The Foreign Service Journal, March 2003

MARCH 2003 • AFSA NEWS 9 A FSAPresidentJohnNalandandVice President Louise Crane met with Secretary Colin Powell at his invita- tion on Jan. 22. Director General Ruth A. Davis and State Department Chief Labor ManagementNegotiatorSusanMoorsealso participated. The meeting was a useful opportunity to exchange views onprogress made during the secretary’s first two years on the job. Secretary Powell opened the half-hour session saying that he felt it important to meet withAFSA fromtime to time so that AFSA leadership could tell him what was on theminds of his ForeignService troops. Naland thankedhimfor everything that he has done during his first two years to revi- talize theDepartment of State and tobegin toobtainthe sustained infusionof resources for people, facilities and information tech- nology that State so desperately needs. The secretary expressed well-deserved prideinwhathasbeenaccomplishedtodate on the diplomatic readiness front, high- lighting recent successes including the implementation of State’s student loan repayment program(the first in the feder- algovernment)andsecuring(atAFSA’ssug- gestion) USAAmembership eligibility for active-duty Foreign Service specialists. AFSAandthe secretary talkedabout the vital importance of securing needed fund- ing — particularly for embassy security upgrades and the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative—inthestillpendingFY2003bud- getrequestandthesoon-to-be-presentedFY 2004budget request. Nalandthenoutlined AFSA’s extensive lobbying and outreach efforts in support of those budget requests. Naland stressed theneed to implement Overseas Comparability Pay to close the inequitablepaygapthatexistsbetweenover- seas Foreign Service members and the domestic federal civilian workforce. He briefed the secretary on the progress of the Hardship Service Incentives Working Group. He told the secretary that the ForeignService stands ready tocontinue to staff the front lines ofU.S. diplomacy in the months ahead, only requesting that he act prudently to evacuate non-essential per- sonnel and familymembers if theneedaris- es. The secretary saidhewas followingsecu- rity issues hour by hour. AFSA expressed concern about contin- uing gaps between what consular employ- ees are expected to accomplish and the resourcesgiventothemtodotheirvitalwork. SecretaryPowelldetailedjusthowtoughhis fight hadbeen last summer to keep the visa function and said he hadno doubt that the decisiontokeepthevisafunctionatStatehad been a wise one. On the outreach front, Naland suggested that theBureauof Public Affairs make a stronger effort to “tell our story”todomesticaudiencesinordertobuild along-termconstituencyfortheforeignaffairs agencies. The secretary described his prac- ticeofgoingintotheState(andAFSA)Web sites“lateatnight”tocheckhowwearepre- senting ourselves to the world. The secretary thanked AFSA for the strong support of his push to require lead- ershipandmanagement trainingalongwith other efforts to change the corporate cul- ture of the Foreign Service. AFSAexpressed serious concern about employee angst causedbyuncertaintyover the role, if any, USAID development pro- fessionalswill play in the coordinationand implementationof themost importantU.S. development initiative in a generation: the Millennium Challenge Account. AFSA urgedthesecretary —inlinetobethechair- man of the board of the planned MillenniumChallenge Corporation—to make provision for detailing experienced USAIDForeignServiceofficers toboth the Washington headquarters and any field offices of that corporation. Inaddition, we urged the secretary to bringUSAIDunder the umbrella of his Diplomatic Readiness Initiativesothattheorganizationcouldben- efit fromthe same kindofworkforceplan- ning review that in 2000 laid the ground- work for the current effort torebuildState’s hollowed out workforce. Secretary Powell and his management team have achieved an extraordinary record of accomplishments on diplomat- ic readiness issues over the past two years. Butmuchwork remains tobedone. AFSA stands ready to contribute to that effort. ▫ RECOGNIZING OUTREACH ACHIEVEMENTS AFSA Establishes New Retiree Award I n January, theAFSAGoverningBoard created a newaward, theAFSANational Alumni Service Award, for Foreign Service retirees throughout the United States, to recognize outstanding achievements inhelpingbuildpublic support forAmericandiplomacy. The award, consisting of a certificate and a permanent listing of the winner’s name at AFSA headquarters, will go to AFSAmembers selected by the governing board’s executive com- mittee. There is no limit on howmany members may receive the award. The activities to be recognized by the awardmay include, but are not limited to, speak- ing, lecturingorwritingondiplomacy and foreignpolicy, assisting inForeignService recruit- ment, conducting congressional ormedia outreach in support of the Foreign Service, con- tributing to public education programs in these areas, or leading or facilitating the efforts of other retirees to increase their fellowcitizens’ understandingof America’s role in theworld and of the importance of American diplomacy. AFSA expects that this award will recognize some colleagues outside the Washington, D.C. area who may not be able to travel toWashington. The certificates will be delivered to thembymail and announcements of the awardwill bemade inAFSApublications and inpress releases to their local newspapers. Recipientsmay subsequently be honored inper- sonwhenAFSArepresentatives visit their areas and/orwhenrecipients attendAFSA’s Foreign Affairs Day reception. The awards committee welcomes nominations. To submit a nom- ination or for more information contact AFSA’s Retiree Liaison Ward Thomson at thompsonw@afsa.org or (202) 338-4045, ext. 528 or toll-free 1(800) 704-2372, ext. 528. ▫ PROMOTING DIPLOMATIC READINESS AFSA Meets with Secretary Powell