The Foreign Service Journal, April 2006

matters. But given the powerful, often competing bureaucratic interests with- in State, I don’t see any reasonable alternative. In addition, while OBO does reasonably well in terms of site acquisition and construction, it is not now in a position to harmonize those interests. The NETs could also be of much- needed assistance to management sec- tions at posts seeking to set up new embassy compounds. After all, lost in the big picture and glamour of open- ing a new chancery are the numerous tasks typically laid at the feet of our management officers: caring for the never-ending stream of Washington visitors and staff on temporary duty; handling special procurement needs; coordinating the office moves; arrang- ing for swing space; and coordinating with Washington on the inevitable budget shortfalls associated with new embassy compound moves. No solution is perfect. But leaving coordination of the process to overseas management officers who already have full plates of ongoing support operations — and overstretched post management officers in Washing- ton who, in any event, lack the author- ity to coordinate functional bureau input — will only perpetuate the halt- ing, money-wasting process we have today. n Joseph Schreiber retired in 2004 after a career of 31 years in the Foreign Service, mainly in the management field. His most recent posts were as management counselor in San Salva- dor, Madrid and San Jose, where he now resides with his family and is a partner in a rain-forest vanilla opera- tion. He is also active in local school and community affairs, and works occasionally as a WAE management officer. The NETs would be able to accommodate all relevant bureaucratic interests from the start. A P R I L 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 Get Your Finances In Line With SDFCU Online You can depend on State Department Federal Credit Union for the ultimate in security and convenience with SDFCU Online banking. This FREE service allows you to access your Credit Union accounts via the Internet anytime, from anywhere in the world. Just go to www.sdfcu.org and click the SDFCU Online logo. You can conduct the following Credit Union business: Transfer funds between accounts Check current account balances View your account history over the last 15 months View check images View and pay your credit card bill online Pay Bills and much more!* See just how easy SDFCU Online is! Visit us at www.sdfcuonline.org and check out the easy demo! If you’re interested in becoming a member of State Department Federal Credit Union, give our Member Service Center a call at 703- 706-5000 , or outside the D.C. Metro area at 800-296-8882 . You can also email us at sdfcu@sdfcu.org . SDFCU Online puts us at your service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever you need us the most. Sign up today! *The Bill Payer service is available at no charge for Capital Club members. Otherwise, there is a low monthly fee of $3.95 for unlimited transactions. S P E A K I N G O U T u