The Foreign Service Journal, September 2022

Please check www.afsa.org for the most up-to-date information. September 5 Labor Day: AFSA offices closed September 11-15 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. September 21 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting September 22 Diplomats at Work: Commemorating the Afghanistan Evacuation September 25-30 AFSA Road Scholar Program Chautauqua, N.Y. October 10 Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day: AFSA offices closed October 19 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting AFSA NEWS AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION Honoring Archer Blood: Free Speech and the Right to Dissent CALENDAR Continued on page 64 THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2022 55 On June 29, Assistant Secre- tary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu hosted a ceremony at the National Museum of American Diplo- macy to honor the legacy of the late Foreign Service Officer and former Consul General to Dhaka Archer K. Blood. AFSA was pleased to sponsor the reception that followed. At the event, guests heard fromState Department Direc- tor General Marcia Bernicat; AFSAState Vice President TomYazdgerdi; Peter Blood, the son of the event’s honoree; retired Foreign Service Officer Scott Butcher, who served in Dhaka with Archer Blood and drafted the cable that came to bear his name; and Ambas- sador (ret.) Teresita Schaffer, wife of the late Ambassador Howard Schaffer. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/JAMESPAN From left: Peter Blood, retired FSO Scott Butcher, Amb. (ret.) Teresita Schaffer, State Department Counselor Derek Chollet and Assistant Secretary Donald Lu at the June 29 ceremony honoring Archer K. Blood. In April 1971, Consul Gen- eral Blood and 20 members of his staff sent one of the department’s first-ever dis- sent cables, known as the Blood Telegram, to then- Secretary of State William P. Rogers. Their reporting brought to light violence and mass atrocities committed against Bengalis, who were fighting for their indepen- dence in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The Blood Telegram protested U.S. policy toward East Pakistan and urged AFSA Holds Worldwide Virtual Town Halls AFSA President Eric Rubin and constituent agency vice presidents met with AFSA members around the world in a series of four regional virtual town halls in June. In the sessions, Ambas- sador Rubin told attendees that the association is proud to have the largest percent- age membership of any federal professional union, approaching 85 percent of active-duty employees, and continues to seek ideas and input from its members regarding areas for improvement, support and advocacy. One of AFSA’s main goals, he said, is to push for modernization in the Foreign Service, which operates on the basis of the personnel legislation laid out in the For- eign Service Act of 1980. “It was passed 42 years ago and negotiated in the 1970s—a very different time in our country’s history,” Rubin said. “We need more resources and more people so the Foreign Service can meet the needs and chal- lenges our country is facing today.” Even as AFSA focuses on big-picture issues, Rubin emphasized, it’s also con- centrating on the “nuts and bolts” of life in the Foreign Service to retain employees and address difficulties they face in their careers. Successes in this area include achieving parity with the military on in-state col- lege tuition for FS members and dependents, and the Foreign Service Families Act, which allows members to Continued on page 64