The Foreign Service Journal, April 2022

6 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 77 Reflections Touching the Ceiling By V i n c e n t Ch i a re l l o 78 Local Lens Abu Dhabi, UAE By Ad am We s t 53 AFSA President Discusses Challenges Facing the Foreign Service 53 AFSAMeets with Secretary of State Blinken 54 State VP Voice—The Need for Data-Driven DEIA Decisions 55 USAID VP Voice—FSO Scarcity: Stretching the Limits 56 Retiree VP Voice—Foreign Service and AFSA Centennials 56 AFSA Governing Board Meeting, Jan. 19, 2022 57 AFSATreasurer’s 2021 Report 58 Save the Date: AFSA’s Foreign Service Day Programming 58 Consult AFSA’s Tax Guide Online 59 AFSA Seeks Award Nominations for 2022 60 AFSA President Speaks at Havana Syndrome Conference 60 Daily Chatter Offers AFSA Discount 61 AFSAWelcomes New Hires to the Foreign Service 61 Become an AFSA Post Representative 62 AFSAWelcomes New Publications Coordinator 63 Nominate Family Members for AAFSW and DACOR Awards On the Cover— Design by Caryn Suko-Smith of Driven by Design LLC. Photos from left: Dutch tulips, courtesy of Karen Sliter; a “hobby” sheep farm threatened by foot-and-mouth disease during the 2001 outbreak in the United Kingdom, courtesy of APHIS Vienna; female medfly pumps eggs into a ripe coffee berry, courtesy of Scott Bauer/USDA. Marketplace 72 Real Estate 75 Classifieds 76 Index to Advertisers FOREIGN SERVICE 7 President’s Views The Big Impact of a Small Agency By E r i c Ru b i n 9 Letter from the Editor Happy Anniversary, APHIS! By Sh awn Do rma n 22 Speaking Out No One Was Listening: Russia, 1992 By K r i s t i n K . Lo ke n Perspectives Departments 10 Letters 14 Letters-Plus 17 Talking Points 64 Films 68 Books AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION