The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

66 SEPTEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Building Lifelines for Consulate General Erbil THE NELSON B . DELAVAN AWARD FOR A FORE I GN SERV I CE OF F I CE MANAGEMENT SPEC I AL I ST JUL I A HARR I SON Only days after reporting for duty in Erbil, Iraq, Julia Harrison found herself in the midst of an ordered depar- ture due to the near capture of the city by the Islamic State group. As nonessential personnel cleared out, Har- rison’s already substantial workload as the office man- agement specialist (OMS) to Consul General Joseph Pen- nington grew even heavier. Those who remained found they could no longer leave the consulate com- pound except to conduct offi- cial business. The restriction meant that nearly two-thirds of the staff would never set foot outside the consulate walls—not to visit tourist sites, not to attend social events, not to dine at local restaurants. And while U.S. airstrikes successfully halted the IS attack, the fear of future assaults consumed both American and locally employed (LE) staff. What Harrison did next earned her this year’s Nelson B. Delavan Award, a recogni- tion reserved for an OMS, who has made a significant con- tribution to post and morale beyond the framework of his or her job responsibilities. Stepping in to fill the vac- uum left by the community liaison officer (CLO) who was forced to relocate, Harrison worked with the manage- ment office to establish an all-volunteer CLO Commit- tee. Under her leadership, the committee developed a rich program of after-hours social activities, such as yoga, cooking classes and trivia contests. COURTESYOFJULIAHARRISON Consulate personnel line up for some grilled grub at a community event. In line, from left: Sgt. Rumeal Roman, Sgt. Roman Penn, Sgt. Jose Nunez, Sgt. Shane Leksell and Sgt. Evan Kolodey. In back: Regional Security Officer Cody Perron. COURTESYOFJULIAHARRISON Julia Harrison with consulate colleagues during a CLO Committee barbecue. From left: Deputy Principal Officer William Silkworth, Harrison and Management Officer Richard Boohaker. Together with LE staff, she invested significant time and energy in broadening the culinary options available to consulate personnel. With only one fast-food restaurant and three snack shops on the compound, Harrison’s colleagues were more than enthused to give visiting outside vendors their busi- ness. She even secured the agreement of 42 restaurants to deliver sustenance—ahem, Cinnabon—directly to the consulate gates. When Thanksgiving rolled around, Harrison arranged for a delivery of a differ- ent sort: an air shipment of frozen turkeys from Embassy Baghdad. Having worked as an executive assistant with the military in a former life, Harrison made a special effort to include members of the several Marine Security Augmentation Units rotating through on 45-day tours and the Marine Security Guard Detachment. It was also a great excuse to hold consul- atewide barbecues. For all these actions—or as the State Department’s OMS Coordinator Teresa Holtzman explains it, “for bringing superb solutions… under harsh conditions”— Harrison can rightly be described as the embodi- ment of Foreign Service excellence. Prior to joining the Ser- vice, Harrison served in the Civil Service and spent more than 15 years as an execu- tive assistant in the military. She also worked as a public affairs assistant to the 101st Airborne Division. n AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS