The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2016 19 DS—Protecting the Olympic Team “T hey stand discreetly in the shad- ows, eyes keenly on the look-out, as women’s world number one tennis star Serena Williams perfects her blister- ing forehand at the Rio Olympics,” says an AFP reporter describing the role of U.S. Diplomatic Security Special Agents in Rio de Janeiro. A low-key presence, Diplomatic Secu- rity has joined with local forces in Brazil to help police the games and protect the athletes competing. Security has been a major talking point among athletes, officials, fans and media from several countries. The State Department’s advice for visiting Rio makes for alarming reading—car- jackings, shootings and muggings are all major concerns, and there have been numerous reports of sexual assaults. Brazilian authorities are responsible for overall security for the Olympics, but many countries have added their own extra layer to ensure that some of the big- gest names in sport are safe. DS Special Agents are not only a reassuring presence in the background of high-profile Olympic events. At the request of the Brazilian government, they have also been liaising with security and law-enforcement officials throughout American Foreign Service Association/Scholarship afsa.org/scholar AFSPA–FSBP afspa.org/FSBP AFSPA Life afspa.org Texas A&M/Bush School Bush.TAMU.edu Clements Worldwide Clements.com Collington Life Care Community http://collington.kendal.org/ Compass Rose Benefits Group www.compassrosebenefits.com/ unexpected The Hirshorn Company Hirshorn.com/USFS McGrath Real Estate Services McGrathRealEstate.com Peake Management, Inc. peakeinc.com Promax promaxrealtors.com WJD Management wjdpm.com Brazil to provide training in a variety of areas, from airport screening procedures to preventing serious incidents. —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor Yelp for Government Cafeterias A federal employee, Jason Walker, has set up a website reviewing a number of government agencies’ cafeterias, reports The Washington Post . Fedgrub.com reviews cafeterias from the Senate Building to the Department of State and targets approximately 313,000 federal workers who work in Washington, D.C., every day. “I rely on Yelp pretty heavily when I’m looking for new restaurants,” said Walker. “I wanted something to take the mystery out of government cafeterias.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture café has the best reviews so far. The State Department cafeteria rates 3.5 stars (out of 5) while the Federal Aviation Admin- istration cafeteria, at 1.5 stars, has a lot of catching up to do. Walker hopes his resource will be useful to federal workers in the capital. It may even put some of the lesser known government agencies on the map. n —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor Two DS special agents accompany Secretary of State John Kerry at the arena in Rio. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE