The Foreign Service Journal, March 2004

Y E A R I N R E V I E W AFSA reviews new discipline regulations for the foreign affairs agencies’ and proposes changes. Final agreement is reached in September. On Foreign Affairs Day, Secretary of State Colin Powell, USAIDAdministrator Andrew Natsios and AFSA President John Naland unveil six additional names of Foreign Service employees added to the AFSAMemorial Plaque. Retiree LiaisonWard Thompson attends a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Retirees of New England and presents National Alumni Service Awards to its founders on the organi- zation’s 20th anniversary. Continuing its series profiling the various for- eign affairs agencies, the Journal marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service. Seattle-area retirees launch the first Foreign Service Elderhostel program inWashington state. AFSA President John Naland meets with Foreign Service retirees and major media in Houston and San Antonio, Texas. June AFSA discusses proposed measures to protect soft targets overseas during a meeting at the Overseas Building Office. Negotiations are successfully concluded on proposals sent inMay by AFSA to State man- agement urging amendments to the State Department’s procedural promotion precepts for the 2003 promotion boards. The Journal celebrates AFSA’s 30 years as a union with articles by TomBoyatt, Tex Harris, Hank Cohen, TedWilkinson and Ken Bleakley. AFSAUSAID persuades the Foreign Service Grievance Board to order the reinstatement of an untenured USAID employee who had been selected out. The decision plows new ground. USAID seeks reconsideration. The board reconfirms, but USAID refuses to com- ply. A struggle between board authority and the agency’s is now under way. AFSA negotiates changes to the USAID evalu- ation skills matrix, Annual Evaluation Form and updated guidance. Bonnie Brown joins the AFSA staff as Retiree Affairs Coordinator. AFSA holds its annual awards ceremony. Secretary Powell presents the Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy to former Secretary of State George P. Shultz. Awards for constructive dissent are presented as well as three awards for extraordinary contributions to effective- ness, professionalism and morale. July AFSA’s FCS VP serves as moderator for a commercial diplomacy course organized by the Business Council for International Understanding at FSI for newDCMs and principal officers. AFSA urges its membership to write members of Congress to support legislation that would protect the prescription drug benefits of retired employees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. Again, AFSA seeks a change in the per diem regulations for FS personnel in long-term training at FSI. AFSA State VP Louise Crane addresses the DCM and Principal Officer Course at FSI. The outgoing AFSA Governing Board— whose president, John Naland, faithfully served AFSA for four years as State VP and then president — is given a fond farewell. The newGoverning Board, led by Amb. John Limbert, takes office. AFSA successfully recruits for membership 80 percent of new entrants joining the USAID Foreign Service. August Secretary Powell presents awards to the win- ners of the 2003 AFSANational High School Essay Contest, which drew 550 entries. After over four years of negotiation and con- sultation, AFSA and FCS agree to a newman- agement planning and performance appraisal system policy and promotion precepts that will dramatically change the evaluation proce- dures in FCS. After several negotiating sessions, State man- agement agrees on a pilot program for a new EER form for FS-1s and above. Retiree Coordinator Bonnie Brown informs the State Department of errors it had made in calculating lump-sum payments for annual leave upon retirement. The department then recalculates payments for annuitants who had been underpaid. AFSA urges the House Ways andMeans Committee to favorably consider a Premium Conversion Bill (H.R. 1231) that would per- mit retirees to pay health insurance premiums with pretax earnings. AFSA’s newly-expandedWebMarketplace attracts more than 4,000 hits monthly. The most requested pages include: schools, books, extended-stay housing, real estate, and prop- erty management. AFSAmeets with the National Treasury Employees Union to discuss shared interests regarding locality pay for those posted abroad. State Department officials brief AFSA on State’s capital security cost-sharing proposals. AFSA considers the implications for USAID and Commerce. AFSA rebuts attacks on American diplomacy made by Newt Gingrich via placement of arti- cles and interviews by senior diplomats in major media, including Foreign Policy maga- zine, The Washington Times , NBCNews, Fox News and NPR. September AFSA files comments in an Equal Employment Opportunity proceeding, opposing a proposed rule that would exempt employers fromprovi- sions of the Age Discrimination in Employ- ment Act of 1967, thereby permitting them to reduce or eliminate health insurance for Medicare-eligible retirees. MARCH 2004 • AFSA NEWS 3 AFSA Annual Report 2003