The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

teams were sent into the cities that had the most damage. Relief supplies and personnel arrived in a couple of days. Another earthquake struck in February. They worked long hours while living with what felt like constant dan- ger from literally hundreds of aftershocks around the clock for a couple of months. Meeting Danger and Dignitaries In the first few hours after the August 1998 bombing of our embassy in Nairobi, OMSs maintained a log of wounded embassy personnel and the hospital to which each had been rushed. They started lists of those accounted for and those still missing. Two OMSs were the first embassy staff to head to the USAID building across town to set up 24-hour contact with the State Department Operations Center. In the ensuing weeks they begged, borrowed and commandeered everything from desks and chairs to computers, cell phones and wastebaskets to achieve a degree of normalcy in chaotic surroundings. OMSs have shaken hands not only with many U.S. presidents, but also many foreign presidents and other dignitaries. One even has a picture of herself with Kevin Costner, taken when he visited the White House! Another OMS expressed her love for the color, history and tradition of Guatemalan culture through her painting and by participating in weekly classes with local artists. These activities culminated in a show of their work at the home of a prominent Guatemalan family. OMSs have participated in USAID-sponsored trips to remote parts of Bolivia to bring potable water, supplies and health aids, mentored Peace Corps volunteers and visited their sites, and watched dust storms in Africa erase the road they were on in a matter of seconds. Yes, Office Management Specialists are on the move… ■ F O C U S S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 39 Linda O’Brien was OMS Coordinator for the Bureau of Human Resources from 2002 to 2003. She thanks her OMS colleagues who contributed to this article. eldercare