State 1993-03: Iss
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LETTERS State (ISSN 0278-1859) (formerly the On saying thanks Service officers recruited through the Department of State Newsletter) is published by the annual Foreign Service exam and by U.S. Department of State to acquaint its employees, at special assessment supervised by the home and abroad, with developments that may affect Washington Office of International Operations of the operations or personnel. There are 11 monthly issues Dear Editor: U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. We (none in August). The Senior Foreign Service Associa¬ Deadline for submitting material is in the first were especially pleased to work with tion was pleased to read about and see the week of each month. Contributions (consisting of State’s Family Liaison Office and the general information, feature articles, poems, photo (January issue) of the retirement embassy personnel offices to identify the photographs, drawings) are welcome. Double-space, ceremony in the Secretary’s office in the largest possible number of qualified candi¬ spelling out job titles, names of offices and presence of Secretary Eagleburger for programs—acronyms are not acceptable. Send dates, spouses and nonspouses. Ambassador Thomas Stroock, our envoy contributions to State magazine, PER/ER/SMG, We invite interested applicants for SA-6, Room 433, Washington, D.C. 20522-0602. to Guatemala. Foreign Service positions to contact the Telephone: (703) 516-1667. Fax: (703) 516-1677. It was very touching to see the Board of Examiners of the Foreign Contributions may also be dropped off in Room 3811 attention paid to the retirement of a Main State. Service or our Office of Foreign Service political-appointee ambassador who had Although intended for internal communication. Personnel for information on career op¬ State is available to the public through the served less than three years in the portunities with us. Foreign Service Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Department. It was especially touching spouses and dependents interested in local Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. considering the fact that career Foreign employment opportunities with us at Service employees who serve 25, 30 or 35 Editor Sanford (Whitey) Watzman overseas posts are encouraged to contact years receive a wooden plaque in the mail Assistant editor Barbara Quirk the post administrative office. Staff assistant Kim Banks □ upon retirement and—if they pay their To echo the closing words of the own way to Washington from their article, we hope that other foreign affairs retirement residence—can attend a once- agencies follow our lead and look within in-six-months mass ceremony hosted by the Foreign Service family when trying to the Secretary. fill special staffing needs. We did, and we Taking note of the ceremony for are being well-served. Ambassador Stroock and the changing of Sincerely yours, administrations, the Senior Foreign Serv¬ Charles A. Ford ice Association suggests that the new Deputy assistant secretary. leadership of the Department take a look Office of International Operations, at how the Defense Department honors its U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service □ retirees and, without the marching bands and military fanfare, see if some more dignified and appropriate way of saying Communicator complains “thank you for serving your country” cannot be devised for State employees. Hong Kong Sincerely, Dear Editor: Dennis Kux, chairman. I am writing in response to a cable They call it “migration” Senior Foreign Service Association □ recently sent to all Foreign Service posts in the Office of Information (State 14291). It conveys the importance of Management, and the story on the American Foreign Service Association Page 15 tells you why—where awards program and who is worthy enough State computerization is com¬ Wives in Commerce work to be a candidate. Nowhere in the cable ing from, where it’s heading. Washington does it mention an award for communi¬ Dear Editor: cators, although everyone else is spelled I read with interest your January out quite succinctly. It’s no wonder mem¬ article on the two Foreign Service spouses bership is low among information manage¬ that we have hired overseas to help staff ment specialists, with this kind of offices during a break between officer representation and nonrecognition. assignments. We’re glad that such well- Sincerely, qualified candidates were available to us Marlene D. Carter to fill temporarily the gaps during a Information management specialist period of transition. The American Foreign Service Asso¬ To further amplify this program for ciation replies: “Ms. Carter has accu¬ your readers’ information, the employees rately noted a problem that also concerns have been hired as P.I.T. (part-time, our leadership; i.e., that our awards intermittent or temporary) employees to program, mostly established in the ’60s, assist with commercial work. They are not does not sufficiently recognize the contri¬ accredited diplomats, nor do they serve as butions of specialists, including not only our senior commercial officers. Our com¬ mercial officers are commissioned Foreign —(Continued on Page 24) NO. 364 19 News Stories Feature Stories Departments and Features 2 Christopher orders major 18 Your boss is, like, Italian, reshuffling of Department and your colleagues are 45 Anapestic Assignments bureaus, with new turfs assorted Europeans 6 Appointments 3 Secretary addresses 17 Scene of the crime: the employees at State planter at the embassy in 37 “Ask Dr. Kemp’’ Paramaribo 5 Study urges restructuring 48 Bureau Notes of State—and it’s acted on 22 A hearing-impaired American officer in Poland 39 Education and Training 6 Appointments are tells his story announced for under 13 Honors and Awards secretary slots (see also Page 21) 8 Bosses are named for 2 News Highlights 4 geographic bureaus, Photo Stories 3 other top offices 61 Obituaries 32 Post of the Month: 11 Choices are made for Perth 43 Personnel: Civil Service 3 ambassadorships 45 Personnel: Foreign Service 13 ‘Secretaries of the Year’: Carole Smith, Mary Gorham 15 Start is made on sweeping program to modernize computers here and overseas ws I G H L I G H T Reorganization of the Department is announced by Christopher and Wharton A reorganization of the Department that would enhance the authority of the under secretaries, reshuffle many of the bureaus and offices and reduce the number of deputy assistant secretaries and Seventh Floor staff members was announced on February 5. Department staffers first got word of the plan when Deputy Secretary Clifton R. Wharton Jr. addressed them from the Bureau of Public Affairs studio on “B- Net,” with employees gathering at the hallway TV monitors in Main State to hear him. At the same time. Secretary Christo¬ The Secretary, right, and the deputy Dean Acheson Auditorium. (State Depart- pher issued a written statement and an secretary as they address employees in the ment photo by Shawn Moore) implementation directive addressed to all employees. The announcement came as State’s PROPOSED ORGANIZATION two leaders moved swiftly to put their own stamp on the Department, less than two weeks after they appeared personally be¬ fore employees in the Dean Acheson Auditorium (see adjoining page). One feature of the proposed changes is that they would result in the devolution of at least some responsibilities from the Seventh Floor to career employees and even junior officers of the Foreign Service and Civil Service, reversing the pattern of previous years. Some of the proposed changes require legislation by Congress. Many of them are in accord with recommendations of the “State 2000” study which was initiated in the previous administration and conducted by a task force of Foreign Service and Civil Service officers (see Page 5). Secretary’s statement ‘We serve in a State Department that is far better organized for the decades past than for the special challenges America faces in the post-Cold War era,” the Secretary said in his statement, adding: tion efforts in the former Soviet Union vironmental problems, elevating our con¬ “I want our Department to be able to and around the world, halting the pro¬ cern about the global population deal more effectively with the new issues liferation of weapons of mass destruction, explosion, fighting international crime and of critical importance to our nation’s strengthening peacekeeping capabilities, terrorism, and penetrating new markets for foreign policy: strengthening democratiza¬ dealing more effectively with global en¬ American business. 2 State “We cannot hope to respond to these sense. But in another sense ... the greatest and other challenges unless we improve Secretary, speaking resource we have is the people—all of the way we deal with tough and complex you here in this room and in the posts problems which cut across the traditional to employees, around the world. You bring expertise and boundaries of our bureaus. We must ideas and energy. I want to work with design creative ways to increase the emphasizes ‘trust’ you. I think if we pull together and work efficiency of the policy process and together, we can achieve great things. To enhance the administration of the many in the workforce me, that means the entire building—not programs we manage. This will mean: just the Seventh Floor but the entire —“Designating five under secretaries Secretary Christopher addressed an building ... and all of our posts around together with the deputy as my principal overflow crowd of employees in the Dean the world. foreign policy advisers. Acheson Auditorium on January 25, “Our second great resource is our —“Creating new focal points for key pledging a more open administration and commitment ... to the United States and foreign policy initiatives. asserting: “I start in with a strong our commitment to foreign policy. We’re —“Eliminating redundancies and disposition to have confidence and trust in committed to serve our country and its concentrating greater decision-making re¬ the people in this building.” people.