The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

AFSA MEMBERSHIP Keeps Growing AFSA has added over 600 new active- duty members this year. The majority of these new members join at our well-attended recruitment luncheons for incoming generalists and specialists. By mid-August, AFSA had hosted over 687 new employees in 2004 at these events, including entry classes from State, USAID and FAS. These new members not only bring new strengths and abilities to the Foreign Service, but allow AFSA to take a fresh look at the concerns of the next generation of Foreign Service leaders. Membership stood at 12,761 in mid-August. If you're not a member, visit www.afsa.org/mbr/active.cfm to see what membership can offer you. OCTOBER 2004 • AFSA NEWS 7 BACKGROUND : Text of the June 16 let- ter fromAFSAPresident John Limbert to USAA CEO Robert G. Davis: I recently returned froma tour of duty in Iraq to resume my duties as AFSA President. Uponmy return, I found [Vice President forMarketing] Karen Presley’s letter of May 21 to AFSA Vice President Louise Crane on the subject of your asso- ciation’s exclusion of Foreign Service offi- cers fromtheU.S. Agency for International Development, theDepartment of Comm- erce, and the Department of Agriculture frommembership. I have also seen copies of the identical letters fromMs. Presley to Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, and USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios. I can only conclude fromMs. Presley’s letters that USAA, for reasons of its own, is determined to exclude this small group. Your initial argument was that the agencies did not have the appropriatemis- sion statement, yet there was no change in your stance when we noted that State and USAID had the same mission state- ment. At that point, the argument became about national security. When it was clear that all Foreign Service offi- cers serve and protect U.S. national secu- rity, the argument yet again changed, now hitched to a point about a “niche mar- ket.” Mr. Davis, whatever will USAA think of next? Mr. Davis, what kind of niche includes hundreds of thousands of enlisted and commissionedmilitary personnel and still excludes less than 2,000 Foreign Service officers who serve their country in very dangerous places? I hope that USAA is not saying, for instance, that USAID employee Laurence Foley, murdered by terrorists in Jordan inOctober 2002, was not part of USAA’s “niche market.” Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. July 22 Response from USAA CEO Davis: Thank you for your letter of June 16, 2004. I appreci- ate the opportunity to respond to you on behalf of the USAA Board of Directors. I amaware of the series ofcorrespondencebetween USAA and the American Foreign Service Associa- tionregardingUSAAeli- gibility. By way of this letter, I am reinforcing USAA’s position. It is incumbent upon the USAA Board of Directors to preserve USAA for the purpose for which it was founded—to serve the needs of United Statesmilitary forces. Based on our clearmission, any deviations fromour eligibility criteria, such as those you sug- gest, could deteriorate the definition of USAA’s market niche to an indefinable group. This stringent criteria allows us to legally preserve USAA for generations to come. All of the eligibility criteria you refer to have been in effect for several years. As we receive requests for eligibility, we eval- uate every request with that criteria. Your request does not meet our require- ments. TheUSAABoard of Directors has deep regard forUnited States citizens serv- ing on behalf of the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, and United States Agency for International Development. Their work is certainly important, but that does not constitute eligibility for USAA. Ambassador Limbert, I appreciate your candid remarks and the consider- ation you have given to this issue. Thank you for allowing us to clarify our posi- tion. Briefs • Continued on page 8 MEMO OF THE MONTH USAA & the Foreign Service: The “Discussion” Continues Looking for a Few Good Memos Have you gotten a memo recently that leaves you scratching your head, laughing at the absurdity or crying at the craziness? If youhave, and if it’s unclassified, please share it withAFSA. Even institutions as sober as the State Department, USAID and our other foreign affairs agen- cies generate a fewabsurdmemos fromtime to time. Let’s cherish them, share them, use them to lighten an other- wise heavy load. We will print the best of the worst as Memos of the Month periodically on these pages. Send your submis- sions anytime t o fsjedit@afsa .org. OurAFSANETcall has already generate d sev eral wort hy contenders forMemoof the Month. Keep them coming! By way of example, we offer up the first contribution, the July 22 response toAFSAPresident JohnLimbert from Chairman and CEO of USAA Robert G. Davis. His let- ter offers the latest in a series of illogical explanations for whyUSAAnowrejects all applications fromUSAID, FCS and FAS members. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 6