32 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The Journal on 100 Years of AFSA From the FSJ Archive An Appreciation The personnel of the Foreign Service is scattered to the ends of the earth, and its work is as widely removed from the range of popular vision. What gratification it brings, therefore, that a busy Congress, beset with the perplexities of great national issues in a campaign year, should have paused in its deliberations to reshape the machinery of our foreign affairs! No politics was played with the issue, and no spirit of partisanship was there to warp the finely drawn parts of its delicate mechanism. The [Rogers] Act of May 24, 1924, stands as a tribute to the patriotic vision of those who have supported the cause of an adequate foreign service and contributed so effectively to its realization. On behalf of the American Consular Association, the BULLETIN extends its greetings and its sentiments of profound appreciation to all who have shared in this constructive achievement. —American Consular Association/Bulletin (precursor to AFSA/the Journal) editors, July 1924. The Foreign Service Honor Roll In January 1929, members of the young organization read in the American Foreign Service Journal … that the AFSA Executive Committee had received a proposal to create an honor roll to be displayed at the Department of State. This would memorialize all American consular and diplomatic officers who had died under tragic or heroic circumstances since the founding of the republic. The proponent, whose name was not given, listed 17 names for inscription. The Executive Committee did not explicitly endorse the proposal but did invite members to suggest additions or corrections. Letters came rolling in. … The Memorial Tablet’s unveiling took place on March 3, 1933, in the north entrance of the State, War and Navy Building next to the White House. Secretary Stimson … presided as 10 senators and congressmen looked on. The tablet, said the Secretary, “should serve as a means of bringing home to the people of this country the fact that we have a Service in our Government devoted to peaceful intercourse between the nations and the assistance of our peaceful commerce which, nevertheless, may occasionally exact from its servants a sacrifice the same as that which we expect from our soldiers and our sailors.” —AFSA Retiree Vice President John Naland, May 2020 FSJ. AFSA’s Statement on Pay Comparability The American Foreign Service Association represents some 8,000 foreign affairs professionals. We wish to associate ourselves in the strongest fashion with the position of the National Federation of Professional Organizations on full implementation of the principle of pay comparability. We take this stand … in the firm belief that in these difficult times our government can and must attract and keep the very best talent for the proper conduct of our domestic and foreign affairs. … While the issue of salaries is not the single most important element affecting the recruitment and retention of our personnel, it is nonetheless a very important part of our total personnel picture. John Gardner, in his book on “Excellence,” said: “We must provide ample pay for our foreign service officers: but even within the scale of monetary rewards that a wealthy nation can afford it isn’t possible to buy with money the qualities and the performance needed—the competence, judgement, willingness to endure hardships, and voluntary exile from the life that Americans love. Pay is important, but only devotion and conviction will insure the desired outcome.”
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