The Foreign Service Journal, February 2004

George Kennan, whose accomplish- ments you will read about in this issue, is just one of the many veterans of the Foreign Service who combined an honorable career with a distinguished retirement. About to turn 100, he is one of over 14,000 Foreign Service retirees, from all agencies, to whom we owe an enormous debt of gratitude for their service to our country. Things were not always easy for George Kennan, either during his ser- vice or afterwards. The Nazis interned him and his staff in Berlin in the months following Germany’s Dec- ember 1941 declaration of war on the U.S. Released in an exchange of diplo- matic personnel, Kennan recounts how the department had placed him on leave without pay for his period of cap- tivity. The response to his protests was, “Well, Mr. Kennan, you weren’t work- ing , were you?” Following his forced departure fromMoscow in 1953, the administra- tion ignored his expertise and forced him into retirement under a little-used provision of the Foreign Service Act. After his retirement, Kennan eventu- ally did meet with Secretary Dulles to discuss Soviet affairs, and the Secretary said he hoped they could repeat such useful discussions from time to time. Kennan said he felt like the divorced wife whose ex-husband asks her to visit to prepare an egg dish that he especially likes! Many of our retirees go on to sec- ond distinguished carriers in acade- mia, the nonprofit world, consulting, and business, often in positions where they remain engaged in foreign affairs. Other retirees continue their associa- tion with the foreign affairs communi- ty and the Department of State. Recently, retirees have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In my last overseas post, Nouakchott, retirees serving as WAE’s kept us functioning. At various times they worked as our RSO, admin officer, information manager, office manager, and even our desk officer back in Washington. In the last case, the retired officer had been a chief of mission in a West African post, and his experience and background were invaluable to us. Routinely, retirees serve in the department as inspectors, examiners or analysts, and many are staffing State’s 24/7 Political Military Action Team. AFSA has found its well over 3,000 retiree members to be a rich source of support and knowledge, especially in our outreach programs. Retirees gen- erously support our legislative action fund, our scholarship fund, and other AFSA programs. Retirees have spo- ken to dozens of community groups and have served on AFSA’s Governing and Editorial Boards and on its com- mittees. They have lobbied Congress, and have defended the Foreign Service enthusiastically against the Gingriches and Mowbrays of the world who would take potshots at our profession. Yet like George Kennan, our more recent retirees, despite their record of service and self-sacrifice, have not always found themselves appreciated. In 2000, for example, retirees found themselves shut out of Main State for “security reasons.” I suppose we could all rest easier knowing that the likes of Rozanne Ridgway, Bruce Laingen, Tex Harris and Henry Precht were kept out! More recently, AFSA has been helping those of our retirees who have received less-than-effective ser- vice from those responsible for their annuities and other benefits. Our colleagues deserve our thanks, honor and recognition — thanks for their years of service, honor as veter- ans, and recognition for the work many are still performing. AFSA will continue to make good use of these colleagues’ skills and experience. It will also continue to fight for their interests and to ensure that they receive the respect they have earned through honorable service to their country.  P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS All Honor to Our Veterans B Y J OHN L IMBERT F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 5 John Limbert is the president of the American Foreign Service Association. AFSA has found its retiree members to be a rich source of support and knowledge.