The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2014 9 Promoting Professional Discourse I have been following with great enthusiasm what I see as a new direction for AFSA, and hope you will keep it up. I was initially skeptical of the Chief-of-Mis- sion Guidelines project, thinking it would just serve to create a rift between the career and political sides of the house. But in the end it seems to have laid down a marker that was both important and helpful, an initiative that to my mind is much more useful than the kind of sniveling AFSA was engaged in over the previous several years. I have also enjoyed Robert J. Silver- man’s recent President’s Views columns, starting with the defense of nationbuild- ing and the references to George Ken- nan’s work. In regard to the question of why the Foreign Service doesn’t seem to produce any Ken- nans these days, I conducted a project for the Council on Emerging National Security Affairs several years ago titled “The Search for Mr. X.” The June 2008 edition of your Cybernotes depart- ment (now Talking Points) reported on that project. I wonder if AFSA might serve as a venue for searching for that post-con- tainment national security doctrine that has eluded us for more than two decades now. Perhaps AFSA could run a “Calling Mr./Ms. X” contest in which contestants get two pages to write a “Short Telegram,” and AFSA publishes them online with a bit of fanfare. There are a lot of new ideas out there that are cowed by the system, and a lot LETTERS of creativity that is crushed over time. Just compare the bright eyes of entry-level officers with the tired cyni- cism of so many mid-level and senior-level officers. In any case, I ammuch more enthused by an AFSA that raises the level of intellec- tual and professional discourse than one that just goes after that third tranche of overseas comparability pay. Keep it up! Keith W. Mines FSO Embassy Tel Aviv Get Rid of “Up or Out” I was pleased and flattered that Thomas Longo, writing in your March issue, f ound comfort in my December 2013 Speaking Out column, “A Plea for Greater Teamwork in the Foreign Service.” Though I was no t previously aware of Mr. Longo’s sad experience, I am familiar with similar outcomes created by the up-or-out rules embedded in the Foreign Service Act of 1980. Despite that history, some FSOs may share the viewpoint of Tyler Sparks, whose Speaking Out column in the April FSJ calls for reviving the Powell Fellows Program. Such efforts to hand-pick young officers for privileged, fast-track assignments to the top may work in the military. But, like up or out, I don’t think such favoritism is appropriate for the much smaller Foreign Service. When we copy from the military, it is wise to be carefully selective. So, FSOs unite! If up or out is to be repealed or overhauled, it will require a campaign like what we “Young Turks” on the 1970 AFSA Governing Board orchestrated to turn AFSA into our labor union—with spectacularly good results ever since. FSOs, start tweeting on your social networks and writing to The Foreign Service Journal to make that happen. You have nothing but your rival- ries to lose! George B. Lambrakis FSO, retired London, U.K. Thank You, AFSA! My son’s university of choice, and of heart, added my housing (in Europe!) to my salary in computing his financial award package. In fact, all the schools did. I will say as a proud mom that my son received a wonderful merit scholarship, but we still had a long way to go to meet the costs for this small private university. I asked for an appeal, explaining that the cost of our housing is not added to my salary; nor do I see it or feel it! My appeal was denied. This school truly wanted my son as much as my son wanted to go and was not being difficult. They were just follow- ing the rules set by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, which is used by the U.S. Department of Education to determine the “expected family contribution” to paying for college. I called AFSA and was put in touch with James Yorke. Without hesitation, Mr. Yorke became a champion for my son. He wrote a letter to the vice president of financial aid at the university, and AFSA State VP Matthew Asada signed it. The letter clarified how the practice of adding Foreign Service housing to income is off target. This appeal was approved, and the revised award package was outstanding.