The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

AFSA NEWS CALENDAR THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION Secretary Kerry on Overseas Comparability Pay THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 47 April 1 12-1 p.m. Job Search Program Graduation Ceremony at FSI April 6 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting April 10-14 AFSA Road Scholar Program: “Diplomacy in Action: The Middle East, South Asia and Global Terrorism” Washington, D.C. May 4 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting May 6 Foreign Service Day/AFSA Memorial Plaque Ceremony May 22-26 AFSA Road Scholar Program: “The Middle East: Conflict and Controversy” Washington, D.C. May 24 2-3:30 p.m. AFSA Book Notes: The Wolf of Sarajevo by FSO Matthew Palmer May 30 Memorial Day: AFSA Offices Closed June 1 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting June 5-10 AFSA Road Scholar Program: “U.S. Foreign Policy for the 21st Century” Chautauqua, N.Y. June 23 4-6 p.m. AFSA Awards Ceremony At a town hall meeting on Feb. 8 in the Department of State’s Dean Acheson Auditorium, Secretary of State John Kerry discussed challenges to achieving work-life balance and ITmodernization, efforts to reform the Civil Service and the implications of the Paris climate agreement, among other topics. During the Q&A period, AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson thanked Secretary Kerry for his early and strong support of full OCP when he was on the Sen- ate Foreign Relations Com- mittee. She noted that worldwide- available members of the For- eign Service spend two-thirds of their careers overseas; yet when they deploy abroad alongside defense and intel- ligence colleagues, they are the only member of that trio to take a cut in basic pay. In conclusion, she asked what he planned to do in his last year as Secretary to bring home the final tranche of OCP. Sec. Kerry responded: “I will do everything in my power to have an impact on OCP,” and vowed to raise the mat- ter during upcoming budget hearings. (Kerry did just that in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Commit- tee on Feb. 23 and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Feb. 25. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Heather Higginbot- tom and USAID Administra- tor Gayle Smith echoed that support in their testimony on March 8 and March 15, respectively.) Kerry added that the struggle for OCP was emblematic of a much larger problem—the general lack of public awareness of what diplomacy is and why it matters. We must convince Americans that an investment in America’s foreign policy is a smart investment, he said. Amb. Stephenson met privately with the Secretary immediately prior to the town hall to discuss the importance of a healthy, attractive career path to ensure the Foreign Service recruits and retains the top talent needed to meet the foreign policy challenges of today and tomorrow. Stephenson also invited Kerry to do an interview for The Foreign Service Jour- nal , and he accepted. That interview will be featured in an upcoming issue. n —Maria C. Livingston, Director of Professional Policy Issues AFSA/MARIAC.LIVINGSTON AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson poses a question on Overseas Comparability Pay during the Feb. 8 town hall with Secretary of State John Kerry.