The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

staffing levels at post. Each office or division should develop a listing of specific requirements which cannot be handled at reduced staffing levels, to include both ongoing tasks and reporting requirements. This list should be submitted to Washington and agreement obtained to relieve post of responsibility for these items. Some evacuations are followed by the complete looting of all offices and files. Many, however, result merely in a decision to draw down or terminate the USAID program, with related reductions or elimina- tions of staff. Someone, usually the executive officer, is then tasked with handling the drawdown or close- out. The biggest task in such a situation is often clean- ing out the office. That means going through desks, bookcases, file cabinets, closets, etc. to determine what should be archived, filed, sent to Washington, destroyed, or simply thrown away. I found documents going back to the 1970s, including many docu- ments which were totally unre- lated to the mission. I also found items in working files which should have been kept in central files, and vice-versa. There were even working files left by people who had departed post six years before! Proper records management will greatly minimize such drudgery. Looking back at it from a decade later, it seems that many, if not all, of the issues we experienced in the 1991 Zaire evacuation still arise in many other places. While each post will face a different set of problems, unique to its own circumstances, it is my hope that others will benefit from our learning curve. F O C U S 48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 3 SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE AMERICA S I NCE 1 9 7 1 2001 represents our 31 st year helping to maintain America’s fleet of vehicles throughout the world. All of us at D & M consider it an honor to have worked with all of you through these years. We are aware of the importance of your official and private vehicles, forklifts, generators, tools and equipment. We look forward to continuing this service in a professional manner. We are here to help, just ask! Gary Vlahov www.dmauto.com (516) 822-6662; FAX: (516) 822-5020; E-mail: info@dmauto.com We held several open meetings for the Foreign Service National staff to let them know what was happening.