The Foreign Service Journal, October 2008

AFSA News Editor’s Note A fter eight (is that possible?) years with the Foreign Service Journal , I am passing AFSA News on to a wonderful neweditor, whommanyof you will recognize from these pages and else- where: FrancescaHuemerKelly. Francesca is a writer and editor who comes to us from inside the Foreign Service commu- nity. She takes over the AFSANews por- tion of my job in mid-September. The shift inmy positionwill allowme to focus on putting together the next edition of Inside a U.S. Embassy. Francesca is a freelancewriter and edi- tor who has written formanymagazines, including Redbook , Family Circle and Writer’s Digest . Her articles on college admission and other educational issues have appeared in the FSJ . In addition, she hasworked as a college counselor both in a high school setting and with private clients. Francesca is also a professional concert singer andwill be singingwith the Washington Bach Consort this season. A Foreign Service spouse since 1985, Francesca ismarried to FSOIanKelly and is themother of four children. They have served tours inMilan, Leningrad,Moscow, Belgrade, Vienna, Ankara, Rome, Brussels and Washington, D.C. Francesca is also co-founder of both the SUN ( Spouses’ Underground Newsletter , which ceased publication in1999) and Tales fromaSmall Planet (www.talesmag.com ), which fea- tures the popular Real Post Reports and is still going strong. Welcome, Francesca! o —Shawn Dorman A FSA, the official labor union and professional association for the Foreign Service, faces unprece- dented challenges at this critical moment for our profession. This is a time of dwin- dling resources and increasing hardship at our overseas posts. We are at a crossroads today in which the future shape of theU.S. diplomatic ser- vice hangs in the balance. AFSA needs good, conscientious people to come for- ward tohelpprotect the ForeignService by running for positions on our Governing Board. One individual can make a dif- ference and can have a significant impact on the many key issues AFSA is negotiat- ingwithmanagement. This is your chance to stand up for what you believe in. We are struggling topersuadeCongress to approve overseas comparabilitypay and to secure resources for our embassies and FIRST CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Join the 2009 AFSA Governing Board OC T OB E R 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 61 Continued on page 66 American Foreign Service Association • October 2008 AFSA NEWS JOSH U.S. Presidential Transition D uring the summer, AFSAmet separately with senior foreign policy advisers to both Senator JohnMcCain, R-Ariz., and Senator BarackObama, D-Ill. The discussions focused on the resource andmanagement needs of the overseas and domestic plat- forms, on which the next president will rely to implement his foreign policy. Both candi- dates’ representatives agreed that the ForeignServiceurgentlyneeds additional staffing, train- ing and increased operational budgets in order to conduct diplomacy and development assistance. AFSA also continues its active participation in the prestigious American Academy of Diplomacy’s ground-breaking “Foreign Affairs Budget of the Future” study. The study is designed to provide the next president and Congress with a detailed analysis of what bud- get is needed to enable the State Department and USAID to accomplish their missions in classic diplomacy, public diplomacy, development diplomacy and crisis response. The study will be released this month. Finally, as has been done in past election cycles, AFSA provided a suggested question on resources for diplomacy to themoderator of oneof the threeplannedpresidential debates. At press time, the nationally televised debate had not yet taken place. If asked, the ques- tionwill seek toput both candidates on record concerningnot just the importance of diplo- macy, but also the necessity of adequately funding that aspect of national security. o