The Foreign Service Journal, September 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2018 57 AFSA NEWS AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION George F. Kennan Award Winner Announced Every year, AFSA spon- sors the George F. Kennan Strategic Writing Award, which is given to a Foreign Service officer and graduate of the National War College in recognition of the cumulative effort of his or her Individual Strategy Research Project and overall writing through- out the year at the college. The award is presented at the National War Col- lege’s distinguished gradu- ate award ceremony at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a fellow alumnus and retired general, was the keynote speaker at this year’s ceremony. Kelly emphasized the importance of staying connected with fellow classmates; as the premier interagency foreign policy thinkers, he said, their insights will be invaluable to graduates as they continue with their careers. There were 20 members of the Foreign Service in the class of 2018, four of whom were distinguished graduates of the class. The winner of this year’s Kennan Award was FSO Mark L. Fleming. He was recog- nized for six of his papers, including his ISRP, which received best-in-class honors. He also received the Frank Traeger Award for excellence in writing from the National Defense University Faculty Alumni Association. Mr. Fleming’s papers were: • “A U.S. Approach to Defend the Rules-Based Former AFSA Governing Board member Josh Glazeroff, at left, and NDU Commandant Major General Chad Manske, at right, congratulate Kennan Award winner FSO Mark Fleming. AFSA/THEOHORN CALENDAR September 3 Labor Day – AFSA Offices Closed September 7 7:05 p.m. Third Annual Foreign Service Night at Nationals Park: Nationals vs. Cubs September 9-13 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. September 12 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting September 18 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Luncheon: Incoming USAID FSO Class September 20 4:30-6:30 p.m. AFSA’s Fall Happy Hour September 23-27 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. September 26 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. “Everything You Need to Know about TSP” September 30-October 5 AFSA Road Scholar Program Chautauqua, N.Y. October 8 Columbus Day – AFSA Offices Closed October 10 4-6 p.m. Annual AFSA Awards Ceremony October 17 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting International Order in Ukraine” • “The ‘4-D’ (Deter, Develop, Delegitimize and Discuss) United States Approach to Russia” • “A New U.S. Strategy to Curtail Pakistan’s Support to Militant Groups” • “Domestic Factors Behind U.S. Strategy Towards Russia” • “Strategic Environment Behind U.S. Strategy Towards Ukraine” • “The Rationale For and Against U.S. Withdrawal from JCPOA” Mr. Fleming’s next posting will be as deputy director of the Pakistan Office in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Prior to attend- ing the National War College, he served as deputy politi- cal counselor in Islamabad, political-economic counselor in Zagreb, and director for Balkan and Caucasus Affairs on the National Security Council. He has also served in Pristina, Sarajevo and Yerevan, and on a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Mr. Fleming says his time at the National War College offered a unique opportunity to work closely with U.S. military officers and their interagency counterparts in analyzing the most complex national security challenges facing the United States. n