The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

M ission: To promote excellence in diplomacy and development and to be an effective voice for the Foreign Service at the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Foreign Commercial Service, the Foreign Agricultural Service and the International Broadcasting Bureau. Securing Resources, Improving Operations, Protecting Benefits for the Foreign Service • Lock in Overseas Comparability Pay (OCP) for all agencies • Appropriate adequate funding for personnel and operations • Protect pension and health benefits • Suspend or eliminateWAE hour and salary caps • Achieve parity with military on post-retirement employ- ment with the federal government, including full annuity benefits while employed • Promote family and quality-of-life issues Increasing CooperationwithManagement and Broadening Presence in Policy Development • Get AFSA a “seat at the table” and increase the responsive- ness of management at all member agencies on all issues affecting the Foreign Service, from the influx of new en- trants, chronic understaffing, mid-level staffing gaps, training and professional development, and the assign- ment/evaluation/promotion system to more fundamental issues such as the future of the Foreign Service, the State- USAID relationship, and the roles of diplomacy, develop- ment, defense, trade and public diplomacy in advancing the interests of the nation. Improving Image and Expanding Outreach of the Foreign Service • Redesign and upgrade the AFSAWeb site • Improve internal and external communications Streamlining Internal AFSAOperations • Reform election process • Upgrade IT infrastructure and security; get e-business capacity • Raise revenue through increased membership and other sources (advertising, donations, publications) • Achieve better budget transparency • Review staffing ❏ T he Obama administration blew into Washington a year ago, and some say a new atmosphere in the federal gov- ernment came with it. Coincidentally or not, after several years of a decrease in nominations for constructive dissent awards, AFSA is seeing signs that dissent- ing voices are on the rise, and are being heard in a more effective way. The Office of Policy Planning at the De- partment of State reports that a steady streamof messages has come in through the Open Forum and Dissent Channel on a wide variety of issues. Yet many individuals may still be wary. One senior FSO recently recalled, “Some years ago, I wanted to protest a depart- mental restructuring that I felt was coun- terproductive to our long-term relation- ships with foreign nationals overseas. At that time, my supervisor advised me not to use the Dissent Channel, but to find other ways to dissent that would not, as he put it, ‘mark me as a troublemaker.’” That brings up a key question: Does constructive dissent really put your career at risk? J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 37 American Foreign Service Association • January 2010 AFSA NEWS Does Dissent Harm Your Career? BY FRANCESCA KELLY JOSH Continued on page 48 AFSA 2009-2011 Governing Board Priorities