The Foreign Service Journal, March 2010

MA R CH 2 0 1 0 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 55 AFSA Annual Report 2009 Y E A R I N R E V I E W A FSAwas aprimary collaborator ina critical study, first launched inthe fall of 2008, and thenpromotedanduti- lized throughout 2009, by the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Henry L. Stimson Center inWashington, D.C. The report, “A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future: Fixing the Crisis in DiplomaticReadiness,” foundthat theState Department,USAIDand theother foreign affairs agencieswill continue to lack the tools tomeet today’s complex global challenges unlessmajor increases inresources andper- sonnel occur over the next five years. It called for substantial investments indiplo- matic and development assistance to rebuildAmerica’s foreignaffairs capability, including a nearly 50-percent increase in Foreign Service personnel. A failure to act on these urgent needs, according to the study, would leave our nationill-equippedtocarryoutagloballead- ership role or respond toproblems suchas terrorism, natural disasters and other situ- ations that demand a U.S. presence. The report made recommendations in the four major categories of foreign affairs activity — core diplomacy, public diplo- macy, economic assistance and recon- struction/stabilization — and provided Congressandthenewpresidentwithablue- print for fixing thehumancapital crisis that hashobbleddiplomacyworldwide, crippled its response to emergencies and inappro- priately thrown additional foreign policy burdens onto the military in recent years. In 2009, then-AFSA President John Naland joined study leaders such as Amb. Thomas Boyatt, Amb. Ronald Neumann, Amb. Thomas Pickering and others, in bringing the study’smessage to lawmakers, prominentcivicleadersandthegeneralpub- lic,withpositiveresults: additionalresources, includingnewpositions, havebeenallocat- ed to the foreign affairs agencies. “Thishistoric studymadeagenuinedif- ferenceinshapingviewsandbringingabout real change,” saysAFSAExecutiveDirector IanHouston. Pushing for Results AFSA facilitated the AAD/Stimson Center’s efforts through the following actions: • AFSAPresident JohnNaland provid- ed input and helped introduce the report atitspublicandcongressionallaunch,begin- ning in the fall of 2008 and continuing through 2009. •AFSAarrangedpress releases andarti- cle placements for the report’s rollout in leading media, including the Washington Post , and facilitated follow-on discussions with other media nationwide. •After the report’s release, theAmerican Academy of Diplomacy conducted a nationwide public education program to explain the realities of the Foreign Service today, and how those institutions can be strengthened tomake our diplomacymore effective. One part of that effort was to organize small groups of FS retirees tomeet withkey lawmakers in their home districts. AFSAprovided the names of (andmailed invitations to) Foreign Service retiree activists around the U.S. Many of them contacted their members of Congress advocating support for this critical resource increase, and they also participated in AAD’s outreach programs. ProjectChairmanAmb.ThomasBoyatt points to two things that distinguished the “FAB” project from the beginning. “First, we saw the publication of the report as the start, not the end, of the process.We spent as muchmoney, sweat and tears lobbying for our recommendationswithin the exec- utive and legislativebranches aswedidpro- ducing the report.” “Second,”Boyatt continues, “wedidnot engage inpre-emptive capitulation. When our recommendation for the addition of 4,735 new positions was published, most colleagues reacted along the lines of ‘non- starter,’ ‘noway’ and ‘ridiculous.’ But in the last 15 months about 3,500 of those posi- tions have been authorized and funded.” The report can be found at www.acad emyofdiplomacy.org/programs/fab_pro ject.html —Tom Switzer, Communications Director Left to right: AFSA President John Naland, former President Tony Holmes, Executive Director Ian Houston, Treasurer Andrew Winter and former President John Limbert cut the rib- bon to officially mark AFSA headquarters’ reopening, May 28. CHRISTINE WARREN AFSA Plays Crucial Role in Landmark AAD Report: “A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future” AFSA Headquarters Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony