The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

P resident BarackObama and Secretary of StateHillary Rod- ham Clinton, along with congressional leaders from both parties, have called for strengthening the Department of State, our premier foreign policy institution. They join those who have long argued that diplomacy is a major instrument of national security. To play that role the Foreign Service must be able to attract, train, deploy and retain a professional cadre. This objective, however, is undermined when the majority of key senior diplo- matic positions at home and abroad are reserved for political appointees. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 states that ambassadorial nominees “should possess …useful knowledge of the language … and understanding of the history, the culture, the economic and political institutions, and the interests of that country.” Fur- thermore, it declares, “Contributions to political campaigns should not be a factor” in appointments. Yet over the last three decades, 85 percent of ambassadorial appointments to major European countries and Japan, and nearly 60 percent of appointments to a wider group of emerg- ing global powers such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, have been political. AFSA believes that America is best served—as in the case of its uniformed military — by having experienced and knowl- edgeable career officers fill all positions in our career diplomatic service. No other major democracy routinely appoints non- diplomats to serve as envoys to other countries. America deserves the best ambassadors, men and women with a track record of achievement in diplomacy, to represent our nation around the world — just as we do for our military, development and intelligence professionals. Now is the time to end the spoils system. ❏ T he AFSA Governing Board held a Saturday “offsite” on Nov. 7 to discuss priorities for the coming year. The re- tired board members caucused separately several days before the retreat and quickly came to the unanimous con- clusion that the following three priorities had to head the re- tiree list: 1. Protect the earned retirement benefits and health insur- ance of our members. 2. Lift the WAE caps on hours worked and money earned. 3. Achieve parity with the military on post- retirement federal employment, including full annuity benefits. The full Governing Board concurred in that list, noting that protecting retirement and health insurance benefits was a top priority for both active-duty and retired members. We are able to prioritize ourmembers’ concerns in this way because we hear frommembers like you on a regular basis. In fact, we are delighted by the tremendous response to the 2009 Retiree Survey. As of publication date, 1,674 retirees —or 43 percent of our retireemembership—had completed the sur- vey. (We are still accepting paper and electronic submissions – go to www. zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB229 H983SUFX.) The response so far shows a remarkable level of retiree en- gagement with AFSA, something that we have happily come to expect. I will report the survey results to you in our retiree newsletter and in an upcoming column in AFSA News. Although we are still analyzing the re- sponses, there are two statistics that stand out already. One is that 98 percent of respondents read our retiree newsletter; and the other is that 33 percent use the retireeWeb page. AFSA re- tirees are also technologically literate, with 90 percent of respondents reporting that they use e-mail and the Internet. The next retiree newsletter will contain an analysis of sur- vey responses and will provide a basis for improving our re- tiree services and communications. As AFSA upgrades its Web site and makes it more user-friendly, I look forward to more immediate communication with the membership. Thanks for your interest in AFSA. ❏ 40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 A F S A N E W S V.P. VOICE: RETIREE ■ BY ROBERT G. HOUDEK Priorities and Surveys TRANSITION CENTER SCHEDULE OF COURSES for January-February 2010 Jan. 4-5 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Jan. 8 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Out-Brief Jan. 9 MQ116 Protocol Jan. 13 MQ853 Managing Rental Property from Overseas Jan. 15 MQ803 Realities of Foreign Service Life Jan. 25-26 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Jan. 26-29 RV105 Mid-Career Retirement Planning Seminar Jan. 27 MQ203 Singles in the Foreign Service Feb. 1-2 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Feb. 5 MQ950 High-Stress Assignment Out-Brief Feb. 6 MQ914 Youth Security Overseas Seminar Feb. 6 MQ802 Communicating Across Cultures Feb. 8-9 MQ911 Security Overseas Seminar Feb. 11 MQ703 Post Options for Employment and Training Feb. 17 MQ117 Tax Seminar Feb. 20 MQ116 Protocol Feb. 22-25 RV101 Retirement Planning Seminar Feb. 24 MQ220 Going Overseas Logistics for Adults Feb. 25-26 MQ104 Regulations, Allowances and Finances To register or for further information, e-mail the FSI Transition Center at FSITCTraining@state.gov. We are delighted by the tremendous response to the 2009 Retiree Survey. AFSA Statement on Political Ambassadorships