The Foreign Service Journal, June 2010

J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 5 Treating Office Management Specialists As Force Multipliers By Susan R. Johnson S PEAKING O UT / 12 Diego Garcia: Freedom’s Footprint, or Enduring Injustice? By Gerald Loftus R EFLECTIONS / 92 Where’s Home? By Christopher Henze L ETTERS / 7 C YBERNOTES / 9 B OOKS / 60 I NDEX TO A DVERTISERS / 90 Cover and inside illustration by Jeff Moores J U N E 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 3 C ONTENTS June 2010 Volume 87, No. 6 F O C U S O N T H E C O N S U L A R F U N C T I O N T HE C ONSULAR R EVOLUTION / 16 The basic qualities good consular officers possess — integrity and sound judgment — haven’t changed. But the tools they use have. By Ann B. Sides A N I NTERVIEW WITH A SSISTANT S ECRETARY J ANICE L. J ACOBS / 21 A/S Jacobs provides a candid look at the changes CA has made since 9/11 and its planning for future challenges. By Rosemary Macray W HY C ONSULAR I NTERVIEWS M ATTER / 27 Visa officers rarely meet applicants again once an interview is over. But sometimes they get to see that they’ve made a real difference. By Richard Silver W HEN G OOD O FFICERS G O B AD / 31 The Consular Integrity Division uses lessons learned from past malfeasance to head off future incidents. By Robert W. Thomas “W E ’ RE ON F ACEBOOK ” / 35 As the face of the Department of State for countless people around the world, consular staff use social media in novel ways. By William Bent R EMEMBERING M ARY R YAN / 39 The late CA assistant secretary’s 2002 dismissal was a transforming event in the modern history of the consular service. By Edward Alden W HY I C HOSE C ONSULAR / 46 Seven Foreign Service employees offer insights into what makes consular work rewarding — if also, at times, frustrating. S C H O O L S S U P P L E M E N T O NLINE E DUCATION : U NPRECEDENTED O PPORTUNITIES / 62 Online education gives Foreign Service families the means to tailor their learning needs to their circumstances. By Kristi Streiffert S CHOOLS AT A G LANCE / 73 Essential data on educational choices.