerous Yemen and the Democratic Republic of operation. Change your address online, the Congo also heading toward a Level 3 Working clandestinely, often posing designation, humanitarian aid is needed as tourists, the visitors in one instance visit us at www.afsa.org/address now more than ever. held an HIV-prevention workshop Or —Trevor Smith, Editorial Intern that project memos called “the perfect Send changes to: excuse” for advancing the mission: to AFSA Membership USAID Caught in recruit Cuban political activists. As in April, when AP spotlighted Department Cuba Policy Crossfire n August, for the second time this another USAID project—the non- 2101 E Street NW Iyear, USAID found itself the focus of declared creation of a “Cuban Twitter” Washington, DC 20037 controversy as a result of an Associated network—the agency has defended the Press exposé of agency programs in Cuba projects as part of its congressionally between 2009 and 2012. ough the dictated mandate, stating that they are
14 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL neither secret nor illegal. diction, oil-spill mitigation and immigra- e exposés have helped draw atten- tion, and the president had promised tion to the Obama administration’s “creativity” in further e orts to “update” policy toward Cuba, which appears to the policy. be stalled. At the beginning of the year, Yet as Reuters correspondents David relations were at their best in several Adams and Daniel Trotta reported in decades, with cooperation on drug inter- February, “President Barack Obama
SITE OF THE MONTH: www.globalpost.com
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THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 15 seems unwilling or unable to confront a well-organized anti-Cuba lobby and push for further progress.” He has not used his executive power since easing Cuban travel restrictions in January 2011. Meanwhile, USAID contractor Alan Gross languishes in a Cuban prison, where he has been detained since 2009. He was apprehended attempting to establish a communications network on the island without Cuban government knowledge or approval. Cuba will not release him without rst seeing a U.S. gesture—and the Obama administration insists Cuba must improve human rights and release Gross rst. In April, hardliners in the anti-Cuba lobby rushed to the USAID programs’ support. But by August, even hawks like John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations, had to admit that the failed projects were something of an embarrassment. Others inside and outside of the foreign a airs community are concerned that USAID’s reputation as a leader in human development and welfare could be sullied because of the Cuba situation. “It’s another example of the danger of trying to use foreign assistance as a weapon rather than to support the host government,” says Stephen Kaplitt, a former USAID legal department o cial who is now a consultant to Gilbert LLP, attorneys for the Gross family in pending litigation. “When they drift from their core mission, it substantially impairs trust and credibility.” n —Susan Brady Maitra Managing Editor
16 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SPEAKING OUT
What Specialists Want You to Know
COMPILED BY FRANCESCA KELLY
IT Works for You Overseas Construction ecades ago, people used to come People tend not Isn’t the Same Din as “communicators”—the onstruction in the United States guys who loved doing the classified, to understand or Cutilizes more 3-D design software encrypted stuff, loved being in the box. know the amount and prefabrication of building systems in But it’s changed a lot because technol- factory environments than construction ogy has changed a lot. Both sides (clas- of work involved overseas. Contractors working on our sified and unclassified) require similar in having an projects in underdeveloped countries IT work now. operation run well still tend to focus on minimizing shipping Whether you work on one side of expenses and making use of a ordable the house or the other, the world still enough that you labor by fabricating more on site. changes. It comes down to this: What can never have to see Eric Rumpf, you do to help your customer nd the Construction Engineer right tools? the techs. Neeru Lal, Information Resources —Terry Pozcak, IMS We Are Foreign Service, Management, Public Affairs Too! and Communication iplomatic Security folks have so A recent report in the Dallas Business Dmany di erent postings, includ- Silent Partners Journal states that the demand for PAs ing domestic assignments, and the job substantial amount of effort goes and NPs has increased more than 300 changes constantly even within the A into the network and system main- percent in the past three years. Both hold United States. ey can serve anywhere, tenance. Most good IT people do a ton of masters’ degrees and advanced certi ca- from a eld o ce to the Secretary of preventive maintenance and monitoring tion. A number of our NPs hold doctoral State’s security detail. to keep the systems running smoothly. degrees. I would love for others to realize that People tend not to understand or know Jeri Lockman, director, serving in multiple domestic positions the amount of work involved in having an MED’s Foreign Service Health doesn’t lessen our “Foreign Service-ness.” operation run well enough that you never Practitioners Program I actually had someone tell me recently have to see the techs. that we couldn’t be “real FS” because we Terry Pozcak, Information We Are You! had served a domestic tour outside of Management Specialist art of our unique role comes from Washington, D.C. I think my head spun Pthe fact that psychiatrists—indeed, in eight directions. We Are Well-Qualified all FS medical personnel overseas—live Anonymous Diplomatic here is an] ever-increasing and work among their U.S. diplomatic Security Spouse [Tdemand for nurse practitioners colleagues, and daily experience the and physician assistants, not only same joys and challenges of overseas within the State Department but in the diplomatic life and work. United States, as well. Kenneth Dekleva, director, MED’s Mental Health Services
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 17 Stable, but Less Than Thrilled y experience in talking with other Mtechs is they generally are not really happy with the State Department as an employer, but they stick around because they like the lifestyle. is will help the department maintain a stable work force, but not an elite work force. e truly driven and talented will ultimately leave for the private sector or other agencies. Anonymous Information Resources Specialist
We Secure Your Workplace he motto of Security Engineering TO cers and Security Technical Spe- cialists is “Defend, Detect, Deter.” Our job is to technically secure State Department work spaces so that everyone else can succeed in doing their jobs. David Zwach, Security Engineering Officer
We Are Human Resources landed at my rst post eager and ready I to serve. However, within days of my arrival, I was cautioned by colleagues to “get out of HR as soon as possible” due to that bureau’s terrible reputation at State. Rather than run for the nearest exit, I took this as a challenge to help improve that reputation. I remind myself every day that the rst word in my position title is “human,” and compassion should always come rst. Jill E. Perry, Human Resources Course Chair/FSI
18 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL We Don’t Make the Bureaucratic Rules Remember that o my generalist colleagues: When the Washington- Tyou are an under secretary or end requirements ambassador and in a position to make change, just remember how much you are often as big a hated the bureaucracy and how di cult headache for me it was to get things done within the State as they are for bureaucracy. Remember that the Washington-end you. requirements are often as big a headache —Hunter Crowder, for me as they are for you. Change them, and you’ll help us do our jobs better. GSO Specialist Hunter Crowder, General Services Officer
There Aren’t Enough of Us It’s All (Tech) Hands ’ve only been working with the depart- on Deck Iment for ve years now. However, in here are sections of posts with the last 10 years or so our programs have Tan almost unlimited budget that expanded rapidly. request highly technical systems that For example, the English Access neither they nor the people who work for Microscholarship came into being world- them understand. wide in 2004. is program has grown If a system fails or malfunctions, they and grown, and to date it has provided ask for more systems and more tech- after-school English classes to more than nology. When something breaks, in an 100,000 students in over 80 countries. In emergency they turn to the only technical addition, now we have more E-teacher persons at post. courses, webinars, MOOCs (massive At many posts where there are no open online courses) and AmericanEng- security engineers or technicians, the lish.state.gov. facilities managers and the locals can I think the biggest issue for RELOs is wind up working on some very sophisti- still sta ng. ere are just not enough cated—and in some cases, dangerous— RELOs, FSNs working on English Lan- systems that no one has training on. guage Programs, or Civil Service col- Anonymous Facility Manager leagues in the Bureau of Cultural and Educational A airs to meet the huge, We Are Organized ever-growing demand for our programs. MSs can organize the hell out of I think we currently have 29 or 30 Oanything we want to. RELOs for the entire world. RELOs in Llywelyn Graeme, Africa cover 15 to 17 countries each. And Office Management Specialist with hiring freezes and attrition, we don’t have enough D.C.-based sta either. n Diane M. Millar, Regional English Language O cer
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 19
FOCUS ON FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALISTS THE NEW SPECIALISTS
Here is a look at the wide world itting at his desk in a mid-sized Euro- of Foreign Service Specialists. pean embassy a few years ago, Llywe- lyn Graeme, the ambassador’s O ce We explore who they are, the many Manager, was awaiting word that the critical things they do, and how their work Secretary of State’s special representa- has evolved with our changing times. tive had landed and was on her way to a packed day of meetings. Instead, BY FRANCESCA KELLY Graeme got a call from State’s Opera- tions Center connecting him directly to the high-level o cial. S“She was at the airport. At the VIP lounge. ere was no sign of any embassy sta to meet her,” Graeme recounted. “Keeping her on my desk phone, I used my cell to determine that not only was no one there at the airport, but no one was on the way, either!” Graeme quickly got the ambassadorial limo lined up. en, he says: “I dashed down three ights of stairs, hitting the park- ing lot as the driver came from the lounge at a dead run. We entered the car together and left at speed, clearing the barrier to the embassy by inches. I told him he absolutely could not cause any damage, but that he should drive at his top safe
Francesca Kelly is a freelance writer, editor, college application tutor and former AFSA News editor. She is married to Ambassador Ian Kelly, an FSO since 1985.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 21 Embassy Nairobi Embassy Information Resource Ocer Henry Mendelsohn speaks to American Spaces Kenya coordinators during a workshop at Embassy Nairobi’s American Reference Center on April 23. speed to the airport, a trip that normally took 45-50 minutes. A lack of understanding about at day we managed it in 18 minutes, getting the special representative’s bags into the trunk less than 30 minutes after what, exactly, specialists do has her initial call.” plagued the Foreign Service for A typical day? No. en again, specialist heroics are not uncommon, either—and they usually occur behind the scenes, the past half-century. earning few accolades. Specialists have always been, well, specialized. But in recent years, under the dual drivers of terrorism and technol- ogy, their job descriptions have evolved rapidly. And yet, the plagued the Foreign Service for the past half-century. Even if more some things change, the more others stay the same. A you are a specialist yourself, you may well have no idea what a lack of understanding about what, exactly, specialists do has specialist in a di erent eld does.
22 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL On the careers.state.gov website, specialists are grouped tions, specialists hold undergraduate degrees, and quite often, into the following broad categories: Administration, Construc- advanced degrees or certification(s), along with years of expe- tion Engineering, Facility Management, Information Technol- rience. There’s a saying that’s gone around the specialist ranks ogy, International Information/English Language Programs, for years: Specialists are hired on experience; generalists are Medical/Health, Office Management and Security. However, hired on potential. There is some truth to that statement: Gen- these groupings don’t tell a complete story and, in the case of eralists, who are selected via the multitiered Foreign Service “Administration,” for example, can further muddy the waters. exam, do not, technically, need a college degree or specific The 19 job titles are more telling (see p. 25). expertise to enter the Foreign Service, while most specialists For example, management counselors at missions can be must have a bachelor’s degree and relevant experience even to generalists or specialists. General Services Officers can be apply. specialists or generalists, but Financial Management Officers For instance, the Office of Medical Services. “Many of our are always specialists. Facility Managers go through the same psychiatrists have had additional training, or are double- training as GSOs and act as GSO at some posts. Information boarded in subspecialty fields such as child/adolescent psy- Managers are called IM Specialists until they reach the grade chiatry, geriatric psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, consult-liai- of FS-2; then are considered IM Officers—managers, but still son psychiatry and forensic psychiatry,” says Kenneth Dekleva, specialists. Similarly, Office Management Specialists become director of the Office of Medical Services’ Mental Health Office Managers, or OMs, when they reach FS-3 or FS-4 or are Department. “Several have MBA, Ph.D. and MPH degrees, as assigned to chiefs of mission, but cannot be promoted any well. Languages spoken by our psychiatrists include Spanish, higher. French, German, Russian, Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, Japa- Confused? Well, this is the State Department, after all. nese, Chinese, Turkish, Dutch, Greek and Hindi.” So let’s clear the air. It’s time to review who the new special- Or take Diplomatic Security. As Supervisory Special Agent ists are and how their jobs have evolved along with our chang- Ronnie Catipon, regional director for Afghanistan and Iraq in ing times. DS’s Directorate for High Threat Programs, notes: “There are lots of agents who are former military and former law enforce- Expertise and Education Are Essential ment. Their skill sets and experience are just tremendous. “Generalists and specialists each make up roughly 50 per- They’ve often served overseas and speak foreign languages.” cent of the Foreign Service,” says Terry Davidson, who served, In recent years, most FS specialties have seen an upswing until recently, as Recruitment Outreach Division Chief for in both numbers and qualifications of applicants. This change the Bureau of Human Resources. “We like to say that general- was mentioned by almost every specialist we spoke with. ists tend to be outwardly focused, in work engaging the host And yet, these qualifications rarely lead to the very top country; and that specialists tend to be focused on making the levels of the Service. It is unusual for a specialist to become embassy platform work.” Davidson, who is currently diplomat- chief of mission, a fact that engenders some resentment. Some in-residence for the Washington, D.C., metro region, adds: specialists, upon reaching the highest grade attainable, have “Information Resources Officers and Regional English Lan- then made the switch to generalist. guage Officers are the exceptions.” (These two positions, origi- nally part of the former United States Information Agency, are What’s In a Name? focused on outreach to the host country’s local population.) If people do not know what specialists do, acronyms might That doesn’t mean, however, that specialists do not interact be partly to blame. Saying you are a “political officer” or a with local citizens. All specialist tracks require good commu- “press attaché” is fairly comprehensible to the general public, nications skills, which often include foreign language ability. whereas calling yourself an OMS, an IMS or an RELO con- Since the Career Development Program for specialists was veys very little. Even longtime members of the FS community launched in 2005 by the Director General of the Foreign Service, sometimes have to ask what these acronyms stand for. foreign language and job-specific training are now require- It wasn’t always this way. Titles such as Foreign Service ments for promotion within the ranks of many specialties. Librarian or Embassy Doctor—the terms of several decades Unlike generalists, specialists cannot enter the Foreign ago—are dated, but at least they give us a better idea of spe- Service without expertise in their field. With a few excep- cialists’ work than, say, IRO and RMO (Information Resource
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 23 Unlike generalists, specialists cannot enter the Foreign Service without expertise in their field.
Service Secretaries are now O ce Management Special- ists. It was in the late 1990s, says O ce Manager Llywelyn Graeme, that “we went from ‘Foreign Service Secretary’ to OMS, which I don’t think many of us liked. I have a heck of a time explaining my job title to host-nation sta .” OM Elizabeth Babroski adds: “A few years ago, they gave us a new job title; I’m still not sure why. So now all administrative support sta at the State Department are called OMSs. I call myself Executive Assistant to the Ambassador, or Personal Assistant, and usually Ambas- sador’s Secretary to my counterparts, especially in other languages. [Whatever the title,] everyone seems to know what I do.” Making a title clearer to people of other nations—as well as to U.S. citizens—is also part of the reasoning behind a potential name change for Foreign Service Health Practitioners. Jeri Lockman, director of the O ce of Medical Services’ Foreign Service Health Practitioners Program, which oversees both nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, laments: “We have been struggling Courtesy of David Jesser David of Courtesy Division Director David Jesser, at left, from FSI’s School of Applied for years to nd a title that encompasses both profes- Information Technology, discusses curriculum changes for the sions and one that also clearly denes what we do and Regional Emergency & Evacuation class with Instructor Tim Timmons. who we are.” at may soon change, she says: “ e job title ‘Health Practitioner’ is not recognized by anyone outside of the State Department. We are considering ‘Foreign Service Medical Provider,’ so you may be seeing this title in future references to NPs and PAs.” O cer and Regional Medical O cer, respectively). And if In the case of Information Resource O cers, not only has someone’s an FMO, how do we know if she’s a Financial Man- their title changed, but the places where they work have been ager or a Facility Manager? drastically revamped. ese former “Regional Librarians” used As technology has changed, specialist jobs—the required to be based in American libraries and press/cultural centers skill sets—have changed, as well. Often, this is re ected in in capitals and other major cities around the world. Now IROs their new titles. For instance, Information Technology Digital work with the newly minted American Spaces, which can take and Telephone Specialists have been combined into a new various forms, including American Corners—spaces in remote “unied communications” specialty, ITMS-UC, and Foreign locations provided in cooperation with the host nation.
24 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Foreign Service Specialties
Administration establish contacts with host-country information and library Financial Management Officer. Develop budgets and institutions. financial plans, control obligations and expenditures, prepare and audit payment vouchers, administer payroll plans, approve Medical and Health salary and allowance payments and monitor cash operations. Health Practitioner. Diagnose and treat patients and General Services Officer. Develop, plan, implement and administer a full range of community health care services, manage an ongoing program of support that includes contract- including preventive health education for the official mission ing, inventory/property, physical facilities, space management, community. travel and transportation, motor pool, and maintenance and Regional Medical Officer. Provide primary medical care repair schedules. and appropriate health information and disease prevention Human Resources Officer. Responsible for recruitment, program at each post of responsibility, as well as a host of employee training and development, performance manage- other medical and health-related responsibilities. ment, employee relations, salary and benefits administration, Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist. Provide primary employee policies and procedures and position classification. psychiatric care for each post in the supported geographical region, as well as a host of other psychiatric and mental health- Construction Engineering related responsibilities. Construction Engineer. Monitor and report on contract Regional Medical Laboratory Scientist. Perform routine work overseas to ensure that the construction of new prop- visitations to regional area health units to evaluate and monitor erties and renovation of existing properties are completed performance of local laboratory technologists. Maintain the properly, on time and within budget. laboratory at post of assignment, as well as X-ray equipment.
Facility Management Office Management Facility Manager. Manage the upkeep of buildings, grounds, Office Management Specialist. Provide general office fixtures and utilities overseas. management, conference and visitor support, as well as admin- istrative and secretarial support. Information Technology Information Management Specialist. Manage and operate Security worldwide information technology infrastructure, including PC Diplomatic Courier. Safeguard and escort diplomatic local and wide area networks, telecommunications systems, pouches containing classified and sensitive material between telephone and UHF/VHF programs, and diplomatic pouch and U.S. diplomatic missions overseas and the Department of mail services. State. Information Management Technical Specialist (Radio). Security Engineering Officer. Provide technical security Perform site surveys, installation and maintenance of associ- support and engineering expertise to protect U.S. Foreign ated hardware and software for UHF/VHF land mobile systems. Service posts overseas, in Washington, D.C., or Fort Lauderdale, Information Management Technical Specialist (Unified Florida. Responsibilities range from security system design, Communications) Responsible for the installation, repair and development and analysis to installation and testing. maintenance of a wide range of digital and telephone equip- Security Technical Specialist. Provide support and assist ment. in worldwide technical security programs. Provide overall pro- gram management, maintenance and support for protection International Information and English Language Programs of Department of State facilities and personnel from technical English Language Officer. Responsible for all Department espionage, acts of terrorism and crime. of State–sponsored English-teaching activities in a country; or, Diplomatic Security Special Agent. Advise ambassa- as a Regional ELO, responsible for English-language program dors on all security matters and manage a complex range of activities in several countries, necessitating extensive travel. security programs designed to protect personnel, facilities Information Resource Officer. Counsel mission officials on and information. In the United States, protect the Secretary of effective information program resources and services, assess State and visiting foreign dignitaries, investigate passport and staff needs, carry out regional training programs, demon- visa fraud, and conduct personnel security investigations. strate and promote U.S. electronic information resources, and SOURCE: Department of State/careers.state.gov
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 25 Agents of Change e most compelling reasons for changes in the specialist The most compelling reasons eld in recent years can be summed up in two words: terrorism for changes in the specialist and technology. Terrorism. Specialist jobs were greatly a ected by the African field in recent years can be embassy bombings of the late 1990s, the terrorist attacks of Sept. summed up in two words: 11, 2001, and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with certain tracks hiring more people and others evolving to re ect terrorism and technology. needs of the Service. Specialists employed through State’s Overseas Building O ce, such as Construction Engineers and Facility Manag- ers, have gone through a sea change in focus that began even earlier. is shift took shape in response to the 1983 bombing of Services Kenneth Dekleva: “While the RMO/P program began in Embassy Beirut and the subsequent release of the 1985 Inman 1979 following terrorist events such as the tragic assassination of Report on Overseas Security that focused on creating safer U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs in Kabul, and the 1979 hostage-taking embassy buildings. ose overseas missions deemed too close in Tehran, it has subsequently grown to encompass a larger to the street, or in the middle of a crowded inner-city area, were clinical role, in addition to its traditional roots in crisis/disaster either given up or reconstructed. response and consultation to senior leadership.” Dekleva notes “Since the East African bombings in 1998 in Nairobi and that the number of RMO/Ps has nearly doubled in the past Dar es Salaam, Congress placed a much greater commitment decade. towards funding security-driven construction at our diplomatic ose specialists who reach out to local populations have felt facilities,” explains Eric Rumpf, managing director for the Con- the e ects of terrorism, as well. “Before 9/11, I had the feeling struction, Facility and Security Management Directorate in OBO. that my job was almost ‘adjunct’ to public diplomacy; i.e., one “ is support enabled OBO to complete more new embassies of several cultural/educational resources provided by the State and consulates for the department than at any other time in our Department at U.S. embassies worldwide,” says recently retired history.” Regional English Language O cer Michael Rudder. Diplomatic Security, not surprisingly, has seen a growth in After 9/11, Rudder recalls, there was a meeting of all cultural budget and personnel since 9/11. “When I entered the Foreign and press attachés assigned to a large South American country: Service in 1997,” recalls DS’s Catipon, “there were 600-700 DS “ e Public A airs O cer said, ‘Our top priority now is English- agents. Now it’s over 2,000.” He adds: “DS can be very picky language teaching.’ is comment somewhat startled me, but because agent jobs are competitive. We’ll have a job opening for, also made me aware of the new role our o ce was playing. From say, a month, and get over 10,000 applicants for just a few dozen that moment, my job seemed to be given more attention and positions.” importance in the bigger picture, and the powers-that-be started With this rapid growth, Catipon has seen infrastructure and noticing the work we were doing and its benets to broader bureaucracy struggle to keep up: “ ere has been a big increase goals.” in all types of specialists, like Security Engineering O cers and Technology. At the same time, technology advances have Security Technical Specialists. e African bombings and other greatly a ected the work of FS specialists. It’s a given that incidents, unfortunately, served as a catalyst for more funding those in information technology must stay abreast of the latest from Congress for keeping us safe.” advances, but they can only move as fast as the State Depart- One long-serving Diplomatic Courier agrees. “Since Benghazi ment bureaucracy will let them. While BlackBerries have been [Sept. 11, 2012], there’s been direction from the very top that State’s chosen method of telephony for many reasons, mostly to safety and security are more important. e evolution is slow, do with security, more and more iPads are being distributed in but it’s happening.” lieu of, or in addition to, laptops. As communications are now Terrorism, warfare and other high-threat events have also digitized, “sending in a cable” doesn’t actually happen these caused MED to increase the number of Regional Medical days, despite continued usage of the phrase. O cers/Psychiatrists. Says Director of MED’s Mental Health David Jesser is an IT manager who joined the Foreign Service
26 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL in 1988. Currently director of the of terror threats and technological Enterprise Technology Division/ advances. “In 2000, OBO’s initial School of Applied Information response to get our colleagues placed Technology at FSI, he recalls: “Most into safer facilities included retool- of us were fresh out of the military, ing itself to simplify its construction where we managed telex commu- methodologies and nd ways to nications and operated radios. We increase the speed of delivering new already had top-secret clearances, facilities,” he explains. ere has been and we started as FS-8/9s. I was an added benet to the public, too. very happy to transfer my military “ e department’s lessons learned skill code for a position in the For- and research and development e orts Inside a U.S. Embassy (2011) (2011) Embassy Inside a U.S. eign Service.” Oce Manager Elizabeth Babroski in front of have also really helped the security But those days are gone. Jesser, OSCE headquarters in Vienna. and construction industries improve who also serves as a subject matter the materials and products sold on the expert for the Board of Examiners and holds a master’s degree market today.” in technology studies, has seen both the work and the caliber of Technology has also changed the way specialists (and gen- specialists change dramatically. “ e move to system networks eralists) receive training. Jill E. Perry, Human Resources Course meant a great change in skill codes, and communications sta Chair at FSI’s School of Professional and Area Studies/Manage- members needed to embrace this change if they wanted to be ment Tradecraft Training Division, explains: “In the past few successful in their careers,” he says. years, training and development for HR Specialists has moved IMS Robert Levay, now in Kabul, has also seen a rapid change far beyond the classroom. [FSI] promotes a climate of continu- in the department’s use of technology, claiming that State “is ous learning for HROs by o ering digital video conferences on doing a tremendous job of catching up to the rest of the world.” demand, animated training clips and online games. e HR But he admits that IMS personnel are “running ragged” to Bureau is also reaching out to HR Specialists via webinars to accomplish this. o er a forum for discussion and collaboration.” Diplomatic Security is scrambling to stay one step ahead, as well, but at least budget increases have helped beef up both High-Threat and Hardship Posts personnel and technology in that domain. DS’s Catipon speaks e last decade has seen an increase in FS personnel at the glowingly of some of the new technologies that both enhance world’s hot spots. In the past, an embassy caught in a sud- the mission and keep personnel safe, such as Forward-Looking den war zone might have been shuttered. Now, personnel are Infra-Red cameras. When attacks did occur in Afghanistan, not necessarily evacuated unless the situation on the ground where he was recently posted, personnel had “great imagery” at descends into chaos. For instance, as of this writing, Embassy Tel their disposal, he reports. Aviv is still open despite hostilities between Hamas and Israel. New technology doesn’t only a ect information and security Other missions, on almost every continent, are in a similar situ- specialists. Regional Medical O cers have a growing tele- ation: still open, still maintaining diplomatic relations despite medicine program for use in the eld. And digital architectural an unstable political scenario. is is due at least in part to design and engineering technology has become more sophis- increased DS specialist presence and resources. ticated, aiding FS Construction Engineers and Facility Manag- e proliferation of high-threat and greater hardship posts ers. Says one veteran Facility Manager: “New embassy designs puts pressure on specialists, just as on generalists. Both, after all, have implemented the latest changes in technology, installing are “worldwide available.” advanced equipment and systems. is has resulted in the need For Human Resources O cers, high-threat posts translate to recruit Facility Managers with technical degrees and experi- into “high alert,” says Perry. “I was the HRO in Cairo in 2011, and ence in facilities with similar technology, and to develop training assisted during one of the largest State Department evacuations. programs so that existing FMs can learn the skills necessary to So from my perspective, the biggest issue for HROs is maintain- operate our advanced embassy systems.” ing a constant state of readiness for an evacuation at a moment’s OBO’s Rumpf has also observed the intertwined e ects notice.” She notes that “accounting for our people and their
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 27 and security standards. Despite State Department policies dic- tating no-smoking zones on transport planes, for example, what does a courier do when he’s 30,000 feet in the air, surrounded by a local crew who are all chain-smoking? And who stays with the pouch on a two-person, 10-hour drive when the courier needs a bathroom break, and the driver is a local hire?
Career Development, Management and Morale In 2005-2006, the Director General of the Foreign Service issued a series of cables detailing a new Career Development Plan for specialists. In essence, on a specialty-by-specialty basis, certain steps were outlined as prerequisites for promotion. ese steps include language and other training, advanced certica- tion and supervisory experience. For specialists, this was, in theory, a means of making the promotion process more trans- parent. In practice? Results vary. Many of those in the OMS and IMS tracks—coincidentally, two of the specialties with the largest numbers—nd promo- tion opportunities discouraging, but for di erent reasons. Some OMSs are particularly frustrated that they cannot be promoted above the FS-3 rank. However, promotion opportunities have improved in the past decade, explains Babroski, currently O ce AFSA/Jeff Lau AFSA/Jeff Manager to the ambassador to the Vatican. She points to perks such as mandatory training and a variety of assignments, includ- ing in the front o ce and hardships, over a career span: “I think families, making sure they get to safety, and helping reintegrate it’s been a good thing because it provides more training oppor- them at post when the crisis is resolved is a huge challenge, but tunities. And it’s easy to meet the requirements to be eligible for an incredibly important job.” promotion to FS-4, which is the senior tier, over a regular career Foreign Service Construction Engineers are posted more span.” frequently to high-threat posts, says OBO’s Rumpf. ose are While acknowledging that the OMS specialty has “extremely the locations that the department identies as “[having] the low promotion rates,” she keeps a positive attitude. “ e naysayers most vulnerable facilities to be replaced,” Rumpf explains. “With think it restricts training opportunities, forces hardships and disad- the challenges that these di cult environments present (e.g., vantages those with medical/special needs. I’m living proof that’s violence, corruption, unskilled work forces, extreme weather), I not true, and I know I’m not alone. I think the CDP has brought consider the FSCEs to be some of the most determined, goal- order and reasonable expectations to the OMS career span.” oriented professionals in the department.” On a dissenting note, an OMS who wishes to remain anony- MED’s Lockman says, “Foreign Service Medical Providers mous did send FSJ a comment on the “horrible promotion rates” are located around the globe. Eighty percent of the 99 FSMP within the O ce Management specialty. And Teresa Yata, a GSO posts are 15-percent or greater hardship posts. ese posts have specialist who started out as an OMS, maintains: “OMSs are still signicant health risks, and the local medical facilities are often thought of as menial secretaries and are often treated as such.” inadequate to cope with these health concerns.” Overall, reviews of the CDP are mixed. One Diplomatic Cou- For their part, Information Resource O cers are working rier says: “ e CDP is meaningless; promotion is based on who with American Corners—small U.S. cultural and information management likes. Unless the promotion panel sees you sitting centers often located in remote areas. in a management/stretch position, you’re not getting promoted.” Several Diplomatic Couriers have pointed out that working Yata, however, sees some good aspects to the new program: in hard-to-reach locations often involves a degradation of safety “One positive change I have seen over the past several years is
28 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A more prosaic factor that can aect specialist morale at post has to do with the Vienna Convention.
the ability to have language training. When I rst came into the FS, specialists very rarely were considered for that. Now almost everyone gets some opportunity for some language.” But one Financial Management O cer, who wishes to remain anonymous, feels more can be done. “All department personnel must be able to function in the countries they serve in. Language [instruction] has grudgingly been given to specialists, but [it is] still unnecessarily di cult to obtain.” IMS personnel have strong opinions on promotion oppor- tunities. Neeru Lal serves in the public a airs o ce within the Bureau of Information Resource Management. She came in as an IMS but is now an Information Technology Manager. When it comes to promotion for IMSs, “you can go all the way to senior FS, but only as a manager.” She adds: “We don’t appreciate highly technical skills—if you want to be a technical innovator, like a programmer, you aren’t able to do that past FS-3. Once you reach FS-2, you must demonstrate e ective managerial and leadership skills.” But Jesser asserts that “if people have really good technical skills, they will be utilized well. If you lead a section, you can still be innovative. I’m a manager, but I still work with technical programs. So I think we value technical skills quite a bit.” Many we spoke with, especially in security and information specialties, cited bottlenecks in promotion, with few positions o ered at the higher grades. One IMS posits, “A lot of people who might have retired by now have not, because of the poor economy.” IMS Terry Pozcak says, “I have read over the CDP, and like most career things in the department it does a poor job of capturing the di erence [between the] IT specialty and other careers.” It might help with promotions over the long term, Poz- cak acknowledges, but he’s not optimistic: “It takes an average of 10 years just to get to FS-3 for IMSs. When you compare the FSO promotion statistics to the IMS promotion statistics, it is a very gloomy picture and highlights how [little] the department values IT talent.”
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 29 It is unusual for a specialist to become chief of mission, a fact that engenders some resentment. Inside a U.S. Embassy (2011) Embassy Inside a U.S. Diplomatic Courier Ed Bent, at right, manages pouches in Frankfurt, July 2009.
Another IMS, speaking on background, says he’s been Manager cone has only one OC position. is is puzzling in “surprised by how little focus there is on [teaching] good man- light of the responsibilities and resources of the Facility Man- agement skills.” An anonymous Diplomatic Courier’s manage- ager overseas.” At a typical embassy, he adds, the FM manages ment concerns have more to do with security practices: “I’m the largest sta and budget. not able to name one person in management who has received Yata nds promotion within GSO specialist ranks “com- training in logistics management, transportation safety or plicated by the fact that there are GSO generalists, GSO industrial security.” specialists and, now, ever more people from random cones ese promotion issues are not limited to a few specialties. doing GSO work, much as they were previously required to do A Facility Manager told us on background: “Unfortunately, consular work. is makes it di cult for specialists to get the the Facility Manager career path is severely constrained when ‘good’ posts as they tend to go to generalists.” compared to the rest of the Foreign Service. While other spe- And, of course, there’s the omnipresent State Department cialist and generalist career paths have numerous counselor bureaucracy. Although no one wants to think of himself or and minister counselor positions for advancement, the Facility herself as a bureaucrat, both specialists and generalists roll out
30 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL the red tape when needed—but often it’s the specialists who Much of the “caste system” take the heat at post. seems to be disappearing, Specialists vs. Generalists although some complaints And that brings us to the elephant in the room: the rumored animosity between generalists and specialists. Is it a of ill-treatment on both sides reality or a myth? do pop up. Much of the “caste system” seems to be disappearing, although some complaints of ill-treatment on both sides do pop up. Misconceptions about specialist job descriptions and background are a factor; but another is fueled by manage- ment, particularly situations where generalists are in positions A more prosaic factor that can a ect specialist morale at where they manage specialists. As one FS community member post has to do with the Vienna Convention and its vaguely puts it, “Management-coned people can be specialists or gen- worded stipulation dividing diplomats posted overseas into eralists, and there is some friction there.” In informal feedback two categories: those who hold diplomatic privileges and to the Journal, several specialists complained anonymously immunity, usually with the title consul or secretary, and “sup- that they feel generalists look down on them. “Not sure if they port sta ” who do not receive the same privileges. are breeding that attitude in A100 [orientation], but it persists,” Explained a specialist who wishes to remain anonymous: one remarked. “At many embassies [specialists are] not accredited and do
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 31 not have the same diplomatic privileges Many specialists don’t notice any as generalists. Without accreditation, tension at all. “I nd it interesting that specialists are not entitled to the same this question continues to surface,” protection as diplomats. ey are also remarks HR Course Chair Perry. “I not entitled to certain administrative have not experienced any issues in privileges such as tax advantages, car the 12 years I’ve been with State.” registration benets, etc.” Specialists In fact, there are a number of other who are managers of sections can some- divisions, both real and imaginary, at Inside a U.S. Embassy (2011) Embassy Inside a U.S. times, at the discretion of post manage- Facility Manager Gary Hein stands in overseas missions that don’t involve ment, get on the diplomatic list by being front of the chief-of-mission residence specialists and generalists. Military listed as vice consuls. and embassy oce building in Cairo. vs. civilian, employee vs. spouse, In 2004 then-IMS David Jesser won senior sta vs. junior sta , FS vs. FSN/ the AFSA Representative of the Year LES: all are potential mineelds. And award for his work to attain duty-free status for specialists in yet, most people in the Foreign Service community do, in fact, Pretoria, using reciprocity as justication for the change in move past these labels and act as a team, especially when the that post’s policy. “ e one thing that really concerned me was post atmosphere is imbued with inclusiveness and a sense of that at many posts there were nancial inequities between mission. those on the Diplomatic List and those who were listed as Administration and Technical Sta personnel,” explains Jesser. The Good News “For example, as an FS-2 in Pretoria, I had no access to the It is much easier now to nd information about specialists duty-free stores, while a rst-tour generalist automatically had and what they do, starting with State’s careers.state.gov site that privilege.” (complete with appealing but not overly informative videos of e Vienna Convention issue was the only one cited by FS personnel in the eld) and, for a bigger and more complex Jesser as fostering a divide between generalists and specialists. picture, through uno cial Internet sites and blogs. More He attests that shared activities, such as the scuba diving he transparency leads to increased knowledge and understand- has done with other mission personnel, eliminate any feeling ing of di erent o cers’ skill sets—and how they contribute to of “us vs. them.” the team. OBO’s Eric Rumpf agrees. “At the end of the day, if one can Says GSO Crowder: “My personal experience has been that catch a softball, barbecue a burger, help at an orphanage, or in people treat me with the same respect and professional cour- some way contribute positively to the small communities we tesy as they do generalists. Actually, unless the subject comes nd ourselves in, those perceptions and labels fade imme- up in relation to bidding or promotion, it is not something that diately.” However, Rumpf does see “a lack of understanding people generally talk about one way or the other. e focus between the two, and the expertise and services each pro- seems to be on the quality of the work—which I think is a good vides. at chasm underscores the need for the department to s i g n .” continue investing in our newer Foreign Service cadre through Despite promotion and morale problems, Foreign Service mentorships, training and improved communications.” life still o ers perks that can’t be found elsewhere, for both Humor helps. An anonymous Security Engineer, who blogs generalists and specialists. “I really do enjoy my job and count at opsecblog.wordpress.com, writes in his comic essay, “Nine it as a privilege to be a support to the embassy where I am ings You Need to Accept About Being a FS Specialist”: “In assigned,” says GSO Crowder. the rst couple weeks of my rst tour, I knew the RMO made e new specialists know their worth and have largely sure I didn’t keel over, the GSO assigned me my housing, and lost the old, stereotypical roles of the past century. Says OM the FMO could make my job immeasurably easier or harder as Graeme, “I won’t make you co ee because I don’t drink it. they controlled the cash. Oh, and I gured out pretty quickly Maybe tea?” n that the OMS was a godsend. e SEO stereotype is ‘the tech guy,’ and gets approached as such. No, I cannot x your micro- wave right now.”
32 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FOCUS ON FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALISTS SPECIALISTS REFLECT ON THEIR WORK
e Journal invited AFSA members who are specialists to share American Corners, American Centers and Binational Centers. stories and thoughts on their own experience in a particular Of the more than 700 American Spaces around the world, more specialty or the career track generally. Here is a selection of the than 460 are American Corners. American Corners—partnerships responses we received. We thank all those who responded. with host-country institutions in which we provide the books and —Shawn Dorman, Editor computers and the partner provides the sta and space—are only a decade old, and their rapid growth has had a huge impact on IRO work. One gets used to cycles in this business. Twenty years ago, our marching orders were to convert all our walk-in public facilities— that is, libraries—to limited access Information Resource Centers, on the assumption that we could do everything we needed to Best. Job. Ever. do virtually, in uencing public opinion by pushing information By William Middleton out to hand-picked audiences via the Internet. Some of the more Information Resource Ocer for clever IROs noticed that the Internet had not yet arrived in their Bangladesh, India, Nepal & Sri Lanka regions, at least not in any meaningful way, and they discretely As with some of the other specialties, IROs often have shorter deferred closing the library doors. Foreign Service careers because prior work experience is a pre- eir foot-dragging seemed prescient when, about 10 years requisite. As a result, retirements come fast and turnover is brisk, later, the pendulum swung back, and elites were no longer our so there’s a steady stream of new, although not necessarily young, target audience. e IRC, a surgical tool, was a poor match for the IROs. With such a small corps—there are only about 30 of us— younger, wider, deeper audiences that U.S. public diplomacy now sta ng gaps can open up if the roster isn’t refreshed regularly. focused on. As for the work, if public diplomacy is about the creation of Around that same time, an enterprising and visionary IRO political space, and about in uencing public opinion so that a serving in a huge country was tasked with creating programming country’s leadership has room to move in a new direction, then platforms outside of the capital city. His solution, the American IROs’ role in public diplomacy involves developing and support- Corner, was perfect for reaching this new audience, and the model ing the platforms—in particular the physical spaces—where that proved incredibly popular with posts around the world. political space can be created. IRO jobs have been shaped by our tools. When IRCs were IROs perform this alchemy by working with American our primary tool, our work leaned toward the press side of an Spaces—the generic term for Information Resource Centers, embassy’s public a airs section. With the rise of American
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 33 he found in the Resource Center. e room we’re in not only has Wi-Fi; it has Turkmenistan’s fastest and cleanest Internet con- nection. Somebody mentions, cautiously, news sources here that can’t be accessed anyplace else in the country. And it’s all free. When asked what we might do to improve services, they have only one suggestion: keep it open seven days a week instead of the current six. Another day, I’m on a panel of judges at the side of the stage in the Kulob American Corner. A Tajik kid—14 years old, with huge ears and a voice so strong and pure and surprising we immedi- ately nickname him Michael, after the King of Pop—is singing Sinatra in the rst round of Tajikistan’s American Song Competi- tion. Making these moments possible is what we do. We were somewhere around Balkanabat, on the edge of the desert, when the realization began to take hold: Best. Job. Ever. William Middleton has been an Information Resource O cer since 1993, at which time the specialty belonged to the U.S. Infor- mation Agency and IROs were called Regional Library O cers. Currently serving in New Delhi, his previous postings include Lagos, Buenos Aires, Dakar, Vienna, Almaty and Washington, D.C. King for a Day By W. Paul Margulies Jr. Diplomatic Security I’m not sure what Saul Wahl, the so-called King of Poland for a day, did with his time, but my time at the helm (two days) was well-spent. A double absence of the ambassador and the deputy chief of mission in Valletta, Malta, in December 2013, gave me new perspective—coping with a security detail from the princi- pal’s point of view as opposed to the DS vantage point.
AFSA/Jeff Lau AFSA/Jeff In September, we had inaugurated a new protective detail for the ambassador. Team Valletta adapted to the addition of a detail Corners, which are cultural programming platforms o ering sourced by host-nation and locally employed sta , schedule educational advising services, English-language teaching and changes and the normal day-to-day operations that a ect a chief exchange program alumni activities, the balance has shifted. of mission and her detail. e ambassador and I had many con- IROs now seem more closely aligned with the cultural side of the versations at the start of operations to cover the basics. house. We still touch base to make sure her protection needs are One day, I’m sitting at a table in Ashgabat with 20 American as balanced as possible with her need for privacy. On the rare Center regulars. ey borrow books, search the Internet, ask ref- occasion that she leaves Malta, the detail protects the chargé erence questions. One young student tells me he used the IRC to d’a aires, in most cases the deputy chief of mission. He, too, is learn enough English to get into the Future Leaders high school familiar with the requirements of having a protective detail in exchange program (known as FLEX). Another studied here to place and is good-natured about having them around. pass her GRE exams. My stint as chargé was a real eye-opener. Over the past 12-plus One author tells us about the book he wrote using resources years with Diplomatic Security, I have worked on a protection
34 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL detail or two, but I had never been the prin- cipal. I often tried to visualize the impact of a security-related rule or regulation on a post or an individual. In most cases, since I live by these same rules, it was pretty easy for me to understand other people’s per- spectives. But, I have to admit, I never gave too much thought to protection; it comes with the job—mine as the occasional prac- titioner and the principal as someone who needs to be protected. When the Front O ce announced that I would be the chargé in December 2013, the Assistant Regional Security O cer said, somewhat tongue in cheek, “Are you going AFSA/Jeff Lau AFSA/Jeff to keep the detail?” I have to admit my ini- tial thought was to ditch the protection, but it was only a eeting thought. A leadership conversation ensued like it did for Saul Wahl, but the experience will stay with me. And in my head: Malta’s chief of mission, and the chargé d’a aires in the new insights will no doubt improve my management of the her absence, has a dedicated Ambassador’s Protective Detail. I am Ambassador’s Protective Detail, ensuring it functions as smoothly a rule-follower. If the deputy chief of mission asked not to use the as possible. detail, my response would be a simple “no.” W. Paul Margulies Jr. departed Embassy Valletta as Acting So I embraced the idea in spite of a little ribbing from my col- Deputy Chief of Mission in August. He is the new Regional Secu- leagues in the process. I announced, a bit sheepishly at rst, that rity O cer for Embassy Bishkek. He joined the Foreign Service in the detail would carry out their normal duties. 2002 and is also a Lieutenant Commander with the U.S. Coast A few things stand out from the experience. My schedule was Guard reserve. In addition to Valletta and Bishkek, his Foreign no longer my own. I was used to sharing my calendar with my Service assignments include Kabul, Belgrade, Bucharest and sta , the front o ce and a few others, but knowing I needed to be Washington, D.C. mindful about last-minute changes was new to me. I adapted. I liked being picked up for work. I got to sit in the back of the limo and read through emails unencumbered and unconcerned A To-Do List about the tra c gridlock around me. I did not, however, like having the detail shadow (sometimes from a Financial literally!) me during my not-so-daily afternoon run. e thing I really like about running is the solitude—no emails, just me and Management Ocer the road for 30 minutes. is time I had two runners, the limo and By an FMO at an Asia Post the follow, and a little claustrophobia! We live on a small island, I am happy to see the State Department return to the care and about 19 miles long by 7 miles wide at its widest; but it was the development of the Foreign Service Specialist corps. What can I detail that made me feel penned in. say after 15 years of service? I’ve been fortunate to serve in fasci- Spontaneity was out the door. at quick run to the pharmacy nating places, and the trajectory of my career leaves nothing to looked very di erent when four minders and two cars became complain about. As my time with the State Department is nearing part of the equation. at controversial movie I was thinking its natural end, I o er some suggestions for consideration—in about going to? Not this week. ere were many more pros—and the form of “A To-Do List for Management”—in the hope that cons—of being in that position. things will continue to improve for future employees. My biggest takeaway from the experience was just that—the • Increase the number of Senior Foreign Service positions. experience. My two days at the helm won’t go down in history When one gets to the FS-1 level, especially while serving out of
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 35 function in the countries they serve. Lan- guage has grudgingly been authorized for specialists (less grudgingly than when I started), but it is still unnecessarily dif- cult to obtain. After so many years in the depart- ment, I realize that gaps can and are managed at post, and there are very few world-ending situations that arise if the employee shows up in October as opposed to August. Language ability will make the years of service more positive and productive. Fortunately I served under several top leaders and was always treated as a AFSA/Jeff Lau AFSA/Jeff respected partner and contributor to the team. However the “Us” (specialists) vs. cone, the employee is typically ring on all cylinders, doing some “ em” (generalists) divide still remains, with disdain owing of his or her best work across a range of issues and utilizing greater from generalists more so than the other way around. It seems to depth of skill/knowledge. notch up or down depending on the front o ce attitude and how • Survey the 17 Financial Management Officer specialists cur- post leadership develops the entire team. rently serving out of cone to nd out why they are serving out of As I prepared this note, several colleagues revealed long- cone. Ask them why many FMOs leave their specialty and do not standing resentment about treatment received at the hands of return. As someone who served out of cone, I confess it was an generalist colleagues who acted as if they were superior—as if, in exceptional experience; but I was told that I should either return the middle of incoming re, a bullet would know to swerve and hit to my specialty or try to convert, because promotion opportunities the specialist instead of the generalist. would be nonexistent from there. We’re a team, each providing valuable contributions. • Develop a specialist designation cone, which allows FMOs (and other specialists) to serve out of cone without being disad- vantaged for promotion purposes. Consider something similar to Despite Challenges classwide promotions on the generalist side. • Increase opportunities for specialists to convert to generalist and Change, We if they so desire. • Develop a senior leadership seminar for specialists during Make a Dierence years of service between FS-1 and, potentially, FS-OC. While By Henry Mendelsohn many do not cross the threshold or perhaps choose not to open Regional Information Resource Ocer, Public Aairs Section their window at all, serving at the 01 level can be a long stretch in Embassy Nairobi a career. Once you have taken the current 01 leadership course, I’ve been a Foreign Service Specialist and Regional Informa- it could be years before you return to FSI for training, if at all. tion Resource O cer for 20 years. I started with the United States Consider developing an experiential seminar focusing on real-life Information Agency in 1994 and have been overseas since 1995 events that participants can dissect and share among peers. serving in mostly hardship and greater hardship postings. • Provide mandatory (fast) language training for all special- One of the best pieces of advice I received during my rst ists! FSI language training is humbling (to put it nicely); but in the assignment is that I could easily do the job of a generalist, but a end the challenge of learning a language always serves us well. generalist could never do my job. I’ve found this to be consistently A basic foundation of everyday survival words and phrases from true. e specialized information science skills I’ve brought to my FSI would be useful. All department personnel must be able to work complement and support the work of the State Department
36 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and, in my opinion, add to our abilities to achieve U.S. foreign our American Spaces ll a critical role in promoting U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives. policy, society and values, and in many parts of the world they I’ve served as both as a regional consultant and a manager of o er positive alternatives to youth at risk of falling under the in u- American Spaces. My work has become more complex over the ence of actors hostile to the United States. years as we introduce new information technologies, applications Although I initially underestimated the challenges and sac- and services—especially Web-based technologies and applica- rices involved in living and working overseas—my family has tions—to how we provide accurate and authoritative information been through three evacuations, we’ve survived terrorist attacks, about the United States to local audiences, who often lack access and we’ve had friends killed in attacks—I also know I’ve touched to such information or the skills to access it. lives, changed some attitudes about the U.S. for the better and, Security concerns have also made public diplomacy work more by doing so, helped make the world a little safer for American complicated. e introduction and dramatic expansion of the citizens. American Corners program after 9/11 has tripled my workload, but Henry Mendelsohn is the Regional Information Resource O cer it’s also allowed me to travel to many locations outside the capital at Embassy Nairobi, where his responsibilities include direct super- cities where our embassies are located. While initially responsible vision of the embassy’s American Reference Center and he serves for working with and training locally employed sta in our embassy as a regional consultant for U.S. Embassy and Consulate Informa- Information Resources Centers, I now have in my portfolio numer- tion Resource Centers and American Corner libraries in Djibouti, ous American Corners sta ed by non–U.S. government sta , often Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania, and North poorly educated and trained, and located in remote cities that can Sudan. Mr. Mendelsohn’s previous postings include Cairo, Abuja, be di cult to reach. Needless to say, this is challenging. Abu Dhabi, Islamabad and New Delhi. n Nonetheless, I believe Information Resource O cers and
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 37 FEATURE Learning from Women’s Successes in Afghanistan
Sensitivity and technical know-how are at a premium when working in these fragile and insecure environments.
BY SANDYA DAS
fter spending several years in Iran Helping Other Rafiqas as a refugee, an Afghan teenager Far too many of the six million refugees who have returned named Raqa was nally able to to Afghanistan since 2002 still face similar hardships. But return to her hometown in 2002— fortunately, the United States has stepped up as the leading only to be forced within months to international donor in terms of humanitarian assistance and marry a much older man. Robbed protection there. During Fiscal Year 2014 alone, Washington of her childhood, she endured has programmed more than $175 million in humanitarian an abusive relationship with her assistance to international and NGO partners that operate in husband for several years in hopes Afghanistan and assist Afghan refugees in the region. of giving her daughter a brighter future. PRM also addresses the needs of internally displaced AIn 2009 Raqa used a program funded by the Department persons and other victims of con ict in Afghanistan, work- of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to take ing closely with Afghan government o cials, the O ce of the classes on Afghan family, property and inheritance law. ose United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and various courses, taught by a nongovernmental organization that part- international and nongovernmental organizations that priori- ners with PRM, changed her life. tize women’s protection and needs. ese programs deal with Equipped with knowledge about the legal age of marriage, health care; access to education; water, sanitation and hygiene; marriage contracts and the accountability of both sides in a employment; and gender-based violence prevention. contract, Raqa was empowered to prevent her family from Embassy Kabul’s Refugee Coordinator leads a team that marrying o her young daughter, which would end her daugh- monitors and evaluates PRM’s assistance projects in Afghani- ter’s education and leave her vulnerable to domestic violence stan, and frequently meets with our NGO partners to review and early or unwanted pregnancy. project benchmarks. For instance, in 2011 that o ce identi-
Sandya Das is an Afghanistan assistance program o cer in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. She previ- ously served in Juba, Mumbai and the Executive Secretariat.
38 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ed serious shortcomings in the performance of an organization that focuses on Afghan women’s education and advises them of their legal rights. e embassy documented systemic aws in the program’s implementation, particularly in terms of following up on legal cases and referring participants elsewhere for additional services. Based on this feed- back, the NGO adjusted its operations to focus on Islamabad Embassy A school for Afghan refugee children. using radio programming to explain sharia law and women’s rights at the local level. district’s Women’s Civil Council. In this role, she argued cases, Responding to recommendations from the Refugee Coor- particularly those related to domestic violence, in front of the dinator and its own evaluation of a decade of programming jirga, a tribal council. Since there were so few female o cers in Afghanistan, PRM has gradually shifted its programming to and lawyers in her district, Hamza assisted local authorities in build individual and community capacity to address returnee interviewing women who were brave enough to go to court but needs. needed assistance with their cases. rough the NGO-sponsored program in Raqa’s commu- In both Raqa and Hamza’s situations, strong networks nity, for instance, we successfully provided access to informa- of local NGOs, community leaders and civil society actors tion and free legal assistance to more than 7,000 returning expanded the project’s reach to rural areas in an e ort to refugee and internally displaced women and girls. e training ensure that vulnerable women and girls have access to infor- raised awareness of their legal rights with respect to housing, mation and services. ey have brought gender-based violence land and property through a community information campaign issues into the public discourse, rather than leaving them as that reached more than 600 women. Several participants went private issues marked by social, cultural and political stigma. on to serve in appointed leadership positions in their commu- NGOs often struggle to initiate projects in communities nities, defending the rights of women on a larger scale. where people are not sensitized to GBV, and are not yet willing to discuss those issues in public. In this case, PRM’s partner Paying It Forward managed to gain the support of community leaders, engag- Applying her newfound knowledge, Raqa reached out ing both men and women not only to attend trainings but to to help other women in the same position. She was soon actively engage in discussion and consult on the specic design appointed the head of 21 shuras, or local councils, in her dis- of GBV programs. Assuring survivors that their cases will be trict and used the position to educate women about the nega- kept condential has been critical to gaining ground. tive consequences of early marriage and of “baad,” the practice e success of PRM programs is largely due to our NGO of marrying a woman to someone as compensation to resolve partners’ e orts to collaborate closely with community leaders disputes between families. by incorporating them into the decision-making and coordina- Inspired by Raqa’s example, a social worker named Hamza tion process—and, of course, to the courage of the women who was deeply committed to defending women’s rights and was participate in the programs. Encouraging men, who typically soon handpicked by her district governor to be the head of the make up leadership councils in communities, to participate
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 39 in discussions on social attitudes and gender roles is another critical component in enhancing Afghan women’s empower- ment and protection in a conservative environment. ese discussions have led to men being more willing to allow their wives and daughters to acquire basic literacy skills and to be more accepting of the important role that women play in the community and household. It is also important to bear in mind that a lot of this work is done in very fragile and insecure environments, where a great deal of sensitivity and technical know-how is required. Our partners are likely putting themselves at additional risk in Afghanistan—where civilian casualties and kidnapping of aid workers are on the rise—by working directly with the U.S. gov- ernment. ese sensitivities make it more di cult to give credit where it is due, especially to those who risk their lives every day to serve the Afghan people.
A Role Model Promoting lives of dignity and prosperity for women and girls is a top priority for PRM in all of our interventions world- wide, but it is especially urgent in Afghanistan. Since 2002, we have provided health services with a focus on reproductive, maternal and children’s care; supported e orts to combat GBV; trained women in agricultural and animal husbandry tech- niques, marketing and business development; and supported literacy programs to help returnee families rebuild their lives. Between 2011 and 2012, a PRM NGO partner provided vocational training to 1,000 women and men; 75 percent of the graduated trainees found employment or apprenticeships, and 50 percent of the small enterprise groups were function- ing three months after the project’s completion. We expect this number to grow. Monitoring reports show PRM’s programs have signicantly improved the role of women in decision- making at the household level and their awareness of eco- nomic possibilities outside the home. Raqa continues to be a strong advocate in her commu- nity for women’s rights. She has referred several cases to one of PRM’s partner legal units, and has persuaded some men to allow their wives and daughters to attend basic literacy courses. She even persuaded a court to annul a marriage con- tract between a 15-year-old girl and a man 30 years her senior, which the girl’s family had drawn up when she was just 3 years old. Stories like Raqa’s remind us that while PRM’s work in Afghanistan is challenging, even dangerous, it is making a real di erence in the lives of women and girls there. n
40 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FEATURE
Christopher Teal FLYING MONKEYS IN THE EMBASSY
For 24 hours, he embassy was on the verge of being overrun. Sri Lanka had not seen activity like this since the Tamil Tigers were defeated a few years back. Everyone had the most heavily hoped for a return to normalcy, but now this. fortified building e details were sketchy, as they always are in the fog of war. All that anyone in Colombo was knew was that an intruder had entered the chancery. At rst it wasn’t clear if compromised it was just one, or there were many. e Marine Security Guards were on high by a monkey. alert. General Services and Regional Security O ces set up a rapid-reaction Ttask force to poke through closets and rip out ceiling tiles to nd a trail and look for clues. BY CHRISTOPHER TEAL Should everyone be evacuated? RSO rapidly banged out an embassywide warning message: “Ground Floor Locked Down—Please Exit/Enter thru Post 2.” As the brave GSO and RSO team continued their search and peered into the darkness of the ground oor ceiling, a closet door behind them swung open. Out the intruder casually strolled, not one bit surprised to see a team of men standing at the base of a ladder in the hallway. ey turned
Christopher Teal is an FSO and a former member of the FSJ Editorial Board. Aside from Colombo, he has served in mostly monkey-free environments, including Santo Domingo, Lima, Guadalajara and Washing- ton, D.C. He is now consul general in Nogales, Mexico. He is the author of Hero of Hispaniola: America’s First Black Diplomat, Ebenezer D. Bassett (Praeger, 2008).
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 41 At left, the veterinarian readies his tranquilizer gun. On previous page, the tranquilized monkey takes a breather at the opening of the air duct before making a daring escape from the waiting net.
hours, so no one was certain about the proper course of action. ankfully, the deputy chief of mis- sion jumped into the discussion. Find some bananas, he ordered; we will lure him out! While warehouse sta ran out to purchase bananas, the nurse cracked
Christopher Teal Christopher open the medical kit. We will have to spike them with Valium, she just quickly enough to see him said. He’ll grow tired, and then smirk, and the RSO swears that The unthinkable had we can just scoop him up. he shot them a middle nger happened—the monkey had Valium was passed around to before scampering up the lad- other worried sta , as well, to der and into the now-gaping not only made it behind the reduce the stress. hole of the ceiling tiles. e hardline, he was now moving en another sit rep. e monkey was loose, back into unthinkable had happened— the bowels of the building. up into the classified area. the monkey had not only made e RSO message contin- it behind the hardline, he was ued: “ e ground oor doors are locked down right now because now moving up into the classied area. is was clearly no ordi- there is a monkey trapped on the ground oor. Until further nary monkey; espionage was now a very real concern. notice please enter/exit the building thru Post 2.” Try as they might, ripping out ceiling tile after ceiling tile and It was a full-blown crisis. Now we were getting sit reps. ere opening closets to pull wiring, no one could get ahead of this was discussion of standing up an embassy task force, setting up beast. As night fell on Colombo, everyone uneasily began to drift shifts. home. It was no use ghting him at night, we all knew that. Mean- Questions raced through the mind of everyone in the coun- while, Valium-laced bananas were strategically placed through- try team meeting. Was this an ordinary monkey? It was smart out the building. A hungry political o cer may have accidentally enough to have made it into the most heavily fortied building eaten one, but guards continued to place the rest of the bunch in all of Colombo. Maybe it had been trained? Maybe it was a spy throughout the embassy as the sta anxiously awaited the dawn. monkey? Maybe it was a ying monkey—how else could it have With the new day, a local veterinarian was called in. e guard gotten in? force managed to nd the creature once again as he scampered into one of the air ducts that led to the roof. ough it was barred A Full-Blown Crisis from the outside, facilities maintenance managed to block his By now it was late afternoon and everyone wondered if we return path so that he could not make it back down the shaft. is should just send the sta home. e guards outside Post One might be the moment. had left the door open, vainly hoping that the monkey would see daylight and dart out. But by now he moved through the ventila- A Crack Team tion shafts. is guy was smart, and seemed to know where he Quickly, a crack team assembled to accompany the vet. was going. RSO, Management, DAO, even Public A airs descended onto e GSO/RSO team was augmented with additional sta . the scene. ey all trekked up to the roof with the vet, who was Homemade monkey catchers were quickly assembled. Someone clearly nervous by being surrounded by such a large contingent grabbed an extra-large, empty bag from the diplomatic pouch. of Americans armed with broomsticks, mailbags and bananas. Maybe they could corner him, and throw the bag over his head? Making it to the roof, they found the air shaft in question. ough But the ambassador was on leave and the country team was not it was dark inside, they could make out the ngers occasionally sure that it was authorized to place mail bags over monkeys’ twirling the blades of the ventilation fan from the inside. heads and conduct renditions. Washington wouldn’t be awake for e vet calmly opened his briefcase and removed his large
42 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL piece of Styrofoam and our A/RSO stood four oors underneath where he “thought” a heavily sedated monkey “might” fall. is is undoubtedly beyond the normal security training o ered by DS, but monkey catching might not be a bad thing to add to an expanded curriculum. It didn’t take long, and as the creature’s grip loosened from the pipe alongside the building, he fell to earth. Maybe he wasn’t a ying monkey after all. Seeing our now sleeping “spy” begin to fall, the re exes of our A/RSO took over, and the monkey grace- fully went right into the net (after only a small bounce). e vet and his embassy entourage quickly gathered down- stairs to examine the poor beast. He lay completely still, but the deep rhythm of his breathing and an absence of any visible signs of massive bleeding or broken bones led the vet to declare, “He’s going to make it.” Twenty-four harrowing hours later, the crisis ended. e Christopher Teal Christopher compound was secure, and management sent out a triumphant Monkey on the loose at Embassy Colombo. email: “ e monkey saga has successfully concluded.” At least for today, that is. n dart gun. Loading the gun, he took aim through the bars of the vent, and pulled the trigger as everyone held their breath—click.
He’d forgotten to load the CO2 canister for the airgun. We shued anxiously as the monkey continued to spin the blades of the fan from behind the bars, toying with us. Finally, now fully loaded, the vet took aim once again. Pop! is time he struck his target with an accuracy that only two feet of distance will give you. Enraged, the monkey removed the tranquilizer from his arm and began to chew on it. en the GSO sta began to carefully remove the front grate of the air shaft, placing a net before the duct as the vent was removed. How long before the dart takes e ect? someone asked. About 15 minutes. Hmm, maybe we should have waited a little longer, was the collectively unspoken thought just as the monkey ew from the connes of the crawl space and into the waiting net. But his acro- batics conrmed our spy theories when he managed to untangle himself and escape to scurry along the rooftop. He weaved and dodged and evaded capture for several more minutes, making his way through the grates on the outside of the building. It was at this point that it occurred to everyone that a drugged monkey was not likely to hang on for very long to the side of an embassy. Quickly our courageous assistant RSO rushed to the ground level, where he spotted the increasingly drowsy primate cling- ing to a drainage pipe. e warehouse crew brought over a large
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 43 FS KNOW-HOW Child Custody Issues in Foreign Service Divorces Here is a primer on the custody issues involved in Foreign Service divorces and how to approach them.
BY SUSAN KEOGH, ANN LA PORTA AND DIANE HOLT
Foreign Service parent, whether male pat” way of life. If your (ex) spouse is represented and you are not, or female, who seeks to take a child or you are at a distinct disadvantage. Money spent on a competent children overseas in the case of an estab- lawyer is well spent. Further, hiring a lawyer enables you to dis- lished joint physical custody situation or tance yourself somewhat, emotionally, from the proceedings and a new custody situation can be disadvan- allows the professional to help you make decisions. is is true taged in the courts. even if you have a law degree and a practice. Although laws regarding custody and If you choose to represent yourself, depending on the jurisdic- divorce di er among jurisdictions, more tion, there are generally “self-help” centers in the court where you often than not judges lean toward pri- can get assistance to le motions and organize exhibits. ese mary custody for the parent who is not moving. e non-posted centers cannot, however, give legal advice. Aparent can make arguments that overseas life is not good for the child; citing dirt and disease, crime and insecurity, unfamiliar Reasonable Access Is Key culture and schools, and loss of friends and activities. In short, Laws regarding custody and divorce di er from jurisdiction to living abroad is unhealthy and unfamiliar and destabilizing for jurisdiction. But most venues recognize the “best interest of the the child. child” as the determining factor in custody cases. is means that An excellent argument that this is not true can, of course, also the judge will look at a dozen or more factors to determine what be made. But it is important to realize that jurisdictional laws placement would be in the best interest of the child. ese factors place a high value on stability, and this is the principal barrier include the child’s wishes; the wishes of the parents; the child’s that needs to be overcome for an FS parent seeking custody. interaction with parents, siblings and others with whom he or she We o er the following concrete recommendations for actions has an emotional bond; the child’s adjustment to home, school to take and information to gather to establish your case, then dis- and community; potential disruptions to the child’s social and cuss some of the legal considerations involved. Our recommen- school life; and so on. dations are based, among other things, on the experience of one Jurisdictional laws place a high value on stability: Disrup- of the authors, who successfully changed joint to primary custody tions, changes and distant relationships can make a strong case and moved overseas with her child in 2001. for the parent staying in the area. In addition, unless one parent First and most importantly, make sure you are represented by is deemed unt, most states’ laws lean toward the parent who is a family lawyer who is familiar with the Foreign Service or “ex- most willing to grant reasonable access to the other parent. Your
44 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL willingness to o er fair and reasonably frequent visitation rights to the other spouse should be carefully documented, because this is often a key consideration in what consti- tutes a child’s best interests. Here are some things that may in uence a judge and enable cooperation with your ex-spouse: • You agree to pay for some or all of your child’s visita- tion costs (e.g., airfares), particularly if the child is close enough to go home for one weekend a month. • You accompany the child on the airline, especially at the beginning of the arrangement, or arrange for “unac- companied minor” status with the airline (up to age 14). • You agree to send your child for almost all long holidays to the noncustodial parent (e.g., summer vaca- tion, alternating Christmas and anksgiving), and make other e orts to ensure a fair division of time between both parents. • You facilitate your child seeing the other parent at post, should that parent wish to visit. •You facilitate interconnectivity through Skype, phone calls or emails. In our experience, the Foreign Service is generally helpful in working assignments that enable an FS parent to take a child under joint legal custody overseas if the FS parent is in the same or nearby time zone as the residence of the other parent (i.e., Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean) and within reasonable ying distance from Washington, without multiple plane changes. Similar time zones and reasonable distance are denitely factors that iStock.com/RyanJLane contribute to a favorable court decision. Here are some actions to take, arguments to make and information to muster to help demonstrate that your child that each item meets the legal criteria for evidence, so that the will do well in a new environment. While you are collecting this judge will be permitted to review it in connection with your information, you should work with your lawyer to make sure case.
Susan Keogh was a political o cer in the Foreign Service for 24 years, serving in New Delhi, Asmara, Quebec and Washington, D.C. After retirement, she worked for State on contract and as a When Actually Employed annuitant. Currently, she is on the sta of the Institute of Higher Studies at the University of Laval. She has been widowed and divorced, and is now happily remarried and commuting between Quebec City and Washington D.C., keeping up with work, eight children and 12 grandchildren. Ann La Porta followed her Foreign Service husband around the world for 38 years, working as a lawyer whenever she could, including dealing with Maori river rights issues in New Zealand and designing a Rule-of-Law program in Mongolia. She now volunteers as a guardian ad litem for children in contested custody cases in D.C. Superior Court. She lives close to her two grown children and enjoys being with her three grandchildren. Diane Holt followed her diplomat husband around Europe, working as a transactional and commercial lawyer in Central Europe and as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer for the former Italian electric monopoly, Enel. She and Ann met in Naples, Italy, when they began volunteering, rst with the International Committee of the D.C. Womens Bar Association and then as children’s lawyers in the D.C. Superior Court. Diane now serves as editor of international and transactional law in the Bloomberg Law division of Bloomberg BNA.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 45 For a child to be on an changing circumstances, and open them up to a better under- standing of the world—all powerful life tools. employee’s orders, the divorce • The Foreign Service experience benefits young people enor- decree must show that he mously when they apply to college. • Different food, sports, TV programs, etc., are not necessar- or she has primary or joint ily a disadvantage. (In our experience, children get used to all of custody of the child. these within a few months and learn to like what is available.) • On leaving friends: children in the United States move frequently and have to make new friends. Overseas, the embassy community can be like a village where you have a ready-made group of friends. Plus, in international schools, you meet chil- Actions to Take to Build Your Case dren from diverse backgrounds who can remain close friends • Take pictures, if possible, of where you are going to live—the even when you move, thanks to the Internet. house, the neighborhood, the embassy environment. • Provide photos and documentation about the school and the Useful Information: Allowances for Joint Custody curriculum. (If possible, choose an English-medium school. While e State Department o ers several allowances for children it may be true, do not say: “It would be advantageous for my child of Foreign Service families, some of which are pertinent for to go to school in another language.”) divorced or separated parents seeking custody. To understand • Provide assurances that the school will send duplicate school these allowances, begin with the Family Liaison O ce’s publica- progress reports/testing scores, etc., to the other parent. tion Divorce and the Foreign Service. Generally, the allowances • Provide airline schedules and other reassuring travel infor- pertain to education and travel for the child. More detailed infor- mation. mation and post-specic information can be found on the State • Agree to provide information in case of a travel delay of any Department’s O ce of Allowances Web page (http://aoprals. kind, and be scrupulous in ensuring that the noncustodial parent state.gov). is in the loop and minimally inconvenienced. Please note: most of these allowances apply only if the child • Agree to take the cat, the dog or whatever makes life comfort- is on the employee’s orders. And to be on the orders, the divorce able for the child. decree must show that the employee has primary or joint cus- • Provide pictures and information about the natural environ- tody of the child. ment (e.g., parks, ocean) and give information about sports, music Education allowances exist primarily to supplement educa- and extracurricular activities that are available to your child at the tion that is available in the United States and may not be avail- potential post. able at post. is may include allowances for correspondence • If possible, offer assurances that you will hire a good house- courses in, for example, U.S. history or government. Allowances hold helper to be with your child after school. (One of us made it for boarding schools may be available if the school at post is not clear, in our own case, that even in a senior position, we would not adequate. However, if the child goes to a boarding school in the be routinely out in the evenings at representational events.) United States, and the noncustodial parent resides in the United • Provide information about medical care and dentistry avail- States, the education allowance will not pay for the school. ere able while at post, and agree to provide all medical information may be an exception only if the noncustodial parent is unt and to consult on major issues should they occur. for some reason. Special-needs allowances and allowances for (Note: If successful in taking the child to post, you must ensure home schooling are also available. that you provide the other parent with a notarized document e education travel allowance will pay for one round-trip allowing him/her to travel with the child and vice versa. He or she per year to post for the child who is in college or a post-second- will also have to sign o on passport documents.) ary education program up to age 23. For children in grades 9–12, the education allowance may be used for travel to and from post. Arguments to Make e travel allowance for separated families will also pay for • Rather than destabilizing children, exposure to life overseas one round-trip a year for the child to visit the other parent—but can encourage adaptability, engender more ability to cope with not in addition to the educational travel allowance. One free trip
46 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL a year is all a child gets, in other words. e allowance does not and how it proves your case. As a result, both parties will know pay for an adult to accompany the child. However, it will pay what the other party will be using as evidence before the trial the fees an airline may charge for unaccompanied minors. e date. If you attempt to enter new evidence at the trial stage the separated families’ travel allowances generally exist until the age judge may deny it. of 21. Age limits do not apply to a disabled child. (See Travel of Expert witnesses may be needed. For instance, if the child has Children of Separated Families, 3 FAM 3750.) a learning disability or an allergy, you may need medical or edu- A child on the employee’s travel orders will receive the medi- cational testing experts to testify that his or her needs can be met cal benets available at the post. is may include evacuations at post. If you have a nanny you are taking with you, she may need for medical emergencies. to testify. If you intend to hire someone at post, you should be able If a tandem couple is divorced, the situation may be di erent. to show that such caregivers are available and competent. Your e child can only be on one parent’s travel orders. Custody may lawyer will know how to qualify the experts or conduct a deposi- change according to the posting, the schools at post and whether tion and then move their testimony into evidence for the trial. one of the parents is on an unaccompanied tour assignment. A parent cannot be denied custody of a child merely because e Foreign Service parent seeking custody should be famil- he or she does not earn as much as the other parent. However, iar with the allowances so he or she can inform the judge about the Foreign Service parent should be able to show that he or she these means to enable the child to have a more stable life, even if can support the specic and potentially expensive arrangements living overseas. that a long-distance relationship involves. is might include international transportation several times a year to the other Evidence and Its Rules parent and to extended family or close friends, private schools, Once a party to a court proceeding collects information after-school tutoring or sports or other activities, summer along the lines of the actions, arguments and information given camps, household help and communications such as mobile above, each piece of information (including documents, photos, telephones, or a Web-based telephone account like Skype, to email messages, text messages and so on) must be entered into ensure regular contact with the other parent. evidence before the judge may review it. In many cases, rules of is evidence could be copies of your wage and pay state- evidence require that documents or records be authenticated, ments, your income tax returns or the support considerations meaning that you may have to obtain either testimony or a entered into at the divorce; all these should be moved into evi- certicate from an administrator before the document may be dence. Also, if there were custody considerations in the original reviewed by a judge or moved into evidence. divorce decree that the (ex) spouse is now trying to modify, the For example, a photocopy of a school record or a medical original decree should be entered into evidence. record may need to be “authenticated,” requiring either testi- In addition, it is important to work with your lawyer to ensure mony or a certicate from a school administrator. For docu- that you have the proper consent from the child’s other parent ments, you may have some in a foreign language that will need when you cross an international border. is consent can be to be super-notarized or translated—or both. Your lawyer will something as simple as a consent letter; but it must be current know how to do this (although many good family lawyers are not and cover the specic travel that is actually occurring. In other accustomed to dealing with non-U.S. documents or languages words, if the itinerary changes and the consent letter no longer other than English). covers the actual travel that will occur, the other parent may Similarly, most courts require that each party to the court need to be informed and asked to sign a revised consent letter. proceeding list his or her witnesses in advance and demonstrate It is often useful to reach a general agreement about how why each witness is relevant to the hearing. Because these rules consent letters will be handled in a joint custody agreement, are complicated, your lawyer will take the lead in this process, or ask the judge to include such terms in a court custody order. and ensure that Rules of Evidence are followed according to the As you are likely aware from your Foreign Service work, the law of the jurisdiction. consequences for taking unilateral action when traveling with ere may be a pre-trial conference during which all the your child or children are signicant and could involve charges physical and documentary evidence to be presented at trial is of child abduction or kidnapping. listed and presented as numbered exhibits, and witnesses must e nal piece of advice is an old, trite-but-true saying: “ e be named together with a preview of their expected testimony lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” n
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 47 48 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION
Celebrating the Life of Career Ambassador CALENDAR Terence A. Todman
October 1 12-1:30 p.m. Luncheon: The 179th A-100 Class October 1 2:30-4 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting October 2 12-1 p.m. AFSA Foreign Aairs Intern Brown Bag Series: “Social Media and Diplomacy” October 5-10 AFSA Road Scholar Program in Chautauqua, N.Y. October 9 2-3:30 p.m. “Why Professional Ethics Matter” October 13 Columbus Day: AFSA Oces Closed October 27 AFSA/BRITTANY DELONG AFSA/BRITTANY 2-3:30 p.m. From left: Terence Todman Jr., James Dandridge, chairman of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, AFSA Book Notes: and Ruth A. Davis, vice president of the Association of Black Ambassadors and a former director general of the More Than Just Diplomacy Foreign Service. November 1 AFSA National High School Essay Contest Launches On Aug. 28, the American vice president of the Associa- “He broke the assignments November 5 Foreign Service Association tion of Black Ambassadors color barriers,” said Amb. 12-2 p.m. and seven other organizations and a former director general Davis. Assistant Secretary for AFSA Governing co-hosted a memorial service of the Foreign Service. Friends African Aairs Linda Thomas- Board Meeting to honor the life of Career and colleagues shared their Greenfield reiterated, “We November 6 Ambassador Terence A. Tod- recollections as they paid trib- are all the beneficiaries of his Applications for AFSA Merit Awards and Financial Aid man, who died on Aug. 13 in ute to Amb. Todman. trailblazing.” Scholarships Available St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Many of the speakers Under Secretary for Man- During a career that highlighted the ambassador’s agement Patrick Kennedy spanned nearly 50 years, perseverance and integrity described some of Amb. Tod- Amb. Todman served as at a time when few African- man’s specific achievements, ambassador to Chad, Guinea, Americans served in the State as well as his extraordinary Costa Rica, Spain, Denmark Department. abilities in foreign languages. and Argentina. He also served When Terence Todman “His was a career of global as assistant secretary of entered the Foreign Service reach, one of direct engage- State for Inter-American in 1954, the United States ment and power,” said Amb. aairs, now Western Hemi- was still 12 years away from Shannon. sphere aairs. ocially ending segregation, Ambassador Edward Per- The service was led by Ambassador Thomas Shan- kins, president of the Asso- Ambassador Ruth A. Davis, non noted. Continued on page 54
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 49 AFSA NEWS STATE VP VOICE | BY MATTHEW ASADA AFSA NEWS
Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA State VP. Contact: [email protected] | (202) 647-8160 | @matthewasada
Conversions and the Foreign Service
The Foreign Service Act of bers. AFSA is concerned by approved 20 positions for ing deficits at the 01 and 02 1980 finds that a “career conversions into skill codes inclusion in the pilot program. levels are being eliminated Foreign Service, characterized and at grades that are not in However, we remain con- as the Diplomatic Readiness by excellence and profes- deficit, as such conversions cerned that some employees Initiative and Diplomacy 3.0 sionalism, is essential in the will disadvantage at least one see the ODP as a conversion cohorts rise through the national interest” (www.bit. individual in the existing pool. program, and not a develop- ranks. ly/USCode3901). The Act At the same time, the mental program as originally The department has arms a merit-based Service temporary conversion of a envisioned. an obligation to ensure with ocers appointed by the domestic Foreign Service AFSA is also concerned that career personnel have president, with the advice and position (known as blue- about several changes to con- predictable flow-through consent of the Senate, and sheeting)—or the limited non- version programs piloted by and career paths. It appears other members appointed by career appointment of a non- the department that weaken irresponsible to continue to the Secretary of State, with Foreign Service employee to the integrity of the Foreign accommodate non-deficit promotions according to the an overseas Foreign Service Service’s merit-based person- conversions at the upper principles of “a regular, pre- position—removes an oppor- nel system. mid-levels given the projected dictable flow of talent upward tunity for a member of the Specifically, in 2012, slowdown in promotions and through the ranks” with Foreign Service to accumulate pursuant to the Quadrennial increasing time in class for “eective career development professional development Diplomacy and Development existing personnel. patterns to meet the needs of experience as called for in our Review, State revised the While AFSA agrees that it the Service.” career development plans. conversion program to create is important for employees With this in mind I turn to Unlike the Hard-to-Fill two separate competition to have professional devel- this month’s focus on conver- Program, which occurs after pools for those employees opment opportunities for sions of people or positions members have had a chance interested in converting into temporary and permanent into or from the Foreign Ser- to bid on positions, the pilot the Foreign Service. conversion, such opportuni- vice. Conceptually, it is useful Overseas Development Pro- Whereas previously the ties must take into account to think about conversions gram may remove positions best-qualified employee, the Foreign Service Act’s of people or positions of a before members have had a regardless of personnel sys- requirements for a career temporary or permanent chance to bid on them. tem, was selected to convert, Service governed by merit- nature. The stated goal of the ODP now two distinct conversion based principles with regular, Each conversion has its is to give Civil Service employ- pools have been created, one predictable career paths up to own impact on promotions, ees opportunities to work and for Foreign Service and one and through the senior ranks. professional development learn about the department’s for Civil Service personnel. AFSA will be considering opportunities and the overall work overseas, so that they AFSA is concerned that these principles when it sits integrity of the system. The can return and apply those the conversion program down later this year to negoti- number of promotion oppor- experiences to their contin- no longer selects the best- ate the regularization of these tunities is derived from the ued professional development qualified overall employee pilot conversion initiatives. anticipated projected vacan- within the Civil Service. for conversion, and that this I encourage each of you to cies over the next couple of Because the ODP may take practice may violate the act’s think about them prior to pro- years normalized to ensure Foreign Service positions out merit-based principle. posing any temporary or per- the “regular, predictable flow.” of the bidding process, AFSA Moreover, AFSA is con- manent conversion of a Foreign The permanent addition closely reviews each position cerned by the increase of Service position. n of people to or the removal for uniqueness, language conversions at the FS-2 and Next month: Retention and of Foreign Service positions designation, and policy and FS-1 levels resulting from the Attrition—Are We Keeping Our from the system, in excess of supervisory responsibilities changes to the conversion Best and Brightest? a certain number, will reduce before approving its inclusion programs, particularly in light the number of promotions in the program. of the “pig in the python” available to existing mem- AFSA has currently problem. The previous sta-
50 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FAS VP VOICE | BY DAVID MERGEN AFSA NEWS
Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FAS VP. Contact: [email protected] or (202) 720-3650
Member Survey Identifies Needed Changes
The June AFSA survey of ing the State policy of giving a tions after seeing the board Operating Ocer, which Foreign Agriculture Ser- TIC/TIS extension to employ- rankings. provides budgetary oversight vice ocers went beyond ees in long-term language Equally popular was the for the agency, was a notable the general assessment training. proposal to increase the use exception with a median of employee morale in the There was also support for of retirees for temporary score of 3. The comments Federal Employee Viewpoint allowing ocers who retire assignments by establish- indicated dissatisfaction with Survey and identified specific due to mandatory TIC or TIS ing a reemployed annuitant delays in receiving budgetary policy changes that AFSA can limitations to depart during program in FAS. resources and with micro- work with FAS management the regular summer rotation For the first time, members management of how the to implement. to the extent possible. were given the opportunity funds are spent—problems The topics included Wash- One of the proposals to assess the relative per- that AFSA has raised with ington assignment policies, with greatest support was formance of the Washington management. promotion and time-in-class/ changing the current pro- program areas that support We were very pleased with time-in-service rules, and motion rules to require the them overseas. the high participation rate in employment opportunities FAS administrator to set the Overall, members were the survey (75 percent) and for retirees. For the first time, number of promotions at reasonably happy, with most will be working with manage- employees were also asked each grade prior to the delib- program areas receiving a ment over the next months to assess the relative perfor- erations of the promotion median score of 7 or 8 (on a to implement the changes mance of the main program boards, rather than determin- scale of 1 to 10). identified. n areas in FAS. ing the number of promo- The Oce of the Chief Washington assignments have been a long-standing issue, because Foreign Ser- DEPUTY SECRETARY BURNS MEETS vice ocers are expected to AFSA GOVERNING BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS spend a third of their career in Washington. While not perfect, the current policy of having ocers compete with Civil Service employees for rota- tion assignments at grade received the most support from survey respondents. There was very little sup- port (only 11 percent) for a proposal by Civil Service employees to expand this process beyond rotations to oer promotion opportunities for Civil Service employees. FAS TIC and TIS policies have evolved dierently from those at State, so there was SIGFÚSSON AFSA/ÁSGEIR interest in moving in the Deputy Secretary of State William “Bill” Burns met with AFSA Governing Board and committee members at a direction of State’s policies breakfast held at AFSA headquarters on July 31. After more than three decades in the Foreign Service, Deputy Secretary Burns is retiring this fall. He is the second serving career diplomat in history to become Deputy in some cases. In particular, Secretary. Above, from left: AFSA President Robert J. Silverman, Burns and AFSA State VP Matthew Asada. employees supported adopt-
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 51 USAID VP VOICE | BY SHARON WAYNE AFSA NEWS
Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA USAID VP. Contact: [email protected] or (202) 712-1631
USAID Must Weigh Cost of Longer Critical Priority Country Tours
Thank you to all who Organizations say many things, but the aect security clearances. responded to AFSA’s call way they treat their own people is what A 2010 State Department for feedback after hearing demonstrates true integrity. inspector general report on the news that last-minute unaccompanied posts stated changes to bidding instruc- that “Many returnees experi- tions were in the works. The to think through its full impact some symptoms of PTSD. ence problems adjusting to most dramatic change was and likely consequences and PTSD does not develop over- their follow-on assignments,” the doubling of the length then, importantly, to ensure night, and the eects of work- and suggested that more of service required, from that the change is managed ing in CPCs are showing up counseling services may be one year to two, in a critical appropriately. in various ways within USAID. needed. priority country before an In the feedback AFSA For example, some ocers USAID’s vision statement employee is eligible for prior- received, one concern sur- returning from CPCs find suggests: “Nations and com- ity bidding status. faced numerous times: post- language training impossible munities must increasingly Many FSOs plan their traumatic stress disorder and (many cannot focus and need be able to meet the needs of bidding strategy around its symptoms. PTSD is a likely time to decompress after their citizens, whether by pro- family needs such as chil- consequence of extended such high-stress posts). viding health care, education dren’s schooling, spousal CPC tours that must not be Clear best practices, analy- or economic opportunity.” employment and proximity to ignored. Many Foreign Service sis and guidance are lacking. Organizations say many aging parents; the timing of members suering from It is time to step back and things, but the way they treat priority bidding opportunities PTSD don’t realize it at first, revisit the eect that serv- their own people is what plays high in that strategy. only that they cannot focus ing in a CPC can have on our demonstrates true integrity. AFSA used your thoughtful or sleep and are constantly employees and their lives. If, after weighing whether to responses to stop this sud- irritable—to name just a few We must address the encourage lengthened tours den change and allow for an symptoms. stigma and shame associated in CPCs given the negative essential impact analysis. AFSA recently hosted Ron with PTSD, which are exacer- consequences and the associ- The agency declared that Capps for a Book Notes talk bated by the fact that PTSD ated costs, USAID decides to it will engage with all stake- (see p. 59). He read from and is a very personal experience move forward, it must be pre- holders to identify incentives, discussed his memoir, Seri- and does not aect everyone pared to deal with the mental options and other potential ously Not All Right: Five Wars the same way. In addition, health aftermath. Someone’s changes to our CPC service in Ten Years, which provides people fear that PTSD can life may depend on it. n package to better meet its a unique perspective from a continuity objective of having Foreign Service ocer (and more ocers serve for two reserve military ocer) who consecutive years to improve faced PTSD. program implementation. For It is widely accepted now MEDIA DIGEST FOR now, priority consideration that one does not have to par- AFSA MEMBERS remains a Foreign Service ticipate in combat to experi- AFSA’s latest member benefit is a daily email digest benefit for eligible employees ence PTSD, and Capps vividly of news items (articles, opinion pieces, blogs, etc.) completing a full CPC tour of describes the cumulative related to the Foreign Service. Each day, we send 12 months. eect of his experiences. out a list of five to 10 news items that we believe our Postponing the change A 2007 State Depart- members might find of interest. If you would like
will allow agency leaders ment survey revealed that NEWSBRIEF to sign up for this service, please send a request to with dierent functional 17 percent of FSOs serving [email protected]. Remember, this service is backgrounds, including those in stressful environments available for AFSA members only. most aected by the decision, acknowledged displaying
52 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS
A USAID History Lesson
On July 14, the U.S. Agency the forerunner of the for International Develop- present-day USAID. ment hosted the daughter of Dorothy Davis one of the first African-Amer- spoke about her ican Foreign Service ocers father’s work, drawing to serve in its ranks. from a report he wrote Dorothy Davis, daughter of at the conclusion of his Grith J. Davis, made a pre- four-year mission to sentation at a brown bag lunch on USAID’s history from the per- spective of someone who served at the time of its creation. DAVIS J. GRIFFITH Grith J. Davis took this photo when he served in Liberia in 1952. The iron The event was ore railroad was supported by President Truman’s Point Four Program. sponsored by USAID’s Oce of PATRICIA ADAMS PATRICIA the Administrator Dorothy Davis at USAID. in Liberia, Davis’s career photo contest). The photo and the Oce of included posts in Tunisia and depicts a Liberian woman Civil Rights and Diversity, in Liberia in 1957. Grith Davis Nigeria. He retired from the walking alongside an iron ore partnership with the Blacks was also a skilled photojour- Foreign Service in 1985, and train; the railroad system in in Government Employee nalist and had worked as died in 1993. Liberia was supported by the Resource Group. a correspondent for Ebony Ms. Davis presented Point Four Program. Grith J. Davis joined the magazine, among other publi- USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Also attending the event U.S. Foreign Service in the cations. He used this talent in Shah with a vintage photo- were USAID Counselor Susan early 1950s, becoming one his Foreign Service career to graph her father took while in Reichle and AFSA Vice Presi- of the pioneers of President convey information on situa- Liberia (which tied for second dent Sharon Wayne. n Harry Truman’s Point Four tions in the field. place in the 2011 USAID/ –Chioma Dike, Program for foreign aid, In addition to serving Frontlines 50th-anniversary USAID Sta Assistant
AFSA HOLDS TOWN HALL MEETING FOR STATE CONSTITUENCY
AFSA’s priorities, plans and progress were presented to AFSA’s State Department constituency in a town hall meeting with AFSA President Robert J. Silverman and State Vice President Matthew Asada. The “AFSA Mid-Term Review,” held on Aug. 21 at AFSA headquarters, gave active-duty State members the chance to hear from their constituency vice president and president over lunch. Silverman opened the well-attended meet- ing, possibly the first of its kind ever held at AFSA, and encouraged the audience to ask questions and participate in the discussion, as the event was also an opportunity for AFSA to solicit feedback and comments. NEWSBRIEF Asada then took the floor and outlined the agenda for the meeting. He began with AFSA’s 2013-2015 Strate- gic Plan, which outlines priorities and guides AFSA’s eorts. Silverman followed with remarks on advocacy and a review of AFSA’s work on a number of issues, including overseas comparability pay and the ambassadorial confir- mations. Asada concluded with a discussion of AFSA’s outreach eorts, including the annual report, the quarterly State VP updates and surveys and webinars. A lively question-and-answer session followed. To see a video recording of the entire event, visit www.afsa.org/video.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 53 AFSA NEWS
CFC #10646: SUPPORT AFSA’S FUND FOR AMERICAN DIPLOMACY
Each year, AFSA partners with our 501(c)(3) nonprofit Fund for American Diplomacy in an appeal for donations to a worthy cause. The FAD helps tell the story of the Foreign Service to the American public in a variety of ways. The FAD is CFC #10646 and is listed under the name “Diplomacy Matters–AFSA.” Through a tax-deductible donation to the Fund for American Diplomacy, you will be supporting: • The AFSA Memorial Plaques and annual ceremony at the State Department to honor our colleagues who died in
NEWSBRIEF the line of duty. • Awards programs recognizing FS employee and spouse achievements, and particularly those who have had the courage to dissent. • AFSA’s High School Essay Contest, where students can earn college scholarship money by writing an essay on a topic related to foreign aairs. • The AFSA Minority Intern Program, which places deserving minority students in a summer internship at the State Department. • Inside a U.S. Embassy, our popular book providing insights into the Foreign Service to individuals preparing for the FS exam, students in college courses on diplomacy and international relations and FS family members and relatives, as well as military and corporate personnel interacting with our missions abroad. • Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) programs on foreign affairs for retired Americans. • AFSA’s Speakers Bureau, where FS retirees draw on their real-life experiences in addressing business and com- munity leaders and regular Americans across the country. No dues support the activities of the Fund for American Diplomacy, so AFSA relies on your direct donations to the Fund to allow these vital programs to continue. For further information on the Fund and its activities, please contact AFSA Executive Director Ian Houston at (202) 944-5505 or [email protected].
Continued from page 49 FSI JOB SEARCH PROGRAM ciation of Black American co-hosted by The American GRADUATES ENJOY AFSA Ambassadors, commented on Academy of Diplomacy, the RECEPTION Amb. Todman’s commitment Association for Diplomatic to the Foreign Service, saying: Studies and On Aug. 29, AFSA hosted the “Being an FSO, to him, was Training, the graduation reception for the most being a great citizen.” Association of recent Job Search Program group In concluding remarks, Black American at the Foreign Service Institute. Amb. Todman’s son, Terence Ambassadors, AFSA was pleased to honor the Todman Jr., elaborated: “He the Council 106 Foreign Service employees loved diplomacy, he loved his of American who were retiring from diplomatic job and he loved traveling the Ambassadors, service with champagne and hors
world.” DACOR/DACOR SIGFÚSSON AFSA/ÁSGEIR d’oeuvres. Dr. Alison Bazala Kim, Bacon House Larry Cohen, AFSA Retiree a renowned cellist, played Foundation, the Diplomacy VP, gave a toast congratulating them on their accomplish- selections from Bach and Center Foundation, the ments and wishing them luck as they begin a new chapter Beethoven in honor of Amb. Thursday Luncheon Group in their lives. AFSA looks forward to welcoming them as Todman’s love of classical and AFSA. n retiree members of the association and continuing to work music. —Brittany DeLong, on their behalf to protect their Foreign Service legacy. The memorial was Assistant Editor
54 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS
ADAIR MEMORIAL LECTURE: Exploring the Relationship Between Diplomacy and Development On Aug. 27, AFSA presented ence as both a diplomat and ance and the the Eighth Annual Caroline development professional, programmatic and Ambassador Charles Amb. Miller explored the sides of assis- Adair Memorial Lecture at relationship between the two tance programs American University’s School fields. He called for increased “one of the of International Service. coordination, but cautioned most powerful Ambassador Thomas the audience to understand and disruptive Miller spoke on “The Nexus the dierence between diplo- tensions in the Between Diplomacy and macy and development. development BLOME AFSA/DEBRA Amb. Thomas Miller delivering the Eighth Annual Development” to a packed “It is far too easy to field today.” Adair Lecture at American University. hall at the Kay Spiritual Life launch into a criticism of He noted that Center on A.U.’s D.C. campus. either area without genuinely some of the most During his 29-year Foreign appreciating that we start transformative programs can will take the eorts of your Service career, Miller served from fundamentally dierent be the hardest to measure, generation, preserving the as ambassador to Greece perspectives,” he said. but warned that focus is focus of doing good that was and Bosnia and Herzegovina, He also criticized the being taken away from these the reason why so many of us as well as special coordina- tendency of administrations programs in favor of more came into this profession.” A tor for Cyprus with the rank (from both parties) to “rein- easily quantifiable eorts. question-and-answer session of ambassador. He is now vent the wheel.” Amb. Miller closed with followed the address. the president and CEO of the Amb. Miller also dis- encouraging words for those The Adair Memorial International Executive Ser- cussed the emergence of the contemplating a career in Lecture program is part of vice Corps, a nonprofit that “counter-bureaucracy,” which government or international AFSA’s national outreach to furnishes business expertise is responsible for oversight aairs. elevate the profile of diplo- to the developing world. and compliance, calling the “[These problems] can be macy and development. The Drawing on his experi- clash between the compli- reversed,” he said. “To do so series is endowed by the fam- ily of former AFSA President Marshall Adair through a CHARLES ADAIR: A FOREIGN SERVICE LIFE perpetual gift to AFSA’s Fund for American Diplomacy, in Ambassador Charles Adair, for whom the lecture series is memory of Charles Adair, named, joined the Foreign Service in 1940. He served as a retired ambassador who ambassador to Panama from 1965 to 1969 and as ambassador spent 35 years in the Foreign to Uruguay from 1969 to 1972. He also served in Mexico, India, Service, and Caroline Adair. Brazil, Belgium, France and Argentina. AFSA partners with Amer- His son, retired Foreign Service ocer and former AFSA ican University’s School of President Marshall Adair, notes that Amb. Adair did not have International Studies and the the typical background of a diplomat from that time. He was School of Professional and from a small town in Ohio—a place, Marshall Adair says, where Extended Studies to host the most didn’t even know what the Foreign Service was, but “he lecture at the start of each COURTESY OF MARSHALL ADAIR MARSHALL OF COURTESY made it his life.” Caroline and Ambassador school year. The Foreign Service Act of 1946 was passed during Amb. Charles Adair take part in a To see the full recording of festival in Panama in the mid the Adair Lecture visit www. Adair’s career, and he was a strong advocate for the profession- 1960s. alization of the Foreign Service. “Having a lecture series that afsa.org/video. n helps to tell about the Foreign Service and diplomacy is very appropriate,” says his son. –Debra Blome, Amb. Adair died in 2006. His wife of 49 years, Caroline Marshall Adair, died in 1996. Associate Editor
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 55 AFSA NEWS
ACTIVE AFTER ACTIVE DUTY FSO Bikes Across the United States to Celebrate Retirement
FSO Richard Boly retired in ing to launch the first Apple August 2013, after 19 years in Macintosh computer. the Foreign Service. The very Now he has embarked next day, he started a new on what he calls a “portfo- job at the World Bank. But he lio” career, one that allows was itching to have the “big him to combine his creative chunks of time” that retire- talents with his technical ment can aord—something and diplomatic skills. He is rare in the workaday world. So working with the U.S. Institute when his World Bank contract of Peace on a new initiative came to an end, he decided called the Peace Tech Lab, to do something he always which Boly describes as an wanted to do: Ride his bike “accelerator for innovation in across the country. peace.” Boly kept a blog on Tumblr He is also active in the about his adventure called Mind the Bridge Founda- “Pedal Quicker, Time Is Catch- tion, an organization he got
ing Up!” (www.bikingboly RICHARD BOLY involved with while posted -richard.tumblr.com/). In his Richard Boly reached San Francisco Bay after 65 days on the road. in Italy that serves to help first post, dated April 27, 2014, grow the “entrepreneurial he outlines the 10 reasons he ecosystem.” embarked on the trip. And he is in the process They ranged from nostal- of launching an enterprise he gic (“My mother was born calls “Bethesda Visual Cre- in rural Kansas, my father in atives,” an outlet for creative rural Missouri. I would like to talent to meet and share have a glimpse into the coun- ideas and work together. This try and people they came is the kind of venture that, he from”) and reflective (“Short says, his cross-country bike of becoming a monk, I can’t RICHARD BOLY RICHARD BOLY trip prepared him for in a way. think of a better way to plumb Left: Boly’s route took him through the Ozark Mountains. Right: He entered He had been thinking Colorado in early June. your depths”) to quixotic (“I about doing BVC for a long am a volcano of ideas, but time. Like his bike ride, Boly not a dreamer.... Until I dip crosswinds and headwinds The ride completed, Boly is says, “Sometimes you just my front tire in San Francisco in the Plains. “You can have a now back in Bethesda, Md. have to say you’re going to Bay, I am just another Don headwind all day long,” Boly Richard Boly retired as do it.” Quixote”). says. “That doesn’t mean you director of the Oce of He recalls the familiar Boly rode about 75 miles a are going to get a tailwind the eDiplomacy. He also served in saying that 90 percent of day, primarily on back roads, next day.” Italy, the Dominican Republic, life is just showing up. “Well, through Virginia, Kentucky, Boly’s cross-country Ecuador and Paraguay. Before 90 percent of biking across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, trek ended 65 days after he joining the Foreign Service the country is just getting Colorado, Utah, Nevada and started out from his home he did a variety of things, up early and getting on your California. He encountered in Bethesda, Md., when he including establishing and bike.” n two tornadoes along the dipped his bike’s front tire into running a shrimp hatchery in –Debra Blome, way and persevered through San Francisco Bay on July 6. coastal Ecuador and help- Associate Editor
56 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS
Congressman Seeks Insight on Foreign Service Life
Representative Adam Schi specialists from all ranks, (D-Calif.) met with a diverse many of whom had previ- group of Foreign Service o- ously served in Priority Sta- cers and specialists at AFSA ing Posts and other high- on July 29 for an o-the- threat, high-risk posts. record conversation on life in Rep. Schi opened by the Foreign Service. urging the group to tell him AFSA/MATT SUMRAK AFSA/MATT Schi, who sits on the “what you want members From left: AFSA President Robert J. Silverman, Representative Adam Schi House Appropriations Com- of Congress to know about and AFSA State VP Matthew Asada. mittee and the House Perma- either life in the Foreign Ser- nent Select Committee on vice or in the places you’ve Members reiterated the by thanking members for Intelligence, was, as he said, been posted.” importance of being able to their service and promising looking for insight on what a Discussing career paths, engage safely overseas and to help share their stories on career in the Foreign Service hardship posts, tandem the value of language and the Hill with his colleagues. n looks like today. assignments and unaccom- security-awareness training –Debra Blome, AFSA set up the meeting panied tours, the participants as part of their preparation Associate Editor for Rep. Schi with a group shared their experiences, and for doing so. of 18 members, ocers and their frustrations, in detail. The congressman closed
Foreign Service Youth Foundation Presents Annual Awards The Foreign Service Youth Foundation Merit Award program as well as children been recognized. presented its annual awards on June 27 whose parents are serving or have served To learn more about the FSYF awards, in a ceremony at the State Department at an unaccompanied post. visit www.fsyf.org. For more about the hosted by Acting Foreign Service Direc- In 2006, the department began send- AAFSW awards, visit www.aafsw.org. tor General Hans Klemm and the Family ing medals and certificates of recogni- And for additional information about Liaison Oce. The event also recognized tion to children whose parents were serv- FLO’s Unaccompanied Tours program, awardees of the Associates of American ing or had served at an unaccompanied see www.bit.ly/UCmedals. Foreign Service Worldwide Scholarship post. To date, some 5,000 children have
ART CONTEST: ESSAY CONTEST: MERIT SCHOLARSHIP: Ages 5-8 Middle School FIRST PLACE: Alexander Robinson, Salvador, Brazil FIRST PLACE: Sabra Goveia, Chisinau, Moldova FIRST PLACE: Madilyn Abbe, Jakarta, Indonesia SECOND PLACE: Sumika Davidson, Tokyo, Japan SECOND PLACE: Abigail Bills, Jakarta, Indonesia SECOND PLACE: Liam Rathke, Kuala Lumpur, THIRD PLACE: Annika Bitner, Jerusalem Malaysia FSYF 25TH ANNIVERSARY Ages 9-12 THIRD PLACE: Daisy Bailey, Manila, Philippines LOGO CONTEST: FIRST PLACE: Melody Reynolds, Ottawa, Canada High School Tyler Feeken, Staord, Virginia SECOND PLACE: Jacob Newman, Mbabane, Swazi- FIRST PLACE: Alison Dominguez, New Delhi, India land SECOND PLACE: Emma Hannan, Washington, D.C. AAFSW SCHOLARSHIP THIRD PLACE: Soliana Doutrich, Ciudad Juarez, THIRD PLACE: Elka Sterling, The Hague, Nether- MERIT AWARDS: Mexico lands HIGH SCHOOL/GAP YEAR MERIT AWARD: Alexander Ages 13-18 Robinson FIRST PLACE: Alison Dominguez, New Delhi, India KIDVID CONTEST: COLLEGE MERIT AWARD: Natalie Hernandez SECOND PLACE: Samuel Mitchell, Seoul, South FIRST PLACE: Elan Albalak, Bridgetown, Barbados BEST ESSAY AWARD: Amelia Smith Korea SECOND PLACE: Howard Brown, Reykjavik, Iceland JUDY FELT MEMORIAL VOLUNTEERISM SCHOLARSHIP: JOINT THIRD PLACE: Eliana Silver, Madrid, Spain THIRD PLACE: Hugo Goddard and Sophie Goddard, Margaret Hale JOINT THIRD PLACE: Helen Reynolds, Ottawa, Conakry, Guinea Canada COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Alice d’Aboville, United Kingdom Alison Dominguez, New Delhi, India
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 57 AFSA NEWS
AFSA PROGRAM FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS INTERNS Ambassador John Limbert on Life in the Foreign Service
On Aug. 13, AFSA welcomed retired FSO Molly William- foreign aairs interns to the son, whose 30-year career second Brown Bag Series focused mainly on the Middle event “Life in the Foreign East. She served as deputy Service.” assistant secretary at three The event featured agencies: State, Commerce former AFSA President and and Defense. In her talk, Ambassador John Limbert, “The Politics of Petroleum,” who retired with the rank of Williamson gave an expert minister counselor after 33 opinion on the challenges for years in the Foreign Service. U.S. foreign policy in the area. Amb. Limbert holds the On Oct. 2, Vinay Chawla, Department of State’s high- director of Digital Engage- est award—the Distinguished ment at the Department Service Award—as well as of State, will speak at the other awards including the third event, on the subject AFSA/DEBORA KIM AFSA/DEBORA Award for Valor, which he Amb. John Limbert spoke to interns about life in the Foreign Service. of “Social Media and Diplo- received after 444 days in macy.” captivity in Tehran during the career path. or in nongovernmental The series will continue Iran hostage crisis. After a five-year hiatus, organizations—an opportu- throughout the year. Inter- Ambassador Limbert AFSA reestablished its nity to discuss hot topics with ested students and interns explained how people inter- “Brown-Bag Series for For- foreign aairs practitioners should check the AFSA web- ested in the Foreign Service eign Aairs Interns” this sum- and professionals, as well as site for upcoming events. n prepare, both academically mer. The program is intended to network with their peers. –Debora Kim and and professionally, for the to provide all Washington, On July 24, the program Julian Steiner, profession; what being an FSO D.C.-based interns working was launched with a pre- AFSA Interns is like; and how to determine if on foreign aairs issues— sentation on energy politics the Foreign Service is the right whether at a federal agency and the Middle East by
AFSA HOSTS BACK-TO- SCHOOL HAPPY HOUR
On Sept. 4, AFSA welcomed members and guests to a Back-to-School Happy Hour at our headquarters building. More than 150 guests, ranging from members of the current A-100 class to individuals who retired decades ago, mingled and shared experiences over drinks and snacks. AFSA President Robert J. Silverman led the group in a toast to the Foreign Service. Look for one more AFSA happy hour this year, at some point during the holiday season. AFSA/MATT SUMRAK AFSA/MATT
58 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS
AFSA BOOK NOTES Writing As Therapy: Retired FSO on Coping with PTSD
On July 25, AFSA welcomed frustration, a sense gram oers retired FSO and 2007 Rivkin of conclusion. It felt free writing dissent award winner Ron as if I had reached a workshops Capps to discuss his new logical place in my life and semi- book, Seriously Not All Right: to end it.” nars to Five Wars in Ten Years (Scha- A well-timed phone veterans ner Press Inc., 2014). The call from his wife inter- and their memoir details his experi- rupted the attempt. family ences as a wartime observer He realized that he members. during his 14-year Foreign was “seriously not all right” In a question- Service career and as a senior and needed more help. He and-answer session
Army Reserve ocer. returned to the United States after the talk, Capps STEINER AFSA/JULIAN Capps began the talk by and retired in 2008 to seek discussed how he’s reading a passage about see- treatment for PTSD. dealing with his PTSD today: “There’s a stigma attached ing war casualties from a Ser- Throughout his struggles “I haven’t had any ‘seriously to asking for mental health bian infantry attack on a town in some of the most danger- not all right’ days in quite a care,” he says. “The whole idea in Kosovo. He recalled feeling ous places in the world, one while.” really, for all of us, is to get helpless as an observer, a thing remained constant: He also touched on his beyond the idea that mental “tourist among victims.” writing. Separate from the work at the Walter Reed health care diers from health Capps was witness to crisp, value-neutral reports he National Military Medical Cen- care. It’s just health care.” many harrowing events regularly sent to Washington, ter in Bethesda, Md., where To view Capps’ talk, please during his years of service: Capps filled journals with he teaches weekly writing go to www.afsa.org/video. n Rwanda from 1995 to 1998, uncensored notes of what he classes to active-duty service –Brittany DeLong, Kosovo from 2000 to 2002, was seeing and experienc- members with PTSD. Assistant Editor Afghanistan and Iraq from ing. He used these notes and 2002 to 2004, and Darfur journals to write his book. from 2004 to 2007. Haunted “I found a way to write AFSA WELCOMES FIRST by the brutality, he developed my way home when medical HECFAA INTERN depression and started hav- treatment wasn’t working for In early August, the first intern in a new joint ing violent, graphic dreams. me,” he said. An excerpt from program oered by AFSA and the Hispanic While in Afghanistan, his book speaks on the heal- Employee Council of Foreign Aairs Agencies Capps says, he realized he ing process of writing: “It was came to Washington to begin her internship. needed help. He sought the first time I let my guard We are thrilled to welcome Gabriela Cardozo, treatment and, for a time, down about how messed whose internship is in the Oce of Environ- got better. However in 2005, up I was, because of what I ment, Water and Conservation within the Bureau of Oceans while on a United Nations had been a part of, and had and International Environmental and Scientific Aairs. mission in Sudan, he relapsed witnessed firsthand.” The AFSA/HECFAA internship is modeled on a program significantly, spiraling into a Inspired to help other AFSA and the Thursday Luncheon Group have collaborated deep post-traumatic stress veterans cope with PTSD and on since 1992. Each summer, it brings a minority college disorder episode. He began shed light on the disease, student to the Department of State for an internship. to drink heavily and even Capps created the Veterans Cardozo graduated this past June with a master’s attempted suicide. Writing Project (www.veterans degree in public policy from the University of California-Los Capps read an excerpt writing.org/) in 2011 and is Angeles Luskin School of Public Aairs, with a focus on about that period: “I was filled currently the organization’s environmental and international policy. with a sense of failure and director. The nonprofit pro-
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 59 AFSA NEWS
DACOR Keeps Foreign Service Community Connected
DACOR considers itself the Service. They are also mindful home of the Foreign Service that with each decade DACOR community. Founded in the has adapted to provide 1950s by a group of FSOs the programs and services concerned about retirement needed. issues, DACOR has grown into Despite all the ways people an organization that oers a now stay connected electroni- rich array of programs serving cally, bringing people together the professional and social is a top priority at DACOR. needs of the broader interna- Executive Director Susan tional relations community. Cimburek says, “With the Often seen as tradition- elegant DACOR Bacon House
bound and, let’s face it, as a meeting place, why not DACOR “older,” DACOR is embracing get together here?” DACOR’s Bacon House in Washington, D.C. change and proving that it To encourage this, from hasn’t been around for more June through August DACOR the city and enjoy the almost appointed deputy chiefs of than 60 years by accident. hosted Thursday cocktail perfect weather Washington mission and principal ocers. The organization is led by hours on the Bacon House experienced this summer. DACOR sees these programs volunteer members who are patio, where members and DACOR also hosts post as important elements in its keenly aware of the chal- guests could relax in this reunions to help the foreign eorts to support Foreign Ser- lenges of life in the Foreign private oasis in the middle of aairs community remain vice members and it hopes connected. So far this year, to become a go-to network at more than 200 active-duty critical career junctures. and retired Foreign Service Cimburek acknowledges members have attended the importance of virtual reunions for Turkey, Central communities, and the America and sub-Saharan recently launched DACOR Africa. Cimburek says to website (www.DacorBacon. watch for reunions for Ger- org) includes a members-only many, Mexico and China in section to foster connections. the coming months. Through an online directory DACOR has also been and member blog, DACOR expanding its programs to is enabling members to find keep members connected lost colleagues, catch up, and professionally. Most remem- share news and views. ber the Bacon House for Whether you are active- two things: the A-100 class duty or retired, posted abroad reception held there shortly or in Washington, DACOR after receiving their first post urges you to take a look at assignment, and the luncheon what it has to oer. Next time co-sponsored by DACOR you’re in Washington, why not and AFSA following the Job stop by for a visit? n Search Program. –Compiled by Debra Blome, DACOR DACOR members and guests gather in the Bacon House garden at the This year, DACOR began Associate Editor Turkey Post Reunion on June 5. hosting receptions for newly
60 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS
WRITING IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE A Conversation with Author Matthew Palmer AFSA/BRITTANY DELONG AFSA/BRITTANY FSO Matthew Palmer and AFSA Communications Director Kristin Fernekes.
Writing and publishing in it’s fun,” he says. Palmer notes the Foreign Service can be a that it took 10 years to com- challenge. AFSA hosted FSO plete his first book and along Matthew Palmer on Aug. 21 the way he wrote “a lot of for a conversation on the awful stu” which didn’t make nuts and bolts of the process. it into the final manuscript. Palmer, a 22-year vet- “You need to be confidant eran of the Foreign Service, enough that you can recog- currently serving as political nize what’s awful,” he says. counselor at Embassy Bel- His second book, which grade, has just published his will be published and has a first book, a thriller titled The working title of Secrets of American Mission (Putnam State, took only 11 months Adult, 2014). to complete. He has recently Answering questions signed a contract to write two from AFSA Communications additional books. Director Kristen Fernekes, as He urged would-be authors well as the audience, Palmer to persevere and not get expounded on inspiration, discouraged. “Fortitude,” he the publishing process and says, “is an essential part of how his experience as an FSO this process.” informs his fiction. A recording of the For prospective writers complete conversation can Palmer had words of advice. be found at www.afsa.org/ “Just do it. Write. Don’t be too video. n goal-oriented. Write because
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 61 AFSA NEWS
FAMILY MEMBER MATTERS being frustrated or upset. It’s just Letter to My Global Nomads part of being BY HEATHER HARPER-TROJE human. 9. Remember that you are you, Our time in Costa Rica 2. Do not compare your no matter where is nearly done and we’re host country to other coun- you have landed in headed for Honduras, which tries, especially the ones you the world. Hold on has left each of us feeling love the most. Boy, was I bad to your core and variously excited, nervous, about this when we moved your beliefs. I’m curious and grief-stricken. here, and I’m sorry because I not saying don’t Lately I’ve been thinking know that rubbed o on the be open to change of some things I hope our three of you. It accomplishes (it’s important to kids are soaking in, about nothing and only leads to grow), but your being a Foreign Service fam- feeling resentful toward the core, along with ily and life in general. country that will never live up our family, gives The challenges we face to the favorite you stability. So as nomads are some of our 3. Be open to the unique HARPER-TROJE HEATHER stay true to your- most important teaching gifts each country can give selves, always. tools—something I’m trying you. Every country, even 10. Remember to remind myself of more the toughest to live in, has 6. As your dad and I tell that our roots are portable. We often. Our upcoming move gifts to give, and if you’re you, you represent the United live kind of a weird life. I know has gotten me thinking of not open to receiving them, States. This is an honor, so that sometimes it feels like some of the lessons I think you’ll never know what they remember to be a positive there are parts of you scat- are important for our chil- are. All the hours we’ve spent example of our country. All tered all over the globe, but dren, so I decided to sit down body boarding in Jaco, the three of you have been amaz- we always have each other and write them a letter. monkeys that have shaken ing at this, I am beyond proud and we have proven time and trees around us, hikes we’ve of you. Keep up the good again that our roots are like My Darling Children, taken in the rainforest at work! steel. Above all else, remem- night—these are all gifts, 7. Find a way to give back to ber that your dad and I love I know our lifestyle is and incredible ones at that. your host country by volun- each of you with our whole unusual, and it brings us So remember to be open to teering or helping out in some hearts, and as long as we are unique challenges, I want receiving! way. It’s always good to bring together we will always be to share some things with 4. Try to find something more kindness and compas- home. you that are important to beautiful in your host country sion to the world by giving the remember as we continue on every day. Keep your senses gifts each of you has to oer. All my love, our journey. open and be conscious of the 8. Living in a foreign Mom n 1. Try your best to go into world around you. country isn’t always easy, and each host country with an open 5. Find the humor in the it’s rarely simple, but people Heather Harper-Troje is a mind. I don’t have to tell you eccentricities. It’s easy to get who don’t live the kind of life stay-at-home mom to three that moving is tough, and it’s frustrated when things don’t we live don’t always realize precocious children and the even tougher when you’re work properly or when you’re that. So when people look wife on an FSO. Her husband’s leaving a country you love. dealing with an infrastructure at you cross-eyed if you are assignments have included Leaving Ireland was pain- that could use some help. venting a frustration, try to Conakry, Dublin, Baghdad ful for all of us. I’ve learned And it’s ok to be frustrated remember that not every- (unaccompanied tour), and over the past two years that by those kinds of things— one understands the unique San Jose. Their next assign- expectations can sometimes they’re frustrating! But try challenges that go along with ment is Tegucigalpa. Her blog be harmful and it’s better to to see the humor in those living overseas. But don’t can be found at www.mom2 accept a country for what it is. experiences. ever be hard on yourself for nomads.wordpress.com.
62 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS
AFSA Awards Nearly $200,000 in Financial Aid Scholarships AFSA/ÁSGEIR SIGFÚSSON AFSA/ÁSGEIR From left: Ian Houston, AFSA executive director; Ambassador Lange Schermerhorn, chair of the Scholarship Committee; Avery Smith; and Lori Dec, scholarship director.
AFSA has granted $199,300 awards ranging from $3,000 in financial aid scholarships to $5,000. for the 2014-2015 academic AFSA’s $5.4 million year. endowment funds 59 per- Avery Smith (third from petual scholarships (some left, above), a sophomore students received more than at Oberlin College, and his one); in addition, there are sister, Amelia, a sophomore seven AFSA annual and trust at Massachusetts Institute scholarships donated by of Technology, are two of individuals and organization the 54 recipients of the this such as AAFSW and DACOR. year’s AFSA Financial Aid Applications for the Scholarships. 2015-16 scholarship will be The need-based schol- available Nov. 15, at www. arships are awarded to afsa.org/scholar, and more children of AFSA members information on the scholar- for undergraduate study at a ship program can be found college or university. at the same site. n Fall semester checks totaling $100,650 were sent on Aug. 1 to the students’ schools, with individual
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64 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL n APPRAISALS DC GUEST APARTMENTS: Not your typical “corporate” apartments— we’re di erent! Located in Dupont Circle, we designed our apartments MANDEL APPRAISALS as places where we’d like to live and work—beautifully furnished and Personal property, antique and decorative arts valuation for insurance, fully equipped (including Internet & satellite TV). Most importantly, we estates and charitable donations, including inventories and consulta- understand that occasionally needs change, so we never penalize you if tions. Contact retired FSO Pamela Mandel. you leave early. You only pay for the nights you stay, even if your plans Tel: (703) 642-2572. change at the last minute. We also don’t believe in minimum stays or Email: [email protected] extra charges like application or cleaning fees. And we always work with Website: www.mandelappraisals.com you on per diem. Tel: (202) 536-2500. n TEMPORARY HOUSING Email: [email protected] Website: www.dcguestapartments.com LUXURY 2-BEDROOM, 2-bath home for rent in the Atrium, with gor- geous view of Georgetown. FIND PERFECT HOUSING by using the free Reservation Service Walking distance to Rosslyn Metro station and FSI Shuttle stop. Use of Agency, Accommodations 4 U. swimming pool, tennis court, gym, Internet, cable, maid service and Tel: (843) 347-8900. parking included. Email: [email protected] 1 block to Safeway, restaurants and bike path. Per diem accepted. Sorry, Website: www.accommodations4u.net no pets or smokers. Tel: (703) 395-8683, (202) 679-0800. SERVING FOREIGN SERVICE PERSONNEL FOR 25 YEARS, ESPE- Photos available at: [email protected] CIALLY THOSE WITH PETS. Selection of condos, townhouses and single-family homes accommodates most breeds and sizes. All within a FURNISHED LUXURY APARTMENTS: Short/long-term. Best locations: short walk of Metro stations in Arlington. Fully furnished and equipped Dupont Circle, Georgetown. Utilities included. All price ranges/sizes. 1-4 bedrooms, within per diem rates. Parking available. EXECUTIVE LODGING ALTERNATIVES. Tel: (202) 251-9482. Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] TURNKEY HOUSING SOLUTIONS: Experience working with Foreign CAPITOL HILL, FURNISHED housing: 1-3 Service professionals on standard and distinctive temporary housing blocks to Capitol. Nice places, great location. Well solutions in the D.C. area’s best locations (NW DC, Arlington, Alexan- below per diem. Short-term OK. GSA small busi- dria, Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland). Northern Virginia-based ness and veteran-owned. company o ers local customer service and a personalized touch. Tel: (202) 544-4419. Tel: (703) 615-6591. Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: www.capitolhillstay.com Website www.tkhousing.com
CORPORATE APARTMENT SPECIALISTS: Abundant experience ARLINGTON FLATS: 1-BR, 2-BR and 4-BR ats in 2 beautiful buildings working with Foreign Service professionals and the locations to best 3 blocks from Clarendon Metro. Newly renovated, completely furnished, serve you: Foggy Bottom, Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, incl. all utilities/Internet/HDTV w/DVR. Parking, maid service, gym, Rosslyn, Ballston, Pentagon City. Our o ce is a short walk from NFATC. rental car available. Rates start at $2,600/month. Per diem OK. Min. One-month minimum. All furnishings, houseware, utilities, telephone 30 days. and cable included. We work with per diem. Tel: (571) 235-4289. Tel: (703) 979-2830 or (800) 914-2802. Email: [email protected] Fax: (703) 979-2813. See 2-BR at website: www.dropbox.com/sh/6mkfwnz2ccrubv7/ Email: [email protected] FSM8fkHZz_ Website: www.corporateapartments.com SEAMLESS TRANSITION SHORT-TERM RENTALS • TEMPORARY HOUSING • Studios, 1, 2, 3 and 5 Bedroom Single Family • TDY per diem–friendly WASHINGTON, D.C., or NFATC TOUR? EXECUTIVE HOUS- For More Information, contact SEAMLESS TRANSITION: ING CONSULTANTS o ers Metropolitan Washington, D.C.’s nest Tel: (617) 323-6295. portfolio of short-term, fully furnished and equipped apartments, Email: [email protected] townhomes and single-family residences in Maryland, D.C. and We welcome having an opportunity to serve you. Virginia. In Virginia: “River Place’s Finest” is steps to Rosslyn Metro and Georgetown, and 15 minutes on Metro bus or State Department FURNISHED 1-BEDROOM, C Street NE, Capitol Hill; near Metro and shuttle to NFATC. For more info, please call (301) 951-4111, or visit bus; W/D, utilities included (cable, WiFi also). $2,200/month. O -street our website at: www.executivehousing.com. parking available. Email: [email protected]
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THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 65 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS n TEMPORARY HOUSING ADVANCING TO MAIN STATE OR FSI? I o er FS personnel 28+ years of experience providing Exclusive Representation. My focused approach to SINGLE-FAMILY HOME FOR RENT in Quaker Hill, Alexandria VA 22314 home buying/selling makes the transition easier for you and your family. Colonial style with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. 10 minutes from DC, FS references gladly provided. and 7 from Reagan. Short/Long-term. Furnished/Unfurnished. Contact Marilyn Cantrell, Associate Broker, licensed in VA and DC. For more information: McEnearney Associates Tel: (571) 594-1794. 1320 Old Chain Bridge Rd., Ste. 350 Email: [email protected] McLean VA 22101. AVAILABLE OCTOBER 1, 2014. Tel: (703) 860-2096. Email: [email protected] n PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Website: www.MarilynCantrell.com
NORTHERN VIRGINIA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. Are you look- FOR SALE ing for a competent manager to take care of your home when you go to post this summer? Based in McLean, Va., Peake Management, Inc. has YEAR-ROUND OR INVESTMENT PROPERTY. 3 BR, 2 BA elegant worked with Foreign Service o cers for over 30 years. We are active lakefront “treehouse,” Lake Lure, NC (near Asheville), in mountain board members of the Foreign Service Youth Foundation and many resort w/private dock; entertaining screened porches, decks & land- other community organizations. We really care about doing a good job in scape lighting; gazebo hot-tub. Resort provides rental income options renting and managing your home, so we’re always seeking cutting-edge when unoccupied. Go to http://www.beverly-hanks.com/search/ technology to improve service to our clients, from innovative market- detail/565826 ing to active online access to your account. We o er a free, copyrighted See details: items conveyed, prices (furn/unfurn), 5-star guest com- Landlord Reference Manual to guide you through the entire preparation, ments, more. rental and management process, or just give our o ce a call to talk to the Tel: (828) 698-7926; (001) 828 980-1535. agent specializing in your area. Peake Management, Inc. is a licensed, Email: [email protected]; [email protected] full-service real estate broker. 6842 Elm St., Suite 303, McLean VA 22101. SARASOTA, FLA. PAUL BYRNES, FSO Tel: (703) 448-0212. retired, and Loretta Friedman, Coldwell Email: [email protected] Banker, o er vast real estate experience in Website: www.peakeinc.com assisting diplomats. Enjoy gracious living, no state income tax and an exciting market. n REAL ESTATE Tel: (941) 377-8181. Email: [email protected] (Paul) or [email protected] (Loretta) FOR SALE: “Chinquapin Cottage,” a charming 3,300 sq. ft. 3BR/3BA home on 18-hole championship golf course designed by Bobb Cupp. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOME SERVICES FLORIDA REALTY. If Lush landscaping, lake and mountain views and babbling brook on you’re considering retirement in the Sarasota area, contact property. Ideal retirement location in Waynesville, N.C., nestled between Marian Walsh, Realtor and FSO spouse. Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains (30 miles west of Asheville). Back and Tel: (941) 483-0803. front porches to enjoy mild winters and cool mountain summers. See Email: [email protected] photo gallery on NC Mountain MLS# 558492. Tel: (828) 508-0670 n HOME REPAIRS Email: [email protected] or [email protected] NOW IS THE TIME to think about getting your home in NORTHERN LOOKING TO BUY, sell or rent property in Northern Virginia? is VIRGINIA ready to occupy or put on the market. Whether it’s a fresh coat former SFSO with 12 years of real estate experience understands your of paint or a bathroom and/or kitchen remodel, Door2Door Designs will needs and can help. References available. David Olinger, GRI Long & do the work for you while you’re away. We specialize in working with Foster, Realtors. Foreign Service and military families living abroad, and have many won- Tel: (703) 864-3196. derful references from happy families. Contact Nancy Sheehy. Email: [email protected] Tel: (703) 244-3843. Website: www.davidolinger.lnf.com Email: [email protected] Website: www.DOOR2DOORDESIGNS.COM PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE services provided by John Kozyn of Coldwell Banker in Arlington, Va. Need to buy or sell? My expertise will serve your speci c needs and timeframe. FSO references gladly pro- vided. Licensed in VA and DC. Tel: (202) 288-6026. Email: [email protected] Website: www.cbmove.com/johnkozyn
66 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL n INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION
ADOPT WHILE POSTED OVERSEAS! Adopt Abroad, Incorporated was created to assist expatriates with their adoption needs. U.S.-licensed and Hague-accredited, we conduct adoption home studies and child place- ment services, using caseworkers based worldwide. Adopt Abroad, Inc. 1424 N. 2nd Street, Harrisburg PA 4213 Sonia Ct, Alexandria VA Tel: (888) 687-3644. Website: www.adopt-abroad.com n PET TRANSPORTATION
PET SHIPPING WORLDWIDE: ACTION PET EXPRESS has over 44 years in business. 24-hr. service, operated by a U.S. Army veteran, associate member AFSA. Contact: Jerry Mishler. Tel: (681) 252-0266 or (855) 704-6682. Email: [email protected] Website: www.actionpetexpress.com n ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE
PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.45/word (10-word min). Hyperlink $11 in online edition. Bold text 85¢/word. Header or box-shading $11 each. Deadline: Five weeks ahead of publication. Tel: (202) 944-5507. Fax: (202) 338-8244. Email: [email protected]
You Are Our Eyes & Ears!
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THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 67 BOOKS
What Goes Around protection and counterter- lution is not as pat as you Comes Around rorism. might expect—in keeping Before retiring from with the complexity of the Sting of the Drone government service in 2003, moral and ethical ques- Richard A. Clarke, omas Dunne Books, he also held various posi- tions the author thoughtfully 2014, $25.99, hardcover, 298 pages. tions at State and Defense, addresses throughout the R S A H including assistant secre- book. tary for political-military ough no one is likely to Unmanned aerial vehicles, more famil- aairs. (Full disclosure: mistake it for literature, Sting iarly known as drones, have become I worked for Clarke from of the Drone is a refreshingly so ubiquitous that it is hard for many 1990 to 1991 while serving as a third-tour well-written page-turner (something Americans to recall a time when they Foreign Service ocer in PM. His man- one cannot take for granted in this genre, were not a key component of our coun- agement style would never be described alas). at said, the sex scenes seem terterrorist strategy. In fact, the debut of as warm and fuzzy, but he was always on rather gratuitous, mainly calculated to drones as a U.S. foreign policy tool dates top of his brief.) increase the novel’s marketability as a back to 1959, when the Air Force began Written in the style of a screenplay, lm rather than to advance the plot or using planes to overy the Soviet Union. the plot cuts back and forth between make the characters more sympathetic. e Department of Defense continues the White House Situation Room, where Most of the protagonists, both to administer America’s “overt” drone targets are identied by an interagency Americans and foreigners, come across program, which for the most part is “Kill Committee,” and the Nevada air as believable characters—not just one- noncontroversial. But in the aftermath base where hotshot pilots execute those dimensional wonks, bureaucrats and of the 9/11 attacks, the George W. Bush directives remotely. action gures, though we do meet some administration authorized the Central We also travel from the mountains of of those along the way. It is a particular pleasure to read a novel in which State Department The novel’s resolution is not as pat as you might expect— employees are portrayed as profes- sionals, rather than weenies. But I wish in keeping with the complexity of the moral and ethical Clarke had resisted the temptation to questions the author thoughtfully addresses throughout settle scores by depicting journalists the book. and members of Congress as misguided and naïve at best, if not self-serving and vindictive. Intelligence Agency to run a “covert” Afghanistan, where a group of extrem- Foreign Service readers are presum- drone program that has killed thousands ists hatch a scheme to ght back against ably already keenly aware of the foreign of foreign militants—as well as many the drones and teach America a lesson policy dilemmas Clarke explores in noncombatants and some American it won’t soon forget, to several European Sting of the Drone. But it is still useful to citizens. And that latter application is the capitals and other locations. be reminded of their intractability. As subject of Richard A. Clarke’s timely new As the clock ticks, Clarke weaves an several of his characters ruefully observe, thriller, Sting of the Drone. alarmingly realistic drama in which his “ere will always be bad guys out there.” Few people are better versed in this heroes scramble to thwart interlinked What matters is how we deal with them subject than Clarke, whose 30 years in plots they’re only vaguely aware of. Will as a nation and a society, and how well federal service included a decade at they be able to track down their anony- we learn from the mistakes we will inevi- the White House as special assistant to mous enemies before it’s too late? tably make along the way. the president for global aairs, special I wouldn’t dare risk a drone attack by adviser for cyberspace, and national giving away the answer to that question Steven Alan Honley is e Foreign Service coordinator for security, infrastructure here, but I can say that the novel’s reso- Journal’s contributing editor.
68 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A Unique View of the Bird—whose father was posted in PFLP’s promise to not target Americans as Middle East Dhahran during this same period— long as the back channel remained open describes life in a small desert post won- and the U.S. provided some support to the e Good Spy: e Life and Death derfully, and includes a highly amusing Palestinian cause. ose who know this of Robert Ames vignette in which Ames and Vice Consul period in the history of the Middle East Kai Bird, Crown Publishers, 2014, $26.00, (and later Ambassador) Patrick eros are aware that Salameh was assassinated hardcover, 430 pages. y to Bahrain, where eros’ duty was in 1979; Mossad is believed to have been R Á S to bring back a suitcase full of alcohol responsible. into dry Saudi Arabia. is did not go o e book’s subtitle gives away the After winning the Pulitzer Prize for his without a hitch. fate of Bob Ames. He was among the 63 2005 biography of J. Robert Oppen- Following his years in Dhahran, Ames people killed in the terrorist attack on heimer, American Prometheus, author Kai had a succession of postings in the Middle Embassy Beirut in April 1983. e life of Bird turns his attention to East—Aden, in what was then a “good spy” ended at the age of 49. He a much less known but no South Yemen, Beirut, Tehran— was survived by his wife Yvonne and six less worthy subject: CIA as well as back in Washington, children. agent and Middle East D.C. It was during this period Bird is a master storyteller, and eshes hand Robert Ames. that Ames exhibited his enviable out a large swath of recent history through Bird, the son of a For- ability to make friends in the Ames’ life. A fascinating protagonist, eign Service ocer, paints Middle East, and often turn almost a Forrest Gump of the intelligence a vivid picture of Beirut, those friends into unocial world, Ames is seemingly involved in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, sources for the CIA. His uent every consequential event of the Middle Iran and the wider Middle Arabic and deep knowledge of East during that period. e narrative East during the tumultu- Middle Eastern history helped is heightened by Bird’s meticulous and ous years of the 1960s, tremendously. prodigious research, and his access to an 1970s and 1980s. He also provides a truly It was during his years in Beirut that he astonishing number of people who knew excellent primer on the early years of the became embroiled in the Israel-Palestine Bob Ames personally and professionally. Palestinian struggle for independence, issue, and got to know two individuals Foreign Service readers will enjoy going into the world of Fatah and Black who would change his life: Mustafa Zein cameos of a large number of individuals September in great detail. and Ali Hassan Salameh. rough them from the diplomatic community: Hume Bob Ames grew up in Philadelphia and he gained unparalleled insight into the Horan, Patrick eros, Steve Buck, Frank played basketball at La Salle University; Popular Front for the Liberation of Pales- Carlucci, Ryan Crocker, John Gunther he was on the team that took the NCAA tine and the creation of Black September. Dean, Herman Eilts, Harriet Isom, Bruce championship in 1954. Following a stint e latter was responsible for such atroci- Laingen and Henry Precht are among in the Army—he was a member of the ties as the massacre of Israeli athletes at those who make an appearance. Signal Corps in what is now Eritrea—he the 1972 Munich Olympics and the 1973 Bird is sympathetic to his subject— took and failed the Foreign Service exam killings of U.S. Ambassador Cleo Noel and perhaps slightly too sympathetic—and is and then applied to the Central Intelli- Deputy Chief of Mission George Curtis muted on criticism of the CIA’s question- gence Agency, into which he was quickly Moore in Khartoum. able dealings with unsavory characters accepted. Ames’s relationship with Salameh and the agency’s uid allegiances to the He proved himself a gifted intelligence opened a window into this world and cre- various sides of an issue. ocer and chose to specialize in the ated a back channel that then-Secretary of But there is no denying the power of Middle East, which at the time was not State Henry Kissinger never acknowleded the story, which is only enhanced by the a highly sought-after area. His rst CIA publicly. fact that it is true. n posting was to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, During the 1970s and early 1980s, where his cover was that of a commercial Ames’ career had some successes and Ásgeir Sigfússon is AFSA’s director of new ocer in the Foreign Service. some setbacks. A great success was the media.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 69 REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
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72 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL REFLECTIONS
Refugee to Diplomat: A Journey
BY TONY HORNIK-TRAN
was born in Tuyhoa, a small city in Viet- nam. My father was a high school prin- cipal and my mother was a home eco- Inomics teacher. My parents gathered their life savings and paid for my brother and me to escape to a free country. Before we left, my father said: “Educa- tion will be the key to your future success. Use it to help yourself and others.” Courtesy Tony Hornik-Tran Tony Courtesy In May 1982, we set out from Vietnam RSO Tony Hornik-Tran meets with law students during an ocial trip in Slovakia. on a small shing boat with 37 other people. After ve days and six nights at I had promised my father that I would them—homes, jobs, personal dignity and sea, we nally made it to a small town educate myself, so I attended the Uni- place in the world. I knew how they felt! named Mariveles, at the southern tip of versity of Wisconsin-Madison. I knew Assisting them was one of the most the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. what I wanted to do, but there were many rewarding experiences of my life—espe- We were transported to the Vietnamese obstacles along the way, especially since cially since I met my wife there—and I Refugee Asylum Camp in Palawan, and English was my second language. But I extended my contract to three years. I later transferred to another camp called knew that I could accomplish anything to encouraged people to follow their hearts, the Philippine Refugee Processing Center. which I set my mind. as I did, and always remember the impor- During 11 months at the camps, I met I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in tance of helping your fellow man. numerous international organization social welfare and criminal justice in 1990, In 1994, I returned to the United States, workers from all over the world. I was and was recruited by the International settling in San José, California, eager to deeply touched by their generosity, com- Catholic Migration Commission/Joint Vol- continue working with the Vietnamese mitment and dedication. ey were a great untary Agency, an organization that assists community. I also spent six years with the help to my brother and me. I promised uprooted people, refugees and migrants San José Police Department. Eventually, I myself that someday I would come back worldwide. I was assigned to one of the joined the State Department’s Bureau of to help other refugees in need as they had refugee camps in the Philippines where I Diplomatic Security as a Special Agent in helped me. had lived eight years earlier. 2002. In America, I was placed with an adop- As a caseworker, my duties included As a former refugee from Vietnam, tive family in Madison, Wisconsin, for counseling and crisis intervention services serving in the United States Foreign a few years. is family took me in with for refugees who had a variety of psychoso- Service for 12 years has been a humbling unconditional love, treating me as if I were cial problems. ese Southeast Asian and experience and a privilege. If it were not their own son and facilitating the transi- Amerasian people had suddenly been torn for America, I would never have had a tion to my new country. away from all that was dear and familiar to chance to do what I do today. So I would like to conclude my story Tony Hornik-Tran is the Regional Security O cer/Security Attaché for Embassy Bratislava. He with my favorite line in a famous speech previously served as the area desk o cer in the O ce of International Programs/East Asian Paci c by President John F. Kennedy: “My fellow Islands from 2010 to 2012. Since joining the Foreign Service in 2002, he has served in the New York Americans: Ask not what your country can Field O ce and overseas in Angola and China, with short-term assignments in Yemen, Namibia, do for you—ask what you can do for your Mongolia and Vietnam. Tony speaks uent Vietnamese, good Chinese, decent Slovak, and very country.” n limited French, Portuguese and Tagalog. He has been married for 21 years and has one daughter.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 73 LOCAL LENS
BY ED MALCIK n PARIS, FRANCE
very tourist to Paris eventually winds up on the Montmartre hill, a haunt of the Impressionists, and hangs out in the cafes around the Place du Tertre. Paris is famous as a city for lovers, and here Ea bride and groom gaze into each other’s eyes. No, wait: she is looking into her dish of ice cream, and he into the endless depths of his phone. Somehow, however, love still transcends technology. n
Ed Malcik joined the Foreign Service as a management o cer in 1984 follow- ing a tour in the Peace Corps, and served in Douala, Mumbai, Bridgetown, Dakar, Abidjan, Djibouti, Berlin and Stockholm. He retired in 2010 and now relishes his role as a trailing spouse, following his wife, Susan, to Paris and Chennai. e photo was taken with a Nikon 300s and 24mm lens.
Please submit your favorite, recent photograph to be featured in Local Lens. Images must be high resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8 x 10”) and must not be in print elsewhere. Please submit a short description of the scene/event, as well as your name, brief biodata and the type of camera used, to [email protected].
74 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL