The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2016 9 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Recognizing Excellence and Courage BY SHAWN DORMAN E Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. (East Pakistan, 1970-1971; Yugoslavia, 1993) and salutes the recent “Dissent 51” (Syria, 2016). We also highlight a selection of previous FSJ coverage of dissent . Please see AFSA News for complete coverage of the June 23 awards ceremony and profiles of all of the winners. We turn to diplomatic tradecraft in the focus section. In “Diplomatic Training: New Trends,” Ambassador (ret.) Kishan Rana surveys the international landscape and finds that foreignministries from London to Kuala Lumpur are expanding and intensifying their emphasis on training in innovative ways. FSOs Elijah Bush and Todd Hughes are both former foreign language teachers and recent FSI language students. They present a seriously practical guide to finding your way as a language student in “Five Ways to Tackle a New Language.” Then, with language well in hand, it’s time to get out to post and plan the perfect VIP visit. Through the lens of a recent presidential visit, U.S. Ambassador to Viet- namTed Osius recounts what he’s learned about how to plan andmanage such a visit. Hints: strategy, advance planning, teamwork, initiative and ownership. As youmay recall, the January-Feb- ruary Journal ’s focus onmental health care for the Foreign Service (beginning with our call for members to share their experiences) generated great interest and brought to light some serious issues and deficiencies in this area. Support for FS children with special needs emerged as an area of particular concern that warranted separate coverage. very September, in assembling a detailed report on AFSA’s awards program and the year’s recipients, we have the opportunity to intro- duce to you, in an in-depth and personal way, some of the stellar individuals who represent the best of the Foreign Service community. In June I had the distinct honor of interviewing Ambassador Ruth A. Davis, the 2016 recipient of AFSA’s Lifetime Con- tributions to American Diplomacy Award. Diplomat, leader, mentor, innovator, trailblazer—if you don’t find inspiration in her remarkable story, you won’t find it anywhere. Our spotlight on the AFSA awards, always with particular attention to the unique dissent awards, includes another inspiring story, from Jefferson Smith , win- ner of the 2016 Rivkin Award for Construc- tive Dissent. Smith is an FSOwho challenged prevailing practice on locally employed (LE) staff compensation and in the process helped secure a living wage for LE staff at U.S. Embassy Kuwait and other posts in the region. No other dissent awards were given this year, as Ambassador Barbara Stephenson explains in President’s Views . Further on dissent, Ambassador Tom Boyatt’s Retiree VP Voice column, “In Defense of Dissent,” is a must-read. Boyatt shares his own dissent story (Cyprus, 1974), reminds us of other significant examples So in June we published a Speaking Out by two FSOs, “Supporting FS Families with Special Needs Children,” that spelled out the challenges facing families and offered suggestions for improving access to the right care. We also published a series of comments fromFS parents weighing in on mental health support for their children. Those comments and others made it clear there is concern and confusion about access to care, allowances and other aspects of support. The office responsible for managing these issues as of 2013, the Child and Family Program, is part of the Bureau of Medical Services Mental Health Services Office. MED graciously offered to clarify the role of the CFP; we, in turn, provided a set of questions toMED, intending to publish a Q&A that would contribute to the conversation. In our lead feature this month, “MED’s Child and Family Program, Explained,” Deputy Medical Director for Mental Health Programs Dr. Kathy Gallardo describes the CFP—its origins, aims and responsibilities. She also provides the link toMED’s new online FAQ in which the bureau respond s tomost of our questions. Moving on to less weighty matters, we bring you, “Creepy Critters We Have Known” by Margaret Sullivan. Nothing l ike a few cicaks to lighten things up. In Speaking Out, retired FSO and veteranWorld’s Fair hand Beatrice Camp makes a plea to stop ignoring international expos and, instead, do them right. And FS spouse Laura Fabrycky offers a poignant reflection on a family road trip to Syria in 2011. Last but not least, Andrew Parker’s image fromLiberia speaks for itself. n