UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
April 2001
State
State
Magazine
President
Praises
‘the Troops’
7 Post of the Month: Mongolia
History unfolds along the Old Silk Road.
11 Office of the Month: Special Negotiations
This negotiator’s role is special indeed.
15 State After Dark
For some employees, lunch break is at 3 a.m.
20 Passport, Visa Centers
New England centers exploit new technology.
23 Spouses Find Work Overseas
With planning, spouses can find jobs in their field.
25 FLO Unveils Latest Jobs Book
New resource guide gives tips on job searches.
26 Secretary Tours Foreign Service Institute
FSI visit underscores that diplomacy begins with training.
28 Open Forum
Former Defense secretary calls for changes.
34 Diplomats Need More Than Diplomacy
To succeed, diplomats must be leaders and managers.
State
Contents
Department of State • United States of America
State
Magazine
April 2001
No. 445
COLUMNS
2 From the Secretary
6 Direct from the D.G.
DEPARTMENTS
3 Letters to the Editor
4 In the News
30 Medical Report
31 People Like You
32 Obituaries
36 Personnel Actions
On the Cover
President Bush visits State.
Photo by Michael Gross
7
20
Gathering information at the
visa center.
Mongolian in native dress
with local transportation.
2 State Magazine
FROM THE SECRETARY
SECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL
P
resident Bush got a warm reception here but the value of his visit went well
beyond cheers and applause in the C Street lobby. In the Benjamin Franklin
Room, the President attended graduation ceremonies of our newest Foreign
Service class and in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs he got a briefing on
Mexico from five mid-level officers. I was glad he got both a good look at the
Department’s future and a sense of how serious we are about giving our line offi-
cers responsibility.
The President told me he was impressed by what he saw and heard. But I think all
of us were impressed by the President. In his remarks, he offered a brief but serious
treatment of national security issues. And the promise he made—his affirmation that
he was going to be State’s “domestic constituency”—was warmly received.
It’s a promise the President has already delivered on. State operations won a 17
percent increase in this budget even as other departments faced cutbacks.
As all of you know, I’ve taken these increases to the committees on Capitol Hill.
Here’s what they will mean:
■ More than 360 new hires in the Foreign Service and Civil Service. With long-
vacant slots filled, essential personnel can be freed up to help with training for
the first time in years.
■ $270 million will get everyone Internet access and deliver a secure cyber sys-
tem to our overseas posts. (Hard as it is to believe, many of those bureaus did-
n’t have a classified means of communicating with Main State or each other.)
■ $126 million to fund American and Foreign Service National pay raises, cost-
of-living adjustments and offsets to domestic and overseas inflation.
■ $63 million for support of overseas bureaus by restoring equipment and vehi-
cles and by making FSN wages competitive.
■ $665 million for embassy construction, plus 185 additional security personnel
as well as 51 new diplomatic security agents. New embassies and a safe envi-
ronment in our existing ones are a priority.
Members of Congress have been very responsive to the case we have made for
these increases. Their support—and President Bush’s—means we can make long
strides this year towards bringing “the bestest” and “the mostest” to the front lines
of diplomacy. ■
President Delivers
on Promise
Contents
April 2001 3
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vienna Responds
In your January feature on the
International Organizations Bureau,
which included the U.S. Mission to
UN System Organizations in Vienna,
you overlooked the Vienna mission’s
top priority: promoting U.S. national
security through the nonprolifera-
tion activities of the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
In cooperation with our col-
leagues in Washington, we are help-
ing the IAEA develop a global
regime of strengthened nuclear safe-
guards designed to detect and deter
a clandestine nuclear program such
as the one under taken by Iraq before
the Persian Gulf War. We have also
been working with the Provisional
Technical Secretariat of the Compre-
hensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Organization to develop the infra-
structure needed to verify a global
ban on nuclear explosions.
As you reported, we are closely
engaged with UN agencies in Vienna
to promote nuclear safety, fight inter-
national crime and narcotics traffick-
ing and advance U.S. interests in
international trade and space issues.
In your sidebar on the UN
Commission on International Trade
Law, you mistakenly assigned
Foreign Service officer Kit Traub to
that organization. While he covers
the commission, he is a member of
our mission.
Laura Kennedy
Acting U.S. Representative
U.S. Mission to UN System
Organizations
Vienna
From Our Neighbors
to the North
The sad fact is we don’t have a
departmental employee magazine,
only a newsletter, Bout de Papier,
published by the Professional Asso-
ciation of Foreign Service Officers,
which only goes to members of that
organization.
We realize that our organization
needs to improve its internal commu-
nications by communicating with
employees on departmental matters.
One of the challenges has been the
dearth of vehicles to transmit infor-
mation. We do not have a staff maga-
zine and much of the communicating
we do is through e-mail broadcast
messages. But e-mail overload is a
From the Editor
A new word has slipped into the Department’s vernacular. When
President Bush made his first visit to State during National Security Week
in February, Secretary Powell proudly introduced him to “the troops of the
State Department.” We’re likely to hear the term “troops” used often as the
Secretary takes his message to the Congress and American people that
diplomacy is the nation’s first line of defense. The President said as much
when he told employees who packed the C Street lobby that “You resolve a
crisis before a shot is fired.”
Language, we recognize, is nothing more than symbols. The more famil-
iar the symbols, the clearer the message. More people are likely to know
someone in uniform than in the Foreign Service. Thus the Department is
wise to begin aligning its message to correspond with its mission. By doing
so, the new vocabulary may prove more than just an exercise in semantics.
Our posts, as the Secretary has acknowledged, are far-flung. Mongolia,
our Post of the Month, is a prime example. Symbols of endless desert,
nomads, camels, goats and yaks are familiar from our history books. The
ancient and the modern merge in this unfolding drama along the Old Silk
Road. I encourage you to read this article as well as our Office of the Month,
Special Negotiations.
Like New York, the State Department never sleeps. In this month’s issue
you’ll meet some of the men and women who keep the Department’s lamps
burning. The graveyard shift may not be for everybody, especially if you
don’t fancy having your lunch at 3 a.m. Welcome to State after dark.
With planning, spouses can find meaningful work overseas. The Family
Liaison Office, which has traditionally focused on finding work for spouses
within the mission, is now exploring ways for them to find gainful employ-
ment beyond the embassy and consulate. If a pilot project in Mexico is suc-
cessful, it will be expanded to other countries.
common complaint and “automatic
delete reflex” is an illness for which
we have yet to find a cure.
So now’s the time for us to cast our
eyes elsewhere and learn from best
practices. We have been greatly
impressed with State Magazine and
believe it could serve as a useful
model. Our audiences are alike and
our areas of interest similar. We too
want to inform, engage and present
opportunities for dialogue.
Carol Bujeau
Acting Deputy Director
Communication Programs and
Outreach
Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade
Ottawa, Canada
Letters to the Editor
Letters should not exceed 250 words and
should include the writer’s name, address
and daytime phone number. Letters will be
edited for length and clarity. Only signed
letters will be considered. Names may be
withheld upon request. You can reach us
at statemagazine@state.gov.
Contents
4 State Magazine
IN THE NEWS
By Paul Koscak
P
resident George W. Bush marked National
Security Week by visiting the State Department
to thank employees for promoting American val-
ues and traditions abroad and for being the
nation’s first line of defense.
“You do so much to sustain America’s position in the
world; so much to foster freedom in the world and for
that we are grateful,” the President told hundreds of
employees who packed the C St. entrance.
Secretary Colin Powell, who joined his boss at the
podium, said that after the President’s recent visits to the
troops at Ft. Stewart, Ga., Norfolk, Va. and the West
Virginia National Guard in Charleston, National Security
Week was a fitting occasion to visit “the troops of the
State Department.”
The audience roared with applause.
The President recognized much of the unsung work
quietly performed by both Civil Service and Foreign
Service employees. “You solve the problems before they
become headlines,” he said. “You resolve a crisis before a
shot is fired. And when tragedy or disaster strikes, you’re
often the first on the scene.”
He said the long row of flags adorning the C St.
entrance and representing the nations the United States
maintains diplomatic relations with is a constant
reminder that the work of the Department never ceases.
“It’s sometime said that the State Department is one of
the few federal departments that has no domestic con-
stituency,” President Bush continued. “Well, whoever
said that was wrong. Let me assure you that between me
and Secretary Powell you do have a constituency.”
The President also outlined his vision for America’s for-
eign policy, calling for close ties with our European allies,
engaging Russia and China with
“patience, principle and consistency” and
increased trade in Africa. He predicted a
more prosperous Western hemisphere
“from the Arctic to the Andes to Cape
Horn,” and a “clear, constant and vital for-
eign policy.” He envisioned “a century of
the Americas” and a strong partnership
with Mexico with an emphasis on fighting
drug trafficking and organized crime.
“America will set its own priorities so
they’re not set by our adversaries with
the crisis of the moment,” he said.
During his visit, President Bush
addressed the 100th graduating class of
Foreign Service officers in the Ben
Franklin Room. The occasion, broadcast
to more than 10,000 State employees in
Washington and another 37,000 at 250
posts worldwide, marked the first time in
memory that a President has presided at
a graduation of Foreign Service officers
and specialists. ■
The author is a writer-editor for State
Magazine
President Praises Employees’
Sacrifice, Commitment
Photo by Ann Thomas
April 2001 5
IN THE NEWS
Graduates Get Presidential Send-Off
The Foreign Service’s centennial class launched their new careers
with an inspiring send-off from President George W. Bush.
“You’ve just become part of the best diplomatic corps in the
world,” the President proclaimed. “I want you to remember that
you’ll be the image of America, the face and voice of her val-
ues….You’ll represent the strength of America, our compassion and
our humility. It’s a high calling and a difficult one, and your country
appreciates your work.”
The President, who addressed the 37 graduates, their families and
friends during National Security Week, said that as they go about their
work with “little fanfare,” most Americans will never hear about their
successes. “The problem that is solved hardly makes the evening news.”
Still, the President said, “our job is to support you as you sustain
America’s interests and ideals throughout the world.”
President Bush made his remarks after Secretary of State Colin
Powell formally led the swearing in of the 100th Foreign Service
class since the Foreign Service Act of 1980. Just before the ceremony, Secretary Powell asked the graduates to applaud
their families for raising, nurturing and supporting them.
There was a lighter moment.
“We teach 63 different languages at the Foreign Service Institute, so this should be easy,” remarked an enthusiastic
Ruth Davis, the school’s director, as she gave a rousing, sermon-like introduction to the President. “But I don’t think
words can express our sincere delight with having the President of the United States with us….But I think, Mr. President,
I need to give you fair warning that every junior class will be calling you to swear them in.”
When President Bush stepped to the podium he quipped: “Ambassador Davis, you remind me of my mother!”
The room erupted in laughter.
Secretary Powell said of the graduates, “I know the day will come when we will greet them back here as career min-
isters and ambassadors. That is my hope and expectation.”
President Bush congratulates newest members of the Foreign
Service.
Photo by Michael Gross
Once Again, Department
Surpasses CFC Goal
The Department of State has surpassed its 2000
Combined Federal Campaign goal of $1.6 million,
according to the Office of Employee Relations, which
coordinates the annual drives.
Employees pledged more than $1.665 million, an
increase of 7 percent over 1999’s contributions. The num-
ber of employees participating in the campaign also
increased—by 9 percent—officials said.
The Department has exceeded its campaign goals for
four of the past five years, earning the coveted Pacesetter
Award from the National Capital Area Combined Federal
Campaign. Former Transportation Secretary Rodney
Slater chaired the 2000 campaign. An award ceremony
officially recognizing individual bureaus and campaign
workers was scheduled for late March.
Secretary Relaxes Restrictions
Retirees can now enter certain areas of the Harry S
Truman Building unescorted thanks to a revision in secu-
rity policy by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Under the
change, effective Feb. 12, retirees may visit the basement as
well as the first and second floors with a temporary build-
ing pass. To visit other floors, they will still need an escort.
“I believe these revisions will properly balance securi-
ty requirements with reasonable access to the more pub-
lic areas of the building,” Secretary Powell said. “I en-
courage you to stay in touch with your colleagues in the
Department and to visit us frequently.”
Retirees can use their normal credentials to obtain a
temporary building pass. Those who require access to
other parts of the building for official business must obtain
a regular building pass. Applications for the passes can be
obtained and submitted at the following union offices:
American Federation of Government Employees, Room
1247, and the American Foreign Service Association, 2101
E St., N.W. Nonmembers should inquire at Diplomatic
Security, Room 6316, or at the building pass office, B-226.
Contents
6 State Magazine
tracks all personnel actions. You may know it as GEMS
(Global Employment Management System). Working
with the Bureau of Information Resource Management
and many others at State, we are well on the way to mak-
ing this the best tool it can be.
HR’s new web site owes its design and much of its con-
tent to the creative information technology professionals
in Ruben’s shop. We wanted to make HR information
and services easily accessible to all Department employ-
ees worldwide, and thanks to Ruben and his staff, we
have succeeded. This web site, which is indexed by con-
tent and office, contains everything you ever wanted to
know about Human Resources. It is an incredible
resource for Department employees and human resource
professionals alike. If you log on at http://hrweb.hr.
state.gov, you’ll see what I mean.
Next month, you’ll meet Cee-Cee Cooper, director of
our Office of Retirement. ■
T
his month I am pleased to introduce Ruben
Torres, HR’s executive director. Ruben keeps this
bureau funded and running smoothly while also
managing crucial Department-wide personnel
information systems. Prior to joining HR/EX in 1999, he
served as executive director of the Bureau of Finance and
Management Policy and as the deputy executive director
in the Office of the Inspector General.
Deputy Kaara Ettesvold and a hard-working team of
personnel and information technology specialists sup-
port Ruben.
Although the core functions of most executive offices in
the Department are similar, HR/EX also has a corporate
role that affects the diplomatic readiness of the entire
Department workforce. Ruben’s staff must ensure that
State gets the right people to the right place in a timely
fashion, and that their records are correct and current.
Getting our employees and their families to their posts
quickly and efficiently is critical to our ability to support
our nation’s foreign policy objectives. Working with
FMP, HR/EX has brought the account that funds this
travel “into the 21st century,” providing better and faster
service to our Foreign Service employees.
Ruben champions technology that reduces the flood of
paper in our offices. One of his goals is to convert the files
of every State Department employee into e-files, a project
already under way. And his Records Management Center
has been scanning the official personnel folders of Foreign
Service officers for the past two years to create imaged files.
Soon, employees with a password will be able to view their
folders electronically from any unclassified Department
computer anywhere in the world.
The Executive Office provided developmental and
technical support for our pilot 360 Review and Resume
Builder projects. The projects embrace the Overseas
Presence Advisory Panel and McKinsey recommenda-
tions that the Department increase emphasis on leader-
ship, management and career development. The 360
Review process is already available. The Resume Builder
application (available soon on the HR Intranet web site)
will replace the employee profile (PAR), enabling
employees to tell their own career story.
The most challenging task facing HR/EX has been sta-
bilizing and enhancing the Department-wide system that
DIRECT FROM THE D.G.
MARC GROSSMAN
Role of HR/EX Affects Entire Workforce
Ruben Torres
Contents
Mongolia
Mongolia
L
April 2001 7
By Alice Kerksiek
and of the fabled Gobi Desert, Mongolia conjures up images of camel caravans trekking through a sea
of sand, of longhaired yaks, roaming wolves and herds of goats, sheep and horses. The Gobi binds
Mongolia on the south. On the west are high, permanently snowcapped mountains, while to the east the
steppe rolls toward China. To the north is Lake Hovsgol, a pristine freshwater lake that feeds Siberia’s
more famous Lake Baikal.
The sun shines more than 280 days a year, even during the most bitter cold days. Spring is windy and
dusty, summer warm and green, fall gorgeous with autumnal colors and winter a collage of snow, ice, sun
and blue sky. The temperature may plummet but not the hospitality of the Mongolian people, who are
warm and gracious, using first names only.
Mongolia once produced the thundering hordes of Chinggis Khan and the caravans of the Silk Road.
More recently, Mongolia has been a land lost to most people. From the 1920s until 1990, it was a closed
satellite of the Soviet Union. Only since its recent steps toward democracy has Mongolia opened itself
to the world. The U.S. Embassy opened for business in 1988. From a very small, part-time operation, it
has grown into a thriving full-time embassy with 19 American employees. Forming the mission’s back-
bone are more than 90 Foreign Service Nationals.
History Unfolds Along
the Old Silk Road
Post of the Month:
The gers of Mongolia’s
nomads stand out against
the bright green summer
landscape.
Located in the northeastern part of Ulaanbaatar, the
embassy occupies about two acres. Staff face many chal-
lenges, such as communication breakdowns,
scarce recreational facilities, poor infrastructure
and limited commodities. The extremes in cli-
mate (summer to winter temperatures can differ
by almost 140 degrees Fahrenheit) cause prob-
lems in the embassy’s day-to-day operations. But
most Americans find that the beauty and fascina-
tion of Mongolia more than compensate for the
difficulties.
A few short miles from the city, modern life
gives way to the nomadic lifestyle of centuries
past. Round, felt-covered tents called “gers” dot
the landscape, interspersed with herds of cattle,
goats, sheep and horses and the occasional camel
or yak. The few existing roads end abruptly in the
middle of nowhere. Anyone venturing out of the
city is encouraged to take extra gas, at least two
tires and a global positioning system. That said,
you are never alone in the countryside. The
nomads are very hospitable. They might not have
the tire you need, but they will offer you a warm
ger, food and interesting conversation. Unless you
speak Mongolian, however, conversation consists
8 State Magazine
Above, Ambassador John Dinger reviews the presidential guard.
Below, enjoying the annual winter picnic are, from left, June
Carmichael, Colette Baker, Alice Kerksiek, Mark Willis and Kristy Hogan.
mostly of gestures, facial
expressions and smiles.
And they can always
lend you a horse to ride
to the nearest town,
where you may find a
tire.
Almost a third of
Mongolia’s population
lives in Ulaanbaatar,
where cultural events
reflect Russian influence.
The ballet, opera and
symphony, for example,
now have a permanent
place in Mongolia’s cul-
ture. Both European and
traditional Mongolian
music is performed in
many venues. New cafes
and restaurants spring
up overnight. In addition
to the traditional mutton
and dumplings, there is
an ample variety of food
from other countries. The
circus and the wrestling palace offer yet another kind of
entertainment. Wrestling is a national sport of Mongolia,
along with archery and horse racing (the latter two are usu-
ally exhibited only in the summer). The city even has a
bowling alley.
Democracy is only 10 years old, but the Mongolians
have made great strides toward developing an open soci-
ety. The embassy encourages and supports Mongolia in
its quest to build democratic institutions and a market
economy. The political and economic staff cooperates
with the government, nongovernmental organizations,
private businesses and other missions in this endeavor.
Political officers pay particular attention to human rights,
law enforcement and transnational crime, women’s
issues and the environment. Free and fair elections have
April 2001 9
Foreign Service National employees enjoy the annual winter picnic. They are, front row, from left, Enkhbayar, Sukh,
Gantulga, Gankhuleg; back row, Gantsogt, Battumur, Batbayar and Enkhtuvshin.
Running up the flag as a new day begins
at the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar.
become the norm, and the people take their right to vote
very seriously.
The economic and commercial staff promote policy
reforms and advocate for American trade and investment.
Mongolia is building a free enterprise system and is fast
becoming one of the more open markets in the region. The
government is reforming basic laws concerning invest-
ment, banking and accounting to strengthen the legal and
financial environment for business. The economy remains
overly dependent, however, on a few exports, especially
copper and agricultural products. The challenge is to pro-
duce more finished goods, further develop mineral
resources and find new areas for growth. The U.S. Agency
for International Development has numerous projects that
promote privatization, rural development, export competi-
tiveness and economic, financial and judicial reform.
Consular employees serve a growing number of Amer-
icans living, working and traveling in Mongolia and facili-
tate travel to the United States for an increasing number of
Mongolians. The defense attaché works closely with the
ministries of defense and justice and concentrates on
peacekeeping, civil defense and border security. Off-duty
activities include friendly marksmanship contests with
Mongolian associates and Chinese and Russian counter-
parts. Public affairs staff conduct cultural
and educational exchange programs that
champion democracy and rule of law and
private enterprise, and they work closely
with Mongolian media to foster the princi-
ples of free and independent media, a very
new concept in Mongolia. Young journalists
appear to be embracing this concept eagerly.
Peace Corps volunteers work with local
Mongolian agencies to provide technical
assistance in education, health and the
environment. Currently, there are 82 volun-
teers stationed in the country. Although the
United States and Mongolia have known
each other only a short while, the two
countries are developing a remarkable
friendship and discovering kindred spirits.
The U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar is proud
to be part of this unfolding history. ■
The author is the community liaison officer at
the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia.
10 State Magazine
A monument to Gen. Sukhbaatar, founder of the
Independent Peoples Republic of Mongolia in 1921,
dominates Sukhbaatar Square. The opera house is
in the background.
Counting the votes during
the elections of July 2000.
Contents
April 2001 11
By Jon Henick
I
f ironing out age-old conflicts, negotiating peace or
helping to secure the release of war prisoners sounds
intriguing, working for the Office of the Special
Negotiator might prove satisfying.
But for the many who have never heard of the office,
the following chronology will help.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up, 12 new inde-
pendent states emerged, grabbing the headlines and atten-
tion of a world already captivated by the revolutions in the
former Warsaw Pact countries and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The breakup also grabbed the attention of State
Department officials.
While the emergence of these nations created opportu-
nities for democracy in regions freed from totalitarian
regimes, the absence of Soviet intervention also invited
renewed ethnic strife and instability.
Those concerns proved real. Within two years, an
Office of the Special Negotiator was formed to help
defuse tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan. The conflict erupted in 1990 when the large
Armenian community in that region, supported by
troops from bordering Armenia, forced out the Azeri
minority. These rebel forces seized control of Nagorno-
Karabakh, captured large swaths of Azerbaijani territory
and linked the occupied land to Armenia. In partnership
with other nations concerned with the conflict, the spe-
cial negotiator secured funding for demining, offered
peace proposals and reinforced a cease-fire agreement.
Meanwhile, the office expanded its focus outside the
Nagorno-Karabakh region and now is helping to mitigate
conflicts in nearby Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan.
Office of the Month:
Special Negotiations
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is
populated by ethnic Armenians and connected
to Armenia by land seized by Armenian forces
during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Negotiator’s Role Is Indeed Special
12 State Magazine
U.S. efforts to promote peace when simi-
lar strife erupts throughout the globe have
resulted in multiple special negotiators. For
instance, the Department has Offices of the
Special Negotiator for Cyprus, the Middle
East and the Balkans.
Work in the Nagorno-Karabakh special
negotiator office is typical of the other of-
fices. It frequently keeps an action-oriented
six-person team on the road to craft strate-
gy and support negotiations at the highest
levels.
Destinations include key European capi-
tals as well as regions of conflict. The glam-
or offered by stops in London, Paris and
Vienna is more than offset by travel to the
self-anointed “capitals” of Stepanakert,
Sukhumi and Tiraspol for negotiations
with separatist leaders and warlords.
An Azerbaijani general points out frontline
fortifications to Ambassador Carey
Cavanaugh during a December visit to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Photo by Ken Hillas
An abandoned mosque stands out among the
ruins of Agdam, Azerbaijan, whose residents
were driven out during fighting between
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in 1994.
April 2001 13
The diplomatic variables can be
daunting. On the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue, the United States is one of
three leading nations, along with
France and Russia, in the 12-nation
Minsk Group, a coalition of nations
dedicated to resolving that conflict.
For the conflicts in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, republics along the
Black Sea, the United States works
as one of the Friends of the U.N.
Secretary General. Each conflict
demands a unique mix of special
negotiators, envoys, leaders and
states.
Conflict resolution is an integrated discipline of poli-
tics, security, economics, peacekeeping, human rights,
refugee assistance and international law. The Department
draws directly upon a dozen desk officers and the Bureau
of European Affairs and frequently taps the services of
other offices and bureaus.
The special negotiator also works with State’s U.N.
missions and U.S. Embassies to ensure that American
policy is followed in this volatile region.
The hallmarks of those who join the special negotiator
are diligence, ingenuity, persistence and a sense of adven-
ture. Newcomers quickly realize that work here can take
you from ornate presidential offices and grand negotiat-
ing halls directly to the frontlines. Working to halt cease-
fire violations, the members of a team in the no-man’s
land between Armenian and Azerbaijani military forces
were measured for flak jackets and issued helmets. They
crossed a field freshly cleared of mines to bring local
political and military leaders from each side together to
explore how to better manage the stalemate. The result:
better understanding, new communications and a re-
newed commitment to protecting the lives of military
personnel and civilians on each side.
And if that’s not exciting enough, how about navigat-
ing treacherous mountain passes or crisscrossing conflict
zones in questionably maintained Russian helicopters?
Less dangerous, but equally emotional, are visits to
squalid refugee camps and the remnants of cities and vil-
lages destroyed by the conflicts to assess damage to
bridges, railroads and power lines to be restored if peace
is achieved.
Public outreach is another important task. With
Armenian-Americans numbering more than one million,
there’s strong domestic interest in U.S. policy and activi-
ties in Armenia and the surrounding region. Office staff
travel coast-to-coast giving speeches in churches, univer-
sities and assembly halls and meeting community lead-
ers. For many residents of Los Angeles, Detroit, San
Francisco, Philadelphia and New York, developments in
the Caucasus are front-burner concerns.
The same applies to Capitol Hill. The office faces a
solid stream of requests for information from members of
Congress and staff.
In summary, the Office of the Special Negotiator
knows firsthand that successfully advancing U.S. poli-
cy doesn’t require above-the-fold media coverage, but
diplomats dedicated to the lofty objective of peace. It’s
a worthy goal that may dramatically improve the lives
of millions. ■
The author is an adviser in the Office of the Special Negotiator.
Special negotiator staff Jessica LeCroy, left, senior adviser; Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, special negotiator;
Ken Hillas, deputy; Jessi Levine, Azerbaijani desk officer; and Jon Henick, adviser, review their region.
Photo by Paul Koscak
Photo by Brady Kiesling
Contents
‘The best serving the best’
is now online.
By Jan Brambilla
T
he Bureau of Human Resources has launched a new
Intranet web site with a wealth of data on HR issues
and services. The Department’s Foreign Service and
Civil Service employees alike now have worldwide
access to information about professional develop-
ment, training and quality of life issues, along with
commonly used forms and frequently asked HR questions.
Although this web site was a product of HR’s “First
Impressions” initiative, to ensure that new employees
have access to key information as soon as they arrive, long-
time employees and HR professionals will benefit, too.
For many employees, knowing where to go for person-
nel information always has been frustrating. In response,
the bureau redesigned its web site to include a search
engine, access to information by office and function and
a Customer Service Directory with the phone number,
e-mail address and duties of every HR staff member. How
can this web site help you? A few illustrations follow:
Do you use Metrochek? Are you thinking about retire-
ment? Would you like to explore telecommuting? You
will need to know if you qualify for these programs and
you will need application forms. All necessary informa-
tion is available on the HR web site under “Office of
Employee Relations” or “Office of Retirement.” You also
can type “metrochek,” “retirement” or “telecommuting”
into the search bar on the HR home page and go directly
to the information you need.
Is this your first time writing Foreign Service employ-
ee evaluation reports? Go to the Office of Performance
Evaluation’s web page to view a superb slide presenta-
tion on how to write a quality employee evaluation
report, or EER.
Going overseas soon? Does your spouse want to pur-
sue employment opportunities? Check out the Family
Liaison Office’s web page for job-hunting tools in the
global economy and with the U.S. government. There are
articles about job hunting and the Family Member
Employment Report as well as details about the Mexico
City Pilot Employment Program for spouses. FLO’s sec-
tion also has the 2000 Childcare Report, which lists child-
care options at U.S. Embassies and consulates abroad.
Ready to bid on your next assignment? Click on the
Office of Career Development and Assignments web
page, where you can use Bid Express to submit your bid
list or make changes to your existing bid list. Once you
receive your assignment notification and are working on
the timing of your transfer, you can access all the infor-
mation you will need to prepare for departure.
Are you interested in becoming a Diplomat in
Residence? Consult the Recruitment, Examination and
Evaluation (REE) web site for DIR contact information.
Future upgrades to the HR web site will include inter-
active personnel services, replacing paper-based forms for
submitting requests for services and information, and the
ability to update and make changes to personnel records,
such as retirement and Thrift Savings Plan allocations.
The Bureau of Human Resources is committed to
meeting the information needs of the State Department’s
workforce. HR welcomes feedback from its customers on
subjects you would like to see featured on this site.
Maintaining a web site is always a work in progress.
Feedback from HR’s customers is vital to the site’s con-
tinued evolution and improvement. Please send your
The author is a senior adviser in the Bureau of Human Resources.
14 State Magazine
Human Resources’ New Web Site
Has the Answers
Contents
It’s 3 a.m. on a typical Sunday. You’re likely to be sound asleep,
in the middle of your weekend. Whatever your thoughts or dreams,
it’s unlikely they concern your job at the Department of State.
Story and Photos by
Kelly Adams-Smith
Y
et, in offices throughout the
Department, your colleagues
are busy working. Uniformed
guards patrol the building; offi-
cers at 24-hour watch centers talk with
posts overseas and write reports for the
Secretary and other Department princi-
pals; computer specialists talk
embassy employees through
new software programs; com-
municators distribute incom-
ing cables; media resource staff
scour the press for foreign
affairs news; and analysts
translate a surprise notification
from Russia about its intent to
dispose of nuclear weapons.
Welcome to State after mid-
night!
Few people even consider jobs
that require midnight shifts. The
odd hours would be too difficult
for either them or their families.
They would never get enough
sleep. Still, the State Department
is a 24-hour-a-day organization
run two-thirds of the time by
dedicated employees willing to
work while their colleagues are off.
April 2001 15
State After Dark:
Lunch at 3 a.m.
International crises and natural disasters
don’t respect time zones. Critical mainte-
nance must be done to computer and com-
munications systems at all hours. Most
overseas posts are well into their day by
the time the alarm rings in the typical
Washington-area bedroom.
Night-shift work at State comes in differ-
ent varieties. Employees of the Information
Resource Management Bureau and the
Executive Secretariat’s 24-hour computer
staff work the night shift from 11 p.m. to 8
a.m. five days a week, as do those who run
the Consular Affairs computer support
desk and the Bureau of Public Affairs’
media resource unit. Rarely do these same
employees rotate to work the 7 a.m. to 4
p.m. day shift or the 3 p.m. to midnight
evening shift. The staff at the Nuclear Risk
Reduction Center, who transmit and
receive communications mandated by mul-
tiple arms control treaties, work six to seven
days on one shift, take three days off and
then switch to the next shift, gradually
working all three shifts over time.
Watch officers and Diplomatic Security
agents in the Operations Center, the sup-
port center for the Secretary and his princi-
pal advisers, typically rotate among the
16 State Magazine
three shifts every two to three days.
Since its inception, the Ops Center has
worked on this rotating schedule. It
allows watch officers to spend a part
of every cycle in the building during
working hours so they do not lose
contact with the rhythms of the build-
ing and the needs of the Secretary.
Most employees who keep these tax-
ing schedules usually do so only for a
13-month tour, although some Civil
Service employees in the Ops Center
work rotating shifts permanently. The
Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s
INR Watch delivers current intelli-
gence and independent analysis on
foreign affairs events to senior State
Department officials and employs
Foreign Service officers who work
rotating shifts and Civil Service
employees who work straight day or
night shifts.
Most people who work the grave-
yard shift, whether constantly or on a
rotating schedule, actually enjoy it.
They find they have more time with
their families, especially their young
Pamela Mack, a Diplomatic
Security special agent, monitors
the Secretary’s movements.
Susan Elbow, sen-
ior watch officer
in the Operations
Center, prepares
a message to be
sent via pneumat-
ic tube to the
Secretary’s staff.
children. They are able to run errands, see movie mati-
nees and visit museums while the masses are at work.
Their commutes are much easier since they don’t travel
during rush hour. In addition to earning a pay differen-
tial, most night-shift employees also receive a coveted
parking pass. They dress more casually, and there is usu-
ally a special kind of camaraderie among these employ-
ees not found among traditional nine-to-five staff.
Working nights offers other rewards. Pete Pierce, who
has worked midnights on INR Watch for the past eight
years, notes the added responsibility night workers have.
“If a crisis breaks out in the middle of the night, I have to
decide if it’s important enough to wake up my supervi-
sors and colleagues,” Mr. Pierce says. “At that point, I
know more about the crisis than anyone else, and my
actions could affect the Department’s response to the sit-
uation. It’s a great responsibility.”
Juanita Briscoe, a night-shift employee in the Bureau of
Public Affairs’ media resource unit, gets special satisfac-
tion from knowing that embassies depend on her, partic-
ularly during VIP visits. When the President, Secretary of
State and other senior officials travel, our ambassadors
and public affairs officers greet their VIP guests on the
airport tarmac with the latest news at their fingertips.
This is possible because Ms. Briscoe and her colleagues at
the media resource unit have been working around the
clock collecting real-time information and summaries of
foreign affairs news. They know that in the age of CNN,
State Department officials no longer have the luxury of a
half day to react to international news developments.
April 2001 17
Michelle Hopkins, watch officer in the
Operations Center, studies messages from
embassies during her night shift.
Pete Pierce, an INR watch officer,
reviews intelligence reports from
abroad for the Secretary’s daily report.
State employees who work with computer systems
value the graveyard shift, too, because at night they have
time to troubleshoot and learn new programs and sys-
tems. “Often day-shift employees are too busy to deal
with technical problems that arise and they leave them for
the night shift to work out,” says Information Resource
Management employee Charles Miles. “At night, we can
experiment with solutions and keep up with new tech-
nology, which is vitally important in our field.”
The Operations Center has a special calling at night.
“Ops Center night staff answer calls from distressed
Americans who have heard that a loved one is in trouble
overseas,” explains watch officer Michelle Hopkins.
“Watch officers must assess these delicate situations to
determine whether the callers should be referred to an
embassy or a Department duty officer.” In addition,
because most of the world’s population is awake while
the Western Hemisphere is asleep, word of crises abroad
often arrives at the Ops Center during the graveyard
shift. Notification of the embassy bombings in Dar es
Salaam and Nairobi, for example, came in on the night
shift, setting in motion a whirlwind of activity to deal
with these tragedies. Ops Center night staff know they
must stay alert because the Department depends on them
to deal with crises professionally, whatever the hour.
Of course, there are negative sides to working nights.
Many night-shift workers tell tales of nearly falling
asleep at the wheel of their car en route home. While
night shifts make it easy to run errands outside of work,
it can be difficult to get things done at work because
18 State Magazine
IRM’s Charles Miles troubleshoots a
computer system problem before
taking his 3 a.m. “lunch break.”
human resources offices, the credit union and health
units keep normal hours. Employees who work in offices
open 24 hours often share desks and equipment, which
makes it easier for colds and viruses to spread. Since
Robert Riley, left, and Daniel Peters,
Operations Center watch officers, chart the
movements of senior Department officials.
many offices reduce their staffs
in the evening, working the
night shift can get lonely.
Night-shift employees have
found innovative ways to deal
with these drawbacks. The
Operations Center, for exam-
ple, surveys each year’s em-
ployees about the best ways to
deal with the sleeping prob-
lems that inevitably arise with
rotating shifts. Ops Center
management shares the results
of these surveys and tips from
articles with each year’s new
crop of watch officers. The
Operations Center has a strict
cleaning regime for all shared
equipment. At every shift
change, outgoing officers thor-
oughly clean all equipment
with alcohol to reduce the
spread of colds. To break up the
long night, IRM’s Charles Miles
sometimes works out in the basement gym during his 3
a.m. “lunch” break. Most 24-hour offices keep the coffee
brewing throughout the night to prepare employees for
the morning rush, which can begin as early as 5 a.m.
Unfortunately, not all problems associated with working
nights can be anticipated. IRM’s Lynn Hill found this out in
January 2000. After finishing his night shift, he realized his
colleagues were unable to relieve him because of a devas-
tating snowstorm. The government was officially closed,
but his office remained open. Mr. Hill ended up working 36
hours straight. He took catnaps at his desk and fed himself
with vending machine snacks and military MREs (meals
ready to eat) left over from Y2K preparations.
Bob Tansey of the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center
encountered a unique problem associated with shift
work. The supervisor of several employees on different
shifts, Mr. Tansey needed to review new procedures with
all of them. Rather than ask the night-shift staff to remain
on the job after their shift had ended, he called a staff
meeting for 4 a.m. and drove to the Department to lead it
during their regular work hours.
Most night-shift employees would say the benefits of
working at State after midnight far outweigh these incon-
veniences. So, the next time you wake up in the middle of
the night, your thoughts far from your job at the
Department of State, take a moment to remember your
colleagues on the night shift. They are hard at work, no
matter the hour. ■
The author is a Foreign Service officer working as a watch
officer in the Operations Center.
April 2001 19
Lynn Hill, IRM employee, smiles confidently, knowing
that this shift won’t last 36 hours as one did during
the snowstorm of January 2000.
Bob Tansey, left, senior watch officer at the Nuclear Risk
Reduction Center, and Col. Harold Kowalski, the center’s
director, confer on messages received from abroad.
Contents
The agency, located in the Tip O’Neill Building in
downtown Boston, serves Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and upstate New York.
A staff of just 45—12 of whom are contractors—handles
that vast area. Although the agency has been around for
74 years, the demand for more passports each
year made the operation difficult to manage.
Workspace was cramped and the operation
was labor intensive, Mr. Najarian said.
Until now.
In January, the agency opened its
doors in a refurbished workplace. The
new 14,686 sq. ft. space was formally
reopened by Mary A. Ryan, assis-
tant secretary of State for
Consular Affairs. The refur-
bished facility, with its state-of-
the-art passport processing
machines, is located in the
same space it has occupied
in the Tip O’Neill Build-
ing since 1988, but in
terms of capacity and
service, it’s light years away.
Gone is the cramped waiting room
and its open service counter that could
accommodate perhaps four people. On busy days it
20 State Magazine
Story and Photos by Paul Koscak
G
etting people in and out of the country is all in a
day’s work at the National Passport and Visa
Centers at Portsmouth, N.H., and at the Boston
Passport Agency.
That might be an understatement,
so don’t be fooled: it takes a lot of
work and dedication to process
2.3 million passports and half a
million visa applications. Those
are the figures for the three facilities
in 2000.
Although the volume of passport
applications can seem mind boggling,
producing passports is a well- organized,
well-honed—not to mention well-automat-
ed—four-step process: applications arrive by
mail or from walk-in customers; adjudicators
review the applications; passports are assem-
bled; and the product is inspected by quality
control staff before being sent to the applicant.
The cycle takes about four weeks, according
to Jeff Najarian, the Boston agency’s senior cus-
tomer service manager. But for those in a hurry, the
job can be done in just three days for an extra $35.
Passport and Visa Centers
Ronald Locke
checks passport
applications for
accuracy.
April 2001 21
wasn’t uncommon for lines of applicants to file out
the door and wind around the building’s second-floor
perimeter.
“This is a milestone in the history of the Boston
Passport Agency,” Ambassador Ryan remarked at the
January ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with a U.S.
Customs color guard and bagpiper.
The facility’s bright and spacious visitor’s area resem-
bles a bank lobby, with a row of teller stations shielded by
thick Plexiglas. To further enhance service, cut down on
waiting and eliminate lines, the Boston office uses an
appointment system. Customers arrange appointments
automatically by telephone.
“You just show up 15 minutes prior to the appoint-
ment,” Mr. Najarian said.
The facility is equipped with computer-driven proces-
sors that create photodigitized passports. It works like
this: A photo is printed on a thin and durable film that’s
bonded to the passport. The overlay is then protected by
a colorful holographic image. The technology vastly re-
duces the potential for fraud. Since the image becomes
part of the book’s paper, forgery is nearly impossible.
Passport renewals from throughout the country as well
as overflow work from other centers is handled in near-
by Portsmouth, N.H. The National Passport Center, one
of 15 facilities nationwide and collocated with The
National Visa Center, occupies part of the former Pease
Air Force Base. The passport center was once the base
exchange; the visa building, the base commissary.
The similarities to the Boston Passport Agency are strik-
ing. One difference though: since the center doesn’t handle
Exploit New Technology
walk-ins, all passport applications arrive by mail
from Pittsburgh’s Mellon bank. Under a Treasury
Department contract, the bank receives the applica-
tions, cashes the checks, enters the data and then elec-
tronically sends it to both Boston and Portsmouth.
The 45,000 sq. ft. passport center is busy enough
to keep two shifts humming. Last year, the facility
processed 2,172,746 passports. That’s nearly a third
of the 7.8 million passports processed by the
Department in 2000.
As in Boston, the passports are photodigitized.
And also like Boston, contractors do most of the
work. About 75 percent of the passport center’s staff
work for Stanley Associates. The arrangement works
well because the passport business is seasonal. From
mid-winter through the summer, the workforce
swells to nearly 300. When it’s slow, employees take
three to four months off, said Ann Barrett, passport
center director.
At the visa center, the prime contractor is Statistica,
whose workers handle all clerical and administrative
tasks in as many as 19 languages.
Jovonne Wirts, left, demonstrates the passport
process to Mary Ryan, assistant secretary of
State for Consular Affairs, and Georgia Rogers,
deputy assistant secretary for Passport Affairs.
Despite all the machinery,
Ann Adam finds processing
visa applications is labor
intensive.
By Paul Koscak
D
espite all the new safeguards in processing pass-
ports, there still are those who will do just about
anything to get one.
“The U.S. passport is one of the world’s most coveted
documents,” observed Mary Ryan, assistant secretary of
State for Consular Affairs.
Knowing that, an applicant’s documents are carefully
scrutinized before a passport is approved. Evidence of
citizenship, birth certificates and any previous passports
are checked, according to Mary Soctomah, an adjudicator
at the Boston Passport Agency.
“The majority go through without a problem,” she said.
Those that don’t, however, end up on the desk of fraud
coordinator Duncan Maitland. If they seem fishy, he
investigates. If they are, he refers them to Diplomatic
Security. Applications with lots of blank items, post office
boxes for permanent addresses and discrepancies in sig-
natures and dates are red flags for investigators, he said.
“When someone assumes another identity, it some-
times catches them off guard,” he said. “They may start
signing their real name and then cross it out.”
One common thread among applicants who try to obtain
a passport illegally, said Mr. Maitland, is a history of crime.
Last November Diplomatic Security agents in Boston
arrested a suspected heroin smuggler after discovering
he had four different passports, each with a different
“Using a private contractor works well for us,” said
Elizabeth Thompson, visa center deputy director. “Since
there are no [visa] adjudications or governmental func-
tions performed here, we don’t need federal employees.”
The 70,000 sq. ft. center processes about 60,000 pieces of
mail every week. Employees create files, enter data and
communicate with applicants. They also field thousands of
weekly telephone and written inquiries from Congressional
offices, U.S. Embassies and Consulates, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service and the White House.
In addition to processing immigrant visas from 126
overseas posts, the center is a repository for more than two
million files, since some visas have long waiting periods.
Both facilities are having an impact on the local econo-
my, jobbing out substantial printing, mailing and ship-
ping needs. “We spend $75,000 in postage per year,”
according to Sandra Shipshock, visa center director.
“DHL handles our overseas mail.”
The biggest challenge in running the centers, Ms.
Barrett said, is simply “keeping up with the increased
workload. It’s been going up every year.” ■
22 State Magazine
identity. The man was previously arrested for armed rob-
bery, drug trafficking and weapons violations, said
Robert Goodrich, one of 12 special agents in the Boston
field office who investigate passport fraud cases.
“We frequently arrest drug dealers who are illegally in
the country,” he said. “These criminals are eventually
deported.” Last year the Boston agents removed more
than a dozen such dealers from the streets of New
England, he added. Other illegal aliens also seek pass-
ports. A U.S. passport for such a person is like having
“instant naturalization,” according to Maitland.
Many applicants are fugitives with outstanding war-
rants. Others are on probation or have “past convictions
that limit movement and make them ineligible” for a
passport, Mr. Maitland said.
In one case, a Rhode Island postal clerk received an
application that didn’t seem quite right and referred it to
Mr. Maitland. The man, it turned out, was a fugitive
wanted by California authorities for child molesting. He
was apprehended and convicted of both the California
crime and the passport violations.
Last year the Boston office, which averages 60 arrests
per year, investigated about 200 cases, notes Mr. Goodrich.
Those convicted of the federal felony face up to 10 years in
prison, 15 years if related to narcotics trafficking and 20
years if related to acts of international terrorism.
The author is a writer-editor for State Magazine
Career Criminals Usually Behind Phony Applications
Paige C. Button, left, and Mara
Pioro provide customer service
at the National Visa Center.
Paige C. Button, left, and Mara
Pioro provide customer service
at the National Visa Center.
Contents
April 2001 23
By Sarah Genton
T
he American work force has changed dramatically
during the past quarter century, with an ever-
increasing number of “dual career couples.”
The State Department tries to accommodate tandem cou-
ples who want to be assigned together overseas, but it’s
often difficult to find meaningful work for noncareer spous-
es, including those with skills that qualify them for profes-
sional positions outside the embassies and consulates.
As Foreign Service employees relocate, spouses who
wish to work must search for employment at each new
post. They often face downtime in their careers and loss
of pay with each transfer. Family members must accept
the fact that being flexible and resourceful is the key to
finding work opportunities in a foreign country.
The Family Liaison Office has focused on finding
employment inside the mission for family members as
well as facilitating work agreements allowing employ-
ment of diplomatic spouses in the local economy. With
work agreements in place in 138 countries and more on
the way, opportunities for family members to pursue
gainful employment beyond the embassy are increasing.
“Prospects in the local economy seem to hold greater
promise today in the expanding global economy,” said
Faye Barnes, director of the Family Liaison Office.
Reinforcing the recommendations of the
McKinsey Report and the Overseas Presence
Advisory Panel, the office has launched a pilot
spouse employment program at three posts—
Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The
program will help spouses identify and com-
pete successfully for jobs in the local economy.
As part of the pilot program, a specialist in
international employment searches has been
hired to perform a full range of employment
counseling. These include employee self-
assessment; tips on writing resumes; resume
posting; advice on interviewing; and negotiat-
ing and salary scales. Job trends by career
fields, licensing and certification requirements
for professionals, employment resources and
employer contacts are also part of the package.
The goal is to develop a comprehensive, long-
term job support program for spouses in
Mexico. If it works in Mexico, the program
will be expanded to 10 additional countries.
With Planning, Spouses Can
Find Challenging Work Overseas
Jon Hawley, husband of Foreign Service nurse practitioner Charlene Burns, has market-
ed his skills successfully overseas.
Kelly Marple, left, and her Foreign Service husband Lee enjoy the
Marine Ball in Addis Ababa.
24 State Magazine
Employment services for spouses was one of Secretary
Powell’s first quality of life initiatives, which he
announced during his first town hall meeting with
Department employees.
Spousal employment figures heavily in the decision to
bid on overseas assignments, according to Ms. Barnes.
The ability of the spouse to locate employment can make
or break a tour or a career. The McKinsey and OPAP rec-
ommendations were wake-up calls that intensified
Department efforts to help spouses find jobs overseas,
she added.
As in corporate America, success-
ful job hunting requires time, effort
and planning. “Career management
is the key to success,” says Debbie
Thompson, FLO’s employment pro-
gram specialist.
Two Foreign Service family mem-
bers thriving in a dual-career, globe-
trotting marriage are Jon Hawley in
Rabat and Kelly Marple in Addis
Ababa.
Mr. Hawley is no stranger to for-
eign travel. He joined the Wash-
ington-based consulting firm of
Management Systems International
in 1993. With undergraduate degrees
in journalism and international stud-
ies and a master’s in South Asian
studies, he has provided technical
assistance and training in strategic planning and per-
formance monitoring for the U.S. Agency for
International Development as well as nongovernmental
organizations in Armenia, Albania, Botswana, Ghana,
Jamaica, Paraguay, Thailand and Uganda.
While on a consulting trip to the USAID mission in El
Salvador, he met and later married Charlene Burns, a
Foreign Service nurse practitioner at the U.S. Embassy.
Next came the challenge of finding gainful employment
while keeping up with his wife. He notified his employ-
er and USAID that he was relocating to El Salvador,
where he established himself as an independent consult-
ant. Building on his contacts, experience and relentless
networking, he landed contracts on projects in Cairo,
Jamaica and El Salvador.
“I don’t have a management degree,” Mr. Hawley says,
“but I do have a master’s degree in the international
arena. I learned all the management stuff on the job, and
I apply my skills to the sector I happen to be working in.”
When his wife was assigned to Rabat, he again con-
tacted MSI. “I let them know way ahead of time so they
could start thinking about ways to use my expertise, in
advance.” After he worked one month as a USAID con-
tractor, his employer gave him a full-time position as
strategic management specialist with the Morocco
Education for Girls Project.
Mr. Hawley has been successful in marketing and
applying his skills in strategic planning and performance
monitoring in education and the environment. He
describes himself as a very fortunate man.
“It’s a combination of karma and skills that I have been
able to move with my wife and land very interesting and
challenging work. But it takes a bit of blarney,” he admits.
“You’ve got to be able to sell yourself. This is the most
important skill going—the ability to convince people that
they need you.”
Kelly Marple’s choice of careers was far more calculat-
ed. With a graduate degree in government from Johns
Hopkins, she knew she had to choose
an international firm to advance her
career. Her husband, Diplomatic
Security employee Lee Marple, was
soon to be posted overseas. With a
background in budget and loan man-
agement, she joined Price-Water-
house-Coopers, an international com-
pany that would open doors for her
overseas. While still in Washington,
she worked on projects with the Small
Business Administration, the Depart-
ment of Veteran’s Affairs and the
Treasury Department.
With an overseas move imminent,
Ms. Marple told her firm that she was
relocating. “You have to remain flexi-
ble,” she says. “U.S. expertise is the
best thing going overseas. As a
Foreign Service spouse, I already had
housing. I had benefits. All I had to do was let an employ-
er know I was in the country.” She adds, “It’s much easi-
er to make the sales pitch once you’re on the ground. You
need to tell them ‘I can help you in these ways.’”
With several overseas tours behind her, the Foreign
Service spouse has found work with two of the six largest
U.S. accounting firms. “It’s easier to sell yourself because
you’re there. The big six firms have the ability to fly any-
one in, but if you’re already there and you have the
expertise, it’s a win-win.”
The Marples’ next move—to Ghana—should prove
interesting as she once again looks for opportunities on
the global job market.
“Spouses need to develop an overall career plan and
build upon it as they move around the world,” says
FLO’s Thompson. “At one post, the job may not be in
one’s professional field, but may add the necessary skills
needed to take the next step. And it may be that a volun-
teer position provides the opportunity to broaden skills.”
Career management, according to Ms. Thompson,
involves both partners. “International moves need to be
carefully researched so that both members of a dual-
career couple land in a positive place. And lots of net-
working has to take place.” ■
The author is publications coordinator for the Family
Liaison Office.
“It’s a combination
of karma and skills
that I have been
able to move with
my wife and land
very interesting and
challenging work.
But it takes a bit
of blarney.”
—Jon Hawley
Director General Marc Grossman, who presided at
the event, said that to achieve diplomatic readiness,
attention has to be paid to Foreign Service families.
“The sacrifice and service that our families give to
our country is what forms the core and basis for
diplomatic readiness.
“Paying attention to families includes employment
opportunities for spouses who want to work. This
book is a very important contribution,” the director
general said.
Honored guests at the ceremony in the Delegates
Lounge included Alma Powell, wife of Secretary
Colin Powell; Stephanie Tenet, wife of CIA director
George Tenet; and Ambassador Clyde Taylor of the
Cox Foundation.
The 2001 edition focuses especially on the Internet
and the impact the technology is having on the
employment process. The guide is available through
the Family Liaison Office, the Department’s Intranet
site at http://hrweb.hr.state.gov/flo/publications
and on the Internet at http://www.state.gov/www
/flo/publications.
T
he Family Liaison Office has unveiled its new
resource guide for Foreign Service family mem-
bers. The 360-page publication, Employment
Options for Foreign Service Family Members, con-
tains practical job-hunting
strategies and career man-
agement advice for job
seekers at all levels of pro-
fessional development.
Michael Ann Dean, a
Foreign Service family
member who died
just days before the
launching ceremo-
ny Feb. 7 at the
Department, com-
piled the guide.
Her husband,
retired Foreign
Service officer
Dale Dean, described his
wife’s work as a “labor of love.”
Photo by Ann Thomas
FLO Unveils Latest Jobs Book
Alma Powell, left, wife of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, talks with the family of Michael Ann Dean—daughter
Catherine, son Phil and husband Dale—during the unveiling of the late author’s jobs guidebook for Foreign Service family
members. The Family Liaison Office sponsored the event.
April 2001 25
Contents
By Paul Koscak
Photos by Bob Kaiser
V
isiting the Foreign Service Institute in
January for a first-hand look at the facili-
ty, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told
more than 600 students, faculty and staff
that training ranks high in maintaining
America’s diplomatic readiness.
26 State Magazine
Secretary Endorses
Training During FSI Visit
Diplomacy begins
with training offered
at the Foreign Service
Institute.
Secretary Powell draws a warm
welcome during his visit to the
Foreign Service Institute.
April 2001 27
The Secretary selected
the institute for his first
bureau-level visit to un-
derscore the importance of
training.
“You are the front-line
presence of democracy,”
Secretary Powell said to
the cheering crowd. “It
begins with the training
you get here.”
The Secretary said the
institute is the foundation
for leadership, which he
defined as the ability to
influence people.
“You’ve got to convey
your enthusiasm,” he said.
“You have to be an apostle
of what you believe in.”
Secretary Powell said
such drive and commit-
ment is needed to promote
America’s values through-
out the world, so “people
can see what’s practical if
you believe in freedom,
practice democracy and
have elections.”
Promoting American
ideals, in part, brought
down the Soviet Union, he
said. “We didn’t defeat the
Soviet Union by fighting them on the plains of Northern
Germany. We beat them on the field of ideas.”
To support training, about $250,000 is being set aside
this year for Department-wide professional development
that includes conferences and university training, said
FSI executive director Catherine Russell.
“People are using it,” she said of the money. “We could
easily double that amount.”
Getting people trained, especially those in leadership
and management positions, is also high on Vince Battle’s
agenda. He heads the Bureau of Human Resources’
Office of Career Development and Assignments, which
ensures that directors, deputy directors and section chiefs
receive training slots. There’s also an entry-level training
division for new employees, he added.
“There is more language training,” Mr. Battle said.
“Language training is longer, even for information man-
agement.”
During his visit, Secretary Powell donned earphones
and joined instructor Nikolaus Koster’s German class. He
later met with FSI language teachers and staff who are
developing computerized teaching materials as well as
working with commercial software designers to make
mastery of languages easier.
In his presentation, the Secretary signaled his interest
in technology. “The power to move education, data and
capital is changing the world,” he said.
The Secretary also visited the consular training area,
complete with a mock visa interview room in which jun-
ior officers practice their supervisory skills. ■
The author is a writer-editor for State Magazine.
The Secretary samples a
German language lesson with
instructor Nikolaus Koster.
Contents
M
anagement isn’t a priority at the State
Department, and it shows. That scathing
assessment was offered by former Defense
Secretary Frank Carlucci who now heads
the Independent Task Force on State Department Reform.
Mr. Carlucci, who also served as President Reagan’s
national security adviser in 1987, made his remarks to a
nearly full house of employees in the Dean Acheson
Auditorium during a Secretary’s Open Forum, Feb. 23.
“We never put a premium on good management,” said
Mr. Carlucci, who was a Foreign Service Officer from
1956-1980.
As a result, the Department is plagued by obsolete
telecommunications, unsafe and unhealthy buildings, a
dysfunctional personnel system and a lack of clout over
other agencies, he said. Much of the problem, Mr.
Carlucci added, is that former Secretaries never consid-
ered themselves managers.
Although the task force’s report on the current state of
State isn’t good, it did offer an optimistic blueprint for
improvement that directly involves the Secretary, the
President and the Congress.
The President, Mr. Carlucci said, must make
Department reform a
top national security
priority, clarify the
roles of other secu-
rity agencies and
issue a directive
that the “Secretary
of State is his prin-
cipal adviser.” In
addition, the ambas-
sador should be recog-
nized as the top official
overseas with “the authority
to send people home when they’re
out of line.”
Culturally, the Department needs to be more open, he
said. It needs to cultivate support through a home-
based constituency that reaches beyond government
agencies.
He praised the nomination of Richard Armitage, a
former Pentagon official, as deputy secretary of State,
noting that the Department needs a strong chief operat-
ing officer.
Among the other task force recommendations:
■ Open a legislative affairs office on Capitol Hill
and hold regular meetings with Congressional
leadership.
■ Consolidate the Department’s budget with other
national security agencies and use the Defense
Department, not the Justice Department, as a
benchmark for funding.
■ Junk the “up or out” policy of Foreign Service
career progression, where employees are forced out
if they don’t get promoted.
■ Contract for a new telecommunications system. “Go
for broke,” Mr. Carlucci said.
Although the task force painted a gloomy picture of the
current Department, Mr. Carlucci was confident that
improvements are imminent. “Why will it work now?”
he asked. “We have a Secretary of State who’s managed
large organizations, who can articulate clear goals.” He
28 State Magazine
New Leadership
Offers Best Hope For
Improvement: Carlucci
By Paul Koscak
Open Forum Chairman Alan Lang, left, presents the forum’s Distin-
guished Public Service Award to Mr. Frank Carlucci for “outstanding
contributions to national and international affairs.”
Photo: Ann Thomas
Employees Take
Diplomacy to Students
noted that Congress and the President are poised to sup-
port the Department.
Randy Fleitman of the Middle East Bureau told Mr.
Carlucci that he observed “an adversarial relationship” be-
tween the Department and Congress. The approach has
been “ ‘any information you give Congress will be used
against us, so don’t give them anything.’”
“I know the consequences of not providing informa-
tion to Congress is worse than providing it,” Mr. Carlucci
replied. “You receive setbacks dealing with other nations.
You receive setbacks dealing with Congress. But you
plow ahead because you have to do it. Without their sup-
port, you’re going nowhere.”
Still, Mr. Carlucci portrayed the Department’s rela-
tionship with that august body as a “Catch-22.”
“Without resources, you can’t do much of what’s need-
ed,” he said. “Without reform, you won’t get the
resources from Congress.”
April 2001 29
D
uring the school year, about 30 Department volun-
teers visit one of five District of Columbia high
schools for an hour each week to discuss interna-
tional diplomacy with stu-
dents participating in the Model
United Nations Partnership pro-
gram. These visits, coordinated
by the Bureau of International
Organizations in cooperation
with the U.N. Foundation, help
students grapple with today’s
global issues as they improve
their public speaking, writing and
negotiating skills.
The program culminates in late
March with a mock U.N. Security
Council session at the Depart-
ment. With help from their volun-
teer coaches, the students prepare
rigorously to understand the
issues and take the roles of repre-
sentatives from member nations
in a mock session conducted
according to Security Council
rules and procedures.
It is a program that rewards
both students and Department
volunteers. Employees interested
Colleen Hinton, who works for the corporate informa-
tion security office, asked what could be done about pro-
tracted decision making. “We are having the same meet-
ings over and over,” she said. “When a problem is
identified we have endless meetings. When I came on
board in June 1999, I was enthusiastic. We’re still cover-
ing the same things over and over.”
Secretary Powell’s policy of half-hour meetings, Mr.
Carlucci said, may set an example for the Department.
“Hopefully there will be a trickle down.” In business,
“you take layers out of the establishment” to cure chron-
ic indecision. To further his point, Mr. Carlucci said as
secretary of defense he held just three 15-minute staff
meetings per week.
Mr. Carlucci suggested rewarding good managers
with promotions and the highest pay.
“We have the right leadership, the right Congress,” to
make the improvements, he said. “It’s the right time.” ■
Eastern High government teacher Reynauld Smith,
center back, poses in Main State with his students,
Secretary Powell and State volunteers Buddy
Silverman, partly obscured to the right of the
Secretary, Margaret Colaianni, second from right,
and Cookie Clark, far right.
in volunteering for the program in the next school year
should watch for the Department Notice in the early fall
and call Ray Wiblin in the Bureau of International
Organizations at (202) 647-1803. ■
Kevin Brown
Contents
30 State Magazine
By Judy Sutton
N
o family wants
to experience
a disaster. Yet,
my experience
—in hospital
emergency rooms, fight-
ing forest fires and
assisting in flood relief
—has taught me that “be prepared” is
more than a Scout motto. It’s a code that
should guide us all.
Northern Californians waiting in line
for portable generators will testify that
residents of the Third World aren’t the
only ones forced to adjust to disrup-
tions in vital services. And while earth-
quakes, droughts and terrorist attacks
can be devasting, less catastrophic events—labor dis-
putes, economic forces or simple technical glitches—
also can sever services.
Are you prepared to survive without these services for
two or three days? Are you posted in a place with limit-
ed services in the best of times?
Now is the time to take stock and prepare an emer-
gency response plan. Where do you begin?
How about with a first-aid course? During home leave,
your family can sign up for a short basic course. Perhaps
you can enroll at your current post. Ask your health unit
staff to suggest a place where you could receive depend-
able training.
Having first-aid skills is not the end of preparedness. It
is the framework for the rest of your preparations. The
next step is to make a risk assessment, a search around
your environment for the most likely emergency events.
Your post report may aid in your search, and the post dif-
ferential report, if you have one, may be even more help-
ful. Ask yourself:
Is this an earthquake risk area?
Is the area subject to flooding or severe wind damage?
Is this a tornado, cyclone or hurricane area?
Is there a threat of terrorist attack?
Is there any possibility of being stuck in the car for long
periods of time under severe conditions?
What kind of factories are within a 5- to 10-mile radius?
Do they involve heavy metal byproducts, chemicals or
other hazardous materials?
Is there a nuclear power plant in the vicinity?
The answers to
these questions
should guide you
in your prepara-
tion. For all emer-
gency situations
where basic serv-
ices are disrupted,
you should have
a “72-hour kit” of
basic essentials. It
should be easy to carry and include,
among other things, two liters of
potable water for each person per day;
water purification tablets; three days
of nonperishable food for each per-
son; waterproof matches; a first-aid
kit; flashlights with spare batteries; a
pocket knife; money in small denomi-
nations; and other necessities you might take on a brief trip.
Finally, how do you avoid emergencies? You don’t
have any influence over typhoons, terrorist acts or earth-
quakes, but you can avoid injuries in automobile acci-
dents by wearing your seatbelt.
Practice the plan. Each member of the household needs
to know what to do in the event of an emergency. Include
the children in the planning and in the practice, too.
There is good information available on emergency pre-
paredness on the Internet. Here are some of the better sites:
• www.prepareamerica.com/preparedness.html—
pamphlet on preparedness
• www.emprep.com—emergency supplies and kits
• www.burgoyne.com/pages/gpope/epm/—LDS
online manual for preparedness
• www.nursehealer.com/Safety.htm—basic prepared-
ness
• www.lunchpail.com/poorman/—basics of survival
on the cheap
• www.uwex.edu/ces/news/handbook.html—
floods, fire, drought and winter storms
• www.earthquake.com—links to global earthquake
info and preparedness
• www.redcross.org—online registration for Red
Cross First Aid Classes in your Zip code
• www.Amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com
for books on preparedness ■
The author is the Foreign Service health practitioner at the
U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
Be Prepared
Medical Report
Contents
April 2001 31
People Like You
People Like You
He Doesn’t Sing for His Supper, Just for Joy
When Chuck Hunter isn’t working, he’s harmonizing.
Mr. Hunter is a member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in
America. He directs the Washington, D.C., chapter’s chorus, and he’s also assistant director of the Alexandria
Harmonizers, another barbershop group.
“Whenever you hear chords lock and ring without instruments, it can make the hair stand up,” Mr. Hunter said
about the music’s appeal.
Maybe that helped the 19th century barbers do better work. Actually, a shave, a haircut and some songs to boot
became standard at some shops. But the musical style didn’t start there.
Immigrants to America brought hymns, psalms and folk songs often sung in four parts with the melody set in the
second-lowest voice. The style also borrowed from the minstrel shows of the mid-1800s, when white singers in black-
face performed songs and sketches. As vaudeville eclipsed the minstrel shows, the close-harmony quartets remained,
often as a “four-act” combining music and ethnic comedy.
The “barbershop” style of music was further refined during the 1870s by black southern quartets who improvised har-
monies. Black quartets “cracking a chord” were common at places like Joe Sarpy’s Cut Rate Shaving Parlor in St. Louis or
in Jacksonville, Fla., where “every barbershop seemed to have its own quartet,” writes historian James Weldon.
“The music enjoyed a golden age from 1890 to 1930,” Mr. Hunter said.
The Harmonizers keep him busy. In addition to the group’s weeknight meetings and week-
end rehearsals, there’s an ambitious performance schedule. The group has appeared at Wolf
Trap in Vienna, Va., the Kennedy Center and at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
“We work hard to entertain our audiences with a varied repertoire,” he said of the organ-
ization. “We’re going for our fifth gold medal in Nashville.”
In 1998, the Harmonizers won their fourth gold medal in Atlanta.
A District resident and former U.S. Information Agency employee, Mr. Hunter directs
press relations for the Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs and Diplomacy. He moves to
Jerusalem in 2002.
“I’ve already been in touch with a barbershop group there,” he said. “It gives you a ready-
made family.”
Chuck Hunter, center, harmonizes
with the Harmonizers during a recent
rehearsal in Alexandria.
Photo by Paul Koscak
Contents
32 State Magazine
Chinese Nationalist guerrillas in the provinces. He joined
the Foreign Service in 1950, serving with the U.S.
Information Agency in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Rangoon.
He was deputy director of the Voice of America and
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs. After serving as U.S. Ambassador to Burma,
Ethiopia, Pakistan and China, Mr. Hummel retired as a
Career Ambassador in 1985, the senior diplomat in the
U.S. Foreign Service.
John N. “Hutch” Hutchison, 89, a
retired Foreign Service officer, died
of emphysema Feb. 20 at his home
in Sebastopol, Calif. He was labor
information officer for the
Marshall Plan, headed the press
and publications division of the
U.S. Information Agency and
served in Paris, London, Manila
and Wellington. During World War
II, he was Gen. George Patton’s
press officer, handling the controversial general’s rela-
tions with war correspondents.
Mary Stevenson Johnston, 86, a retired Foreign Service offi-
cer, died Oct. 31 in New York. She joined the Office of
War Information in London during World War II and
later transferred to the Department. Ms. Johnston served
in Sofia, Conakry, Lagos, Canberra, Athens, Manila and
Washington, D.C., before retiring in 1966.
William B. Kelly, 83, a retired
Foreign Service officer, died Dec. 7
of prostate cancer in Colorado. Mr.
Kelly joined the Foreign Service
after serving as an officer in the
U.S. Navy during World War II. He
served 29 years at diplomatic posts
in Europe, Southeast Asia and
Canada.
OBITUARIES
Jeannette Christian, 75, a retired
Civil Service employee, died of
cancer Jan. 28 at her home in
Dallas. Ms. Christian served as sec-
retary to three U.S. directors of the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, as
administrative assistant to the U.S.
Ambassador to the former Soviet
Union and as assistant to the
ambassador-at-large for cultural
affairs during the Reagan Admin-
istration. Her service involved extended periods abroad
in Moscow, Helsinki, Geneva and Vienna.
Vina R. Hall, 74, a retired Foreign
Service secretary and communica-
tions operator, died Jan. 9 in
Abilene, Texas. Ms. Hall joined the
Foreign Service in 1965 and served
in Vientiane, Manila, Taipei,
Brasilia, Abidjan, Montevideo and
Karachi. She retired in 1989.
Bernard J. Humes, 93, a retired
Foreign Service officer, died Jan. 12
of a heart attack at his home in
Fairfax, Va. Mr. Humes, a recog-
nized authority on international
postal matters, was the U.S. repre-
sentative on the four-power postal
committees in Berlin and Frank-
furt. He served in Frankfurt as
chief of the regional courier office
before retiring in 1967. During
World War II, Col. Humes was chief of Army and Air
Force postal operations in the European Theater.
Arthur Hummel Jr., 80, a retired
Foreign Service officer who served
as U.S. Ambassador to four
nations, died Feb. 6 at his home
in Chevy Chase, Md. Born in
China of missionary parents, Mr.
Hummel was teaching English in
Beijing when World War II broke
out. He was interned in a Japanese
camp until 1944, when he and a
colleague escaped and joined the
April 2001 33
Mary Meloni, 76, a retired Foreign
Service secretary, died Feb. 6 of
cancer in New Port Richey, Fla. Ms.
Meloni joined the Foreign Service
in 1966 and served in Vienna,
Sofia, Tegucigalpa, La Paz, Port-
au-Prince, Nassau, Mexico City,
Managua, Guatemala City and
Beijing.
Marsha Nelson, 55, a Foreign Service office management
specialist, died Jan. 27 in Richmond, Va. Ms. Nelson joined
the Foreign Service in 1970 and served in Moscow,
Canberra, New Delhi, Vienna, Wellington and The Hague.
Elmo G. Poole, 76, a retired Foreign
Service Reserve officer, died Jan. 21
in Elmhurst, Ill. Mr. Poole was a
special agent with Diplomatic
Security in St. Louis, Dallas, San
Francisco, El Paso and Wash-
ington, D.C. He was regional dir-
ector in charge of Diplomatic
Security at the Chicago office of
the U.S. Passport Agency from
1966 until his retirement in 1983.
Stanley Rubin, 62, a Civil Service employee, died Jan. 11 of
brain cancer at his home in Bethesda, Md. In a Civil Service
career that spanned three decades, Mr. Rubin worked with
the U.S. Information Agency’s Bureau of Programs (later
the Department’s Office of International Programs).
Charles J. Weiss Jr., 79, a retired
Foreign Service Reserve officer,
died Nov. 19 at Malcolm Grow
Hospital at Andrews Air Force
Base, Md. Mr. Weiss joined the
Department in 1964 after retiring
from the U.S. Air Force. He served
a tour as the chief of technical secu-
rity in Frankfurt and spent the
remainder of his 13-year career
with the Bureau of Diplomatic
Security in Washington, D.C. During World War II, Mr.
Weiss was a pilot with 15 combat missions to his credit.
Shot down over St. Nazaire, France, he guided his crip-
pled fighter to a southern England field and survived the
controlled crash.
OBITUARIES
Margaret W. Kerr, 88, wife of the late Foreign Service offi-
cer Peyton Armstrong “Andy” Kerr, died of emphysema
Feb. 6 in the home of her daughter in Reston, Va. Mrs.
Kerr joined her late husband on assignments to Tokyo,
New Delhi, Rangoon, Tehran and Washington, D.C. She
also accompanied him on World Bank assignments to
Seoul and Bogota.
Dorothy Wallace Martin, 91, widow
of the last U.S. Ambassador to South
Vietnam, Graham A. Martin, died
Dec. 21 of congestive heart failure at
her home in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Mrs. Martin accompanied her hus-
band on Foreign Service assign-
ments to Paris, Geneva, Bangkok,
Rome and Saigon. He was ambassa-
dor at their last three posts.
Alice Morrissey McDiarmid, 91, a retired Civil Service
employee, died July 13, 1999, of a heart attack in Falls
Church, Va. Ms. McDiarmid joined the Department in
1942 and worked in the International Organizations divi-
sion. She attended the events leading to the founding of
the United Nations and contributed to the drafts of the
U.N. Charter, the statute of the International Court of
Justice and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
From 1960 until her retirement in 1970, she worked in the
office of the Legal Adviser.
Lucy E. Mello, 75, a retired Civil
Service employee, died March 3,
2000, at Western Massachusetts
Hospital in Westfield. Ms. Mello, a
telecommunications supervisor for
30 years, retired in 1985.
Contents
By Vladimir P. Sambaiew
T
oday, good diplomats not only need to see the big
picture of world events, they also must be leaders
and managers. It’s an ideal combination yester-
year’s diplomat may find—-no pun intended—-
foreign.
Throughout the past few decades, the ability to moti-
vate and lead has become as important as influencing
host governments and foreign officials. We may enjoy
the thrill of being a hit at a large international confer-
ence, but most of us will spend more time running sec-
tions and offices.
Each day, we set priorities, make decisions, manage
resources, motivate people and act as role models.
Today, most diplomatic offices abroad are complex enter-
prises representing numerous
agencies and employing
large host nation staffs.
They’re a far cry from the
days when many missions
had only one American and a
few local assistants.
That’s why people skills and
diplomacy go together. We
need to persuade and cooper-
ate with others abroad and at
home to get our point across.
Communications must be
short, to the point and clearly
understood.
Leadership, by contrast, is a
different story. During a recent
Foreign Service Institute visit,
Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell defined leadership as
the ability to influence and
motivate. “You’ve got to con-
vey your enthusiasm,” he
said. “You have to be an apos-
tle of what you believe in.”
Leadership is an art. Management, a skill. But they’re
both equally important diplomatic tools.
A sense of expediency wouldn’t hurt either. Civil wars,
terrorism or a health crisis in distant nations can easily
become top news requiring a quick U.S. policy response.
In our hemisphere, border issues loom. They are often
difficult and involve crosscutting political, economic
and environmental interests in the United States,
Mexico and Canada. They require the cooperation of
many agencies such as customs, immigration, law
enforcement, agriculture as well as state and local gov-
ernments.
Take global warming, for instance. Everyone’s got an
opinion, it seems. Competing national interests, the
34 State Magazine
Diplomats Need
More Than Diplomacy
To Succeed
William Weech, executive programs
trainer, leads a group of students in
the course “Starting Right; A Seminar
For Program Directors.”
Photo: Bob Kaiser
media and differing scientific claims make it tough to
draw conclusions. All we can do is stay informed and use
our best professional skills to support American interests.
The trained diplomat, however, will do a better job.
Dealing with issues that don’t easily lend themselves
to solutions means that training is critical. We can’t
expect our employees to learn only on the job or to “wing
it” when so much is at stake. While training is not a
panacea, it’s an important way to grow professionally.
After all, you’re learning from the best practices of others
to avoid common mistakes.
The Foreign Service Institute is one of the best sources
of that training. “FSI exists to train the men and women
of the United States of America to defend our nation’s
interests and provide international leadership,” is how
Director Ruth Davis puts it.
Not everyone needs a course in advanced negotiations or
specialized arms control issues. But we all can benefit from
training in languages, area studies, public diplomacy and,
of course, leadership and management, to name just a few.
FSI offerings are available on the Department Intranet
at http://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov (http://99.4.241.2/).
Director General Marc Grossman summarized what it
takes to be a 21st century diplomat during a recent
Georgetown University speech.
Diplomats, he said, need to not only speak the lan-
guage but understand the culture. They must get the
most from their employees while developing them to
their fullest potential.
They must have the negotiating skills to deal effec-
tively with governments, the media and the business
world. And they must be comfortable sitting down at a
computer.
The challenges facing the United States abroad require
a high level of diplomatic professionalism and readiness.
That’s why the State Department needs employees who
are leaders and highly qualified across a range of skills. A
strong commitment to training is one important way that
we can realize the full professional potential of our many
talented employees. ■
The author, a Foreign Service officer, is studying French at
FSI before reporting to Paris as the economic counselor.
April 2001 35
T
wo foreign groups—one older and experienced, the
other younger, but both anxious to learn—visited the
United States to observe the American legal system
and explore what citizenship means thanks to the Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Latin American judges, lawyers, constitutional schol-
ars, ministry and senior law enforcement officials and
journalists—24 in all—examined “the culture of lawful-
ness” to increase their understanding of the U.S. criminal
justice system, according to a bureau news release.
The officials learned how courts and cases are man-
aged, how juries work and how the legal system is using
alternative ways to settle disputes.
The group began its tour in Washington, meeting with
Nan R. Shuker, an associate judge on the Superior Court
of the District of Columbia and Gary Weaver, a professor
at American University’s School of International Service,
who gave them an overview of American society, culture
and the federal system.
To learn more about the state courts and the history of
American legal and judicial systems, the group traveled
International Visitors Experience
American Culture Up Close
to Richmond and Williamsburg. Williamsburg is home to
the National Center for State Courts, considered one of
the best training centers in the country.
Then it was off to San Francisco to examine municipal
courts, jury selection and the role of prosecutors and pub-
lic defenders and on to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to observe
criminal and civil trials.
In another Bureau effort, more than 100 high school stu-
dents from the emerging nations of the former Soviet
Union participated in a democracy education workshop
known as The Future Leaders Exchange. The goal is to pro-
vide the students an understanding and appreciation of
democratic fundamentals such as civic responsibility, citi-
zen empowerment, volunteerism and community action.
During their stay the students met with Department
officials and members of Congress. The program, which
brings specially selected students from the newly inde-
pendent countries to the United States for nine months,
offers first-hand exposure to American society and a mar-
ket economy. More than 8,000 students have participated
in the program since 1993. ■
Contents
36 State Magazine
Civil Service Retirements
PERSONNEL ACTIONS
Danzig, Mark
Doraiswamy, Balaji
Gentile, Alan E.
Junker, Delvin W.
Malott, Frank Stephen
Parker, James R.
Proctor, Nickolas W.
Reiersgard, Linda
Frances
Roy, J. Stapleton
Schermerhorn, Lange
Shanahan, Joseph M.
Williams, Domenica G.
Foreign Service Retirements
Foreign Service Grievance
Board Summary
In this issue, State Magazine continues pub-
lishing summaries of selected Foreign
Service Grievance Board decisions. Our aim
is to help employees better understand the
important role the board plays in resolving
disputes between employees and the De-
partment, as well as to highlight examples of
board decisions that might be of particular
benefit to employees and supervisors.
Reported cases will provide general infor-
mation about matters that can be grieved,
remedies available through the grievance
process and significant board precedent. As a
principle of good management, disputes and
grievances should be resolved through dis-
cussion among the parties or mediation at
the lowest possible level. An employee
whose grievance has been denied by the
agency or has not been resolved within the
90-day statutory period for agency review,
however, may appeal to the Foreign Service
Grievance Board.
Further information on the grievance
process is available in 3 FAM 4400-4470 and
at the grievance staff (HR/G) home page on
the Department’s OpenNet at https://
hrweb.hr.state.gov/grievance/index.html.
Grievance Dismissed as Time-Barred
A Foreign Service officer grieved the absence of adequate per-
formance evaluation reports in his personnel file covering a period
of service, 1990 to 1993, in a highly classified operation.
During that time, he received very general and nonspecific
unclassified evaluations along with separate evaluation reports that
could be reviewed only by promotion panels composed of specially
cleared persons. But in 1993, the Department ceased convening such
special selection boards.
The Department dismissed the grievance as time-barred under
provisions of the Foreign Service Act that then provided that a griev-
ance is forever time-barred unless filed within a period of three
years after the occurrence.
The grievant argued that the “occurrence” was his failure to be
promoted by the fall of 1997. He contended that in 1993, when the
special selection boards were abolished, he could not have guessed
what harm lay ahead. He thus had no basis for a grievance until
1997, when the effects of the 1993 action—the inadequacy of his per-
formance file and consequent nonpromotion—became apparent.
The grievant also charged that each successive decision by a selec-
tion board after 1993 could be seen as a further act of harm against
him, starting the three-year limit anew.
The board dismissed the grievance appeal as time-barred. The
board decided that the act that caused the absence of significant per-
formance evaluations from the grievant’s personnel file was the pre-
1993 practice of special boards reviewing officers such as the grievant
while bland evaluations were placed in their personnel files. The
withdrawal of this personnel practice in 1993 was the “occurrence”
giving rise to the grievance. By way of analogy, the board cited the
principle enunciated by a federal court (Abramson v. University of
Hawaii) in distinguishing causes from the effects of causes: “The
proper focus is upon the time of the discriminatory acts, not upon the
time at which the consequences of the acts became most painful.”
In May 2000 the time limitation for filing most grievances was
reduced to two years.
Berinson, Robert
Bolten, Eric Jon
Buckheit, Patricia J.
Bynum Jr, Square H.
Coles, Jamie D.
Croissant, June
Davis, Cornell
French, Mary Mel
King, Elizabeth R.
Krisher-Cliver,
Margaret A.
Lettice, Paula G.
Loy, Frank Ernest
Mendelsohn, Allan I.
Pincus, Ann Terry
Rosenstock, Robert B.
Schifter, Richard
Sherman, Robert M.
Soltis, Marjorie Ann
Stevenson, Barbara A.
Contents
Diplomacy Is America’s First
Line of Defense.
Diplomacy Is America’s First
Line of Defense.
We are America’s first line of defense. We are the men and women of today’s State Department.
We represent the diversity that is the United States.
We protect and defend the rights of Americans abroad. We keep America secure and prosperous.
We are the people who take on the global challenges of American diplomacy in the 21st century.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Contents
