The Foreign Service Journal, October 2007

AFSA SITS DOWN WITH SEC. RICE Relations Renewed Between AFSA and the Secretary A FSA officers met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 26, just twoweeks intothenewGovern- ingBoard’s term. AFSAasked theSecretary tocontact keymembersofCongress tourge them to eliminate the overseas pay dispar- ity and to fully fund the StateDepartment’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget request for addi- tional personnel andoperatingcosts. Other issuesdiscussedat themeeting includedIraq staffing and security, family-friendly initia- tives, theproposeddiplomacymuseumand support for greater diversity in Foreign Service hiring. L ast year, theAFSAGoverningBoard unanimously agreed to pay the legal fees of private counsel to seek rever- sal of the Foreign Service Grievance Board’s erroneous dismissal of the separa- tion-for-cause case of a Foreign Service member. TheFSGBdismissed the caseafter the actingdirector general advised theboard that she hadwithdrawn the proposed sep- aration for cause, because the employeehad allegedly voluntarily resigned from the Foreign Service. The issues at stake in this case — an employee’s right to challenge procedural violations committedduring the revocation of his security clearance and to have the FSGB decide whether his separa- tion from the Foreign Service is warrant- ed — are of the utmost importance to AFSA and its members. Given the State Department’s abuse of procedures, theFSGB’s erroneous dismissal and the dangerous precedent it could set, AFSAhas beenclosely involved in this par- ticular case. On July 25, the Grievance Board granted the grievant’s motion for reconsideration, in part, stating it would retain jurisdictionover the “voluntariness” O n July 11, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented the first-place award for AFSA’s 2007 National High School Essay Contest to Sumit Malik of Great Falls, Va. Malik is a rising junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. His winning essay was titled “The Role of the Foreign Service in the Reconstruction of Iraq.” (You can read the essay at www. afsa.org/essaycontest/winningessay07.cfm. ) The first-place winner received $2,500, andhis school received$500. The second- place award of $1,250 went to Jeff Derbyshire, a rising senior at St. John’s School inHouston, Texas. His essay topic American Foreign Service Association • October 2007 SAFEGUARDING YOUR RIGHTS AFSA’s Protest Leads to New Hearing BY SHARON PAPP, GENERAL COUNSEL In This Issue: BRIEFS: FS WOMEN’S FORUM..........62 VP STATE: SEPARATED FAMILIES......63 VP RETIREE: A FRESH LOOK..............64 LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE..........65 VP USAID: PENNY WISE, POUND FOOLISH................................66 NEW LEGAL DEFENSE FUND .............69 AFSA ISSUE BRIEF: TRAINING DIPLOMATS.......................70 AFSA NEWS New FSJ/AFSA News Feature: AFSA Issue Brief Training America’s Diplomats Page 70 Continued on page 68 Continued on page 69 Continued on page 68 MICHAEL GROSS Essay Contest winner Sumit Malik with Secretary Rice. OC T OB E R 2 0 0 7 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 61 ESSAY CONTEST INTRODUCES STUDENTS TO THE FOREIGN SERVICE Secretary Rice Meets AFSA Essay Contest Winner BY TOM SWITZER, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS