Kolkatacity of Joy JUNE2009 STATE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 5 3 5
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U.S.DEPARTMENT OF STATE JUNE 2009 KOLKATACity of Joy JUNE2009 STATE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 5 3 5 09 22 42 Rock of Post of the Another Jakarta Month Planet Embassy welcomes band Kolkata, India, teems Retired couple spends a after U.S. tour. with diversity. season in Antarctica. 32 14 Blueprints for Safety 09 FEATURES COLUMNS 12 Watchful Eyes 28 Consensus Builders 02 From the D.G. Officers in the Sinai help enforce peace Political cone adjusts to meet new 03 Letters treaty. realities. 04 In the News 08 Diversity Notes 14 Spotlight Time 30 Real Help 40 Safety Scene PRT in Iraq helps female artists find Emergency Relief Fund aids locally 45 State of the Arts their voice. employed staff. 46 Obituaries 47 Retirements 18 More Than Books 32 A Busy Year 48 The Last Word American Corners program thrives Overseas Buildings Operations in Kosice, Slovakia. completes 11 facilities in 12 months. ON THE COVER The U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata includes 12 states, one 20 Managing Change 36 Office Of The Month territory and some of the world’s FSI division adopts new training Recruitment, Examination and most dramatic scenery. methods. Employment. Photograph by Corbis D.G. HARRY K. THOMAS Remembering Our Brave Foreign Service Colleagues On May 25, I had the honor of joining the Foreign Service and Department of fellow members of the Diplomatic and Con- State who preceded us. In my remarks, I sular Offi cers, Retired, and Department of paid tribute to cherished colleagues, such State employees and relatives at the DACOR as Brian Adkins, who made the ultimate Memorial Area of Rock Creek Cemetery sacrifi ce while overseas. On January 31, for the DACOR Memorial Day Ceremony Brian was killed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to remember the fallen members of the where he was serving his fi rst tour as a Foreign Service and their families. Since Foreign Service offi cer in the embassy’s 1984, this annual ceremony has included a consular section. short ecumenical service with an invocation, Brian’s untimely death reminds us that the playing of “Taps,” remarks and a wreath- ours is a hazardous profession, requiring laying. DACOR hosts a reception afterwards extraordinary dedication and commitment. in the nearby St. Paul’s Parish Hall. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Located at Rock Creek Church Road, at her nomination hearing, “These public N.W., and Webster Street, N.W., in the servants are too often unsung heroes. They Petworth neighborhood of Washington, are in the trenches putting our policies and D.C., Rock Creek Cemetery is an 86-acre values to work in an increasingly compli- burial ground that is adjacent to the historic cated and dangerous world. Many risk their U.S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home and the lives, and some lose their lives, in service to Soldiers’ Home Cemetery. Because of the our nation.” inspiration of Winifred Hunter (Foreign That is why one of the Secretary’s highest the world. I can imagine no more fi tting Service staff offi cer of Class 11) in 1957 and priorities is to make sure that the men and tribute to those whom we gathered to honor the dedicated work of the Graves Commis- women of the State Department and U.S. at Rock Creek Cemetery. sion established by the Board of Governors Agency for International Development have The offi cers and governors of DACOR of DACOR in 1964, we now have a special the resources to succeed. The support of note with deep regret in the monthly place of rest for those in the Foreign Service the American people and the Congress is DACOR Bulletin the deaths of Foreign on land donated to St. Paul’s Episcopal essential to our success. Service offi cers and employees of the Church in 1719. Any DACOR member may All members of the State Department Department of State, and other foreign purchase a burial plot or columbarium family—active and retired—can make a affairs agencies and their families—DACOR niche from the cemetery. difference by continuing to educate the members and nonmembers. If you would As Americans across the nation honored American public about the importance of like more information about DACOR, its the brave men and women who fought to diplomacy and the work of the Department. Web site is at www.dacorbacon.org. If you defend our nation, we gathered at Rock I encourage all of you, as often as you have any general comments or suggestions, Creek, the oldest cemetery in Washington, can, to talk about our efforts to advance you can send them to me via unclassifi ed to pay tribute to the men and women of security, democracy and prosperity around e-mail at [email protected]. n 2 State JUNE 2009 Letters Compassionate Heroes The puppies story from Tashkent (April) is heart melting! What a wonderful example of compassion! I’d love to send all my respect and admiration to Mr. Norland, Mrs. Hartnett and guards Khashimov, Zakhrudtinov, Magdiev and Khusainov. They are heroes! Carla Furlan Health Unit U.S. Embassy in Brasilia Satellite Imagery and Central Asian Affairs offi cials and What sparked my interest again in the Your March story about the Geographer’s with the post overseas for any outreach or use of satellite imagery in areas of confl ict Offi ce mentioned the work of the Hu- diplomatic effort. was reading your article. For a long time, manitarian Information Unit. After reading SCA Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary I have been an advocate of using imagery in several speculative news accounts about the Michael Owen used two of the unclassifi ed public diplomacy. desperate circumstances of the estimated images during a press roundtable on the 150,000 Internally Displaced Persons in IDP situation in Sri Lanka. The New York William B. Reinckens the so-called “Safe Zone” in the Mulattivu Times used four satellite photos to illustrate Strategic Communications Coordinator District in northern Sri Lanka, where IDPs Owen’s comments, as did the Washington Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs were shelled by both government forces and Post, Washington Times and several other Tamil rebels, I suggested that the Geogra- news outlets. pher’s Offi ce be contacted. In 2002, I was the public affairs offi cer in A Good Look I wanted to know if any unclassifi ed, com- Colombo and was asked to go to the Jaffna The colors, layout and use of photography mercially available satellite imagery might be Peninsula to do press advance for Deputy really make the issues of State Magazine pop available to better monitor the situation on Secretary of State Richard Armitage’s visit. so much more. We look like a 21st-century the ground. I worked with a Sri Lankan television crew. organization: outgoing, cheerful, serious Dennis King, whom you mention in We did interviews with IDPs, Sri Lankan and hopeful. Congratulations to your your article, and analyst Arand Arun, who army offi cers and others. These interviews publishing team. is responsible for Sri Lanka, responded were part of a planned television documen- immediately, locating satellite imagery tary on demining operations. The video Chantal Dalton collections. These images were shared over showed fi rsthand the destruction the region Public Affairs Offi cer a several-week period with Bureau of South experienced as a result of 26 years of war. U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa Let Us Hear from You Via E-mail: [email protected] /// Phone: (202) 663-1700 /// Fax: (202) 663-1769 Mailing Address: 2401 E Street, NW, HR/ER/SMG, SA-1, Room H-236, Washington, DC 20522-0108 Letters should not exceed 250 words and should include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number. All letters become the property of State Magazine. Letters will be edited for length, accuracy and clarity. Only signed letters will be considered. JUNE 2009 State 3 news In April, the Bureau of Human request to the Executive Office. The Resources’ Executive Office launched application allows users to track an HR HR Electronic Services, an online HR service request’s status and assess application that allows the bureau’s the effectiveness and timeliness of offices to request HR general services services provided. Launches from the Executive Office. This re- The eServices platform has been places the manual process, making in use by posts worldwide since it easier for customers to create and 2008 as the one-stop, automated Electronic track their requests and enabling the online request system. The bureau’s Executive Office to improve account- recent customization of this resource ability for services. will provide it with the metrics to Service With eServices, direct hires and increase efficiency and improve contract employees can create and customer service. More informa- submit online an HR service request, tion and access instructions are on Request such as for badge access or labor ser- the HR Initiatives Web site. More vices, to their supervisor/approving information and access instructions official. The approving official then are at http://hrweb.hr.state.gov/prd/ System reviews and submits the approved hrweb/ex/hreservices.cfm. 4 State JUNE 2009 U.S.-U.K. Partner on Anti-Fraud Training The U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman, as resources, and included hands-on exercises Embassy Muscat’s consular and part of an ongoing effort to increase its anti- involving suspect documents the British regional security office staff fraud capacity, hosted a briefing in March on embassy had received in visa applications. improved their fraud-detection detecting fraud in visa applicants’ supporting The briefing was the first time that skills and exchanged information documents.