Following heavy pressure from both State and AFSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agreed to relax restrictions on importing dogs to the U.S. for government employees on orders, but only until Dec. 3, 2024. U.S. government employees located in high-risk rabies countries who will transfer (PCS) to the United States with their pet dog(s) between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, will still need to apply for a special authorization from the CDC if their dog holds only a foreign certification of rabies vaccination. FS members can apply to the CDC on the form at https:// bit.ly/DogBanForm. State Department employees can find the link on the PCS Portal and at the A/LM/OPS/TMP SharePoint. Note that the application must be submitted to CDC using your official government email. After Dec. 31, 2024, the new regulations will apply— see 24 State 57712 for details. AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi, State VP Tina Wong, and AFSA staff met with members of CDC’s Office of Policy and Regulatory Affairs in the Division of Global Migration Health on July 25. Yazdgerdi emphasized that some 40 percent of Foreign Service members are dog owners, and many of them serve overseas in high-risk countries. He thanked the CDC representatives for hearing AFSA’s concerns and for temporarily relaxing the restrictions for government employees. AFSA NEWS AFSA NEWSTHE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION 2024 AFSA National High School Essay Contest CALENDAR Please check afsa.org/events for the most up-to-date information. October 7 12-1; 1:30-2:30 p.m. AFSA Welcomes October 2024 Orientation Class (I) October 8 12-1:15 p.m. USAID Transition Webinar October 15 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board meeting October 16 12:30-1:30 p.m. AFSA Welcomes October 2024 Orientation Class (II) October 16 3-5 p.m. AFSA Awards Ceremony October 17 12:15-1 p.m. AFSA Welcomes the JSTP Macaroni Penny getting ready to move overseas. COURTESY OF WALTER PENNY Ian Rosenzweig, a junior at the Haverford Academy in Haverford, Pa., is the winner of this year’s AFSA National High School Essay Contest. He wrote about the threat that disinformation poses to democracy. The runner-up is Sarah Hutchison of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Ark., who wrote about China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This year, AFSA received 435 submissions from students across 43 states and numerous locations abroad. The winners were selected through three randomized, blind rounds of judging. In addition to the winner and runner-up, the judges also named eight honorable mentions: Salma M. Eid from Little Rock, Ark.; Kenji P. Farrell from Commerce Township, Mich.; Kaleolani Ilac from Santa Maria, Calif.; Jason N. Lee from San Jose, Calif.; Bradley A. Miller from Vadnais Heights, Minn.; Maadhavan Prasanna from Lakeville, Conn.; Gerald Qiu from Westborough, Mass.; and Sofia D. Yeromenko from Tulsa, Okla. AFSA is pleased to have received so many essay submissions this year and appreciates the support of our valued educational partners: the National Student Leadership Conference and Semester at Sea. Read Ian’s winning essay on page 67. n Dog Ban Negotiations Underway Continued on page 62 52 OCTOBER 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Ian Rosenzweig
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