The Foreign Service Journal, December 2006

is anopportunity tooffer their expert advice, many of our best personnel choose not to present a reasoned and constructive stand if it differs fromthe status quoview, because they fear negative repercussions to their careers. Our country is facing enormous chal- lenges in the conduct of foreignpolicy today inmany areas of theworld. Whenaddress- ing critical issues relating to Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran, to name a few, there is a need for the best expertise and creativity available in the Foreign Service. As Senator Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, declared when he accepted AFSA’s 2005 Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award in June of that year, “Our country depends on the Foreign Service to temper a world that is often uncertain and dangerous. We take for granted that FSOs will venture into hostile circumstances to advance American interests, oftenwith far less pro- tection than corresponding military units. Many Foreign Service officers have given their lives in service to their coun- try. Innumerable others have made the deep personal sacrifices of being away from their families, of risking their health in difficult posts and of forgoing more lucrative financial opportunities in other fields. Rarely are these sacrifices cel- ebrated or even understood by casual ob- servers.” AFSA’s Constructive Dissent Awards provide a means to honor and recognize themenandwomenof the ForeignService who have demonstrated the courage and integrity to take an unpopular stand because they believe passionately that their professional opinion should be val- ued. Consider these examplesofConstruct- ive Dissent Award winners from the past few years: • A mid-level officer sent a Dissent Channel cable in2003 titled, “Let theU.N. Manage thePoliticalTransition inIraq.” He was one of the first FSOs to volunteer for duty in Iraqwith theCoalitionProvisional Authority, and continued to identify issues and propose alternative policies through- out his tour there. •Amid-level officer felt theDepartment of Homeland Security’s policies were hurting relations between the U.S. and Muslims inPanama, sohe challenged and ultimately influenced DHS’s passenger- screening procedures, as well as the embassy’s approach to engagement with Panama’s Muslim community. • AForeignService specialist authorized the broadcast of a controversial news inter- view on the Voice of America, despite intense pressure against it, in an effort to defendVOA’s congressional charter,which requires reporting to be “accurate, objec- tive and comprehensive.” These examples demonstrate the intel- lectual courage and integrity of Foreign Servicepersonnelwhowerewilling towork within the system to bring about change. AFSAbelieves thatmembers of theForeign Service should not just be rewarded for superior performanceof duties, but also for theirwillingness to ask toughquestions, to present alternatives to the status quo and to take a stand forwhat theybelieve, despite the consequences. AFSA’s Constructive Dissent Awards have been a proud tradition for almost 40 years, with the establishment of the first award in 1968 in honor of Ambassador WilliamR. Rivkin. Amb. Rivkin was first appointed to Luxembourg by President JohnF.Kennedy, and later servedas ambas- sador toSenegal until his death in1967. He was described by colleagues who had the privilege of workingwithhimas someone whohad “a fierypassion for truth and fair- ness.” He was known for asking tough questions and expecting serious answers. He had the deepest respect for the career professionals in the ForeignService, andhe advocated that they be proud of their ser- vice and courageous in their convictions. TheWilliamRivkinAward is presented to a mid-level officer. Nomination Procedures Please consider nominating someone for one of these four ConstructiveDissent Awards: The Tex Harris Award for Foreign Service specialists ; TheW. Averell Harriman Award for entry-level officers (FS 6-4); TheWilliamR.RivkinAwardformid- level officers (FS 3-1); The Christian A. Herter Award for senior-level officers (FEOC-CA). Thenomination should include the fol- lowing: Part I — The name of the award for which the person is being nominated; the nominee’s name, grade, agency and posi- tion. Part II—Thenominator’sname, grade, agency and position, and a description of the association with the nominee. Part III—The justification for thenom- ination. This narrative should discuss the actions andqualitieswhich the nominator believes qualify thenominee for the award, giving specific examples of accomplish- ments that fulfill the criteria stated in the previous paragraph. Part III should not exceed 700 words. All winners receive a monetary award of $2,500 and a framed certificate, and are honored at a reception in late June at the State Department’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room. The Secretary of State is invited to participate in the ceremony. Please note that the Constructive Dis- sent Awards are not for performance of assigned duties, however exceptional. Submissions that donotmeet the above cri- teria of initiative, integrity and intellectual courage, which contributes to constructive dissent, as determined by our judges and theAwards &PlaqueCommittee, will not be considered. Further details on nomination proce- dures, additional guidelines and a nomi- nation form can be found on the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/awards.cfm . From there, you can also link to articles about the AFSA awards and find a com- prehensive listing of past award winners. Questions shouldbedirected toBarbara Berger, Coordinator forProfessional Issues, by e-mail: berger@afsa.org ; telephone: (202) 338-4045, ext. 521; or fax: (202) 338- 8244. Thedeadline for submittingall nom- inations is Feb. 28, 2007. A F S A N E W S 62 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / DE C EMB E R 2 0 0 6 Dissent Awards • Continued from page 59