The Foreign Service Journal, November 2003

NOVEMBER 2003 • AFSA NEWS 3 FOREIGN SERVICE BOOKS The Perfect Couple I nside aU.S. Embassy is a look at the real- ity of ForeignServicework and Realities of Foreign Service Life is a look inside Foreign Service life. AFSA — represent- ingFSemployees—published Inside ,while the Associates of the American Foreign ServiceWorldwide—representingFS fam- ily members —published Realities . Both books are unique in their presentation of personal “through the eyes of” views of life and work at U.S. embassies and consulates. These two books make a great pair, giving the most complete pic- ture of life and work in the Foreign Serviceavailabletoday. Theyaregreat resources for anyone considering a Foreign Service career, anyone new to the Foreign Service, and anyone simply interested in learning more about the Foreign Service. At 275 pages, Realities has sevensections:An Overview of Foreign Service Life, Moving andAdjusting,Views fromAbroad, Family Life, Work and Technology, Moments of Crisis, and Returning Home. Issues tack- led include evacuations andcrisis response, family member work options, educating childrenabroad, divorce in theFS,medical clearances, as well as food, pet travel and much more. Inside is the only book that describes what Foreign Service officers and special- ists actually do on the job, from Paris to Kabul, fromBogota to Beijing, and places in between. The book includes profiles of 23 of your Foreign Service colleagues around the world, day-in-the-life entries fromofficers and specialists in17 different countries and stories of the extraordinary from 26 countries. To order Inside a U.S. Embassy , go to www.afsa.org/insideor c all (847) 364-1222. The price is $12.95plus shipping andhan- dling. You may be eligible for a compli- mentary copyof thebook if youplan touse it for a speaking engagement or class. Contact embassybook@afsa.org for more information. To order Realities of Foreign Service Life , go to amazon.com (preferably by using a link from either the AFSA or AAFSW Web site) or call (202) 362-6514. The cost is $20.95 plus shipping and handling. Proceeds from the sale of both books go towards AFSA and AAFSW efforts to support the FS community. ▫ Other distinguished officials also pub- licly came to the defense of the Foreign Service. Ambassador Thomas Boyatt, for- mer president of AFSAand two-timewin- ner of AFSA dissent awards, speaking on National PublicRadio’sMorningEdition, commented: “Unfortunately,Mr.Gingrich appears to view foreign policy assessment byU.S. diplomats as disloyalty to the pres- ident when those assessments differ from Mr. Gingrich’s own views.” Former Ambassador to the U.N. Richard Hol- brookewrote in the WashingtonPost that, “Where Gingrich sees State Department insubordination; I see a dedicated group of men andwomen serving their nation.” Forover30years,AFSAhassponsored a program to recognize and encourage constructivedissentandrisk-takinginthe ForeignService. TheAFSAdissent awards publicly recognize individuals who have demonstrated the intellectual courage to challenge the system from within, to question the status quo, to disagree with conventional wisdom. Several years ago, inanattempt todefine the type of individual who meets the cri- teria for one of AFSA’s dissent awards, the Journal publishedanarticle entitled“What Characterizes AFSA Award Winners?” These comments are event more relevant today: “AFSA should seek through its awards to encourage officers to use their intellec- tual talents, areaand linguistic expertise, and pride in the concept of service to promote critical and constructive solutions to issues of foreignpolicy andnational security. The awards should recognize those men and women of the Service who are willing to tackle tough and complex problems head on, to call the shots as they are, and topro- pose practical and creative solutions.” AnthonyC. E.Quainton, RivkinAwardwin- ner, 1972, andHerter Awardwinner, 1984. Send AFSA Your Nomination This is your opportunity to help AFSA show that dissent is not insubor- dination,butisvitaltothestrengthofthe Foreign Service. Most of us know peo- ple who should be recognized for taking a courageous stance on some issue pertain- ing to their work. Please take the time to think aboutwhichof your colleaguesmeet the criteria. In addition to a $2,500 cash award, winnerswill be publicly recognized at a ceremony in the State Department’s BenjaminFranklinDiplomaticReception Room in late June (Secretary Powell attended in2002and2003). TheDecember issue of AFSA News will have more detailed informationabout eachawardand howto submit anomination. Youcanalso go to the AFSA Web site (www.afsa.org) and click on “Awards” to get additional information. The September 2003 issue of the Journal features this year’s AFSA awardswinners. The 2003 recipient of the TexHarrisAward forDissent by a Foreign Service Specialist, ChuckO’Malley, said it best: “If theboat’snot rocking, it’snot going anywhere.” Let’s show Newt Gingrich we’re not afraid to rock the boat! ▫ Dissent• Contiued from page 1