nov 02 state · former hospital cures largest consulate’s growing pains. 32 first class to...

U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

November 2002

StateStateM a g a z i n e

RecognizingExcellence

In our next issue:

State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is published monthly, exceptbimonthly in July and August, by the U.S. Department of State,2201 C St., N.W., Washington, DC. Periodicals postage paid atWashington, D.C., and at additional mailing locations. POSTMAS-TER: Send changes of address to State Magazine, HR/ER/SMG,SA-1, Room H-236, Washington, DC 20522-0108. State Magazineis published to facilitate communication between managementand employees at home and abroad and to acquaint employeeswith developments that may affect operations or personnel. The magazine is also available to persons interested in workingfor the Department of State and to the general public.

State Magazine is available by subscription through theSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington, DC 20402 (telephone [202] 512-1800) or on the web athttp://bookstore.gpo.gov.

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Deadlines: Nov. 15 for January issue.Dec. 15 for February issue.

StateStateMagazine

Carl GoodmanEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dave KreckeWRITER/EDITOR

Jeanne DoradoWRITER/INTERN

Deborah ClarkDESIGNER

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Florence FultzCHAIR

Jo Ellen PowellEXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Sylvia BazalaCynthia Bunton

Bill HaughBill Hudson

Jim Lawrence

SpecialIssuanceAgency

To learn how the SIA keeps diplomatic and VIP passports moving, go behind the glass.

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SpecialIssuanceAgency

8 Post of the Month: U.S. Mission to NATOThe alliance launches a new action plan at the Prague summit.

11 Office of the Month: Employee Services CenterService is their most important product.

14 Recognizing ExcellenceSecretary keynotes annual awards ceremony.

22 Foreign Service National Employees of the Year 2002FSNs demonstrate knowledge, talent, dedication and courage.

30 Frankfurt Finds a New HomeFormer hospital cures largest consulate’s growing pains.

32 First Class to AmericaA puppy flies in comfort to the United States.

33 MovingA teen’s take on the burden of relocating.

34 Understanding the PastRoman treasures surface on an embassy compound.

37 FSI Hosts Distance Learning ShowcasePutting learning on the desktop.

StateContents

D e p a r t m e n t o f S t a t e • U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c a

StateMagazine

November 2002No. 462

C O L U M N S

2 From the Secretary

7 Direct from the D.G.

D E P A R T M E N T S

3 Letters to the Editor

4 In the News

36 Medical Report

40 Personnel Actions

On the CoverAwardees at the ceremony

in the Benjamin Franklin Room. Photo by Michael Gross

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Regina Belt, chief of the EmployeeServices Center, at her desk in theHarry S Truman Building.

U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

November 2002

StateStateM a g a z i n e

RecognizingExcellence

NATO headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels.

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FROM THE SECRETARYSECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL

Fighting HIV/AIDS
By the time you finish reading this column, HIV/AIDS
will have killed 30 people and infected another 45.Right now, more than 40 million of our fellow humanbeings, at home and abroad, are sick. And in just a fewyears, that number will likely double unless the nations ofthe world work in partnership to stem the pandemic.

HIV/AIDS has hit the countries of southern and centralAfrica the hardest. But as a recently released NationalIntelligence Council study stressed, the spread ofHIV/AIDS continues unabated in much of the develop-ing world. The study warned that the next wave of thepandemic could strike China, India, Russia, Ethiopia andNigeria—countries encompassing more than 40 percentof the world’s population.

HIV/AIDS is not just a compelling humanitarian issue.It tears social fabrics and robs young democracies of the cit-izens they need to build freer, better futures. It deprivesnations of the human resources they need to develop, sap-ping global growth. Unchecked, HIV/AIDS can threatenwhole countries and destabilize entire regions.

President Bush has made stemming the AIDS pandem-ic a priority of his Administration. In addition to the bil-lions the United States spends on research, he pledged$500 million to the public-private Global Fund that fightsHIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria—making theUnited States the world’s largest donor. We are also con-tributing more than any other nation to bilateral effortsagainst HIV/AIDS. And last June, President Bushunveiled a new $500 million program to stop the trans-mission of HIV from mothers to their babies.

HIV/AIDS is now an important part of our foreign pol-icy agenda. One of the key ways our missions abroad aremaking a difference is by helping create partnerships thatpool the resources and expertise of both public and pri-vate sectors. Consider the wonderful work that has beendone in the last few months:■ In Botswana, where more than one in three adults isHIV-positive, Ambassador John Lange has brought togeth-er all U.S. agencies at the embassy, local partners in theBotswanan government, the media and community-basedorganizations to create new avenues of cooperation. ■ In Lesotho, Ambassador Robert Loftis recently helpedopen a community-based, American-funded HIV/AIDStreatment and counseling center.

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■ In Kenya, an inter-agency team working with localmarketing professionals helped launch the nation-widemedia campaign, “Stop AIDS—Face It—It Starts withYou.” The campaign is increasing awareness, encourag-ing testing, reducing stigmatization of those inflicted andencouraging individual responsibility to prevent the dis-ease from spreading. ■ In Spain, one of our officers assisted an AIDS founda-tion with good ideas but insufficient funds in contactingAmerican drug companies. Since then, the companieshave donated more than $700,000 in resources to localeducation and treatment programs. ■ In Haiti this April, Ambassador Dean Curran conveneda Caribbean chiefs of mission conference to share lessonslearned and to develop regional responses to theHIV/AIDS epidemic.

We have just held a regional conference in South Africaand will soon hold another in Eastern Europe with a fol-low-up meeting in Russia. These conferences will bringtogether government officials, experts and our diplomatsto discuss “best practices” and ways we can maximizeour assistance.

And senior State Department officers are meeting withtheir Chinese counterparts to explore ways we can cooper-ate and help China deal with its growing AIDS problem.

Within our own State Department family, we have col-leagues who need our help. We have expanded medicalinsurance to cover more HIV/AIDS-related expenses ofForeign Service National employees who live with thedisease. And many posts have established education andprevention programs for their local employees. I encour-age those who have not yet done so to launch such pro-grams immediately, particularly in high-risk countries.

I also want to applaud those of you who are exercisingleadership at a personal level. I recently presented Laurie“Sibo” Bopp—an embassy spouse in Botswana—theSecretary of State’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerismin Africa because of her outstanding work at an AIDShospice and at a day care center for AIDS orphans andchildren of AIDS patients.

December 1 is World AIDS Day. I hope all of us willtake this occasion to rededicate ourselves as aDepartment, as embassy teams and as individuals to theglobal fight against HIV/AIDS. ■

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Those Oh So Subtle Adjectives

I very much enjoyed Mr. Neuberg’sinformative letter on the former (butnot so ancient) capital of Hue, Viet-nam, in your September issue.

I would like to take this opportuni-ty, however, to point out to readerswho may be students of the Frenchlanguage that Mr. Neuberg’s observa-tions on the French word “ancien”are only partly correct. In English, theFrench word “ancien” can, in fact,mean either “ancient” or “former.”The subtlety lies in whether the adjec-tive comes before or after the noun.

Hence, “un ancien professeur” is aformer professor whereas “un pro-fesseur ancien” is correctly to betranslated as an ancient professor.Only a few French adjectives havethis characteristic. Another exampleis “ma maison propre” (my cleanhouse) and “ma propre maison” (myown house).

Liam J. HumphreysPublic Affairs OfficerU.S. Consulate General, DurbanFormer (and somewhat ancient) FSI French professor

Visit Us on the Webwww.state.gov/m/dghr/statemag

More on SpousalEmployment

The Family Liaison Office’sresponse on spousal employment inthe July–August issue was well writ-ten and very telling. FLO directlyaddressed the concerns many of usshare on the subject and clearly stat-ed the efforts under way to improvethe situation.

Unfortunately, the letter also clearlyhighlighted a long-term class issuewithin the Department. Instead ofindicating that Foreign Service [orDepartment] employees are briefed“on spousal employment issues,”FLO felt it necessary to list the “class-es” or levels of service, with specialistsdead last.

This “Freudian slip,” or subcon-scious labeling of classes, indicates asituation that has existed during myentire tenure and shows that dis-crimination is not always race orgender oriented.

Richard E. McCormick Information Management Officer U.S. Embassy, Seoul

Letters to the EditorLetters should not exceed 250 words andshould include the writer’s name, addressand daytime phone number. Letters will beedited for length and clarity. Only signed letters will be considered. Names may bewithheld upon request. You can reach us at [email protected].

Correction

The Eastern Market on CapitolHill dates from 1873, not the 1850s,as stated in a feature about retirees inthe July–August issue. AdolphCluss, a German-born architect whodrew plans for many of Washington,D.C.’s late 19th century buildings,designed the landmark.

In the age of the supermarket, theredbrick, block-long building sevenblocks from the U.S. Capitol is thelast survivor of a food-distributionsystem that reflects PresidentJefferson’s efforts to make the newcity work for its residents.

From the EditorOur cover story this month is all about excellence. Inside you’ll meet

Department employees from around the globe who have been judged bytheir supervisors and peers to possess that certain quality.

As Secretary Powell stated at the start of the awards ceremony, weshould always “take time” to tell people when they do a good job. Forour part, we have taken the time and devoted more than a dozen pagesto the awardees so that you, too, can share in their accomplishments.

Speaking of sharing, I want to thank those retirees who have respond-ed to the invitation in our July–August issue to tell us about where theyhave chosen to retire and why. We ran our first “Our Town” in theOctober issue, and we look forward to running many more.

The employees of the U.S. Mission to NATO, our post of the month, arepreoccupied with the Prague Summit, where seven new members will beadded to the alliance and President Bush and Secretary Powell will speak.

You can’t dig in Rome without unearthing the past. And employees atthe U.S. Embassy have found once again that they are literally sitting onhistory.

November 2002 3

I N T H E N E W S

Ceremony Marks Sept. 11
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage presided
at a ceremony in the C Street lobby of the Harry S TrumanBuilding honoring those who died during the Sept. 11terrorist attacks. The Ground Zero photo exhibit by JoelMeyerowitz is on display in the lobby until it begins atour of 134 cities worldwide.

The deputy secretary’s remarks followed the presenta-tion of colors and the singing of the national anthem on aday the President has declared Patriot Day.

In his remarks, Mr. Armitage honored victims of Sept. 11and the 209 State Department employees who have fallen inthe line of duty—many also the victims of terrorists. Heintroduced a survivor of the 1998 bombing in Nairobi, TobiasOtieno, a senior trade specialist with the Foreign Commer-cial Service, who has long since returned to work at the newembassy. He praised Mr. Otieno’s courage and commitment.

The deputy secretary also spoke of Barbara Green, whowas killed along with her daughter Kristin in Islamabad

4 State Magazine

Ambassador Ruth A. Davis, director general of the Foreign Service and directdelivers remarks marking the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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in March. Her husband Milt has reported to his new postin Thailand, accompanied by his son Zach, who receivedminor injuries in the church blast. “They will never fullyrecover from the loss they suffered,” Mr. Armitage said.“But none of them has given up.”

The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence.

or of Human Resources, listens as Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage

I N T H E N E W S

East Asia Creates New Offices

Kelly, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, cuts a ribbon Eunice Reddick and Tom Cynkin.

With the growing number of issues facing U.S. policymakers in Southeast Asia, the importance of the area tothe global war on terrorism and the birth of the 21st cen-tury’s first new nation, East Timor, the Bureau of EastAsia and Pacific Affairs has created two new offices: theOffice of Indonesia and East Timor Affairs, and the Officeof Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Affairs.The move effectively splits the former office that coveredall of these countries.

The Office of Indonesia and East Timor Affairs man-ages relations with the world’s largest Muslim nationstruggling to develop a democracy through politi-cal, economic and military reform and contendingwith a separatist insurgency in Aceh. Indonesiareceives more U.S. bilateral development assis-tance than any East Asian country, approximately$130 million in FY03. During his recent visit to thearea, Secretary Powell brought bold new proposalsfor bilateral counterterrorism cooperation thatwere welcomed by President Megawati and hergovernment.

By contrast, East Timor, the poorest country inEast Asia, will receive $19 million in U.S. assistancein FY03 to help the Timorese jump-start theirdemocracy and free-market economy. It is thelargest per capita U.S. development assistance pro-gram to any nation in the world.

The Office of Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei andSingapore Affairs focuses more sharply on U.S. rela-tionships with these four countries. During PrimeMinister Mahathir’s visit to Washington, D.C., lastMay, Malaysia and the United States signed a bilat-eral declaration reinforcing cooperation on coun-

Jamesheld by

terterrorism. Singaporean senior minister Lee Kuan Yewadvanced similar goals during his April visit toWashington, D.C. The Philippines will receive a robust$70 million in U.S. economic and development assistancein FY03. The United States and the Philippines recentlycompleted a successful joint military exercise to enhancePhilippine capabilities to end the terrorist threat in thesouthern part of the country. Brunei chaired the Augustmeeting of the ASEAN post-ministerial conference,where Secretary Powell signed a U.S.-ASEAN joint dec-laration for counterterrorism cooperation.

Open Season for Long-Term Care Insurance
Federal employees may sign up for the new federal
long-term care insurance program during a specialopen season that ends Dec. 31.

By enrolling during the open season, current federalemployees complete only an abbreviated form to electa variety of options for services ranging from nursinghome and home health care and assisted living facili-ties to adult day care, caregiver and respite care.

Besides federal employees, those eligible includemembers of the uniformed services, annuitants,

spouses of employees and annuitants, children 18 andolder, parents, parents-in-law and stepparents ofemployees.

Enroll online at www.ltcfeds.com. To receive aninformation kit and application, call toll-free 1-800-582-3337 (voice) or 1-800-843-3557 (TDD).

Until payroll deduction becomes available inJanuary 2003, State employees should pay their premi-ums directly.

Applications are not available in the Department.

November 2002 5

I N T H E N E W S

After 14 years in a cramped residential apart-ment building visitors often ignored or couldn’tfind, the U.S. Mission to InternationalOrganizations in Vienna has moved up in theworld—37 floors up to be exact—into a modernhigh-rise office tower with a panoramic view ofthe Danube River and downtown.

The new downtown location in the ViennaInternational Center has the added bonus of acafeteria overlooking lush parks and canalswith sailboats. And no longer are official visi-

Room With a View

6 State Magazine

David Fisher confers with colleague Kathleen Barmon.

tors—often ambassadors from other missions—drivingby the former office, assuming it couldn’t possibly be aU.S. diplomatic post.

The new location is ideal for a mission that hosts 1,000delegates to international meetings annually and foremployees to conduct personal business.

The employee with the best view is David Fisher,deputy counselor for political, economics and narcoticsaffairs.

I N T E R N A T I O N A L E D U C A T I O N W E E K 2 0 0 2
The Department of State, in partnership with the
Department of Education, will observe the third annu-al International Education Week, Nov. 18 to 22.

The worldwide celebration offers an opportunity toreach out to young people in every nation, to develop abroader understanding of world cultures and languagesand to reinforce the conviction that enduring friendshipsand partnerships created through international educa-tion and exchange are important for a secure future.

Everyone engaged in international education andexchange are encouraged to organize events, includingschools, colleges and universities, international organi-zations, embassies, businesses and associations, inter-national program alumni and the exchange network ofcitizen diplomats and constituencies. State Departmentemployees are encouraged to visit schools or universi-

ties during the week to talk about topics such as StateDepartment careers or international affairs.

Included among the many programs being planned tofoster global understanding are symposiums, confer-ences, panel discussions, workshops and Sister City link-ages. Foreign Service officers, Peace Corps volunteers,Fulbrighters, International Visitors and other exchangeprogram alumni are invited to share their experiences.

Overseas, embassies and educational advising cen-ters are coordinating a wide range of scholarly andsocial events. For more information on InternationalEducation Week 2002, visit <http://exchanges.state.gov/iew/>. The Bureau of Educational and CulturalAffairs is asking participants to report a brief summa-ry of planned activities by e-mail to [email protected] so that they may be available to the public.

DIRECT FROM THE D.G.AMBASSADOR RUTH A. DAVIS

Foreign Service National Employees Deserve Our Thanks

When this issue of State Magazinereaches you, most of you will bepreparing for Thanksgiving Day,

that uniquely American holiday PresidentAbraham Lincoln instituted during theCivil War.

It isn’t hard to find things to be gratefulfor—our vibrant democracy, the blessings ofprosperity and the effectiveness of our diplo-macy—among many other things. But asyou sit down to your turkey and pause tothink of things that deserve our gratitude, Ihope you will include the contributions ofour Foreign Service National employees.

Those of you living in places where turkeys are an exoticcuriosity are likely to have a more immediate reason toappreciate our FSNs, for they are likely to have helped find,deliver or clear your Thanksgiving turkey through customs.

Two recent events here in Washington prompted me toreflect yet again on the importance of our FSN colleaguesand caused me to single them out in this column.

The first was our worldwide conference of our FSNs theBureau of Human Resources co-hosted with the ForeignService Institute. The event brought together about 45 rep-resentatives of our 30,000-plus FSN workforce for a weekof meetings and workshops. Geographically, the groupwas as varied as America’s engagement throughout theworld—from Asuncion to Vladivostok, from Cotonou toKabul and Beijing to Tel Aviv. Not only that, but the workthey do is equally varied—mail clerk, visa assistant, proto-col secretary, economic specialist, motorpool supervisorand political specialist.

When I met with our FSNs on the first day of their con-ference, I promised them a few surprises, and I had thedistinct pleasure of hearing them gasp in surprise (andstart their cameras flashing) when Secretary Powelldropped by to thank them for their contributions to ourdiplomatic work. And he said that he tells every newambassador going out to post that our FSNs are criticalmembers of every embassy team and that they must begiven the credit and respect they deserve.

That particular day, the Secretary was juggling callsfrom half a dozen foreign ministers and holding a sessionwith a visiting head of state, but he still made time for ourFSNs. Missions that think they’re “too busy” to meet with

and listen regularly to their FSNs shouldheed the Secretary’s message.

Discussions ranged across all kinds ofissues: training, retirement programs, EEOissues, the role of FSNs in embassy inspec-tions as well as cross-cultural issues in theAmerican workplace. The exchanges werenot a one-way street, I can assure you. Wecame away convinced this conference shouldremain on our yearly planning calendar.

The conference is just one of a number ofinitiatives we have under way to engage ourFSNs more actively. FSI has been providingincreased training opportunities for some

time, but FSI’s Joyce Marshall is always looking for newtraining ideas and feedback from the field. In HR, we arealso working on an offshore pension system for FSNs incountries where the local social insurance system is notfunctional. We are also developing the new ComputerAided Job Evaluation System for use worldwide to bringcoherence to job descriptions. Doug Frank’s Office ofOverseas Employment is busy, believe me.

The second event that caused me to reflect on the impor-tance of our FSNs was a good deal less joyous. When Ihosted the Department’s award ceremony a few weeksback, I had to note the absence of one of our very bestFSNs—Alli Alamin of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara. Hewas unable to attend the ceremony because he and a co-worker have been held as political prisoners in Asmara formore than a year without being charged. I was, neverthe-less, proud to announce Mr. Alamin’s selection as theBureau of African Affairs’ FSN of the Year and to note thathis citation praises his “personal sacrifice, courage andgrace under exceptionally difficult circumstances.”

That event served to remind me that association withthe United States of America, or working with our diplo-mats, can sometimes entail risks. That is yet another com-pelling reason for praising and respecting the contribu-tion of our FSN workforce.

I’m sure that most of you serving overseas, as chief ofmission or Foreign Service specialist, have stories of FSNkindness, skill, courage and hard work. I certainly have.That’s why I hope that as you prepare for Thanksgiving2002, thanking our FSNs will figure prominently.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 2002 7

Post of the Month:

U. S. M I S S I O N T O

NATOConference Room #1 at NATO headquarters during a special meeting of the North Atlantic Council.

Photo courtesy of NATO archives

russels at night. The buildings date from the late 17th century.

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By Barry Levin

When Americans awoke onthe morning of Sept. 12,2001, after the horrificattacks on the World

Trade Center and the Pentagon, theirfirst expression of international supportwas from NATO—the North AtlanticTreaty Organization.

European and Canadian allies in-voked NATO’s famous Article V—anattack on one is an attack on all—andcame to our defense. In the months thatfollowed, all NATO allies put troops onthe ground in the Afghan Theater tofight terrorism shoulder to shoulderwith the United States.

NATO is America’s most importantalliance and, arguably, the most power-ful in modern history. Created in 1949 todeter a Soviet attack in Europe, it helpedto win the Cold War.

But that’s not the end of the story—farfrom it. NATO, now 19 countries strong,is poised today to make a historic trans-formation at the Prague Summit inNovember, which President Bush willattend.

NATO is changing again, this time inreaction to the Sept. 11 attacks. Thealliance is now confronting the toxic mixof terrorism and weapons of massdestruction. The United States willlaunch a new action plan at the Prague Summit alongwith a package of commitments designed to give NATO

The Grand Place in B

At the NATO Olympics, Staff Sgt. Kermit Smith, in red shirt and khaki hat, lenCanadian team.

the advanced military capabilities it needs to take thefight to its enemies wherever they are.

For the past year, the U.S. Missionhas been working with allies to betterprotect forces and populations fromthese new threats. There’s a new rela-tionship with Russia. In May, PresidentBush and his counterparts launched theNATO-Russia Council, a body that willexpand cooperation on issues rangingfrom peacekeeping to civil defense.NATO also continues to maintain morethan 40,000 troops in Bosnia, Kosovoand Macedonia.

NATO is a regular stop on the itiner-aries of senior U.S. government offi-cials. The organization hosts five ministerial-level meetings annually:two with Secretary of State Powell andthree with Secretary of DefenseRumsfeld. President Bush is nostranger to NATO either.

The U.S. Mission is unique amongAmerican diplomatic posts. It com-

ds a hand to the

November 2002 9

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Ambassador R. Nicholas Burnhistory.

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proach a village in the mountainous region of the Ardennes in theountryside.

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bines civilian and military personnel into what thePentagon calls a “Purple” or joint organization thatdevelops policy recommendations for Washington, D.C.,and advances America’s security agenda with allies. Athree-star Air Force general heads the U.S. military dele-gation. More than 200 Americans represent a wide spec-trum of the U.S. security policy establishment.

NATO headquarters is also a unique locale, with dele-gations from the 19 allies and 27 Partnership for Peacecountries all to be found “on campus.” Located in theconverted Brussels hospital that was intended tobe a “temporary” facility after NATO wasexpelled from France in 1967, the alliance is cur-rently constructing temporary quarters for thenew members invited to Prague and building anew headquarters across the street.

USNATO is a unique overseas post combiningthe best mix of policy formulation and advocacy.In addition to terrorism, the Balkans, enlarge-ment and defense capabilities, officers and staffare working on missile defense, nonproliferationand NATO’s relations with the European Unionand allied support for U.S. policies in Afghani-stan and Iraq.

All this makes the U.S. Mission to NATO a fasci-nating and challenging workplace. Foreign Servicepolitical officers at the 02 level regularly representtheir country at multilateral meetings, and mid-levelpublic diplomacy officers find themselves briefingsenior members of the Departments of State andDefense or the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hikers apBelgian c

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While the work has its ownexcitement, members of the U.S.Mission to NATO get to live inBelgium, a country known for itsbeer, chocolate and food. Eating isserious business in Belgium andfor many—Belgians and visitorsalike—this is the best food inEurope.

The beautiful medieval townsof Bruges (Brugge in Flemish) andGhent are a short drive fromBrussels. And there is historicAntwerpen, one of the centers ofthe world diamond industry andEurope’s second largest port.Drive just a bit farther and youare in France, Germany or theNetherlands.

You can explore Europe’s reli-gious and artistic heritage and, ofcourse, military history. The U.S.Mission staff recently visited thebattlefield of Waterloo, where res-ident military experts retraced thebrutal battle and brought history

to life. Earlier, employees toured the town of Bastogne,site of the 101st Airborne’s heroic defense during WWII’sBattle of the Bulge. In the woods where Easy Companyhunkered in foxholes while German artillery splinteredthe trees above them, visitors found 57-year-old shrapnel.

Almost 60 years later, NATO serves as a lastingreminder of America’s willingness to stand with Europein defense of freedom. ■

The author is public affairs adviser to the U.S. Mission toNATO.

s open a display of NATO

Office of the Month:

EMPLOYEE SERVICES CENTER

Service Is Their Most Important Product

Joan Waggener assists customer at the reception desk.

November 2002 11

Customers use the center’s reception area.

By Regina BeltPhotos by Ann Thomas

For more than 40 years, the Employee ServicesCenter—previously known as the Foreign ServiceLounge—has been serving customers. The firststop for employees returning from overseas assign-ments, the ESC is the last stop for those departingfrom a domestic assignment and an office away

from post for those in transit. It is a place to reconnectwith colleagues and an alternative mailing address forForeign Service employees.

The center is the initial point of contact for assistancefollowing the in-service death of a State DepartmentForeign Service or Civil Service employee or familymember, either in the United States or abroad. It is anESC responsibility seldom noticed except by those who

Marguerite Fry helps a customer at the AAFSW housing desk.

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deeply need and appreciate the service dur-ing a time of personal crisis.

On call 24 hours a day, officers are notifiedimmediately by the Operations Center or bya post of the death abroad of an employee orfamily member. ESC notifies the next-of-kinand informs pertinent offices and processingagencies. The center cables the post request-ing information regarding the return ofremains, the transportation of family mem-bers and the shipment of household effects.ESC also prepares letters of condolence forthe Secretary’s signature.

ESC notifies more than 14 offices andagencies of an employee’s death and is theprimary liaison between the Bureau ofAdministration, benefit offices, family mem-bers and designated beneficiaries until all ofthe paperwork is completed. Working close-ly with the Office of Transportation, ESCensures that despatch agents transport theremains and family members through cus-toms. The center coordinates the payment ofsurvivor benefits with the Office ofRetirement, the Payroll Office and theFederal Employee’s Group Life InsuranceCo. in New Jersey.

ESC staff participates in briefings and taskforce operations related to post evacuationsand other critical incidents. Crises like thesedemonstrate how important it is for ForeignService employees worldwide and CivilService employees on excursion tours to main-tain up-to-date locator and emergency contactinformation in the “FS Employee Locator.”Since April, ESC’s online locator has givenForeign Service employees direct access toenter and update their individual recordsthrough the Department’s Intranet at

Maggie Morris, senior employee services specialist, obviously enjoysserving customers.

http://esc.a.state.gov. An overview of procedures for han-dling deaths, illnesses and emergencies is on ESC’s webpage at http://aoprgsm.a.state.gov/esc.

ESC prepares Leave Data, Departure from Post formsand Leave, Travel and Consultation Status forms for allForeign Service employees transferring to or from adomestic assignment. These forms initiate personnelactions for locality pay and determine the first day ofaccounting for the storage of household effects. The cen-ter also reports leave for approximately 40 employeesassigned to the Pearson Program and detailed through-out the United States.

The center briefs new Foreign Service employees dur-ing orientation classes at the Foreign Service Institute onthe services available in the ESC. “Information forForeign Service Personnel,” a 12-page brochure issuedannually, is available on ESC’s web page.

Five officers and two receptionists staff the ESC. Thetwo receptionists sort, hold and redirect 5,000 to 6,000pieces of mail monthly. The center is equipped with tele-phones, one TDD device for hearing-impaired employ-ees, local fax transmissions, a copier, BNet monitors andreprintable forms for federal, District of Columbia,Maryland and Virginia taxes. Notary services are avail-able for official government matters or documents relat-ed to overseas transfers. A recent face-lift to improve thecenter’s appearance also added technological advances,including Internet and E*phone access. The AAFSWhousing office and the passport desk have new quarters

Staff members, from left, are Doris Lortman, Maggy Morse, Joan Slaght, the

in the Employee Services Center. Nearby are the traveland transportation offices, the claims office, AmericanExpress and the Diplomatic Security ID Unit.

The Employee Services Center, part of the Bureau ofAdministration’s Office of General Services Management,is located in room 1252 of the Harry S Truman Building.The center is open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m; phone: (202)647-3432; e-mail: [email protected]. ; webpage: http://aoprgsm.a.state.gov/esc. ■

The author is the chief of the Employee Services Center.

November 2002 13

author and Jacqueline Pridgen.

S T A T E R E C O G N I Z E S E X C E L L E N C ES T A T E R E C O G N I Z E S E X C E L L E N C E


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Every job is important and people who do theirjobs well serve as models and inspiration for oth-ers, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told hisaudience during the Department’s annual awards

ceremony Sept. 23 in the stately Benjamin Franklin Room.

The Secretary said he had learned early in his long mil-itary career the value of recognizing people for jobs welldone. As a young Army colonel, he recalled dropping bythe base communications shop where field radios werestored and maintained. Impressed by what he saw, he

EVERY JOB IS IMPORTANT

November 2002 15

Secretary Powell keynotes awards ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room.

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Ambassador Ruth A. Davis and UnderSecretary for Management Grant Green share duties at the awards ceremony.

The U.S. Air Force Band plays the national anthem.

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praised the private on duty and shortly afterwards senthim a note. Later, during a formal inspection, he saw thathis note had been framed and prominently displayed onthe private’s wall.

“It only took me 10 seconds to write that note,” theSecretary said, as he encouraged Department managersand leaders to “take the time” to thank their employeeswhen they excel. The “thanks,” he noted, can come inmany forms—from the informal thank-you to formalrecognition.

The event that day was about the latter—formalrecognition for 29 Department employees recognized bytheir peers and supervisors as having served as rolemodels in their respective fields. As Ambassador RuthA. Davis, director general of the Foreign Service anddirector of Human Resources, called their names andread their citations, the employees came forward toaccept their plaques from Grant Green, under secretaryof State for Management.

Many of the awards included cash payments under-written by donors. Ambassador Davis thanked the

16 State Magazine

sponsors for their generosity and noted that severalwere in the audience.

For the standing-room-only occasion, the ArmedForces Color Guard presented the colors and the U.S. AirForce Band played the national anthem.


ANNUAL DEPARTMENT AWARD REC IP IENTS

Foreign Service National Employee of the Year Bureau of African Affairs

Alli Alamin, an economic andcommercial assistant from the U.S.Embassy in Asmara, was recog-nized for his sustained, outstand-ing performance in furtheringU.S.-Eritrean relations throughcomprehensive reporting and in-depth analysis of economic andcommercial issues. He was alsocited for personal sacrifice, cour-

age and grace under exceptionally difficult circumstances.

Foreign Service National Employee of the Year Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Thi Bich Ha Nguyen, an economicassistant in the U.S. Embassy inHanoi, was commended for heroutstanding work since the estab-lishment of diplomatic ties inimproving U.S.-Vietnam relations.She also played a critical role in thesuccessful negotiation and ratifica-tion of the U.S.-Vietnam BilateralTrade Agreement.

Foreign Service National Employee of the Year Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Anjela Begjanova, a culturalaffairs specialist in the U.S.Embassy in Ashgabat, earned heraward for outstanding support ofkey cultural outreach projectsthat successfully supportedAmerican efforts in the war onterrorism. She was also com-mended for her courage andcommitment to developing

Turkmenistan’s youth and civil society.

Foreign Service National Employee of the Year Bureau of South Asian Affairs

Mohammad Pervaiz Ansari, afinancial specialist from Islama-bad, demonstrated exceptionaldedication to duty, knowledge,leadership and managementskills in making the budget andmanagement section a top-notchoperation. He also assisted tem-porary duty personnel who werein Pakistan fighting the war on

terrorism. Mr. Ansari played a pivotal role in the fiscalyear closeout and in preparing budgets and financialwork for the missions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Foreign Service National Employee of the Year Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

Kimberly Joy Klassen, a politicaland economic assistant fromCalgary, was recognized for herdistinguished service, exceptionalcreativity and remarkable energyin advancing U.S. foreign policyinterests in western Canada,including the provinces of Alberta,Saskatchewan, Manitoba and theNorthwest Territories. Her exper-

tise in the areas of regional U.S.-Canadian politics, regionaleconomics concerning the oil and gas industries and hermastery and exceptional commitment to building bilateralbridges exemplified the finest qualities of a Foreign ServiceNational employee in furthering U.S.-Canadian relations.

Foreign Service Employee of the Year

Qassem Abu Hadid, a securityinvestigator in the U.S. ConsulateGeneral in Jerusalem, received hisaward for exceptional resourceful-ness, courage, creativity and initia-tive. At key points during theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict, heemployed these skills to helpdefuse specific flash points that,before his interventions, had

threatened to spread conflict to other areas. In particular,his successful efforts to serve as a channel of communica-

November 2002 17


tion between Israelis and Palestinians in the Beit Jala-Giloarea helped to prevent a larger conflict in the Bethlehem-Jerusalem region, saving lives on both sides of the conflict.

Award for Excellence in Labor Diplomacy

Mark A. Mittelhauser, the laborofficer in the U.S. ConsulateGeneral in Sao Paolo, earned hisaward for developing innovativeapproaches to U.S. labor policiesin Brazil. He was recognized forpromoting effective protectionand support of internationallyrecognized worker rights, help-ing Brazil combat the problems of

forced labor, child labor and the trafficking in people.

James A. Baker III-C. Howard Wilkins Jr. Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission

Stephen D. Mull, deputy chief ofmission at the U.S. Embassy inJakarta, was recognized for hisoutstanding performance in lead-ing and managing the U.S.Mission in Indonesia, for protect-ing the lives of U.S. citizens andpersonnel, for advancing the waragainst terrorism and for build-ing a strong, dedicated team dur-

ing a period of extraordinary stress and crisis.

Charles E. Cobb Jr. Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development

Pamela E. Bridgewater, U.S.Ambassador to Benin, receivedher award for expanding U.S.trade and investment opportuni-ties, for advancing U.S. economicpolicy initiatives in Benin and forstrengthening U.S.-Benin bilater-al relations.

18 State Magazine

Charles E. Cobb Jr. Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development

Laura C. Byergo, former econom-ic officer in Ulaanbaatar and cur-rently a language student at FSI,shares her award withAmbassador Bridgewater forsuccessfully promoting U.S. tradeand investment and for advanc-ing U.S. economic policy inMongolia.

Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs

James P. McAnulty, director ofthe narcotics assistance section inthe U.S. Embassy in Mexico City,was commended for his superbperformance while serving asregional refugee coordinator inNairobi. He was recognized foradvancing long-standing U.S.goals of humanitarian assistanceand stability in the region and for

his skillful diplomacy in Kenya.

James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence

Mark F. Wong, deputy coordina-tor of the Office of theCoordinator for Counterterror-ism, was recognized for hisextraordinary contribution to thepromotion and protection of U.S.interests and especially for hisefforts after Sept. 11, 2001. Heexercised uncommon leadershipin supporting U.S. policy objec-

tives and in marshaling resources across geographic andfunctional lines. His integrity, commitment, intellectualand moral courage, discipline and patriotism were inkeeping with the finest traditions of the Department.


Director General’s Award for Impact and Originality in Reporting

Patricia Haslach, director of theAfghanistan reconstruction office,earned this award for her incisivereporting from the U.S. Embassyin Islamabad before and duringOperation Enduring Freedom.Her reporting ensured thatWashington, D.C. policy makersunderstood the complexity of thetrade and financial problems fac-

ing Pakistan and the specific steps the United Statescould take to help address them. The quality and timeli-ness of her work were truly outstanding and of immensevalue to U.S. policy makers.

Diplomatic Security Employee of the Year

Bartle B. Gorman was recognizedfor his superlative performanceas the regional security officer atthe U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. Heensured the mission’s securitypreparedness by methodicallyconducting drills and reviewingsecurity plans. Mr. Gorman wassensitive to the needs and feel-ings of his colleagues and skill-

fully juggled his many roles as a regional security officer.Because of his extraordinary talent, the mission inYerevan is far more prepared to face any threat.

Equal Employment Opportunity Award

Ronald J. Tomasso, a project archi-tect in the architectural designbranch in the Bureau of OverseasBuildings Operations, receivedthis award for his untiring work inremoving barriers and improvingaccessibility for disabled employ-ees at U.S. Missions abroad andfor his leadership as architect andcoordinator of the Barrier-Free

Accessibility Action and Policy Implementation Plan. Hisextraordinary efforts to promote equal access for allemployees have enhanced the quality of life for everyonewho uses Department facilities throughout the world.

Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award

Ryan C. Crocker, deputy assistantsecretary for Near EasternAffairs, was recognized for hisexceptional courage in Afghani-stan during an untenable politicalsituation, for exercising extraor-dinary leadership under fire, forhis commitment to effective man-agement under the most difficultcircumstances and for his creativ-

ity in facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Hisoutstanding efforts contributed to the reopening of theU.S. Embassy in Kabul, establishing communicationswith the Afghan Interim Government and rebuilding theAfghan Army. Mr. Crocker’s work to release $200 millionin Afghan resources and his role in executing the USAIDAfghan support program empowered the Afghan people.

Leamon R. Hunt Award for Administrative Excellence

Ola B. Criss was recognized forher skill, judgment and dedica-tion to her work as the adminis-trative officer in the U.S. Embassyin Monrovia. She personified trueadministrative excellence inestablishing new administrativesystems, policies and proceduresin reversing over a decade of cri-sis-driven administration. In the

face of deteriorating bilateral relations with Liberia, shesignificantly raised post morale and operational effec-tiveness in an extremely tense and dangerous environ-ment, ensuring that essential systems and operationsfunctioned normally.

Swanee Hunt Award for Outstanding Achievement in Improving the Status of Women Globally (Foreign Service Employee)

Barbro Appelquist Owens, former U.S. Ambassador toNiger, received the award for her extraordinary contribu-tion to advancing the status of women and their influenceover public policy in Niger during her three years ofservice. With vision, energy and commitment, sheengaged Niger’s local and national women leaders inpromoting programs to reduce the isolation of ruralwomen, promote income generation by women, halt

November 2002 19


child marriages, protect youngwomen injured by early child-birth and end the practice offemale genital mutilation.

Swanee Hunt Award for Oustanding Achievement in Improving the Status of Women Globally (Foreign Service National Employee)

Howaida Nadim, public affairsspecialist in the U.S. Embassy inDoha, was commended for herlong history of outstanding workin advancing the status of womenin Qatar. She played an indispen-sable role in expanding the par-ticipation of women in politicsand public policy, supportingQatari women who are taking the

lead in educational reforms, assisting Qatar’s nascentnongovernmental organization sector and engaging withthe small but growing network of Qatari business-women.

Innovation in the Use of Technology Award

Ronald L. Acker, visa regulationscoordinator in the Bureau of Con-sular Affairs’ Office of Legislation,Regulations and Advisory Assis-tance, was recognized for concep-tualizing and overseeing thedevelopment and implementationof the federal government’s firstcompletely electronic visa system,the Olympic Visa Issuance Data-

base. His achievement resulted in a seamless process foradjudicating and issuing electronic visas, allowing 16,000electronic visas to be processed for foreign nationalsaccredited to the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

20 State Magazine

Linguist of the Year Award

Jason L. Davis, former chief of thepolitical section in the U.S.Consulate General in Jerusalem,earned this award for his exem-plary achievement in acquiringand using the Arabic and Hebrewlanguages, for his outstandingapplication of his linguistic skillsin four critical Near East postsand for his unique contributions

in supporting U.S. policy goals in that area. Mr. Davis iscurrently studying Farsi at the Foreign Service Institute.

Frank E. Loy Award for Outstanding Environmental Diplomacy

Jeffrey Allen Miotke, chief of theeconomic section in the U.S.Embassy in Budapest, was recog-nized for his exceptional leader-ship, diplomatic accomplish-ments and unwavering dedicationin the pursuit of U.S. policy goalsduring climate change negotia-tions. Mr. Miotke set the standardfor environmental diplomacy

while serving as the director of the Office of GlobalChange in the Bureau of Oceans and InternationalEnvironmental and Scientific Affairs.

Thomas Morrison Information Management Award

Steven M. Derrick, an informa-tion management officer at theU.S. Embassy in Sanaa, earnedthis award for his demonstratedleadership and sound judgmentduring the USS Cole bombing. Hedisplayed valor, calmness andstrength during situations thatwere beyond his control. Hisleadership during this emergency

had a significant and positive impact on his colleaguesand the Department of State family.


Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award

Maura A. Harty, special assistantto the Secretary and the executivesecretary of the Department, wasrecognized for her exceptionaldedication, strong leadership andboundless encouragement toboth Civil Service and ForeignService employees throughouther career, particularly focusingon junior officers and new

employees. She demonstrated unwavering commitmentto the professional development of her colleagues as amentor, leader and friend.

Luther I. Replogle Award for Management Improvement

Warrington E. Brown, recentlyassigned as chief of the adminis-trative section in the U.S. Missionin Geneva, earned this award forhis extraordinary managementforesight and ingenuity in obtain-ing diplomatic privileges for allpersonnel at the U.S. Mission inGeneva, achieving reforms to thestandardized regulations and

supervising a cost-effective and efficient administrativeoperation that resulted in significant savings to the U.S.taxpayer.

Herbert Salzman Award for Excellence in International Economic Performance

Kenneth J. Fairfax, chief of theeconomic section in the U.S.Embassy in Kiev, was recognizedfor his exceptional internationaleconomic performance in sup-porting U.S. business and in mak-ing important and lastingadvances in economic reforms inUkraine.

Civil Service Secretary of the Year Award

Mary Ann Fisher, secretary to thedirector of the Foreign ServiceInstitute, earned this award forher outstanding professionalcompetence in support of themission of the Department ofState and for her extraordinarydedication, organizational skillsand professional achievements,reflecting the highest ideals and

traditions of the Civil Service.

Office Management Specialist of the Year Award

Janice C. Green, office manage-ment specialist in the Bureau ofWestern Hemisphere Affairs, wasrecognized for her tireless effortsin helping achieve critical mis-sion and national goals in sup-porting the war on terrorism andfor providing the advice, exper-tise and long hours necessary toensure the success of the Vice

President’s visit to Oman. Her extraordinary dedicationand professional achievements reflect the highest idealsand traditions of the Foreign Service.

Barbara M. Watson Award for Consular Excellence

William J. Martin earned theaward for his outstanding serviceas acting consul general inJakarta, where he successfullyhandled a dramatic increase innonimmigrant visa applications,dealt with threats to Americancitizens throughout Indonesia,streamlined consular operationsin Surabaya and established a

warden system in war-ravaged East Timor. His exempla-ry performance set the standard for offering the finestconsular services under the most extreme conditions.

November 2002 21


FSNSOF THE YEAR

ST O RY A N D P H O T O S B Y DAV E KR E C K E

22 State Magazine

Five FSNs of the Year—Bich Ha Nguyen,Anjela Begjanova, Mohammad Pervaiz Ansari,Kimberly Klassen and Qassem M. AbuHadid—attend the awards ceremony in theBenjamin Franklin Room. Alli Allamin couldnot attend because he has been detainedwithout charge by the Eritrean government.

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“…his information and analysis help us find targets of opportu-nity in our ongoing attempts to find a way back to peace.”

Qassem M. Abu Hadid, U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem

Lynn Boone, FSN of the Year award coordinator in the Office of OverseasEmployment, and Qassem Abu Hadid at the luncheon the office hostedfor the FSNs of the Year.

Qassem M. Abu Hadid, Foreign Service NationalEmployee of the Year for 2002, is a securityinvestigator at one of the most challengingU.S. diplomatic missions in the world, the U.S.

Consulate General in Jerusalem. Investigators conductbackground checks of prospective employees or visaapplicants. Mr. Abu Hadid handles that responsibilitysuperbly and much more.

Security has been the number one priority in Jerusalemfor years. But since the beginning of the second intifadaabout 18 months ago, violence has escalated to an unprece-dented level even by the standards of this troubled area.The nominating cable calls Mr. Abu Hadid’s “…round-the-clock monitoring of the West Bank security situation…essential to the U.S. government’s understanding ofwhat is actually happening on the ground….” Moreimportant, the cable says, “…his information and analysis

help us find targets of opportunity in our ongoingattempts to find a way back to peace.”

In a striking example of Mr. Abu Hadid’s con-tribution to peace in the region, the cable contin-ues, “Beginning in May, Qassem played an essen-tial role in trying to bring quiet to the area betweenBethlehem and Jerusalem.” When sporadic snip-ing disrupted the peace, Mr. Abu Hadid prevailedon Palestinian authorities to conduct crediblesearches for the snipers. At the same time, thedefense attaché’s office negotiated a commitmentfrom the Israelis not to retaliate. “Step by step,”the cable states, “the Qassem-DAO ‘tag-team,’ re-sponding to each incident of gunfire, created acease-fire which, while far from perfect, remains inplace today.”

Mr. Abu Hadid plays a leading role in ensuringthe safety of U.S. VIPs visiting Palestinian leaderson the West Bank. Scores of these high-level officials visit the consulate each year, from theSecretary of State and key members of Congress,to presidential envoys and senior Departmentofficials. Mr. Abu Hadid’s solid, dependable contacts with the Palestinian side guarantee theirsafety. “These people trust me while they’re clos-ing their eyes, “ Mr. Abu Hadid said. “It’s a lot of responsibility. But it’s also very rewardingwork.”

November 2002 23


Qassem Abu Hadid atop the Mount of Olives with the old city ofJerusalem in the background.

“One of the embassy’s longest-serving employees and a consistently outstanding performer.”

Alli Alamin, U.S. Embassy in Asmara

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Raised in a section of East Jerusalem beyond theold city’s walls, the third child in a family of ninechildren, Mr. Abu Hadid seems to have been bornto security work. His father headed the consulate’ssecurity and cleaning workforces in the early 1980swhen the functions were handled under contract.When he graduated from school, Mr. Abu Hadidjoined the consulate staff as a contract securityguard himself in 1986. A year later, he became adirect hire employee and was promoted to shiftleader. Later, he became a security investigator.

The consulate’s security section is communallybalanced: half of the FSNs are Israelis and half arePalestinians. Of the Palestinians, half are Muslimand the other half are Christian. As is the case withall of the consulate’s sections, employees in thesecurity section trust each other and work closelytogether in a fashion the population outside theconsulate’s walls could learn from.

Mr. Abu Hadid’s wife Siham is a nurse. The cou-ple has five children under the age of 11. Hedescribes his relationships with the succession ofregional security officers over the years as close.“They are truly my friends rather than supervi-sors,” Mr. Abu Hadid says. “They have visited myhome and I’ve visited theirs. They appreciate mywork and make me feel like I’m part of the team.In turn, I am willing to put in long hours on the joband contribute to their safety.”

24 State Magazine

Alli Alamin, the Bureau of African Affairs’FSN of the Year, was conspicuous by his absencefrom the September award ceremony. The eco-nomic and commercial assistant and anotherbrave FSN colleague from the U.S. Embassy inAsmara have been “detained without charges” bythe Eritrean government for more than a year.Their detention is a poignant reminder that associ-ating with the U.S. government in some places car-ries serious risks.

Ironically, the cable nominating Mr. Alamin doc-uments actions he took that increased the flow ofvaluable resources to the Eritrean economy andpeople. His quick responses to Washington’s com-plex questions, for example, helped certify Eritreafor benefits under the African Growth and Oppor-tunity Act.


“[He has an] uncanny ability, strength and fortitude get his job done gracefully and to operate effectively under

tremendous pressure.”

ohammad Pervaiz Ansari , U.S. Embassy in Islamabad

Describing Mr. Alamin as “one of the embassy’slongest-serving employees” and a “consistentlyoutstanding performer,” the cable praises hisunderstanding of the Eritrean economy and hiswide-ranging contacts in both the governmentand private sectors.

His timely and “insightful analysis” and reportsrecorded the government’s moves to tighten for-eign exchange controls, devalue the currency andrevise the country’s tariff regime. On his own ini-tiative, Mr. Alamin prepared incisive reports oninvestment opportunities, the communicationsand transportation sectors and energy policies.

A skilled communicator and a keen observer ofEritrea’s political scene, Mr. Alamin deliversexcellent briefings to senior embassy staff andU.S. business representatives. He has workedclosely with other embassy elements, includingthe public affairs section to nominate deservingEritreans for International Visitor grants anddesign programs and identify audiences for visit-ing American speakers.

Mr. Alamin and the newly hired political assis-tant were arrested during a government crackdownon political dissenters in October 2001. The govern-ment claims their arrests and detention are unrelat-ed to their embassy employment, but in the absenceof charges, the embassy is skeptical. The U.S.Mission in Eritrea is deeply committed to seekingtheir release and continues to raise the issue at thehighest levels of the Eritrean government.

Mohammad Pervaiz Ansari doesn’t wear anumber on his back like Michael Jordan, so hisnumber will never be retired like Jordan’s 23. But if any-one has earned a place in the FSN Hall of Fame when it’sbuilt, it’s this quietly competent financial assistant fromIslamabad. For the second time in three years, he hasbeen chosen FSN of the Year from the South Asianregion. In the 12 years since these awards have been giv-en, only one other FSN, Nikola Bodi from Belgrade, hascaptured the honor more than once.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. Mission in Pakistanhas experienced two evacuations of U.S. dependents andnonemergency employees, one shortly after the attackson New York and Washington, D.C., and the other in thewake of the cowardly attack on the international churchthat took the lives of an embassy employee and herteenaged daughter. The nominating cable credits Mr.Ansari with playing a “…pivotal role by advising and

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assisting the budget and management officer in expedi-tiously processing $200,000 in evacuee travel advancesand transportation and baggage payments, literally with-in hours of the first evacuation order.”

In the past year, the mission estimates more than 3,000official visitors and temporary duty employees havetraveled to Pakistan in connection with the war on ter-rorism, each requiring financial support. Not only didMr. Ansari efficiently assume the burden of these visitors’financial needs, he methodically designed a “transparentand equitable system that will become a model for charg-ing ICASS costs for long-term temporary duty employeesvisiting posts around the world.”

Mr. Ansari oversees the budgetary challenges of a front-line post with annual disbursements of more than $6.5 mil-lion, supervises an 18-person budget and management

November 2002 25


“I love working with youth.

team, certifies 75 percent of the mission’s 13,000vouchers and monitors and manages 13 cashieroperations throughout the mission. In addition, heand his team also handle the financial accounts andtraining of the staff at the new post in Kabul.

Like so many inspiring leaders, he is quick toshare the credit for these amazing accomplish-ments with his financial management team. Beforehe left Islamabad, he told his colleagues, “I am get-ting this award because of you. The leader cannotbe recognized without sharing the praise with therest of the team as well.” Mr. Ansari also creditshis U.S. supervisors over the years for appreciat-ing the team’s efforts and for recognizing themwith the award nominations.

Mr. Ansari looks far too young to be a grandfa-ther. Only a slight graying at the temples betraysthe fact that he and his wife Shahida have twodaughters, a son and a young grandson. Headmits it has been a tense year. “Al Qaeda hasbeen watching Americans and FSNs too,” he says.One might have expected Mr. Ansari to linger inthe United States for a well-earned rest duringawards week. But true to type, he shortened hisall-expense-paid week in Washington, D.C., to twodays and returned to Islamabad to assist in closingout the fiscal year.

They are the only hope for my country.”

Anjela Begjanova, U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat

26 State Magazine

During his whirlwind, two-day visit to Washington, Mohammad Ansari pausesfor a photo in the courtyard of the Harry S Truman Building.

Affable Anjela Begjanova, the Bureau ofEuropean and Eurasian Affairs’ choice for FSN ofthe Year, could be a talk show host. She’s such apoised conversationalist and so eager to makenew friends.

In fact, before joining the public affairs sectionin the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat in 1995, shehosted eight sessions of a pilot show forTurkmenistan television called “Bridges ofFriendship.” She envisioned the program as anexercise in cultural outreach, helping the relative-ly isolated citizens of Turkmenistan understandother cultures through a program featuring a dif-ferent nation in each session. While it was a hugesuccess with the viewing public, her pilot pro-gram was not accepted by government televisionfor bureaucratic reasons.


Alumni of U.S.-sponsored exchange programs talk with AnjelaBegjanova at the American Center in Ashgabat.

Anjela Begjanova shows the first issue of the post’s cultural magazine, EchoAmerica, to visiting Ambassador William Taylor, coordinator for U.S. assistancEurope and Eurasia.

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Turkmenistan’s television viewers’ loss was the U.S.Embassy’s gain. Soon afterward, Ms. Begjanova washired to handle Fulbright, International Visitor andspeaker programs as the cultural affairs specialist. Inthose days, she was the cultural section. Now, sevenyears later, there are five FSNs and an American publicaffairs officer at the post.

The ambassador’s nominating cable concentrates onMs. Begjanova’s accomplishments since Sept. 11. “Shehas been enormously effective in developing and manag-ing a high-impact media and information campaign insupport of U.S. policy in neighboring Afghanistan,” thecable states. “Her efforts are key to the mission’s long-term strategy for promoting change through the ‘nextgeneration’ of Turkmen leaders.”

The cable credits Ms. Begjanova with launching a War onTerrorism information center within the American Center,an important source of information in a frontline state withlimited access to outside sources of international news.Getting the message through sparked a “groundswell ofpublic sympathy” in support of the U.S. view.

Another significant event was the opening of the ambas-sador’s cultural preservation project, the restoration of his-toric Annau Dragon Mosque. Ms. Begjanova worked with

a local historian to develop the project. The restoredmosque, unveiled in a high-level ceremony afterSept. 11, offered tangible proof that the UnitedStates was at war with terrorism, not Islam.

Trained as an economist in Moscow, Ms.Begjanova soon discovered she was “better withpeople than with numbers.” She returned homeand married an architect. Aygul, the couple’s 14-year-old daughter, accompanied her mother to theUnited States for the award ceremony and spokeabout life in Turkmenistan to classes in twoWashington, D.C.-area schools.

This was not Ms. Begjanova’s first visit to theUnited States. She traveled to Albuquerque in1994 as one of the founders of the Sister City rela-tionship between the New Mexico city andAshgabat, and she lived in the nation’s capital forfour months in 1997 as a fellow at Johns HopkinsUniversity’s School for Advanced InternationalStudies.

Summing up her view of her work, AnjelaBegjanova says, “When I was a teacher, I taughtone lesson at a time. Now, I’m where I want to be.In this work there are many aspects. I feel happy

when I see a small amount of money go a long waytoward democracy—a community center, a school—I gettears in my eyes. And I love working with youth. Theyare the only hope for my country.”

ofe to

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Calgary, Alberta, is a long way from Ashgabat.It’s even a long way from Ottawa. But KimberlyKlassen, FSN of the Year from the Bureau ofWestern Hemisphere Affairs, enjoys living onlyan hour from the Canadian Rockies and workingas a political and economic assistant at the U.S.Consulate there. She’s worked for the U.S. Missionto Canada, first in Winnipeg and then in Calgary,for 21 years.

In his cable nominating Ms. Klassen, ConsulGeneral Roy Chavera describes the consulate as apost with a small staff but a vast geographic andissues portfolio. U.S.-Canada bilateral tradeamounts to a staggering $1.4 billion per day, muchof it in energy and agriculture centered inCanada’s western provinces.

28 State Magazine

Kim Klassen with Royal Canadian Mounted Police ConstableHoward Cann in Banff, Alberta, a 70-minute drive from theCalgary consulate.

“A multitalented FSN who ensures the mission’s success.”

Kimberly Klassen, U.S. Consulate General in Calgary

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He describes Ms. Klassen as a “multitalented FSNwho ensures the mission’s success.” He praises hercreativity and energy and characterizes her econom-ic reporting as “stellar.” But Mr. Chavera isn’t theonly Department official to recognize her reportingskills. Early in 2001, Alan Larson, then assistant sec-retary for Economic and Business Affairs, sent her acongratulatory message saying, in part, “Yourreporting is helping to shape State’s input into theadministration’s energy task force and NorthAmerican energy initiative discussions with Canadaand Mexico.” The Department of Agriculture alsorecognized Ms. Klassen with its “excellence inreporting” award.

The consul general also notes Ms. Klassen’sskill as a scheduler. On very short notice, shearranged appointments for a visiting assistantsecretary in the Department of Energy that putthe official in contact with all of Calgary’s powerrepresentatives.

When the U.S. Mission decided to reestablish apresence in Winnipeg, Ms. Klassen’s hometown,she was the mission’s natural choice for coordinat-ing arrangements for the American Presence Postthere. Once everything was in place, she arrangedintroductory meetings for the new consul.

Thi Bich Ha Nguyen stands between James Kelly, assistant secretary for East Asianand Pacific Affairs, and Claire Pierangelo, economic officer at the U.S Embassy inHanoi, who flew back to Washington expressly to see Ms. Bich Ha receive her award.


“(She is) recognized for her tireless work in negotiating the bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam.”

Thi Bich Ha Nguyen, U.S. Embassy in Hanoi

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Kim Klassen clearly enjoys her work. She cred-its the consul general with giving her a lot ofresponsibility and the opportunity to explore thevast consular district for herself. “One of theadvantages of a small post,” she says, “is the col-legial atmosphere. We have good working rela-tionships in the consulate. The system isn’t at allhierarchical.”

Thi Bich Ha Nguyen, the economic assistantat the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, is the FSN of theYear from the Bureau of East Asian and PacificAffairs. An original member of the mission staffwhen it opened in 1995, Ms. Bich Ha is recog-nized for her tireless work in negotiating thebilateral trade agreement with Vietnam. It is “themost complex and comprehensive bilateral tradeagreement the United States has ever negotiat-

ed,” according to the nominating cable. “Ms. BichHa’s consistent efforts and informed counselwere key to the success throughout every step ofthe process.…”

A succession of Foreign Service officers cameand left Hanoi during the lengthy negotiations,but Ms. Bich Ha remained as the only person inti-mately involved in every development from 1996to 2001, when the agreement was signed.

Despite the complications of the negotiationsowing to the history between the United Statesand Vietnam, “…Ms. Bich Ha played an impor-tant role in creating an atmosphere of greaterunderstanding and in helping the U.S. negotia-tors understand the domestic political and eco-nomic situations that formed the Vietnamesepositions....”

“She researched, wrote, interpreted, translated,analyzed and proposed innovative solutions toproblems at every turn of the negotiation….Ms.Bich Ha played a critical role in achieving thesuccessful negotiation of that agreement and inhelping improve the direction of U.S.-Vietnamrelations….”

November 2002 29

Military Hospital Cures Frankfurt’s Growing Pains

By David Farrar

As the Marine Corps color guard marchedsmartly toward the reviewing stand onthe front lawn of what had been severaldays earlier a U.S. Air Force contingencyhospital, the 4th of July crowd of 600sensed that a new chapter in Frankfurt’s

consulate general history had begun. The color guard’smotions foreshadowed a time in 2004 when a similar cer-emony would see Old Glory hoisted above this sameproperty to inaugurate its new, spacious home.

Since the first U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt opened in1829, the offices had moved another 12 times in the inter-vening 173 years to accommodate anexpanding diplomatic role. Today,the consulate’s umbrella supportsState and 16 other agencies andemploys more than 300 direct hiresand 400 Foreign Service Nationalemployees—currently scatteredamong seven buildings. Moving intothis facility seemed the cure to theconsulate’s space woes and toincreasing staff efficiency and securi-ty. As the Department’s largestregional center, this new facility willbe a prime example of regionaliza-tion and a model of interagencycooperation.

But this structure isn’t just a bigbuilding—it comes with a history. In1937, shortly after Hitler sent troops

Edward O’Donnell, coleft, accepts the cerefuture home of the coPeter Grommes, fedeAlso shown are HorstFrankfurt city treasurstate secretary from finance.

30 State Magazine

into the Rhineland, the Luftwaffe ordered construction ofa large hospital in Frankfurt. The complex was to house300 beds during peacetime and expand to 600 beds inwartime without structural change. A private architect,Paul Bonatz, finished the plans in the spring of 1938. The300-page plan passed through the hands of Air MarshalHermann Goering onto Hitler’s desk, who made sure theration laws would not affect construction.

Bonatz designed the hospital with several innovations.A central block containing operating rooms, laboratories,pharmacy and morgue comprised the central work unit,with all other wings feeding into it. Another new conceptwas the use of steam pipes to serve as the hospital’s heat-ing system and reinforce the walls. The architect also

added such personal touches asentry columns, steep roofs withpeaked windows, broad grassy areasand an inner courtyard.

In August 1939, the almost finishedhospital received its first war casual-ties from the invasion of Poland.Construction continued into 1943,when the tides of war began to turnagainst the Axis. On March 29, 1945,the 385th Armored Battalion cap-tured the hospital and by mid-Aprilthe hospital began operating as a U.S.Army hospital.

The Army expanded the hospitalthroughout the 1940s and 1950s. In1982, the Army began a six-phase, 11-year, $91.3 million renovation—thefirst in the hospital’s history. Soon the

nsul general, centermonial key to thensulate from Klaus-

ral finance director. Hemzal, far left,er, and Bernd Abeln,the Hesse ministry of

renamed 97th General Army Hospital was the busiest inthe European Command. With more than 30 specialty clin-ics, a veterinary detachment and preventive medicinefacility, the hospital cared for more than 140,000 soldiersand civilians in a 5,500-square-mile area of Germany, plusspecialized care for much of the U.S. Army in Europe.

The hospital witnessed some 100,000 births, the firstopen-heart surgery in Frankfurt and visits by Sgt. ElvisPresley and Gen. Colin Powell. Approximately 3,000 ser-vicemen were treated there during the Persian Gulf War,and during the height of the Cold War, some 1,200 bedswere occupied.

When the Cold War ended, however, the facility ceasedto be a major medical center. In 1995, the Army trans-ferred the hospital to the U.S. Air Force Europe, whichrenamed it the 469th contingency hospital with 500 bedsand maintained it with a small caretaker staff.

By 2001, the Frankfurt Consulate General had long out-grown its infrastructure and was looking for solutions. Atthe same time, the Air Force was concentrating its assetsaround Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern, about 100miles southwest of Frankfurt, and determined the hospi-tal wasn’t needed. Acquiring the hospital site wouldsolve the consulate’s space crunch by folding all sevenconsulate work sites neatly into a single facility andimproving security.

Last year the Department and the German FederalFinance Ministry signed an agreement to transfer the

A Marine Corps honor guard presents the colors at the U.S. Consulate G

hospital from the Air Force to the German governmentand then to the State Department. On April 29, 2002, in apress conference at the Amerika Haus Frankfurt, ConsulGeneral Edward O’Donnell and Federal Finance DirectorKlaus-Peter Grommes signed a purchase agreement. InJune 2002, the U.S. Congress and the German FederalCouncil (Bundesrat) approved the purchase. The hospitalbecame State Department property on July 1, just in timefor the July 4th celebration.

Platoons of architects and space planners fromOverseas Buildings Operations have visited the proper-ty and recognize it as one of their biggest challenges ofthe decade. With 23 acres of land and nearly 375,000square feet of office space, the building is one of thelargest U.S. government buildings overseas. It willsecure Frankfurt’s primacy as a regional diplomatic hubwell into this century.

As Consul General O’Donnell noted, “This buildingand our presence here as the largest consulate in theworld, larger than nearly all U.S. Embassies, will be areflection and symbol of the U.S. commitment toFrankfurt, to Germany and to Europe for the future.”

He should know. He was treated in the hospital as ayoung Army officer while stationed in Germany in the1970s. ■

The author is the public affairs officer at the U.S. ConsulateGeneral in Frankfurt.

November 2002 31

eneral in Frankfurt.

Flying First Class to America

By Joann L. Wernig-Jesser

It was a hot July evening inMuscat, Oman, and my hus-band David was taking Phil,

our Jack Russell, for his nightlywalk. Suddenly, he came upon twoabandoned puppies in a boxbeside the road. They were cryingand hungry.

Twenty minutes later the pups,about five weeks old, were on ourkitchen floor feasting on milk andcanned cat food. Once fed, theysoon began exploring their sur-roundings and playing tug-of-warwith one of Phil’s old chew toys.The next morning, they weresprawled on the tiled floor directlyunder the air conditioner, havingabandoned a warm bed made forthem the night before. For desertdogs, they never did get around toliking the heat very much!

At first, we had no intention of keeping our newwards, Grant and Lee, the names we gave them, for wehad learned from previous tours that shipping animals isalways a challenge. Before arriving in Muscat, we hadcompleted a mountain of required import paperwork,only to be delayed upon arrival for three hours as cus-toms officials played a maddening game of “let’s make aregulation.”

For us, two cats and one dog were enough—or so wethought.

As there are no animal shelters in Oman, the next daywe posted “adoption” signs around the embassy commu-nity and took the pups for a checkup. A few days later, wewere hooked and the signs came down. Lee would staywith us and Grant would soon find a home with my par-ents in Maryland. Their own dog had died the previousyear and the time was right for a new puppy. They did notknow anything about “Jebel” or “desert” dogs, but Grantneeded a loving home and they had one to give.

Two months later we prepared to take our first R&Rfrom Muscat. It had been a long year and we were look-ing forward to a break from that very demanding post.

First-class passenger Grantafter his rescue.

32 State Magazine

We booked passage on KLM, butthe week before we were to leave,my husband decided to cut hisleave by a week to lessen thestaffing gap. So, with Grant in tow,I made the flight alone.

After landing in Amsterdam, Iwas told that the baggage handlerswere on strike and would not loadany luggage onto connectingflights. This included Grant. Thesteward said the puppy would beshipped on the first available flightafter the strike. I explained to theKLM flight supervisor why Iwould not leave without Grant,even if it meant taking a laterflight. The Dutch take fantasticcare of animals in transit and Iknew he’d be all right, but I wouldnot make the trip unless Grant wason the plane.

The KLM supervisor was sym-pathetic. He phoned the airport

“animal hotel” and had the puppy brought to the tarmac.The supervisor personally carried Grant into the plane’scabin. Grant’s kennel, however, was too big for a seat ineconomy class (where I was booked) or even businessclass. The kennel would fit safely only in a first-class seat.

The supervisor asked would I mind sitting beside thepuppy and keeping an eye on him during the trip? Ofcourse not, I said.

The flight to Dulles was great. Grant and I shared mybeef burgundy dinner and omelet breakfast. He hadcome a long way. I wished the individual who left thepuppies on the side of the road that scorching July nightcould have seen him now, sleeping peacefully and tuckedaway in a first-class seat en route to a new and charmedlife in the United States.

When we arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., Immigration quickly clearedGrant and America welcomed her newest canine immigrant. ■

The author is the wife of David P. Jesser, information programofficer at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

with the author shortly

Phot

o by

Dav

id J

esse

r

By Ryan Uyehara

Moving—what a bland word that is. At least to mostpeople.

To teenagers whose parents are in the Foreign Service,moving serves up a vastly different range of emotions. Tomost people, moving means going from point A to pointB. To me, moving means going from Point A to Point Band saying a lot of goodbyes at Point A and saying abunch of hellos at Point B. Sort of like a politician.

Enter my world. Moving is so hard for a child. It’s sohard for me. For teenagers who have spent their wholelives being shunted from one place to another, losing andremaking friends, smiling and crying, it means that weare constantly in an emotional limbo.

But, of course, we don’t show it. Moving is such anintegral part of State Department life. It’s either everyyear or every two years or—if you’re lucky—every threeyears. I’ve moved, I think, six times, all because of myparents’ work. I’m not saying it’s bad. But it sure is hard.I’ve lived in Yokohama, Tokyo, Fairfax City, Va., twice,Manila and, currently, in Jakarta.

Moving makes you resigned to the process, sort of tor-mented. You get used to the physical part of it. You knowabout watching the movers, making sure that they putthe proper things in airfreight, trying to help your par-ents when they’re trying to help the movers. That canannoy the movers.

But you don’t ever get used to the emotional part. Thatpart is so diverse. I remember when I was younger, infirst grade, and I was in Yokohama and there wasn’tmuch upheaval. I just cried thefirst day at school and thatwas it. I adjusted. It was thesame a year later when Imoved to Tokyo. In fact, Idon’t even remember if I wasupset at all. It was just anexperience for me. I was soresilient back then.

But in fourth grade, when Iwas moving to NorthernVirginia, I remember it so clear-ly. My friends were seeing meoff and they just followed thebus as we left, waving, smiling.It was the same with me. I was

MOVING: A TEENAGER’S POINT OF VIEW

Moving involves more than heav

so naïve I didn’t realize I would long for them later. I stillreminisce about Tokyo.

Then I stayed in Virginia for just a year. I thought andhoped we all might stay there for another year. It wasabout February or March when the people at FoggyBottom were deciding where we would be going. I hadjust gotten used to my friends. I was happy. Of course,with my bad luck, they decided to send us off to Jakartathat summer.

I cried silently in my room for many afternoons and formany more days once we got to Jakarta that summer. Mytear ducts were drained. I still find it hard to cry today,even on my saddest, most pathetic days. And I still rem-inisce about Fairfax.

What I’m getting at is: this is probably the norm amongteenagers in State Department families. You don’t reallynotice it. They just seem like happy teenagers on the sur-face. But, of course, that doesn’t really tell you much.

There’s a stark contrast between kids in the States andkids in State. I cling to things that connect me to theUnited States. Whether it’s my patriotism or my beliefthat the Cleveland Indians will one day beat the Yankeesin the playoffs, I’m anxious to prove my patriotism to myfriends in the international community.

But I also see another disturbing trend among Statechildren. Some don’t even seem connected to the UnitedStates. Some have this teenager disconnectedness abouttheir roots, as if they don’t care. I’m not one to judge, butI find that disturbing.

Now, I lie in bed in the evenings wondering what myfinal days in Jakarta will be like. How will I say goodbye?Will I cry in front of people I will never see again? Peopleand friends I will probably lose contact with after a yearas I forge new contacts.

I lie in bed wondering why I have lost the spirit tofight, why I cannot cry and why my heart feels weigheddown by a great sorrow.

And I know why. I am moving, as I have done all my life. I am moving and I am resigned to it. I know that deep

beneath our visible bodies we are tormented, afraid to gettoo close or stray too far. We are conflicted and we are

hurting. I speak from experi-ence—my own—but I am sureothers feel the same way. I amresigned to that fact. What canwe do? I have learned to takelife as it comes, to deal withthe cards that life, or the gov-ernment, has dealt.

In this case, I got a badhand. ■

The author is the son of MichaelUyehara, desk officer for Belarus,and Margaret Uyehara, directorof the Office of Allowances in theBureau of Administration.y lifting, according to the author.

Jona

than

Kirn

/Sto

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November 2002 33

U N D E R S T
By Valeria Brunori
hen electrical trenches were dug inthe parking lot of the 19th century

Twin Villas housing the consular andpublic affairs sections of the U.S.

Embassy in Rome, ancient Roman mar-ble funerary stele, brick walls, a second

century lead pipe and an imperial bronze coin wereuncovered, revealing more of the Eternal City’s past.

W

34 State Magazine

Roman lead pipe bearing the stamp “Neronis Claudi Caes Aug.”

Phot

os c

ourt

esy

of th

e U.

S. E

mba

ssy,

Rom

e

A workman digs a drainage trench.

Rome is a “tell”—a mound of successive settlements.The grounds employees traverse every day are like ahuge book. Understanding the book’s meaning isn’t easyand only after years of study is it possible to learn how toturn its pages. That job falls to the archaeologist.

The recent discoveries confirm that the U.S. Embassyin Rome is a chapter from this book.

During the earliest stages of the renovation, it was clearthat the work might not be easy. Many painted plasterfragments, bones, pottery and ancient marble pieces fromthe Roman period soon began to emerge from earthremoved and refilled many times. In Rome, excavationsare normal and an archaeologist doesn’t stop work butallows it to continue respectfully. The archaeologist doc-uments significant structures, gathers artifacts, recordscontext, suggests modifications, meticulously docu-ments, observes and protects.

At the corner of the public affairs building, workersuncovered nine funerary marbles with inscriptions cov-ering a water channel installed during the construction of

T H E

P

A N D I N G
the villa more than 110 years ago. Not knowing what wehad, the first marble was broken unintentionally. Thereuse of such fragments at the end of the 1800s, when thevalue of ancient sculpture was fully recognized, is sur-prising. It is interesting that the 19th century workersturned the slabs face down—possibly to protect theinscriptions.
The inscriptions tell the story of freed slaves and aresimilar to others that have turned up elsewhere in theHorti Sallustiani, an ancient imperial residence thatincluded famous gardens and a stadium. The inscriptionscan be dated to before the end of the third century AD,when Marcus Aurelius built his wall around the city toprotect Rome from invasions. Before that, burials werepermitted only outside the walls.

As the excavation continued, an ancient brick wall wasdiscovered. Its face had been destroyed, but an embed-ded lead pipe revealed its date. A stamp on the pipereads: NERONIS CLAUDI CAES AUG—disclosing itsfirst century origin. The embassy contacted the superin-tendent of archaeology and contracted with a respectedarchaeologist to monitor the excavation.

Several medieval, Renaissance and other Roman wallsand an ancient marble threshold were found. A metal

A S T

Roman coins before and after restoration.

A funeral marble slab lies face down in the treasure trench.

detector uncovered a fine bronze coin with the head ofEmperor Domitian (81–96 AD).

The embassy’s small but exciting archaeological sal-vage demonstrates the uniqueness of all sites and therespect they deserve. There is no civilization without cul-tural consciousness. Civilization rests upon the knowl-edge of history and the preservation of its testimonies. ■

The author is curator at the U.S. Embassy in Rome.

November 2002 35

By Michael Pate

Providing medical assistance during disaster recov-ery or other medical emergencies requires immedi-ate access to accurate medical records. After thetragic embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es

Salaam in 1998, many difficult medical questions wereasked about the survivors. How many were injured andhow badly? What were victims’ medical histories andhow quickly could this information be available?

No one was more concerned with the answers to theseand many more questions than the Department’s Officeof Medical Services. Medical providers and other staff atthe embassy sites faced daunting tasks in caring for thevictims and assessing their injuries.

Last March, MED began piloting an innovative electronicmedical records system called eMED. “eMED will enhanceMED’s ability to provide quality health care and immediateaccess to medical records. This system is part of our ongo-ing response to new global patient needs by expandingMED’s infrastructure,” according to Dr. Cedric E. Dumont,medical director for the Office of Medical Services.

eMED was constructed to ensure data security and priva-cy. Security measures meet federal guidelines, and no med-ical information is sent through the Internet. eMED is locat-ed behind the Department’s electronic firewall and onlyauthorized users in MED will have access to the system. Toensure privacy, authorized users are given access only to theinformation they “need to know.” All information in eMEDis backed up at multiple locations to ensure that patientinformation will not be lost when systems fail.

When deployed overseas, this new system willimprove worldwide medical care for Department of Stateemployees, their families and employees from more than200 other federal agencies by providing immediate accessto critical care information; enable clinicians to enter andshare patient health care information using a secure, stan-dardized electronic medical record; combine multiplepaper records into a single, authoritative source; elimi-nate the need for patients to hand carry or fax their med-ical records from post to post; provide patients and staffwith a more efficient medical clearance decision process;track each community’s health care-related events withoccupational health unit support; and provide readyaccess to medical records during disaster recovery.

eMED Improves Patient Care

Medical Report

36 State Magazine

In addition, eMED can calculate information aboutoverall health trends. This information will allow MED tobetter plan for and respond to employees’ health careneeds. The system will enable MED to assess future needsfor equipment and medications and to project staffingneeds. Patients also benefit. eMED can tell physicianswhich patients need to receive an immunization reminderor which patients need to know that the Food and DrugAdministration has recalled their medication.

eMED will enable authorized MED users to enter andretrieve patient information directly from eMED’s data-base, including scanned images of past paper medicalrecords, lab results and medical evacuations. MED’sstaff is scanning patients’ paper charts into the system.Past information will include the patients’ last twophysicals and any other medical activities occurringbetween those dates.

Once the pilot phase is complete, MED expects toexpand eMED to health care units overseas, providingnew opportunities for collaboration among MED and fieldpersonnel. Ultimately, MED staff worldwide will be able tocollaborate on patient care, giving the patient a virtual“second opinion.” Other MED departments such as claimswill also have access to eMED, speeding approvals forexternal consultations. eMED’s success will depend onhealth units’ ability to work globally with this tool forimproving patient care. “When fully deployed, eMED willbe an advantage to patients because it will make relevantmedical information and data immediately available to cli-nicians responsible for their acute and ongoing care,”observed Dr. Steven Feinstein, a psychiatrist in the Officeof Mental Health Services.

eMED will be used primarily by MED staff. Patientsmay use the system, however, to enter basic informationwhen they visit an eMED-equipped health unit. Manypatients at the Washington, D.C., exam clinic will beginby completing a patient questionnaire in eMED. MEDstaff guides patients through their questionnaire ateMED computer kiosks. The completed questionnairewill be accessible to the physician during the patient’svisit and the physician can enter observations and rec-ommendations directly into the electronic record and, ifneeded, request a consultation with another specialist.

Dr. John Triplett, chief of the Washington, D.C., examclinic, appreciates the eMED feature that permits multi-ple users to view patient information at the same timefrom different locations. MED has received positiveresponses from patients who have used eMED’s kiosk tocomplete their patient questionnaires. Margaret Troje-Meade said she “found using the computer a bettermethod than paper,” and Michael Traje said, “I foundusing the electronic system easy and convenient.”

For additional information, please visit the Depart-ment of State’s Intranet site at http://med.state.gov orcontact Michael Pate via e-mail at [email protected]. ■

The author is chief of informatics in the Office of MedicalServices.

FSI HostsDistance Learning

Event

ance learning demonstration in the Exhibit Hall of the Harry S Truman

The right information at the right time, rightat your desktop is the theme of a growingtrend in training at the Foreign ServiceInstitute. To spread the word about trainingavailable outside the classroom, FSI hostedthe Department’s first ever Distance

Learning Showcase in July in the Exhibit Hall of theHarry S Truman Building.

Showcase attendance was steady throughout the dayas Department employees previewed training programsavailable in such areas as language training, leadershipand management, crisis management, budget andfinance, information technology, security awareness andpublic affairs.

Attendees toured Greecewith Greek Express, an on-line course that teachesbasic Greek and Greek cul-ture; experienced a virtualmajor crisis at a post withthe crisis management sim-ulation prototype; andlearned the workings of aU.S. Embassy with therecently released CD-ROM, Welcome to a U.S.Mission. Off-the-shelf dis-tance learning courses byFastrac, SkillSoft, Netg andSmart Force were alsodemonstrated.

The highlight for visitorsand many showcase staffcame late in the afternoonwhen Secretary Powell vis-ited various workstationsand explored each of thedistance learning programsbeing demonstrated. Othersenior Department officialsalso stopped by.

Secretary Powell participates in a distBuilding.

Distance learning is becoming increasingly importantas it provides access to a workforce in different timezones, on different continents without concern for timedifferences and travel expense. FSI continues to providetraditional classroom-based training and will continue toexpand the use of distance learning technology to meetthe needs of the Department.

As a result of the showcase, more than 200 employeeshave enrolled in distance learning courses. FSI plans tomake the showcase an annual event.

For more information on distance learning opportuni-ties, visit http://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov/courses/distlearn.asp. ■

October 2002 37

The Bureau of Human Resources’ Office ofEmployee Relations received 590 requests undera pilot Student Loan Repayment Program—thelargest in the federal government.

The requests came from Civil Service and ForeignService employees. Of those seeking repayment of stu-dent loans, 408 established their eligibility for FY02. Theincentive in FY02 was $4,700—or the outstanding balanceowed by an employee, whichever is less.

FY02 is the first year of the two-year pilot. Lessonslearned should make the program go smoother in FY03.Next year, ER plans to announce the program earlier.Information gathered from case-by-case requests willhelp officials refine policy and procedures for the secondpilot year.

For regular e-mail updates, either for this year or next,employees with OpenNet e-mail accounts may subscribeto the SLRP listserv. Send an unclassified e-mail to [email protected]. and in the text of the mes-

sage type “Subscribe SLRP (Your name).” Unfortunately,only those with SBU OpenNet e-mail accounts areauthorized to access this listserv.

HR/ER will continue to update the Intranet site withinformation about the program. Information is nowavailable on both the SBU OpenNet and the ClassNetIntranets.

To receive a brief status report, send an unclassifiedmessage to [email protected]. An automatic response willbe sent as a reply to OpenNet e-mail account holders bymeans of the Out-of-Office Assistant feature of MicrosoftOutlook. This response cannot be sent automatically to e-mail addresses outside of the SBU OpenNet network.Instead, ER will forward the text of the message manual-ly later. This method remains the best means of commu-nicating information about the program to those who donot have SBU OpenNet e-mail accounts, including StateDepartment unclassified network addresses, such asthose ending with ms.state.gov or pd.state.gov.

408 Receive Student Loan Repayments

Editor’s Note: Submissions for this story project should besent to [email protected] and not State Magazine.

This past summer the Diplomatic Readiness TaskForce created a new, innovative outreach tool when itlaunched the Story Project. The project uses true talesof State Department employees to tell potentialrecruits and their family members what their work “isreally like.”

In its first three months, the project collected morethan 80 stories and profiles of Foreign Service officers,specialists, Civil Service employees, Foreign ServiceNational employees, student interns and family mem-bers. The stories describe the excitement and challengesof living overseas and the dedication and patriotism ofDepartment employees and their families. Authorswrote true tales of coups and evacuations and of help-ing Americans in trouble, making connections with oth-

er cultures and raising families overseas. The stories and profiles have appeared on State’s

recruitment web site, www.careers.state.gov, inrecruitment advertisements and in numerous regionalnewspapers. Because the stories are compelling to ageneral audience, several national publications arealso considering story project submissions.

Since the story project was so popular with employeesand successful at attracting both new recruits and positive media attention, the Diplomatic ReadinessTask Force is continuing it. So, if you have a great story ora reflection on public service, now is the time to share it.

Stories must be true and should not exceed 1,200words. Submissions will be edited. Contributors areencouraged to submit photos with their stories.Submit your stories by e-mail to Robert McKay [email protected] or call 202-647-3110.

Telling State’s Story

38 State Magazine

t h e ‘ n e w ’ f o r e i g n s e rv i c e

b oa r d o f e x a m i n e r s
By Katherine I. Lee
Want to know where to find a formermayor, contortionist or jazz bandleader?How about someone who has appearedon stage with Luciano Pavarotti, visitedTimbuktu or kissed Robert Redford?

Need advice on owning a farm, collecting stamps or caringfor a baby? You need look no further than the Board ofExaminers of the Foreign Service, or BEX, part of the Officeof Recruitment, Examination and Employment.

BEX members seldom talk about their multifacetedbackgrounds, however, because they are too busy admin-istering thousands of oral exams to Foreign Service gener-alist and specialist candidates and handling an array ofancillary duties.

Until recently, mentioning BEX conjured up images ofburned-out senior (as in ”citizen”)Foreign Service officers counting thedays until they could join the ranks ofthe retired. Fair or unfair, BEX’s “corri-dor reputation” was right down therewith a “Code Red” July day inWashington, D.C.

Times are changing. As BEX’s profilein the Department rises, partly as aresult of the initial successes of theDiplomatic Readiness Initiative inreversing long-term staffing shortages,it’s obvious that BEX is the best-keptsecret in the Department.

Let me explain. When I began my BEX assignment in

September 2001, the first thing thatstruck me was the this-is-not-a-job-but-a-labor-of-love atmosphere that pervadesthe office. Whether administering oralexams or carrying out a host of otherresponsibilities, board members clearlyare deeply committed to their work.

“It’s

refresh

see t

highly m

applic

wanting

their co

Their reward is knowing they are helping to select the nextgeneration of State employees.

The work is far from easy. Take the generalist oral exam.During the rigorous, day-long assessment, examiners eval-uate the performances of candidates in 13 “dimensions”identified as essential to doing Foreign Service work.Using their extensive experience as Foreign Service officersand their intensive one-week training in testing, examinersassign scores to the candidates for the dimensionsobserved. This awesome responsibility demands thatexaminers pay strict attention to candidates’ performancesand follow stringent testing guidelines to ensure theirevaluations are accurate and fair.

While assessing thousands of generalist candidates isthe most visible of the examiners’ duties, it is not their onlyone. Aside from teaming up with specialist subject matterexperts to test specialist applicants, BEXers review candi-

dates’ files to determine their suitabilityfor the Foreign Service. The examinersalso develop training materials and coor-dinate off-site testing in cities across theUnited States as part of their variedresponsibilities.

Take the exam itself. Remember the“demarche” and the “in-box” exercises?They have been replaced by the “un-blind-folding” structured interview that letsexaminers consider applicants’ back-grounds in the evaluation process and thecase management exercise that tests candi-dates’ management and quantitativeskills. Group exercises set in fictional coun-tries still exist, but with new scenarios.

While a team of outside experts spe-cializing in creating “reliable” tests man-ages exam changes, examiners them-selves develop those parts of the examthat use Foreign Service-specific material.

“The creativity, hard work and dedi-cation examiners bring to this task are

so

ing to

hese

otivated

ants

to serve

untry.”

November 2002 39

truly remarkable, “ notes Art Salvaterra, staff director forexaminations.

The unprecedented changes from the DiplomaticReadiness Initiative also have had a profound impact onthe examiners’ work. The Foreign Service written exam,for example, was offered twice this year, more than dou-bling the number of candidates advancing to the orals. Theoral assessment cycle, normally spread over nine or tenmonths for the annual exam, was reduced to three or fourfor each of the semiannual exams. Off-site assessments,usually scheduled in three U.S. cities at the conclusion oforals in Washington, D.C., were administered simultane-ously and in four additional locations. True, the officecouldn’t have handled the surge of candidates without theassistance of temporary extras, many of them retired for-mer BEXers. But examiners managed to train and mentorthe help and do their work without skipping a beat.

If labor-of-love hard work was the first thing I noticedupon arriving in BEX, a close second was the striking diver-sity of examiners, in every sense of the word. All five careertracks are represented and grades run from 02 to MC. Thereare differences in age, race, ethnicity and gender. Someexaminers joined the Department right out of college (twoare even Foreign Service “brats”), while others had suc-cessful careers elsewhere. And there is a wide range ofForeign Service experience in every geographic area.Despite their many differences, examiners collectively car-ry out their common mission and they do it in a unique,nonhierarchical environment. Senior and mid-level offi-cers, for instance, assume team leadership responsibilitieson a rotating basis when assessing candidates.

What motivates officers to seek BEX positions? Theanswers vary as much as the examiners. “It’s exciting and

40 State Magazine

important work. Each day is different as we examine newcandidates,” remarked one examiner. “It’s so refreshing tosee these highly motivated applicants wanting to servetheir country,” said another. “I’m doing this for communi-ty service. I see lots of things wrong with the StateDepartment and a good place to start fixing these things iswith the people coming in,” commented another.

One examiner made a special appeal: “I recommend atour in BEX for mid-level officers, particularly those seek-ing a change from desk work and Main State. The assign-ment is interesting and rewarding and offers uniqueinsight into the Department’s testing, recruiting and hir-ing policies.

“BEX offers opportunities for recruiting, outreach andmentoring activities for which mid-level officers—becausethey are often closer in age and experience to manyForeign Service candidates—are ideally suited.”

This brings us back to the question of “rewards.” In thepast, BEX positions were not “promotable.” No one isarguing the work can compare with facing the risks andchallenges of a high-threat post abroad. Yet, when youthink about it, those promotable officers at those veryposts would not be there if it were not for the wise judg-ment of the examiners who recognized their potential inthe first place. The Department’s new Foreign Service coreprecepts encourage employees to participate in activitiesthat promote employee welfare and strengthen theDepartment as an institution.

What better way to do that than a tour with the Board ofExaminers. ■

The author, a recently retired Foreign Service officer, is a for-mer member of the Foreign Service Board of Examiners.

Questions concerning deaths in service should bedirected to the Employee Services Center, theDepartment’s contact office for all deaths in service:Harry S Truman Building, Room 1252, Department ofState, Washington, DC 20520-1252; (202) 647-3432; fax:(202) 647-1429; e-mail: [email protected].

Questions concerning the deaths of retired ForeignService employees should be directed to the Office ofRetirement at (202) 261-8960, [email protected].

Questions concerning the deaths of retired CivilService employees should be directed to the Office ofPersonnel Management at (202) 606-0500, http://www.opm.gov.

In the Event of Death

Foreign Service Retirements

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

Bohnet, Dwight D.Caessens, Charles B.Chase, Charles R.Craig, John B.Daley, Roger J.Franks, Robert J.Garon, Patricia A.Garrity, Catheline A.

Hazzard, David F.Huscilowitc, Walter M.Keene, Douglas R.Lahaie, Roger W.McCauley, GeorgeMcCreary, JackOchiltree, Thomas HunterSinger, Darlene T.

Civil Service RetirementsBeard, Xavier L.Bird, Mary M.Blubaugh, James K.Capies, Barbara J.Curran, Marcia M.Depriest, Blanca ReinosoDouglas, Ernest A.

Hamilton, Alexander P.Higgins, Roy R.Hunter, Douglas RandallIfft, Edward M.Le Pree-Williams, DianneLyman, Helen C.Malkin, Bruce

Minor, Antionette S.Postorino, Yolanda F.Sprague, Michael ArthurStockman, Anita M.Taylor, RosemarieWise, Sheila L.