The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

P resident Barack Obama appointed John Berry as director of the Office of Personnel Management in January 2009. Last fall, Berry took time to answer some of AFSA’s ques- tions about his ideas for working with Foreign Service employ- ees. Q: You have established a welcome tone by recognizing the sac- rifices that civilian employees make for our country. Have you had opportunities to interact with members of the Foreign Service to gain a deeper appreciation for the unique challenges and dangers they face? A: I have tried to set a different tone, and I’m glad to hear it’s resonating. We focus on the Civil Service, since that’s the OPM director’s job, but everything I say about the passion and sacri- fice of federal workers applies to the Foreign Service as well. Throughout my career in government, I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with Foreign Service members. This includes the 10 years that I served as Representative Steny Hoyer’s legislative director, my years as assistant secretary of the Interior for pol- icy, management and budget, and other jobs. In those interac- tions, I’ve been extremely impressed with the dedication, the professionalism, the breadth of knowledge and the instincts they bring to the job. It’s hard to overstate the difficulty or the importance of the work they do each day for our country. There’s no doubt that Foreign Service members and other federal civilians working in violent areas abroad face unique challenges and dangers and deserve to be compensated fairly. That’s why OPM is trying to level the playing field among civil- J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 49 American Foreign Service Association • January 2011 AFSA NEWS A Q&A with OPM Director John Berry BY FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL STAFF “W hen the Soviet Union col- lapsed, it was entirely because of internal pressure, not U.S. pressure.” With that provocative statement, Am- bassador Jack F. Matlock Jr. began the dis- cussion of his new book, Superpower Illusions: HowMyths and False Ideologies Led America Astray—and How to Return to Re- ality, during an appearance at AFSA head- quarters on Nov. 4. Amb. Matlock, currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, was in Washington to participate in the fifth event in AFSA’s new Book Notes series. Before an audience of 60 or so history enthusiasts, Matlock presented his view of the end of the Cold War and the down- fall of the Soviet Union, which he contends are not the same thing at all. In fact, according to Matlock, the ColdWar ended well before the disintegration of the USSR, brought on by the Ambassador Jack Matlock Jr. Discusses Distortions of Cold War History BY ASGEIR SIGFUSSON, MARKETING AND OUTREACH MANAGER Continued on page 55 Continued on page 54 Amb. Jack Matlock Jr. makes the case that Cold War history has been distorted in his Nov. 4 presen- tation at AFSA headquarters as part of the Book Notes lecture series. AMY MCKEEVER