The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 5 October 2014 Volume 91, No. 10 FOREIGN SERVICE AFSA NEWS Celebrating the Life of Career Ambassador Terence A. Todman / 49 State VP Voice: Conversions and the Foreign Service / 50 FAS VP Voice: Member Survey Identifies Needed Changes / 51 Deputy Secretary Burns Meets AFSA Board, Committee Members / 51 USAID VP Voice: The Cost of Longer CPC Tours / 52 A USAID History Lesson / 53 AFSA Holds Town Hall for State Constituency / 53 CFC: Support AFSA’s Fund for American Diplomacy / 54 Adair Lecture Explores Diplomacy- Development Relationship / 55 Active After Active Duty: FSO Bikes Across the U.S. / 56 Congressman Seeks Insight on FS Life / 57 AFSA Program for Interns: Amb. John Limbert on Life in the FS / 58 Book Notes: Writing as Therapy for PTSD / 59 AFSAWelcomes First HECFAA Intern / 59 DACOR Keeps Foreign Service Community Connected / 60 A Conversation with FSO Author Matthew Palmer / 61 Family Member Matters: Letter to My Global Nomads / 62 AFSA Awards Nearly $200,000 in Financial Aid Scholarships / 63 COLUMNS President’s Views / 7 Two Secrets of the Foreign Service BY ROBERT J . S I LVERMAN Letter from the Editor / 8 Specialists Today BY SHAWN DORMAN Speaking Out / 17 What Specialists Want You to Know COMP I L ED BY FRANCESCA KE L LY Reflections / 73 Refugee to Diplomat: A Journey BY TONY HORN I K-TRAN DEPARTMENTS Letters / 9 Talking Points / 11 Books / 68 Local Lens / 74 MARKETPLACE Classifieds / 64 Real Estate / 70 Index to Advertisers / 72 On the cover: Diplomatic Courier Ed Bent, at right, manages pouches in Frankfurt, July 2009. Photo courtesy of Inside a U.S. Embassy , 2011. Below, a school for Afghan refugee children. Photo: Embassy Islamabad. FOCUS FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALISTS The New Specialists / 21 Here is a look at the wide world of Foreign Service Specialists. We explore who they are, the many critical things they do, and how their work has evolved with our changing times. BY FRANCESCA KE L LY Specialists Reflect on Their Work / 33 A compilation. Best. Job. Ever. BY WI L L I AM M I DDL ETON King for a Day BY W. PAUL MARGUL I ES J R . A To-Do List from a Financial Management O•cer BY AN FMO AT AN AS I A POST Despite Challenges and Change, We Make a Di—erence BY HENRY MENDE LSOHN FEATURES Learning fromWomen’s Successes in Afghanistan / 38 Sensitivity and technical know-how are at a premium when working in these fragile and insecure environments. BY SANDYA DAS Flying Monkeys in the Embassy / 41 For 24 hours, the most heavily fortified building in Colombo was compromised by a monkey. BY CHR I STOPHER TEAL FS KNOW-HOW Child Custody Issues in Foreign Service Divorces / 44 Here is a primer on the custody issues involved in Foreign Service divorces and how to approach them. BY SUSAN KEOGH , ANN LA PORTA AND D I ANE HOLT