The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008

J A NU A R Y 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 61 Professional issues, while typically of less immediate import tomembers than “bread and butter” concerns, nonethe- less remain very much on the minds of our colleagues. Nearly half of the respon- dents listed “freedom to express dissent at State” and “role of FS careerists inU.S. foreign policymaking” among their top five priorities for AFSA advocacy over the coming year. Our survey resultspoint tooneverydis- turbing trend. Inresponse to thequestion, “Have developments in the last few years made you more or less likely to remain in the Foreign Service for a full career?”, some 44 percent said they would be less likely to remain. Significantly, this per- centage was the same for those respon- dents still in the entry-level ranks. This raises serious questions about the long- term health of the Foreign Service — and argues for immediate action to deal with many of the concerns highlighted above. A FSAneeds your help in identifying and nominating Foreign Service personnel at all career levels who have demonstrated the intellectual courage and integrity to challenge conventional wis- dom, to question the status quo and to stand up for their convictions, regardless of the consequences. The open exchange of different points of view should not only be encouraged within our Foreign Service, but should be recognized and honored. As Edward R. Murrow said long ago: “We must never confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.” Last year, AFSA presented only two Constructive Dissent Awards, both to mid-level officers. We received no nom- inations that met the award criteria in the entry-level, specialist or senior-level cat- egories. AFSA needs your help to continue to honor loyal opposition. If you know of a deserving colleague, please don’t delay. Send in your nomination now. The four awards for constructive dissent are: • The Tex Harris Award for Foreign Service Specialists • The Averell Harriman Award for Entry-Level Officers (FS 6-4) • The WilliamRivkinAward forMid- Career Officers (FS 3-1) • The Christian Herter Award for Senior Officers (FE OC-CA) Nominations for theAFSAExemplary PerformanceAwards are alsobeing accept- ed. These awards are: • The Delavan Award for an office management specialist who has signifi- cantly contributed to post or office effec- tiveness and morale. • The M. Juanita Guess Award for a community liaisonofficerwhohas demon- stratedoutstanding leadership, dedication, initiative and imagination in assisting the families of ForeignService employees serv- ing abroad. • The Avis Bohlen Award for a fami- ly member of a Foreign Service employ- ee whose volunteer activities with the Americanand foreigncommunities at post have done the most to advance the inter- ests of the U.S. Further details on nomination proce- dures, additional guidelines and a nomi- nation form can be found on the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/awards.cfm . From there, you can link to articles about the AFSA awards and find a comprehen- sive listing of past award winners. Please send questions to Barbara Berger, Coordinator for Professional Issues, at berger@afsa.org, or by telephone at (202) 719-9700. Thedeadline for sub- mitting nominations is Feb. 29. A F S A N E W S AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS & EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS Last Call for Nominations: Honor the Dissenters CarMax Won’t Sell to FS AFSA has learned that CarMax has a policy not to sell a car to anyone who plans to take the car out of the U.S. We have heard that the policy was initiated based on security concerns about how the cars could be used overseas. AFSA is contacting CarMax to suggest that members of the Foreign Service be exempt from this policy. FSN Relief Fund Needs Replenishment The State Department’s Foreign Service National Relief Fund is in need of funds with which to assist all overseas agencies’ FSNs who have suffered losses due to hurricanes and other disas- ters. Foreign Service members may donate by check, credit card or payroll deduction (go to State’s intranet site at web.rm.state.gov for details). FS retirees, FSNs and other locally-engaged employees may make check or cash contributions. Check contributions should be sent to State Department Gift Fund Coordinator Donna Bordley, Department of State, RM/CFO Rm. 7427, 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC 20520. Make checks payable to the U.S. Department of State and write “FSN Emergency Relief Fund” on the note line. Please include a return address so a letter of acknowledgement for charitable tax-deduction purposes can be sent. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS