The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

T hememoryof Leipzig still brings tears to Ambassador Rozanne Ridgway’s eyes, even though it has been21years since the peaceful demonstrations. The march of tens of thousands of East Ger- mans, carrying candles and daring the Soviet Union to bring out its troops, she says, was a thrilling event. Even more thrillingwas that the SovietUniondidnot bring out those troops. “Andwith that, itwas very clear that the wall was the next thing to fall,” she said to a crowdof diplomats and academics at the American Foreign Service Association headquarters on Oct. 28. O ur Foreign Service currently faces one of the most challenging peri- ods in its history. It is stretched thin, serving in increasingnumbers of dan- gerous and difficult posts wheremembers areusing their skills topromote thenation’s vital interests. That situation makes AFSA’s four- decade-old awards programmore relevant than ever. AFSA seeks nominations for our pres- tigious constructive dissent and exemplary performance awards. All the winners receive a $2,500 cash prize and are hon- ored at a ceremony in late June at the State Department; the Secretary or Deputy Secretaryof State typically attends. Weurge everyone to consider nominating a deserv- ing colleague for these awards. Anyone may send in a nomination, and the nom- ineemay be a Foreign Service employee of any of the five foreign affairs agencies. CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS The arrival of the globalization age has engendered a host of “new connections and new contradictions among diploma- cy, security and international policy,”Daryl Copeland states in his book, Guerrilla Diplomacy. “Thinking these through leads inexorably to a simple conclusion: the old approaches won’t do.” AFSA honors those who strive for change and don’t just maintain the status quo. One way to do so is by nominating themfor one of ourAFSAconstructive dis- sent awards. We pay tribute to those who have the professional courage and integri- ty to speak out forthrightly, using the appropriate channels. Our past awardees have taken a stand for what they believe is right and have asked the tough questions; they’ve alsoofferedalternative solutions and given the best possible counsel, as Foreign Service officers have been trained to do. In recent years, AFSA has often not received qualifying nominations in all cat- egories. Despite that fact, we are convinced Foreign Servicemembers worldwide con- tinue to practice constructive dissent but that perhaps these acts go unrecognized and unreported. We therefore encourage allmembers to think about colleagueswho Continued on page 58 Continued on page 56 American Foreign Service Association • December 2010 AFSA NEWS Call for AFSA Award Nominations BY PERRI GREEN, SPECIAL AWARDS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR DE C EMB E R 2 0 1 0 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 51 Top Diplomats Discuss 20th Anniversary of German Reunification BY AMY MCKEEVER Amb. Rozanne Ridgway, journalistMarvinKalb and former National Security Adviser General Brent Scowcroft (left to right) share their memories of the events surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunifi- cation of Germany in an Oct. 28 panel at AFSA headquarters. PATRICK BRADLEY