The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

major malfeasance, and would soon afterward be arrested (along with her husband, who had been the consular asso- ciate) for visa fraud. For the next two weeks, I assisted the investigators in their collection of information (for example, by checking the hard drives of every computer). I also received the “third degree” myself due to my close personal and work- ing relationship with the accused. During this period, everyone at post was under immense strain, of course: for example, while the consular section was closed and cleaned out, we had to rebuild most of the section’s client workstations in time for the reopening. On top of all that, I was asked to act as the admin offi- cer, supervising a new General Services Officer and Financial Management Officer. As one can imagine, the GSO section was jumping through hoops to keep things going while also packing out the ex-admin officer’s house. And as if all that weren’t enough, we hosted visits by Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christine Rocca and various other VIPs. I’m glad to report that things are slowly getting back to normal. We now have a WAE admin officer filling in until the replacement admin officer arrives. I must say that, overall, the various admin sub-sections did a good job of surviving this crisis. I was extremely impressed with the teamwork the entire mission displayed while dealing with the increased workloads for all. I just hope in the future that nothing like this occurs to anyone. It’s a disaster for post performance and staff morale. No one deserves to endure the hardship that we did. Bruce Begnell Information Management Officer Embassy Colombo Needed: Upward Mobility As much as I enjoy being an Office Management Specialist in the U.S. Foreign Service, I absolutely deplore the archaic state of the OMS career path. Specifically, a newly-hired OMS today can reasonably expect only two competitive promotions in the course of an entire career. 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 57 MCG FINANCIAL PLANNING Former State Department Employee Stationed Overseas Understands Unique Financial Situation of Foreign Service Services Include: Retirement Planning Tax Preparation and Strategies Analysis: Insurance and Investments Lump Sum Retirement Options MARY CORNELIA GINN 4630 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 220 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Phone: (301) 951-9160 Fax: (703) 938-2278 E-mail: mcgfin@erols.com S ECURITIES OFFERED THROUGH N ATHAN & L EWIS S ECURITIES , I NC ., M EMBER NASD & SIPC. MCG F INANCIAL P LANNING AND N ATHAN & L EWIS ARE NOT AFFILIATED ENTITIES . Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” ❈ finder5@IX.netcom.com Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619 Executive Lodging Alternatives