The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

Moscow, and carrying out other administrative duties. In 1993 I spent six weeks helping out in the USAID mission to Zimbabwe; in 1994 I assisted the USAID mission in Kazakhstan. My advice on WAE appoint- ments: Keep in touch with the peo- ple who do this type of personnel work. Because USAID called me to help out in the former states of the Soviet Union, its human resources office took care of my security clear- ance renewal and the paperwork. My salary in the private sector was com- mensurate with my former grade of FS-2, so there were no particular personnel or pay problems. After my second retirement in 1987, I became a volunteer for the state office of Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., in Phoenix. That was very interesting work. Sen. McCain’s office managers had no hesitation in using my administrative skills, as well as the age factor, to let me han- dle the paperwork and advise the much younger staff on problems of the aging. They later flew me from Phoenix to Washington, D.C., to work in the senator’s main office. Retirees are welcome in the state offices of any senator or representa- tive; you just have to go in and vol- unteer. This applies to retirees from all branches of the Foreign Service, not just administrative counselors. I also worked as a volunteer for a variety of agencies — including AFSA, which turned out to be the most interesting of all. I also worked for the Citizens Democracy Corps, which was set up by USAID to assist NGOs in transporting goods to Eastern Europe. After that assign- ment I worked for the International Media Fund, which was set up by USIA to establish centers in Eastern Europe for journalists. (Because there is no salary, I recommend ask- ing for a daily stipend for lunch and parking.) 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 6