The Foreign Service Journal, November 2003

union states that the Office of the Ombudsman was created around 1972. This is not quite accurate. Ambassador William Macomber conceived the idea for such an office in late 1969 when he was under sec- retary for management. Amb. Macomber asked my husband, Bob Gordon, to accept this new position, which he did in January 1970, remaining until February 1972. Amb. Cohen was generous in his recognition that Bob viewed his work as “problem solving.” Indeed, he did, though I doubt that he ever thought of himself as a gadfly. Nancy S. Gordon Florence, Italy Author’s Request I am researching the history of a U.S. intelligence collection organiza- tion that operated under the leader- ship of John V. Grombach from 1942 to 1955. I would like to hear from Foreign Service officers who served in this organization or who have direct knowledge of it. The organization, known informal- ly as “The Pond,” started as part of the War Department in 1942. In 1947, it established a headquarters in New York City and went into the private sector, operating until 1951 on contract for the State Department. The CIA took over the contract in 1951 and terminated it in 1955. The Pond used Foreign Service officers to conduct clandestine human intelli- gence operations overseas. Its prima- ry liaison in the State Department was the “Division of Foreign Activity Correlation.” If any FSO would care to share knowledge of The Pond, please con- tact me at mpstout@starpower.net or at 3719 N. Pershing Drive, Arlington, VA 22203. Thank you very much. Mark Stout Arlington, Va. N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 L E T T E R S