The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

T HE M AGAZINE F OR F OREIGN A FFAIRS P ROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July/August issue by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal subscription: AFSAMembers - $13 included in annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mail- ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal , 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. E-MAIL: journal@afsa.org. W EB: www.afsa.org. TE LEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Association, 2005. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F Editor S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY Senior Editor S USAN B. M AITRA Associate Editor S HAWN D ORMAN Ad & Circulation Manager E D M ILTENBERGER Business Manager M IKKELA V. T HOMPSON Art Director C ARYN S UKO S MITH Editorial Intern B ROOKE D EAL Advertising Intern M ASHA S HMUKLER Editorial Board H OLLIS S UMMERS , C HAIRMAN K ENT C. B ROKENSHIRE S TEPHEN W. B UCK P ATI C HAPLIN C AROL A. G IACOMO W ILLIAM W. J ORDAN L AURIE K ASSMAN K AY W EBB M AYFIELD V IRGINIA F. S MITH C HRISTOPHER L. T EAL T ED W ILKINSON F O C U S O N F S I / F S T R A I N I N G 17 / T HE F OREIGN S ERVICE I NSTITUTE S ETTLES INTO A RLINGTON H ALL FSI is charged with designing and providing formal instruction to all employees of foreign affairs agencies. How well is it doing? By Steven Alan Honley 32 / FSI: C OMMENTS FROM THE F IELD Members share kudos and critiques of the Foreign Service Institute. By Susan Maitra 41 / A T FSI’ S H ELM : A N I NTERVIEW WITH K ATHY P ETERSON The past four years have ranked among the Foreign Service Institute’s busiest. FSI Director Katherine Peterson discusses the challenges of accommodating record enrollment. By Steven Alan Honley 49 / L ANGUAGE L EARNING 101 While some people find language learning a joy and a Foreign Service perk, others will always find it a long, hard slog. By Robin Holzhauer 55 / O N THE R OAD A GAIN ! T HE L IFE OF A CMT T RAINER FSI’s CMT Division has a mandate to train all of our overseas posts in crisis management. By Amelia Bell Knight C ONTENTS J u l y - A u g u s t 2 0 0 5  Vo l ume 8 2 , No . 7 T HE FSN E XECUTIVE C ORPS : A W IN -W IN I DEA / 60 Since 2000, Foreign Service National employees have pooled and shared their expertise with thousands of colleagues around the world. By Aldo Negrotti E-L EARNING FOR D IPLOMATS / 62 Internet-based training and education offer unique advantages for foreign affairs professionals. By Kishan Rana F E A T U R E AFSA A WARD W INNERS IN A CTION / 44 Photos and citations for some of this year’s winners. By Shawn Dorman S P E C I A L R E P O R T E LIGIBLE F AMILY M EMBER E MPLOYMENT : A T W ORK IN THE M ISSION / 66 By Shawn Dorman Cover illustration by Kevin Rechin C O L U M N S P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 5 The More Things Change, the Better They Get By John Limbert S PEAKING O UT / 13 Making Better Use of Eligible Family Members By Scott I. Danaher R EFLECTIONS / 88 By Barbara M. Bever D E P A R T M E N T S L ETTERS / 7 C YBERNOTES / 10 M ARKETPLACE / 12 B OOKS / 78 I NDEX TO A DVERTISERS / 86 AFSA N EWS / C ENTER I NSERT J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 3 See AFSA News