THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2025 59 AFSA NEWS Retired and active-duty diplomats gather at AFSA headquarters during the annual Foreign Service Day open house. AFSA/MARK PARKHOMENKO AFSA’s publications table offered attendees the chance to browse and take copies of recent editions of The Foreign Service Journal and copies of Inside a U.S. Embassy. AFSA staff gather on the steps of the DACOR Bacon House wearing #StandUpForService shirts on May 8. AFSA/MARK PARKHOMENKO AFSA/MARK PARKHOMENKO hosted the presentation of the 2025 Foreign Service Cup to Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns, honoring his distinguished career in diplomacy and his continued service to the Foreign Service community. The presentation of the award was moved out of the State Department award ceremony the day before, without explanation. Accepting the award, Ambassador Burns reflected on the strength and purpose of the institution: “We should really be proud today of what we’ve contributed. … The history of the Foreign Service and of the work that all of you did individually and cumulatively—that can’t be erased from a website. And what we stand for can’t be cast aside. “It’s the nonpartisanship explicit in the Hatch Act and implicit in the oath that we all take to the Constitution when we begin to serve. Like you, I would never have asked and never did ask a Foreign Service colleague: what party do you belong to? Are you red, or are you blue? It would’ve been wrong to ask such a question—it still is—and it would’ve been contrary to what is embedded deep in our Foreign Service DNA. We work for both parties and we work for whomever the American people elect.” A video of the ceremony is available at https://bit.ly/ FS-Cup. n
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