The Foreign Service Journal, March 2009

54 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA R CH 2 0 0 9 A F S A N E W S AFSA Annual Report 2008 A FSA’s task in 2008 was to stop the damage being done to the career Foreign Service and to prepare for a counteroffensive in 2009 to regain lost ground. Looking Back AFSAhaltedseveral negative trendsdur- ing 2008. After years of stagnant funding for diplomacy, AFSA overcame budget gridlock between Congress and the lame- duck president by successfully advocating for $25million to expand Foreign Service staffing. Elsewhere, in thewake of the State Department’s 2007 self-inflictedpublic rela- tionsdisaster concerning Iraqstaffing,AFSA convinced State during the 2008 bidding season to treat employees with respect instead of subjecting them to unnecessary threats, paving the way for all war-zone positions tobe quickly filledby volunteers. Withonly intermittent support fromthe Bushadministration,AFSAalsopushedour bill to close the overseas pay gap through both the Senate Foreign Relations Com- mittee and theHouseForeignAffairsCom- mittee. Although final passagewas blocked by the opposition of one senator, we did make significant progress against difficult odds andestablisheda strongposition from which to move forward with the new Congress and new president. Laying the groundwork for greater suc- cess in 2009, AFSA met with top advisers to the twopresidential candidates and later met several times with Obama transition teammembers to explain the resource and management needs of diplomacy and development assistance. We helped draft a blue-ribbon panel report calling for hir- ing 4,735 additional diplomats and devel- opment professionals. That report drew compliments from key lawmakers and frommembers of the incom- ing Obama administration. Throughout the year, AFSA had success in getting major media outlets to report on the unmet needs of the Foreign Service. During 2008, as in every year, AFSA’s 27-member pro- fessional staff provided expert support to hundreds of individual mem- bers (active-duty and retired) worldwide. We undertook a major renovation of our headquarters building. Our ForeignService Journal continued to generate reader praise for its coverage of professional and foreign policy topics. Wemaintained our long traditionof providing valuable schol- arships to Foreign Service children. Our public outreach program involved many Foreign Service retirees in explaining the importance of U.S. diplomacy to tens of thousands of citizens nationwide. Andwe kept ourmembers informedbywayof fre- quent update reports distributed viamul- tiple channels. Details on these andother routine, but vital, activities canbe found throughout this annual report. Please take a few minutes to reviewwhat AFSAhas done for you lately. If some issue that is important toyou isnotmen- tioned, please contact your AFSA constituency vice presi- dent sowe can tell youwhat the association has accomplished on your behalf. (See “How to Contact Us” on page 50.) Looking Ahead AFSA’s task in 2009 will be to use the association’s growing influence toconvince the new Congress and new president to address the pressing needs of the Foreign Service— including significantly increas- ing staffing and finally passing legislation to close the overseas pay gap. We hope to work with the newmanagement teams at each foreign affairs agency to implement long-overdue measures to improve con- ditions of employment. Wewill continue todefend theForeignService against unfair outside criticismwithout shying away from supporting reforms that areneeded tomake the Service a more effective agent of U.S. international engagement in the 21st cen- tury. As always, AFSA will continue our traditionalmember-focused advocacy and legal assistanceonbehalf of active-duty and retired members. Thus, we expect 2009 to be a busy and productive year. At midyear, the current 25-member AFSAGoverning Board that has served you since July 2007 will give way to the new board that you elect this spring. On behalf of the outgoing board, I thank you for your support, encouragement and feedback. The next Governing Board will need that same backing to continue AFSA’s vital work to defend and advance the interests of the U.S. Foreign Service. Turning the Tide BY JOHN NALAND, AFSA PRESIDENT AFSA’s task in 2009 will be to use the association’s growing influence to convince the new Congress and new president to address the pressing needs of the Foreign Service — including significantly increasing staffing.