state magazine, february 2005

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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Stepping Into the Spotlight State State MAGAZINE U.S. DEPARTM ENT OF STATE FEBRUARY 2005 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Stepping Into the Spotlight

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The February 2005 issue of State Magazine, published by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, features a report on the Department’s rapid response at home and abroad to the tsunami in Asia; Crisis Management Support as our Office of the Month; and Yerevan, Armenia as our Post of the Month!

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: State Magazine, February 2005

Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice

Stepping Intothe Spotlight

StateStateM A G A Z I N E

U . S . D E PA R T M E N T O F S TAT E

FEBRUARY 2005

Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice

Stepping Intothe Spotlight

Page 2: State Magazine, February 2005

State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is published monthly,except bimonthly in July and August, by the U.S. Department ofState, 2201 C St., N.W., Washington, DC. Periodicals postagepaid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing locations.Send changes of address to State Magazine, HR/ER/SMG, SA-1,Room H-236, Washington, DC 20522-0108. You may alsoe-mail address changes to [email protected].

State Magazine is published to facilitate communicationbetween management and employees at home and abroad andto acquaint employees with developments that may affect oper-ations or personnel. The magazine is also available to personsinterested in working for the Department of State and to thegeneral public.

State Magazine is available by subscription through theSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington, DC 20402 (telephone [202] 512-1800) oron the web at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

For details on submitting articles to State Magazine, requestour guidelines, “Getting Your Story Told,” by e-mail [email protected]; download them from our web site atwww.state.gov; or send your request in writing to StateMagazine, HR/ER/SMG, SA-1, Room H-236, Washington, DC20522-0108. The magazine’s phone number is (202) 663-1700.

Deadlines: Feb. 15 for April issue.March 15 for May issue.

StateStatePaul Koscak

ACTING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dave KreckeWRITER/EDITOR

Bill PalmerWRITER/EDITOR

Tara BoyleWRITER/EDITOR

David L. JohnstonART DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Teddy B. TaylorEXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Larry Baer

Anna Borg

Kelly Clements

Pam Holliday

Joe Johnson

Pat Patierno

MAGAZINE

Promotion Statistics and AnalysisIN OUR NEXT ISSUE:

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Page 3: State Magazine, February 2005

2 Letters to the Editor

3 In the News

9 Direct from the D.G.

38 People Like You

40 State of the Arts

41 Education and Training

42 Medical Report

43 Personnel Actions

43 Obituaries

ON THE COVERA rousing welcome for the newboss. Photo by Paul Koscak

CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2005

NUMBER 487

Trucks carry U.S. humanitarian aid through the Libyandesert on a 2,800-kilometer journey to refugee campsin Chad.

10 POST OF THE MONTH: YEREVANThe United States expands its relationship with this ancient nation.

16 OFFICE OF THE MONTH: CRISIS MANAGEMENT SUPPORTThey advise the Department on natural and man-made disasters.

18 TSUNAMI HITS ASIAThe Department responds rapidly at home and abroad.

24 TRAINING IRAQI POLICEThe Department funds a facility outside Amman to train Iraqi police.

26 ASTRONAUT LANDS AT STATEAstronaut Lee Morin is deputy assistant secretary for science and technology.

29 A CONSULAR OFFICER REMEMBERSA retired FSO tells the story of her work with Kurdish refugees 30 years ago.

30 RECENT RETIREES RECEIVE ROYAL SEND OFFThe Department recognizes its most loyal and senior employees.

32 USUN MISSION TO FAOEmployees battle hunger in the world’s most vulnerable places.

35 TUTOR MAKES SCIENCE FUNTutoring D.C. students offers challenges and rewards.

36 A SUDAN SUCCESS STORYA security officer describes the work of the Joint Military Commission.

32FIGHTING HUNGER

Page 4: State Magazine, February 2005

2 STATE MAGAZINE

AFSA Applauds MuseumThe American Foreign Service

Association applauds the creation of aVisitor Center and AmericanDiplomacy Museum in the George C.Marshall wing of the Department(“State Gets a Visitor Center andAmerican Diplomacy Museum,”October 2004). AFSA has supportedthis effort from its inception.

Along with the adjacent conferencefacility, the visitor center and museumwill greatly enhance our ability to builda domestic constituency by promotingthe critical role of the Foreign Serviceand fostering public understanding ofdiplomacy’s impact on American life.They will allow visitors to see first-hand how we in the Foreign Serviceserve the American people and advanceAmerican interests around the world.

John W. LimbertPresidentAmerican Foreign Service Association

Danger a Fact of LifeI have been reading a lot of negative

news lately about the Foreign Service.This morning I received an e-mailtelling me that future pay raises forState employees are in questionbecause some in Congress feel that,

unlike our military colleagues, ForeignService officers don’t put their lives onthe line. Why is the State Departmentrelatively silent about these attacks?Why are we so bad at publicizing ourefforts and accomplishments? Why canwe not highlight the many diplomatswho have given their lives for theircountry and the rest of us who dailyput our lives on the line?

As I write this, five more StateDepartment employees have beenkilled in Jeddah. They were our ForeignService National colleagues, but theycould have been any one of us. A num-ber of diplomats have perished inBaghdad recently. Many others braveterrifying conditions. Bombings,shootings and kidnappings are a fact oflife for the Foreign Service. We are aspatriotic as our military counterpartsand we all serve in dangerous placeswhere just to be an American meansyou are wearing a target.

Bill MichaelHuman Resources OfficerAmerican Institute in Taiwan

A Mystery Solved?My husband, Royal D. Bisbee, and I

were surprised to learn (‘The Legacy ofGratitude,” December 2004) first, that

Mrs. Cox’s bequest to the ForeignService exists and second, that theidentity of the Foreign Service officerwho helped her is unknown.

In 1948, Roy was the newest andyoungest vice consul at the consulategeneral in Bombay and the only onewho spoke fluent Hindi, Urdu andGujarathi. He was responsible for ship-ping and seamen, American nationalsand visas. He does not remember Mrs.Cox per se, but the circumstancesdescribed are similar to several suchencounters he had during the monthsfollowing the partition of India.

In 1950, Roy received a meritorioushonor award from Secretary of StateDean Acheson for rescuing print andfilm media figure, Lowell Thomas, Sr.,who had been injured in Tibet.

Retired after 35 years of governmentservice, Roy keeps close track of eventsin “his” part of the world. To both ofus, foreign service has been a stimulat-ing and rewarding experience. Now,during these times, it is vitally impor-tant to have officers whose dedicationand training will meet the challengesahead. Mrs. Cox’s generous bequestwill help satisfy an important need.

Barbara Beeler BisbeeGreat Falls, Va.

FROM THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Lee Morin’s career has soared to great heights: highenough to spend days watching the Earth slip beneath himfrom 120 miles in space. After that, you might wonder,what’s left to do? Plenty, according to this deputy assistantsecretary for science and technology who volunteered totrade his spacesuit for a business suit—but not perma-nently.

When your police recruits think it’s novel to protectpeople rather than the government, that’s a hint there’slots of work ahead. But, then again, these aspiring lawenforcement officers are Iraqi. And they’re learning theircraft from the ground up at the Jordan InternationalPolice Training Center run by the Bureau of InternationalNarcotics and Law Enforcement.

They’re the wheelers and dealers, the business champi-ons who understand the art of the deal. But these slugger

sales reps could just as easily bomb applying their hard-earned selling skills overseas. In many nations, gettingdown to business really means getting to know one anoth-er or negotiating at a slower pace with plenty of silentpauses. The successful international bargainer considersthe culture before the close.

August was a terrible month at the U.S. Embassy inGuatemala. One of its contract security guards wasgunned down trying to help a woman about to be muggedjust outside the gate. The man’s bravery touched everyone,including the Marine guards who raised money for thefallen father’s family.

Page 5: State Magazine, February 2005

3FEBRUARY 2005

I N T H E N E W S

ROAD TORECOVERYDisaster Shifts Department into High Gear

Within hours after massive tsunami waves leveled coastalcities and villages in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Sri Lankaand eastern Africa, causing perhaps one of the greatest natu-ral disasters in modern history, the State Department wasleading a recovery just as massive.

As expected, calls for food, medicine, water and other life-saving supplies inundated the Department’s command cen-ter, which began around-the-clock operations Dec. 26. With

support from the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency forInternational Development, the Department spearheaded adrive to bring resources to the stricken region and locatemissing Americans.

The 7th floor command center buzzed like a bull marketboiler room as volunteers from two task forces manned thephones, fired off e-mails and pooled their crisis managementexperience to solve problems, untangle logistical snags and

find funding to pay for it all.“Everything is sort of random,” is

how Michael Morrow, who directsthe crisis management supportcenter, described how the taskforces operate. There’s no way topredict requests. “The tsunami taskforce coordinates relief efforts withthe U.N. and friendly governmentsand provides information to theSecretary.”

Obtaining flight clearances andsecuring agreements and legal pro-tections for U.S. armed forces andother agencies providing humani-tarian assistance were among thefirst items facing the task force. Italso secured authorizations forAmerican forces to use foreign mil-itary bases, he added.

With many roads and airfieldswashed out, finding ways to avoid

This seaman, loading supplies onto a helicopter in Indonesia, exemplifies the effective U.S. effort torelieve suffering in the hard-hit region.

Page 6: State Magazine, February 2005

Consular WebsiteSets Records

4 STATE MAGAZINE

I N T H E N E W S

transportation and distribution bottlenecks presented thegreatest obstacles in bringing supplies to the suffering. Timedifferences complicated the logistics. “Water, purification sys-tems, medical supplies, plastic sheeting and body bags are thebiggest demand items,” said Mr. Morrow.

Interestingly, there were some differences in what coun-tries requested, according to the task force’s daily log.Thailand needed rice, dried and canned food, freezers andEnglish-speaking forensic pathologists. Indonesia asked forboth rice and noodles. Life jackets, rubber dinghies and safe-ty harnesses were needed in Sri Lanka.

The log also showed an overwhelming need to dispose ofbodies. The number of confirmed dead—well over 225,000as of Jan. 18—continued to soar as rescuers reached outlyingareas and cleared rubble from hard-hit cities. Task force staffhandled requests for cold storage, bulldozers, white cloth towrap bodies and equipment to photograph and finger-print corpses.

Other inquiries show why the work is random. HouseMajority Leader Tom DeLay, for example, requested thenumber of orphans in India. Knight Ridder News Service

needed to know how many nations were sending militaryforces to the region and fingerprints were needed from anIrish citizen in Chicago who may have been a tsunami victim.

A task force run by Consular Affairs specialized in locatingAmericans. Calls from Americans seeking the whereabouts ofa family member were the most common inquiry. Otherstaffers were doing detective work to determine if lostAmericans had been located. The American Service CitizensCenter in Indianapolis received nearly 11,000 calls seekinginformation about missing Americans.

So far, 16 Americans are confirmed dead and 20 are miss-ing, according to Alessandro Nardi, a shift supervisor on theConsular Affairs task force. “Up to 40 people at any giventime are receiving or placing phone calls to locateAmericans,” he explained.

He said the nearly 3,500 inquiries about missingAmericans are handled case by case. Sometimes the embassyor the family calls the task force when someone is found.Other times, the task force staff must call the family back toget an update.

The list grows smaller each day, Mr. Nardi remarked.

Since 1995, the Bureau of Consular Affairs website—theauthoritative source of U.S. consular information—hasgrown so popular that it averages 23 million hits per month.The website was completely redesigned last year to make itswealth of content about passports, Americans residing ortraveling abroad and visas for foreigners easier to access andunderstand. More features were added, including a secure,internet-based registration system for American citizen trav-elers. The new website looked terrific, but had yet to weath-er a major crisis.

Then the Indian Ocean tsunami hit. It rapidly becameapparent that Americans and others were turning towww.travel.state.gov for critical information in record num-bers. On Dec. 26—the day of the disaster—there were339,202 visits. By the next day the number had doubled, to694,869, and by the following week, the website was averag-ing over a million visits per day.

Immediately, the bureau issued public announcementswith information on the countries hit hardest, advisingAmericans to register with the nearest embassy and giving atoll-free number to call for information.

As the extent of the disaster became clear, DomesticOperations’ web experts, working with officers fromOverseas Citizens Services and other bureau offices, added aspecial “Asian Tsunami Crisis” section to the website. It fea-tured emergency phone numbers for questions about the

welfare or whereabouts of Americans in the disaster area anddescribed the Department’s round-the-clock efforts to coor-dinate search and rescue efforts with our embassies and con-sulates. When many people called to ask about adopting chil-dren orphaned by the disaster, a page on adoptions wasadded. Links were included to the websites of U.S. embassies,consulates and other agencies involved in the recovery.

The tsunami disaster proved the importance of the websitefor Americans in a worldwide crisis, showing how rapidlyfacts from consular sections and other sources can be assem-bled. Good websites are highly dynamic, agile and responsiveto feedback. The new website passed the acid test, as did thescores of people who worked hard to make it happen.

Members of the bureau’s Domestic Operations web team check thewebsite. From left, Beth Hite, Greg Mazujian, Jimmy Lin (standing) andMohamud Mohamud.

Page 7: State Magazine, February 2005

5FEBRUARY 2005

I N T H E N E W S

Foreign Service National employees from more than 50overseas posts have joined with Foreign Service entry classesin making donations to the FSN Emergency Relief Fund.

Participants in the FSN worldwide conference in Junechose the fund as a legacy project. They make donations,publicize the fund’s work and urge FSN associations and col-leagues to make donations. Members of the 119th A-100 classmade a group donation in honor of their class mentor,Ambassador Karl Hofmann. Alumni of the 104th A-100 classhave also contributed.

In turn, FSN employees in earthquake-wracked Algeriaand war-torn Liberia have received assistance from the fund,along with their colleagues in Jamaica, Grenada, the Bahamasand Haiti—all countries ravaged by last year’s hurricanes.

The fund, which is in need of replenishment since theserecent outlays, offers a quick, non-bureaucratic way torespond to catastrophes by matching employee generosity toFSN needs. It dates from 1983, when FSN employees at theU.S. Embassy in Santiago and Diplomatic and ConsularOfficers Retired made donations to the families of colleagueskilled or injured in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in

Beirut. Numerous subsequent donations were received andthe fund was made permanent in 1994 to respond to generalFSN humanitarian requests.

FSN employees may request compensation for lossescaused by natural disaster or calamity by submitting a memodetailing the loss through their FSN association and admin-istrative office to their regional bureau. The bureau’s postmanagement officer presents the case to a review committeeto recommend payments and final approval by the under sec-retary for management.

Administered by State’s gifts funds coordinator DonnaBordley, the Office of Overseas Employment and the region-al bureaus, the fund has granted more than $300,000 toemployees in more than 22 countries.

Contributions may be sent to Ms. Bordley, RM/CFO,Room 7427, Harry S Truman Building. Donors should makechecks payable to the “U.S. Department of State,” with thenotation “FSN Emergency Relief Fund.” Include a returnaddress if you’d like to receive a charitable tax deductionreceipt. Employees can also request a one-time or recurringpayroll deduction by calling (800) 521-2553 or (877) 865-0760. Credit card contributions, using Visa or MasterCard,can be made by sending an e-mail via the Intranet to “FSNEmergency Relief Fund” on the global address list. Includeyour name, address, amount, account number and expira-tion date.

For additional information, contact the fund manager byphone at (202) 647-5031 or fax at (202) 647-8194.

Hurricane Victims AreLatest Beneficiaries ofFSN Relief Fund

Krister Evenhouse, a clerk inthe maintenance section of U.S.Embassy in The Hague, designedthis flag as a tribute to America.As you move to the other side ofthe artwork, it gradually changesinto the Dutch flag with anorange ribbon floating across it.The dual-flag image hangsproudly in an embassy corridor.

DUTCHEMPLOYEECREATESEMBASSYARTWORK

Page 8: State Magazine, February 2005

6 STATE MAGAZINE

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Under the direction of theU.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, anew memorial has been builtin the Ethiopian capital toremember those who lost theirlives in the terrorist attacks ofSept. 11, 2001.

Three hundred people,including Ethiopian PresidentGirma Wolde-Giorgos, attend-ed the Sept. 10 memorial cere-mony. Ethiopians who lostfamily members in the attacksalso participated in the event.Betru Woldetinsae and SaraTesheberu planted a tree inmemory of their son, Dr.Yenneh Betru, an Ethiopian-American who lost his life atthe Pentagon.

The memorial includes botha monument dedicated to thevictims and trees planted intheir memory. The project was spearheaded by ForeignService officers Aaron Snipe and Patricia Hennessy, who puttogether a diverse committee of Ethiopian and Americanadvisers to oversee the design and construction ofthe memorial.

“It was no small undertaking, but everyone worked tire-lessly to complete the project,” said Snipe. “We found our-selves working against construction difficulties, challengingweather conditions, and all sorts of logistical concerns, yet

everyone pulled together in a way reminiscent of how allAmericans did in the wake of 9/11.”

A group of Ethiopians and Americans will look after thememorial site as more trees are planted. U.S. AmbassadorAurelia E. Brazeal said she hopes the memorial will remainimportant to future generations.

“It’s my hope that future U.S. ambassadors will build uponwhat we’ve begun—that this site might be used…to reflectand honor all those who lost their lives,” she said.

Locating things on the Department Intranet should beeasier now. The Office of eDiplomacy replaced the searchengine with a new one based on a tool called Autonomy, top-of-the-line software the office claims will significantlyimprove searches. As the year progresses, the program isexpected to provide a greater selection of sites, documentsand databases.

In developing the search engine, the office relied onnumerous focus groups to answer three questions: Whatinformation do the bureaus want to make available? Whatinformation do end users seek? How do they look for it now?The answers will influence how Autonomy evolves in thecoming months.

The new software searches by concepts rather than key-words. For example, it can be programmed to understand

that IT usually means information technology and willsearch for technology documents even without the specifickeywords. Advanced features include ways to refine a search,from adding words to selecting results that are on the righttrack, and directing Autonomy to look for similar docu-ments. You can also search and display results by date orselect sources to search. Graphics will also be introduced toassist searches.

The package is being unveiled in stages to better adapt tothe Department’s computer system. The goal is to addfunction and coverage as rapidly as resources and experiencepermit.

Users can provide feedback to the eDiplomacy office bycalling (202) 736-7236 or visiting www.extranet.state.gov/m/ediplomacy.

ETHIOPIANS REMEMBER 9/11 VICTIMS

New Software to Boost Intranet Searches

Foreign Service Officers Patricia Hennessy and Aaron Snipe pose with Ambassador Aurelia Brazeal, center,at the 9/11 memorial.

Page 9: State Magazine, February 2005

Department employees donated approximately4,900 toys and more than $1,000 to the 2004 Toysfor Tots drive, the fourth consecutive year that toyand cash totals increased over the previous year.Thanks to employees’ generosity, nearly 2,500local-area children had a happy holiday season.

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve manages thenationwide Toys for Tots program. At theDepartment, the Bureau of Diplomatic Securitymanaged the effort, while DS and the Bureau ofAdministration provided staff and logistics.

A team of Department volunteers assisted thecampaign. DS uniformed officers and facilitiesmanagement staff collected toys from more than30 collection bins scattered throughout the HarryS Truman Building and Department locations inthe Washington metropolitan area.

In a Dec. 17 ceremony, Secretary Powell andDeputy Secretary Armitage presented theDepartment’s donation to Marine Corps represen-tatives. The Secretary thanked employees for theirkindness and stressed the importance of this worthwhile charity. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the toys were transport-ed to the Anacostia Toys for Tots warehouse in the Naval Yard, where they were distributed to local children.

7FEBRUARY 2005

I N T H E N E W S

Secretary Powell presents donated toys to Marine Corps representative Maj. MichelleTrusso. Joe Morton, deputy assistant secretary for Diplomatic Security, left, andDeputy Secretary Richard Armitage also attended the ceremony.

TOYS FOR TOTS A HUGE SUCCESS

A software system that links geographical data so userscan instantly identify terrestrial features such as streets,

buildings, residences and landmarks is being used by U.S.Consulate General Chengdu in western China.

Better known as Geographic Information Systems, thesoftware can identify or verify economic and consular sta-

tistics, highlight cities or manipulate and produce mapsand display imagery. The system retrieves any stored

information and displays it geographically.“GIS allows us to take data from an Excel spread-

sheet and view it on a map,” said Brian Van Pay, a car-tographer with the Bureau of Intelligence andResearch. “The Department uses the system to trackthe locations of our buildings, study sites for newposts, analyze humanitarian crises and produce mapsfor intelligence assessments.”

More amazing, by connecting a Ricoh digital glob-al positioning system camera to the software, a pointon the map can be shown in a photo along with itscoordinates, allowing the user to see what the loca-tion is like.

The Bureau of Intelligence and Research andConsulate General Chengdu recently trained 10employees to use the program, proving the systemcan be useful overseas. About 25 employees use the

system in Washington, D.C.For more information about Geographic Information

Systems, call David Smith at (202) 736-7896 or Brian VanPay at (202) 647-0948.

The geographic information system team gathers at the Sanxingduiarchaeological site near Chengdu.

Geographic Software Is Boost to Chengdu

Page 10: State Magazine, February 2005

On an August morning last year in Guatemala City,Francisco Batz, a U.S. Embassy contract guard, was manninghis post at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Servicemain entrance. He noticed that a woman, who wasapproaching the gate carrying what appeared to be a laptopcomputer bag, was about to be mugged by a man with a gun.He stepped out of the booth to confront the man and help

the woman. As he drew his weapon, a vehicle pulled up andthe man inside fired at him, striking Mr. Batz in theabdomen. The assailants took the bag and fled. Mr. Batz wasrushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. The nextday he died.

He supported a wife and three children. His bravery andselflessness touched everyone in the embassy, prompting sev-eral fundraisers to aid his family.

The Marine security guard detachment also assisted thisfallen hero’s family. The Marines had previously planned abarbeque to bring together members of the American com-munity and raise funds for their birthday ball. Now theydecided to donate half of the barbeque profits to Mr. Batz’sfamily.

Not only was it a successful social event, the detachmentraised enough to match five months of Mr. Batz’s salary.

Altogether, donations from the embassy and other mis-sions, the Diplomatic Security Special Agents Foundationand people in Washington have provided the family with theequivalent of six years of Mr. Batz’s salary.

The actions of Mr. Batz touched many lives. Although themoney raised could not bring him back, knowing that thosewho depended on him are being taken care of is someconsolation.

8 STATE MAGAZINE

I N T H E N E W S

Dinner with senior Department officials. A discussionwith Secretary Colin Powell. An elephant ride through thestreets of New Delhi. Few conferences can boast such high-lights, but they were all part of a four-day meeting held inOctober for new Foreign Service officers working in the NearEastern and South Asia bureaus.

More than 150 Foreign Service generalists and specialistsgathered in India Oct. 11–15 for the 2004 Entry-LevelProfessionals Conference. The conference was hosted by theU.S. Embassy in New Delhi and organized by a Mission-widegroup of entry-level officers, who planned and managedevery aspect of the four-day event.

The goal was to encourage substantive career developmentdiscussion. Topics included bidding and specialization,tenure and promotion, career and family, and policy-specificsessions such as public diplomacy challenges in the Arabworld. Entry-level employees from Dhaka to Casablancacontributed to these discussions.

Secretary Powell and Near Eastern Affairs AssistantSecretary William Burns took part by videoconference fromWashington. Participants agreed that the discussion with theSecretary was a high point of the conference.

The first-ever leadership and management training coursespecifically designed for entry-level professionals by the

Foreign Service Institute was another highlight. With thesupport of the director of the FSI Leadership andManagement School, Ambassador Prudence Bushnell andinput from members of the conference committee, FSI train-ers Susan Novick, David Hendrickson and Susan DrewThomas designed the course and traveled to New Delhi. Thetwo-day training was well received and will now be availablefor future entry-level conferences.

Attendees had the opportunity to meet one-on-one withsenior Department officials. An all-star cast from Washingtonjoined the event, including Under Secretary of State forManagement Grant Green, Director General W. RobertPearson, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular AffairsMaura Harty, FSI Director Katherine Peterson, South AsiaPrincipal Deputy Assistant Secretary Donald Camp and NearEastern Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Dibble.

“I did not expect this type of interaction with leaders fromthe Department. It really was great,” Vice Consul to KuwaitCity Matt Pilcher said.

The most unique moment of the conference came at areception hosted by Consul General William Bartlett. To thedelight of his guests, Bartlett had arranged for an Indian ele-phant to greet them on arrival and carry them around theneighborhood while colleagues applauded.

New Delhi Conference Offers Lessons in Leadership

Embassy Guard’s Death Sparks Flood of Donations

Americans in Guatemala City eat for a good cause and help the family ofa fallen hero.

Page 11: State Magazine, February 2005

9FEBRUARY 2005

On behalf of the Department’s employees here and abroad, I’m delighted to wel-come Condoleezza Rice back to the Department of State. We’re especially fortunate tohave someone of her stature joining us at this time in our nation’s history, and I knowwe all look forward to working with her and the new senior management of theDepartment in consolidating and advancing our foreign policy interests throughoutthe world.

Her stewardship at the Department is a wonderful new opportunity to move for-ward on the great issues of the day, dealing with terrorism, strengthening democracy,building prosperity and providing help to those who need it most. The outstandingwork of the Department and its employees at home and abroad in dealing with thetragic consequences of the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean basin showshow much difference our work can make. We are fortunate to have a new Secretarywho will lead us to make that difference through diplomacy around the world.

Secretary Rice has more than 25 years of experience in the international arena, inacademia and in the federal government, beginning with an internship at State in 1977.In addition to her academic appointments as professor of political science and provostof Stanford University, her intellectual acumen has led her to membership on theboards of many corporations and institutions, including the Chevron Corporation,Charles Schwab, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the University of NotreDame, the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan, and the San FranciscoSymphony Board of Governors.

Under Secretary Rice’s leadership, we can build on what we have accomplishedtogether in the first term of President Bush, both for our State Department team andfor the American people. My colleagues and I in the Bureau of Human Resources, forexample, look forward to working with her to continue promoting sound managementand leadership at every level. Our 66th Secretary has noted her interest in managingpeople and resources as well as policy as well as her strong support for all the men andwomen, Foreign Service, Civil Service, and foreign national employees, who are theheart of America’s diplomacy.

Secretary Rice has spoken of her admiration and respect for the “skill, professional-ism, and dedication” of the men and women of the Department of State. She has alsoemphasized that one of her highest priorities will be to “ensure that our employeeshave all the tools necessary to carry American diplomacy forward in the 21st century.”

Our country will face many different problems and challenges in the years to come,some of which we know well and some of which we can only imagine. As the Presidenthas said, meeting all of our objectives will require “wise and skillful leadership at theDepartment of State.” As we begin a new presidential term, under the leadership ofSecretary Rice, I’m confident that we will have that kind of leadership at theDepartment and will be able to make the world a better place for all its peoples in theyears to come. ■

DIRECT FROM THE D.G.AMBASSADOR W. ROBERT PEARSON

Welcoming Secretary Rice

Page 12: State Magazine, February 2005

10 STATE MAGAZINE

An Armenian folk musician plays atraditional stringed instrument.

Page 13: State Magazine, February 2005

11FEBRUARY 2005

P O S T O F T H E M O N T H

By Kimberly Hargan

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U.S. Helps Land of Noah’s ArkSteer Toward Future

Page 14: State Magazine, February 2005

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But the earliest mention of the region dates to the 13th cen-tury B.C., in Assyrian descriptions of the kingdom ofUrartu, which was succeeded by the kingdom of Armenia inthe 6th century B.C. The biblical book of Genesis refers toNoah’s landing on Mt. Ararat, vis-ible directly to the south of thecapital, Yerevan. (As a result of theshifting sands of history, Mt.Ararat, located near the center ofthe ancient Armenian kingdom, isnow just across the border inTurkey.)

Archaeological evidence indi-cates there were settlements in thearea of Yerevan from the 6th tothe 3rd millennium B.C. Thename Yerevan derives from afortress settlement, Erebuni,

established in 783 B.C. The ruins of Erebuni can still be seenon a hilltop in the city. In 301 A.D., King Trdat (Tiridates) IIIwas converted to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminatorand decreed that his kingdom would follow suit, making

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Armenia is a young country inan ancient land. The Republic of Armenia has beenindependent in its present form only since thedissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

Above: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Right: The Yerevan Motorcycle Club,including a couple of riders from theembassy, takes a road trip through thenorthern Armenian hills.

Page 15: State Magazine, February 2005

13FEBRUARY 2005

A T A G L A N C E

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2004

Country name: Armenia

Capital: Yerevan

Government: Republic

Independence: September 21, 1991 (from theSoviet Union)

Population: 3.2 million

Languages: Armenian and Russian

Total area: 29,000 square kilometers

Approximate size: Slightly smaller thanMaryland

Currency: Dram (AMD)

Per capita income: $3,500

Unemployment rate: 20%

Export commodities: Diamonds, minerals,food products and energy

Export partners: Belgium (18.2%), UnitedKingdom (16.8%) and Israel (15.7%)

Literacy rate: 98.6%

Armenia the world’s first Christian nation. Around 400,Bishop Mesrop Mashtots devised an alphabet for theArmenian language for his translation of the Bible. Theresulting literary and religious traditions have remained atthe core of Armenian identity.

Current U.S. involvement in Armenia got started in 1988with relief efforts following a terrible earthquake. Afterindependence, the country lost most of its Soviet industrialbase and economic connections. It also faced the closure ofits borders to the east (with Azerbaijan) and west (withTurkey) as a result of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Inthose years, most buildings were without central heating orelectricity, so trees were cut down and a spiderweb of over-head electrical lines grew as Armenians borrowed electricitywhere they could find it.

While the first years of U.S. assistance concentrated onhumanitarian needs, it’s now aimed at development.Armenia was once considered the Silicon Valley of theSoviet Union, providing advanced avionics for Soviet air-craft and supercomputers. Literacy is nearly 100 percent,reflecting the high priority placed on education. But theArmenian economy collapsed. Recent annual growth ratesfrom 8 to 12 percent a year should allow the gross domesticproduct this year to return to its 1991 level.

A unique factor in the U.S.-Armenian relationship is theArmenian-American diaspora, which consists of severalgenerations of Armenians who fled from troubles in thiscorner of the world and now call the United States home.Earlier immigrants settled around Fresno, Calif.; Boston andDetroit. Many of the post-Soviet immigrants have created aLittle Armenia in Glendale, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles.With their penchant for business, they have adapted well tolife in America, including politics. They lobby Congressenthusiastically on behalf of their homeland. So theembassy works not only with audiences in Armenia, butwith an American “constituency” with considerable interestin U.S. policy and actions in Armenia.

The U.S. Mission focuses on improving regional securityand stability, fostering the development of democratic insti-tutions and encouraging broad-based and sustainable eco-nomic growth. State’s non-proliferation and border securityprogram office helps prevent the movement of materials forweapons of mass destruction. The Bureau of InternationalNarcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs works withArmenian authorities to combat transportation of nar-cotics, money laundering and trafficking in persons. TheU.S. Agency for International Development works ondemocracy and social reform, public health, economicrestructuring and energy. The Department of Defense han-dles military-to-military relations and some humanitarianassistance. The Department of Agriculture has introducedan American-style extension service and created a market-ing assistance program. Treasury assists and trains govern-ment officials in modern methods of budgeting and finan-cial control. More than 90 Peace Corps volunteers teachEnglish, advise small and medium enterprises, and developenvironmental awareness.

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14 STATE MAGAZINE

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Below: Making Armenian flatbread. Right: St. Etchmiadzin, the Holy Seeof the Armenian Apostolic Church. Bottom: A scenic view of Mt. Ararat.

Page 17: State Magazine, February 2005

A new chancery

overlooking Lake

Yerevan, with a beautiful

view of Mt. Ararat,

is being completed.

There is no clearer

demonstration of U.S.

long-term commitment

than this state-of-the-

art facility.

““

Below: A view across Lake Yerevan of the new embassy constructionsite. Bottom: An Armenian farmer brings in a load of hay.

The staff required to manage all these programs has growntremendously over the last decade. The embassy building, theformer Communist Youth League headquarters, is over-crowded. Located on a major thoroughfare, it doesn’t meetcurrent security or earthquake safety standards, crucial in thisseismically active zone. A new chancery overlooking LakeYerevan, with a beautiful view of Mt. Ararat, is being com-pleted. The move is scheduled for early April. There is noclearer demonstration of U.S. long-term commitment thanthis state-of-the-art facility.

Yerevan continues to be a hardship posting. Public build-ings are often minimally heated during winter, if at all.Visitors to schools and offices will see students or staff bun-dled up in thick coats, scarves and hats. Most imports comeoverland through Georgia or Iran, which makes for shortsupplies, high prices and some petty corruption.International flights to Yerevan involve long layovers and late-night arrivals.

In spite of these difficulties, an assignment to Armenia canbe rewarding. The people are warm and hospitable, ofteninviting foreigners to join them in family celebrations. Theculture is rich. Traditional music and dance flourish even inthe face of competition from MTV and other sources ofglobal influences. You can hunt for paintings, sculptures andhandwoven carpets in open-air markets. Classical music,opera, ballet and jazz all thrive. As the economy improves,restaurants, cafes and clubs in Yerevan expand. The moun-tainous countryside is spectacular and churches, monasteriesand other monuments from prehistoric times onward aresprinkled throughout the country.

In a country the size of Maryland, with a population ofaround three and a quarter million, it’s easy to see changesand meet the people who benefit directly from U.S. pro-grams. Armenians at all levels eagerly look to the UnitedStates for support in moving from their Soviet past into thecommunity of modern democratic nations. ■

The author is the public affairs officer in Yerevan.

15FEBRUARY 2005

Page 18: State Magazine, February 2005

16 STATE MAGAZINE

Crisis Management SupportRESPONDING TO A MORE DANGEROUS WORLD BY MIKE MORROW

With hurricanes pounding several U.S. diplo-matic missions last September, theDepartment’s Office of Crisis ManagementSupport staff mobilized quickly to assist the

task force that led the response. In Grenada, Hurricane Ivanknocked out the consul general’s telephone line when hun-dreds of American citizens were crowded into an airporthangar, desperate to depart. The office helped the task forcemake contact. Next in line to get hit were our missions in

Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba. The officeensured the task force had maps ofthe region and up-to-the-minuteweather forecasts. It also worked toget the task force report ready for theSecretary, who needed to know thatcharter flights were being lined up toevacuate the stranded Americans,most of whom lacked shelter, foodand water and were increasinglythreatened by looters and general dis-order.

The office is the crisis adviser forthe Department’s ExecutiveSecretariat. Whether it’s civil unrestendangering American expatriates, anatural disaster forcing an embassy toevacuate or a terrorist incidentdirected at one of our foreign mis-sions, the office is there around theclock to guide the Department’sresponse in the Operations Center’snewly renovated, state-of-the-art taskforce rooms.

While setting up task forces hasbeen a primary function of the OpsCenter since it began in the early1960s, the creation of a full-timeCrisis Management Support officedidn’t come until a couple of decadeslater. Today, it’s the fastest-growingpart of the Executive Secretariat, hav-ing nearly tripled in size (from threeofficers to eight) since the 1998bombings of our embassies in

Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. This growth is indicative of theDepartment’s enhanced crisis monitoring and emergencypreparedness work and, regrettably, is driven by the moredangerous environment in which we all live.

In addition to providing task force support, the office alsoperforms the following:

Crisis monitoring. The office continually looks ahead toforecast potential trouble spots and threats to U.S. missionsand American citizens overseas. Every week, it makes avail-

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Briefing the new shift during the tsunami crisisis supervisor Howard Krawitz, center, ChristineHarbaugh, left, and, from right, Kim Archea,Mike Morrow and Steve Wickman.

O F F I C E O F T H E M O N T H

Page 19: State Magazine, February 2005

17FEBRUARY 2005

able its findings via “CMS is Watching…,” found onSIPRNET at http://ses.state.sgov.gov/cms.

Contingency planning. The office assists in plan-ning the Department’s response to natural disas-ters, health epidemics, terrorist attacks and civil dis-order. Its strong relationship with the DefenseDepartment—supported by the Ops Center’s mili-tary adviser—is essential for coordinating the mili-tary role in noncombatant evacuations. The officealso administers two web-based planning tools: thetripwire reporting and integrated planning systemand the report of potential evacuees. Tripwires andevacuee estimates for every post can be found onthe Intranet at http://ses.state.gov/seso/crisis/resources.asp.

Crisis Training. The office works closely with thecrisis management training division of the ForeignService Institute’s Leadership and ManagementSchool to strengthen the Department’s crisisresponse capability. For example, office staff peri-

odically travel to embassies to participate in post-specific cri-sis management exercises led by FSI trainers. Last summer,trainers conducted an Olympics-related crisis managementexercise for the European Bureau. Office staff also traveled toAthens to help the embassy set up and operate a 24-hour taskforce that ran throughout the games. The office also con-ducts task force training. More than 350 employees weretrained during the past two years to handle just about anycontingency.

The office’s training, planning and monitoring all cometogether when the Department stands up a task force, whichhas happened more than 150 times in the last decade. Thetwo largest efforts were for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. In both cases,half a dozen task forces worked together to manage every-thing from political-military to public diplomacy. By thetime the Iraq task forces were disbanded after four weeks ofoperation, more than 700 employees from 21 bureaus hadparticipated.

In recent years, the office has supportedtask forces facing new threats. Following theanthrax letter incidents in the U.S. in late2001, dozens of overseas posts received“white powder” letters claiming to containanthrax. A task force led by Departmentmedical specialists worked with the Centersfor Disease Control and others to establishhandling and testing protocols. Similarly,medical specialists led a task force in 2003 onSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome out-

breaks around the world.In part because crisis management and emergency pre-

paredness are rapid-growth fields, the Ops Center’s maintask force rooms were renovated in 2004. They now featurethe latest in information and communication technology.For example, the two large wall-mounted plasma screensallowed the Hurricane Ivan Task Force—the first to use thenew space—to watch CNN and BBC reports of storm dam-age on one screen while monitoring National HurricaneCenter satellite imagery of the storm’s track on the other.Task forces can maintain an open phone line with a post indistress and have easy access to the Ops Center’s 24-hourwatch for conference calls and communications support.

The Office of Crisis Management Support welcomes theopportunity to provide any bureau with task force trainingand consultations on crisis preparation and management. ■

Mike Morrow is the deputy director for crisis managementsupport at the Operations Center.

Above: Tracking missing Americans for the ConsularAffairs task force are, from right, Heather Kauffman,information specialist; Karla Quigley, visa specialist;and Jennifer Kennihan, a contractor with Harris OrkandInformation. Left: Crisis Management Support gainedsome hands-on experience last year participating in aU.S. Marine evacuation exercise at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Page 20: State Magazine, February 2005

A stone cross lies in the sand after it was displacedby the tsunami from a graveyard.

Page 21: State Magazine, February 2005

19FEBRUARY 2005

UNDERSCORE TSUNAMI RELIEF

TEAMWORK,SERVICE

In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, StateDepartment employees displayed extraordinary courage, dedi-cation, and professionalism in confronting an unprecedenteddisaster affecting a dozen countries across thousands of miles.The loss of life is difficult to comprehend, and we mourn withthose who have lost family and friends. In Washington andaround the world, State’s employees have provided a widerange of emergency and humanitarian assistance to mitigate thesuffering. On behalf of the Department, I would like to expressmy gratitude for all they have done and continue to do.

BY W. ROBERT PEARSON

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Page 22: State Magazine, February 2005

A young tsunami survivor is held byhis mother at a make-shift shelter.

Page 23: State Magazine, February 2005

Former Secretary Powell stands near photos of missingpeople at a tsunami relief center in Phuket, Thailand,during his early January visit.

21FEBRUARY 2005

The magnitude of the disaster—which killed some225,000 people and displaced over 1.6 million more—hasgenerated the largest international relief effort in history,with numerous Department employees playing criticalroles that helped save lives. Our colleagues at posts inthe afflicted countries worked tirelessly to coordinaterelief efforts with host governments, other U.S. govern-ment agencies and nongovernmental organizations.Officers at Embassy Bangkok secured the Royal Thai gov-ernment’s permission to use the Utapao air base as thestaging center for the U.S. military’s region-wide reliefeffort. In response to urgent Thai calls for blood, embassystaff organized blood drives and shuttled donatingemployees to local hospitals. In Jakarta, AmbassadorLynn Pascoe and his colleagues rolled up their sleevesand helped load relief supplies onto C-130 transportplanes bound for Aceh.

Since every second counts for families and friendsawaiting word of loved ones or isolated populations indesperate need of clean water and medical assistance,we knew that we had to quickly find additional people tohelp. Using Employee Profile Plus, the Department imme-diately identified Civil and Foreign Service employeeswith specialized skills and languages, confirming the utili-ty of EP+ to harness our collective strength.

The extraordinary efforts our colleagues have made toassist American citizens who found themselves in harm’sway are both heartening and a sober illustration of thedevastation caused by the tsunami. Consular and otherofficers in the affected countries sprang into action assoon as they learned of the disaster. Embassy Colombodispatched one officer by plane to the Maldives andanother overland to Galle. In addition, consular officersfrom Colombo traveled to Mantara, Hambantota andAmpara Districts, as well as to the Central Province to lookfor American citizens. Consular officers Michael Chadwickfrom Singapore and Richard Hanrahan from New Delhiwere vacationing in Phuket when the tsunami struck. Bothescaped unharmed with their families and immediatelyvolunteered to stay on and help injured and displacedAmerican citizens, assist in trying to locate the missingand other critical tasks. Embassy Bangkok quickly flew ina team and set up an office in Phuket City. Our consularofficers in Malaysia reported damage to the resort areasof Langkawi and Penang but to their great relief found noAmericans requiring assistance. In Indonesia, consularofficers immediately contacted American employees at acompany in Aceh to confirm that they were accounted for.

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Page 24: State Magazine, February 2005

Residents of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, unload bags of vegetablesfrom a U.S. Marine Corps transport plane.

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23FEBRUARY 2005

When Americans arrived at our embassies in Colomboand Bangkok wearing only their bathing suits, officers andstaff gave them clean, donated clothing and money forimmediate needs. They issued free emergency passportsto Americans and offered repatriation loan assistance.They also went door to door, visiting hotels, hospitals andmorgues to track down every lead in locating missingAmericans. They worked with local authorities to assistthe injured and help others return home.

Many of our embassy personnel generously openedtheir homes to Americans. The magnanimity of the menand women of the Department of State is as characteris-tic of them as it’s impressive.

In Chennai, public affairs officer Chris Wurst organizedconsulate-wide volunteer opportunities with theAssociation for India’s Development and the BhoomikaTrust, two highly regarded NGOs. From Dec. 30 to Jan. 2,volunteers throughout the consulate community helpedsort and pack clothing, food and household items head-ed for areas that experienced great devastation inCuddalore, Nagappattinam and the Andaman andNicobar Islands.

At home, employees were anxious to assist as well.Volunteers throughout the Department staffed tworound-the-clock tsunami task forces—one dedicated totracing the welfare and whereabouts of Americans, theother coordinating the inter-agency relief effort. CivilService, Foreign Service and retired employees fromnearly every bureau made up those teams.

Family Liaison Office staff who worked on the task forceshelped to locate families of U.S. government employeestraveling in the region to assure their loved ones at homethey were safe. Stateside relatives and friends of theseemployees who called the task forces were impressed thatthe Department would go to such lengths to track downtheir families, going through the home embassy and thenembassies in Asia to get information.

Our employees in the Bureau of Consular Affairs sentconsular officers and Foreign Service nationals from allover the world to provide temporary support. An Asiantsunami crisis section on the travel.state.gov website pro-vides emergency contact information for those searchingfor family and friends in the affected areas. In the firstweek of the crisis, Consular Affairs handled over 20,000calls, requiring an additional task force to return calls. Thishelped us account for many of the people who were ini-tially unable to contact their families. The callbacks, com-bined with data gleaned from airline and foreign countryimmigration records, allowed our posts to focus on fewermissing Americans.

One of the lessons learned from this terrible tragedy isthat when we travel we all should leave detailed itinerarieswith someone and have a plan in place should disasterstrike. This information is exactly what’s needed to solvethese cases. The “missing” are really helping us whenthey call a family member or supervisor. In addition, casesare more easily solved with a photograph. A digital pic-ture that can be e-mailed is priceless. As we rememberthe victims and appreciate those who are helping, let’salso learn from their experiences to plan ahead. ■

W. Robert Pearson is the director general of the ForeignService and director of the Bureau of Human Resources.

The Department’s consular task force worked round theclock tracking missing Americans.

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24 STATE MAGAZINE

Mustapha Jamal, a Baghdad resident, is one ofscores of cadets at a new training facility forpolice officers near Amman. He has traveledhundreds of miles to the dusty, windsweptplains of Jordan’s Eastern Desert to achieve

a critically important goal: learn the skills he will need towork in one of the most dangerous security environments inthe world.

“Our job is to give Iraqis hope,” said Jamal, a former trans-lator for the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division. “When theysee the police patrolling the streets they will feel safe. Theywill know that someone is there to enforce the law.”

Jamal and thousands of other Iraqis are receiving trainingat the Jordan International Police Training Center. Since itbegan operations in November 2003, the center has emergedas a world-class facility, graduating more than 6,800 cadets.By 2006, 32,000 recruits are expected to be trained. A newprogram for customs and border enforcement personnel has

been added that recently saw its first class of graduates returnto Iraq.

Financed and managed by the Department’s Bureau ofInternational Narcotics and Law Enforcement, the center isbuilding on experience gained at other INL-financed policetraining sites in Kosovo, Gaborone and Bangkok to turn outcadets equipped to face Iraq’s security challenges.

“We’re building teams of police officers here, teachingcooperation skills that will help these men stay alive whenthey return home,” said Phil Galeoto, who managesthe training.

On a recent visit, Deputy Secretary Richard Armitagecommended the center as essential to helping Iraqis restoresecurity and achieve stability. And like other activities associ-ated with the Iraq rebuilding operation, the logistics areenormous: water storage and power generation stations;facilities to house and feed 3,000 cadets; 325 instructors onsite from 16 different nations; and 1.3 million meals served to

Iraqi Cops Learn a Different BeatDEPARTMENT TURNS OUT THOUSANDS OF RECRUITS BY JUSTIN SIBERELL

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After eight weeks of training, Iraqi police areready to go to work.

Page 27: State Magazine, February 2005

date, including 105 tons of rice, 112 tons of lamb and 230tons of cucumbers.

For the cadets, training at the facility offers the opportuni-ty to build camaraderie across geographic and sectarian lineswhile preparing to serve their country and protect the emer-gence of a new Iraq.

“Under Saddam, the police protected the regime, not thepeople,” said Jamal, who joined the police to help support thefragile Iraqi government. “Saddam pulled the true Iraq upfrom its roots. It is now our duty to rebuild, to replant a newlife and that life needs protection.”

Cadets complete an eight-week basic training course,including four weeks of general policing taught in the class-room and four weeks of tactical instruction, such as firearms,arrest and self-defense.

“All cadets begin their work in the class-room,” said Galeoto, himself a former officerof the Reno, Nev., police force. “In the class-room they learn basics of policing in a dem-ocratic society and that their primary role isto protect the rights of the people. Therecruits are extremely receptive to this.”Asked if eight weeks is sufficient to preparethe cadets for what awaits on their return toIraq, Galeoto emphasized, “We get themstarted here. We don’t just teach them humanrights concepts, but also how to stay alive.They can’t protect their country withoutstaying alive.”

The center boasts a variety of facilities tokeep cadets busy, fit and motivated. Firingranges build their marksmanship and specialfacilities have been constructed to teach themmartial arts and hand-to-hand defense. Arecent addition is a two-story concrete build-ing to teach house-to-house and urbansearch tactics.

On the lighter side, weekly movie nights, alibrary and a fitness center make downtime

about as pleasant as one can expect in the Jordanian desert.It’s the connection to Jordan that keeps many recruits

focused as they train and prepare to rejoin their countrymento build a better future. The Jordanian Public SecurityDirectorate oversees the mentoring and discipline of theIraqi recruits, dividing each incoming class into groups of 40cadets who will live and study together during the eight-weekcourse. The Jordanian involvement is part of a broader com-mitment made by the government of King Abdullah II tohelp the new Iraqi government achieve stability and peace.

“We feel comfortable here,” said Jamal. “Our Jordanianbrothers treat us with respect and make us feel at home.” ■

Justin Siberell is an information officer in Amman.

Above: Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of state, meets with cadets during a visit to thetraining center. Below: Thousands of Iraqis have been trained at the new center on theedge of Jordan’s Eastern Desert.

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26 STATE MAGAZINE

ASTRONAUT

STATE

An

atLands

ROCKET MAN ENJOYS TEMPORARYDIPLOMATIC CAREER

BY PAUL KOSCAK

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27FEBRUARY 2005

Lee Morin has been around the world in more ways thanone. Growing up as a Foreign Service brat he spent yearscrisscrossing the globe. He attended a Japanese kindergarten,visited Africa and the Middle East and lived in Iraq.

As an adult, he also got to travel around the world—thistime in about 90 minutes—as an astronaut aboard the spaceshuttle Atlantis in 2002, where he helped build the interna-tional space station.

Mr. Morin accrued 259 hours in space during that flight,during which he literally built parts of the station himself.While floating in space, he positioned beams and trusses,turned wrenches and sometimes perched at the end of a 70-foot robotic crane as the Earth slipped by 150 miles below. Infact he did so much construction work, the ironworkersunion made him an honorary member.

Mr. Morin still travels around the world these days, butcloser to the ground as the Department’s deputy assis-

tant secretary for science and technology. Flying adesk may seem like a major setback for someone

used to zero gravity and fiery 17,000-mile-per-hour reentries, but for this space traveler,Navy captain and physician, it’s a homecom-ing of sorts.

While growing up in Hyattsville, Md., hewatched the Harry S Truman building being

constructed. “This building always held greatmystery for me.”

So when the opportunity to take a temporaryassignment at State presented itself, Mr. Morin

couldn’t resist. Being already assigned toNASA by the Navy, however,made the bureaucratic crossoverdifficult. It took four agencies—

the Department of Defense, theWhite House, NASA and State—to make it

happen. “The detail is unique,” said the 52-year-oldgrandfather, who became an astronaut at 43. Now he and

his wife rent an apartment just a few blocks away where the“commute is great.”

In his new job, Mr. Morin manages three offices—International Health Affairs, Science and Technical

Cooperation, and Space and Advanced Technology—gettinginvolved in everything from eradicating disease to develop-ing a new energy program.

He’s involved in stemming a polio resurgence in Nigeriaand other African nations and eradicating avian influenza inChina, Vietnam and Thailand—where 70 percent of thecases are fatal—by solving the logistical hurdles oftransporting medical supplies and specimens and poolinginternational resources.

“There’s lots of diplomatic work,” he said. “I bring differ-ent agencies together.”

Space shuttle Atlantis makes a majestic return in 2002 after nearly 11days in orbit. Above: An honorary hard hat, Lee Morin turned wrenchesand moved beams to help build the international space station.

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28 STATE MAGAZINE

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Recently, his team negotiated with the European nations,designing a global positioning system called Galileo to ensureit can adapt to the U.S. global positioning system so users onboth sides of the Atlantic can enjoy service.

Mr. Morin met with Indian scientists searching for wateron the moon. India plans to orbit a satellite around the moonby 2007 to search for water near the moon’s south pole.

“There’s a valley there that’s constantly in the dark,” hesaid. “Satellite radar shows lots of hydrogen in the valley.That could mean water.”

Perhaps his most exciting project is fusion power, a processthat fuses atoms to release energy. Fusion power is clean andimmense, he said.

“We know it works because that’s how the sun works.That’s how a hydrogen bomb works. A gallon of sea watercan produce the same energy as18 gallons of gas.”

Six nations are vying to buildthe first fusion research facility.“Competition is intense to hostthe project,” he said. “That’swhere State gets involved.”

Mr. Morin expects to remainat his job for another severalmonths before returning to theJohnson Space Flight Center inHouston.

Not surprisingly, his officeboasts the trappings and curiosof a high flyer. The requisitecrew photos grace the walls, amodel of an Air Force T-38Talon accents his desk and lami-nated checklists for operatingthe shuttle’s complex systems arestacked on the bookcase. Andwhat looks like a giant automo-tive piston that was cut in twoare really bookends fashionedfrom the latch that holds thespace shuttle to its launchpad after ignition, while the rocketdevelops its mighty 3,690 tons of thrust.

When the engine’s momentum peaks, explosive bolts ripsthese stainless steel grips apart, sending the ship skyward, likean arrow shot from a bow. These incinerated chunks of metalare recovered, filed smooth, cleaned up and awarded to thecrew as prized desktop bragging rights.

Being an astronaut these days is as much about public rela-tions as rockets, reentries and 25,000-mile-per-hour orbitalrendezvous with a space station. NASA insists that its astro-nauts mingle with the taxpayers. They must do a least onespeaking engagement per month, visiting schools, offices,manufacturers and other venues to quench the public’s fasci-nation with and thirst for space travel. It’s one reason theagency seeks strong interpersonal skills when selecting astro-nauts. The other is to ensure every flight has a crew that canwork as a team under the unforgiving demands of space flight.

It’s a complex environment that has irreversible conse-quences,” said Mr. Morin.“No one person can fly the shuttle.”

Despite the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster and the recentprivately funded space flight that captured the $10 millionAnsari X Prize for successfully putting a man in space—at afraction of the cost of a shuttle launch—Mr. Morin is stillupbeat about the American space program.

Another 28 shuttle flights are scheduled beginning in latespring to complete the space station. The Europeans andJapanese already have prefabricated laboratories “set fordelivery,” he said. As for private space exploration, Mr. Morinisn’t concerned. He compares SpaceShipOne’s 62-mile-highfeat with Alan Shepard’s 15-minute suborbital flight in 1961,which was hastily prepared in response to the Soviet orbitalflight of Yuri Gagarin earlier that year. “That was a pop-up

flight,” he noted about the corporate spaceship designed byaviation pioneer Burt Rutan. “They were successful with get-ting into space, but to stay there you have to fly at least 25times the speed of sound or else you’ll come right backdown.”

He predicts better days for NASA, with renewed explo-ration of the moon and then on to Mars. He envisions betterways to get there, too, such as the plasma propulsion engine.That idea is still on the drawing board and there needs to bea way to contain the engine’s nine-million-degree combus-tion. But a plasma vehicle would reduce the journey to Marsfrom nine months using today’s rockets to about 30 days,according to Mr. Morin.

“Exploration is really the driver,” he said. “We have verygood presidential direction.” ■

Paul Koscak is acting editor of State Magazine.

Lee Morin, right, discusses America’s space program with Robert McCutcheon, a political officer with theOffice of Russian Affairs, and Jeff Fisher, left, a physical sciences administrative officer.

Page 31: State Magazine, February 2005

A Kurdish Success Story

I am a retired Foreign Service officer living in Guatemala.When I received the July/August issue of State Magazine, onearticle—“Refugee Finds Her Niche”—really caught myattention. The article was about Herro Mustafa, a Kurd whowas born in Iraq, became a refugee in Iran, came to theUnited States, grew up in North Dakota, eventually joinedthe Foreign Service and is now back on assignment in hernative country to promote democracy and rebuild thenation—“a dream come true,” as she said in the story.

I was one of the people responsible for getting Herro andher family to the United States. In 1975, they were among120,000 Iraqi Kurds whosought refuge in Iran. Somewanted to be resettled in theU.S. and made their way toour embassy in Tehran,where I was a first-tour offi-cer doing immigrant visas. Iwas impressed by their his-tory and demeanor andwanted to help. I sent atelegram to the Departmentdescribing their situation,saying they seemed to qual-ify as refugees under thedefinition then in effect andasking if we could processthem. The Kurds keptreturning and I kept send-ing cables, but heard noth-ing back. Finally, after threeor four months, theDepartment replied that750 would be admitted. Ithad trouble finding volun-tary agency sponsorship asthere were few or no Kurdsthen in the U.S. An IraqiKurd living in London came to Tehran and, together with aUnited Nations representative, helped me process the group.None had U.S. ties, so the Iraqi picked the people he thoughtwould have the best chance of adapting. Herro’s family wasamong them. My husband and I went to the airport to see offthe first group. They were scared. I felt for them, knowingthey had no idea what they were facing.

About a year later, at a dinner in Washington with some ofthe refugees, I learned that those who had been resettled inNorth Dakota had been the most successful. But until I readthe State Magazine story, I had no idea how successful.

I sent an e-mail to Herro describing my role in her sagaand got a very nice response. Shortly thereafter, her brother

Helo sent me a long e-mail, which I found very moving. Herecalled the scene at the airport (he was two years old andHerro three) and said, “It was heartwarming to read that thecompassionate efforts and determination of one womanchanged the lives of many families forever, especially ourfamily.”

He went on to say that three of the four children in thefamily became high school valedictorians. (The fourth isonly 14, so it might yet be four for four.) The parents andolder children have all launched successful careers. As Helosaid, “We have never forgotten where we came from and that

is why we have worked so hard to take advantage of whatAmerica offers.” He praised the family’s Minot, North Dakotasponsors as loving and caring people who “allowed us to bevery proud of our culture as Kurds, but also encouraged us toembrace the American culture.”

When I read the article about Herro, it gave me a real shotin the arm to see that one of the children who went to facesuch a changed life turned up in the Foreign Service servingthe same government I served. It made my day. ■

The author lives in Guatemala and works on women’s healthissues. Her daughter, Jessica, joined the Foreign Service in2003 and is serving in Tel Aviv.

29FEBRUARY 2005

The Mustafa siblings, Barzan, Helo, Herro and Hawro, were together for Thanksgiving and posed with Helo’sfiancée, Willow, second from left.

CONSULAR OFFICER REMEMBERS REFUGEES BY SUE PATTERSON

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30 STATE MAGAZINE

ry to find a workplace whereretired employees are not only cher-ished for their experience and sen-iority but become role models toattract new talent or where theirservice is so appreciated the CEOstops by to personally congratulate

them—and then stays for photos, morethan 200.

That pretty much describesDecember’s send-off for the latestretirees to join the emeritus ranks of theDepartment’s Civil and Foreign Service.

“Something’s really screwed up here,”mused Secretary Powell as he surveyedthe retirees, their families and friends in

the Dean Acheson Auditorium. “I’msupposed to be there with you.”

The Secretary told them they’re apermanent part of the “Departmentfamily,” as he characterized current andpast employees, they just have newroles—recruiters. “We need you to tellour story.”

Even after concluding one of themost ambitious hiring campaigns inDepartment history, there’s always needto identify those who “want to servetheir country.” Diplomacy, he said, ispromoting America values to the world.“Being a diplomat isn’t just a job. It’s acalling, a profession.”

Recent Retirees ReceiveRoyal Send Off

Patsy Smith, right, with husband Casper, and colleague Thomas Williams share more than 100 years combined Civil Service.

Story and photosby Paul Koscak

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“If you want an ambassador in 20years, you have to hire a junior consulartoday,” he said. “We’ve got the resourcesto be the best.” The Secretary outlinedthe changes introduced during his four-year term that ended in January, partic-ularly his successful appeals to Congressfor money to hire more people, expandthe Department’s computer networksand rebuild its embassies and facilitiesin the United States and overseas.

But change only continues, he noted,if the institution believes in the change.“If you like what you see, it’s up to youto keep it going.”

The ceremony included an upscaleluncheon celebration in the Trumanbuilding’s exhibit hall complete withwine, champagne and a classical stringensemble.

Many retirees had 30, 40 even 50years of service. Eugene Champagne,77, retired twice—once in 1981 as theexecutive director of the ForeignService Institute and again in 2004 aftera Civil Service career. With 52 years ofgovernment service that earned him theSecretary’s Career Achievement Awardin November, the McLean, Va. residentcontinues to work for the Department afew days per week.

Patsy Smith, who retired fromOverseas Buildings Operations after 33years and her husband, Casper, whoretired from FSI after 38 years were typ-ical of others simply savoring all thefree time.

“We’re a tandem couple,” said Patsy,who lives in La Plata, Md. Celebratingwith them from Silver Spring, Md. wasThomas Williams who retired in April2004 from the Office of Civil Rightswith 49 years in Civil Service.

“We have more than 100 years ofservice right here,” he observed.

For those with less longevity, workstill remained a priority. Curtis Nisslyretired from the U.S. Agency for

International Development after 23years and spends time “keeping thehousehold up.” But the centralPennsylvania resident is also “lookingfor short-term assignments.”

Reston, Va. resident ThomasJefferson after 44 years of CivilService—12 with the Department—simply retorted “nothing” when askedwhat he’s been doing since retiring in2003. “It’s wonderful.” ■

Above: Eugene Champagne, left, with 52 years of service, celebrates with James Gleeson whoretired from Diplomatic Security in 2004. Below: The Air Force classical ensemble sets the tone.

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32 STATE MAGAZINE

By Carla Benini

When Geoff Wiggin, the agricultural counselor for theU.S. Mission to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculturein Rome, and Mike Cleverley, the mission’s deputy chief,arrived at the Porta Farm squatter camp in Zimbabwe toobserve the distribution of American food, they were hardlyprepared for what they found. Amid makeshift rows of mud-floored shacks and huts were thousands of former commer-cial farm workers. The Harare government had dumpedthem there, offering only promises of new homes—someday.The best thing in the camp was a school where twice a day theUnited Nation’s World Food Program provided children withfood supplied by the United States. Enrollment soared afterthe school lunches began.

Many in the camp lived on their daily ration of Americancorn and soy oil blend. In one crude shelter, two boys, ages 7and 12, were orphaned heads of household, fending forthemselves after their parents had died from AIDS a fewmonths before. The younger made meals from the Americanmaize so the older boy could attend school.

“Putting into action America’s commitment to alleviatehunger and build hope in the world” is USUN Rome’s mis-sion statement. Under Ambassador Tony Hall, the missionassists America’s effort to bring aid to the world’s hungry andrural poor. The mission serves as the U.S. government’s rep-resentative to the U.N.’s World Food Program and Food andAgriculture Organization and to the International Fund forAgricultural Development. The U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment, the Foreign Agriculture Service and State staff PH

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USUN Rome Works to Reduce Hunger

U.S. food aid destined for Chad includes sorghum, cornmeal, lentils, vegetable oil and corn-soya blend. This shipment will allow the World FoodProgram to provide 200,000 refugees with almost all the commodities needed for their daily diet over a two-month period.

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33FEBRUARY 2005

USUN Rome, one of three U.S. diplomatic missions in theEternal City.

The mission works with other country missions to resolveproblems in the field. For example, when the World FoodProgram was looking for an alternative route for shipmentsdestined for Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad, AmbassadorHall met with hisLibyan counterpartand was able towork out an agree-ment. In November,they met the first-ever shipment offood aid to land onLibyan shores enroute to thousandsof Darfur refugees.

“Last year, theU.S. gave $1.46 bil-lion in food andmoney to the WFP,which representsabout 57 percent oftheir budget. This isthe largest U.S.donation to a U.N.agency in history,”Ambassador Hallsaid. “This story isnot being toldenough in theworld, let aloneAmerica.”

Ambassador Hallhas traveled to morethan 110 countriessince 1993 as aspokesman for thehungry and for America’s commitment to help. Missionstaffers have followed his lead, traveling to war-torn, hunger-ravaged and poverty-stricken regions to observe firsthandwhat U.S. and international efforts have accomplished.

During a March visit to Swaziland, staff observed a schoolfeeding program that increased enrollment by 20 percent andreduced malnourishment among the 500 children, thanks toU.S.-donated corn, soybeans and vegetable oil. The UnitedStates donated $50 million to school feeding programs in2004 alone.

Field visits can result in new solutions and bring in new aidpartners. In rural Zimbabwe, where crop yields were limitedby lack of water, mission officers reported on the radicalturnaround of a village supplied with treadle pumps, simple

inexpensive devices used to pull water fromthe ground. The report was picked up by anongovernmental organization that becameinterested in buying and donating treadlepumps. USUN Rome helped close the deal.

The magnitude of world hunger far exceedscurrent aid. “The toughest time we have is to getthe press to really bring this to the attention ofpeople in the world, stir them up and demandthat legislatures develop the political and spiri-tual will to battle this problem,” AmbassadorHall said. Filmmakers who joined him inEthiopia are documenting the massive needs offamine-plagued populations and the seriousefforts America is making.

Above: Sudanese women distribute American vegetable oil in Zalengie, West Darfur. Below: Children at San Pablo LaLaguna Primary School in Guatemala with visiting U.N. official. Recent figures indicated that 89 percent of first-gradechildren in this town showed symptoms of chronic malnutrition.

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Three agencies arecharged with fightinghunger. The largest of theagencies in Rome—and inthe entire U.N. system—isthe Food and AgricultureOrganization. It bringstogether more than 180country representatives tonegotiate standards forinternational fishing andfood safety and share agri-cultural policy expertise.The organization providesmarket analysis and techni-cal assistance to developingcountries in every region. Italso supports 70 field officesthat implement policy andeducate farmers, fishermenand others.

The World Food Programis the U.N.’s emergencyfood provider. In 2003, itfed 104 million people in 81countries who were victimsof political turmoil, war ornatural disasters. In Iraqalone, it kept 24 millionpeople from going hungry.The organization also spear-heads longer-term develop-ment programs, includingschool feeding and food forwork. The United States isthe largest donor, consistently providing betweenhalf and two-thirds of the WFP’s budget.

The smaller, more narrowly focused InternationalFund for Agricultural Development targets the rural

poor in the most remote regions. It might support aprogram as small as a single village irrigation sys-tem. The agency aims to reach those without otherfinancial support.

The mission’s priorities shift according to crises that comeup. For example, when the locust plague in the Sahel region ofAfrica reached catastrophic proportions, the mission raisedpublic awareness about the crisis and the slow response fromaid organizations. The mission brought together scientistsand U.N. experts from the Sahel to beat the bugs.

Though crises may be fast-breaking, multilateral diploma-cy often requires slow and patient consensus building.Agriculture and State officers work to encourage U.N. agen-cies to support biotechnology in improving agricultural pro-

ductivity in the developing world. Officers are working toimplement a treaty promoting agricultural genetics toimprove crops.

Hunger remains a formidable adversary that requires per-sonal and international commitment. But it’s a problem “weknow how to fix,” Ambassador Hall says. The mission hopesto cut hunger in half by 2015. ■

The author is the public affairs officer for the U.S. Mission tothe U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

The U.N.in Rome

Ambassador Tony Hall with children from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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35FEBRUARY 2005

By John Lemandri

Security engineering officer John Barge is one of thoseservice-oriented employees who last year responded to theDepartment’s request for volunteers to tutor 3rd- to 6th-grade students at the District of Columbia’s Myrtilla MinerElementary School. The school is one whose kids have beenidentified as most in need of help, in terms of reading skills,by D.C. school officials.

Tutoring is not new to John, who did it while serving atthe Engineering Security Center in New Delhi. However, hewas soon to learn that his overseas experience did not quiteprepare him for the interesting challenge—and rewards—he faced when working with an entire class of students hereat home.

Every Tuesday afternoon for ten months, he read booksand solved arithmetic problems with Martina Benton, a shy5th-grade student with a strong desire to learn. Martinamentioned that she didn’t like science, so John, with hisengineering background,decided to put together apresentation that wouldnot only change hermind, but would inspireher classmates in a waythat was interesting andfun. Using the title“Acoustics: the Science ofSound,” John built a pres-entation around a micro-phone, amplifier andoscilloscope, an electronicdevice used to visuallydisplay sounds. He pro-jected the oscilloscopeimage on a wall, allowingthe class to actually “see”each sound. Eager stu-dents lined up to see thesound their musicalinstruments—such astrumpets, clarinets or cel-los—would produce.

All eyes then fixed on John as he filled a bottle with water,which he called his instrument. After measuring the bottle’spitch on the scope, he poured half the water out. To theamazement of the class, the pitch went down. This led to anintroduction to frequency resonance—the relationshipbetween size and pitch. “As the presentation became moreinteresting and complex, you could see the excitement res-onate on their faces,” John said.

He then replaced the microphone with a signal generator,which produced an improved picture of each sound. As the

frequency of the generator changed, the relationship betweensignal frequency and pitch, signal amplitude and volume,and harmonic content and tone became clear. Under watch-ful eyes, John slowly increased the frequency to determinethe highest decibel associated with human hearing.“Elementary school students, because of their young age,hear higher frequencies than adults,” he said. He thenincreased the frequency above the students’ ability to hear,although they could still “see” each sound. They were lookingat ultrasound. John mentioned a few uses of ultrasound inthe fields of medical imaging, alarm sensors and industrialcleaning processes, which evoked more questions from theclass.

With attention and participation at a high pitch, John con-cluded the presentation by adding another signal generatorthat modulated each sound, producing tones that closelyimitated police alarms or, as he said, “a spaceship landing.”And as he modified the rate and amount of change, studentsheard and saw those modulated signals. They may not have

completely understood all the complex ideas John intro-duced, but from the looks on their faces and their responsesthere was no question that they were both learning andenjoying themselves. Science, given a little pizzazz by animaginative teacher, can be fun!

Thanks in part to volunteers like John, Miner’s standard-ized test scores went up last year. ■

The author is a special assistant to the countermeasuresprogram division chief in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

The sound of the students’ music is visually displayed on the schoolroom board.

TUTOR MAKES SCIENCE FUN

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The shaky Soviet-era turboprop carried a small Americandiplomatic delegation on a September 2003 mission fromKhartoum to the embattled Nuba Mountains in Sudan,where years of civil war had turned the once exotic landscapeinto a hell on earth.

In a display of confidence and support, the Americans metwith the Joint Military Commission, a multinational observ-er force tasked with overseeing the relatively young NubaMountain cease-fire agreement. Chargé d’Affaires GerardGallucci, Defense Attaché Col. Dennis Giddens and I, theassistant regional security officer, wanted to see for ourselveswhat results the American investment in the commission hadproduced. If a peace plan here could work, maybe war-wearySudan as a whole could follow the same path.

Once on the ground, we looked around at the glisteninggreen landscape and inhaled the humid air that made thispart of Sudan seem more like tropical Africa, very differentfrom the baked desert of Khartoum. Ivory-toothed localswalked or biked the muddy roads and gave friendly waves.The gregarious gestures amid scenes of ordinary daily lifewere a sign that major conflict in this region had greatlysubsided.

Prior to the 20-month-old cease-fire agreement, the most-ly animist and Christian Nuba Mountains were seen by thecentral government in Khartoum as a rebellious enclave oftribes that snubbed Islamic Sharia law. Khartoum haddeployed army forces to douse the heated resistance, but theSudan People’s Liberation Army struck aggressively at gov-

Nuba Mountain residents show off their new well.

Glimmer Amid the Gloom:

A Sudan Success Story

STORY AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT J. ROULSTON

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37FEBRUARY 2005

ernment troops and established strongholds in the highmountainous terrain. Fierce fighting took thousands of lives,destroyed basic infrastructure and drove hundreds of thou-sands of inhabitants to flee the region, abandoning the onlylives they had ever known. With no clear victor, a cease-firewas signed and the commission was given the mandate ofmonitoring compliance with the fragile peace.

The commission’s compound, an old British garrison, wasa truly international village, with a Norwegian commanderand a British deputy. Operations were led by Swedish specialforces officers and air support personnel were mostlyUkrainians. Logistical and field operations were staffed withpeople from a dozen other nations, including the UnitedStates. Camps around the Nuba region serve as a confidence-building presence and as a mechanism to conduct rapidinvestigations of alleged cease-fire violations or any improp-

er actions by either side. The commission regularly convenedmeetings with officers from the Sudanese Army and theLiberation Army to discuss cease-fire breaches.

Helicopters shuttled us to commission field operationscamps to meet the monitors and the Nuba people them-selves. Women and children laughed and worked aroundnewly dug wells, which provided essential fresh water. Smallfarms with flourishing crops of sorghum hinted at growingself-sufficiency, although outside food aid was still a necessi-ty for most. The place seemed almost idyllic, despite the con-flicts of warring parties over how best to govern it.

A meeting with the local Liberation Army political secre-tary took place in a hot, wasp-infested grass dwelling high ona jungle-draped mountainside. The secretary affirmed hisdesire to maintain the peace, tempered with his insistencethat Islamic law had no place in the Nuba Mountains—oneof the many sticky issues keeping a final peace out of reach.The delegation filed out of the meeting into a light rain. Abarefoot young boy in dirty, shredded clothes walked by car-rying a Kalishnikov rifle, a reminder of the ruthless strugglethat had besieged the area. These mountains still harbor bit-ter feelings and thirst for retribution.

Sudanese government strongholds were more organized,with flagpoles, barracks and soldiers in uniforms. Army offi-cers repeatedly confirmed their commitment to peace andoffered their thanks to the commission and the U.S. for sup-porting the cease-fire.

After a week ofchopper flights,meetings, endlesstea drinking andnote taking, theglint of a brighterfuture in the NubaMountains couldbe discerned. Thebasics were begin-ning to fall intoplace: clean water,schools, clinics andinfrastructure.

Since the 2003visit, the commis-sion’s mandate wasextended throughJanuary 2005 at therequest of theKhartoum govern-ment and theLiberation Army.Two nearby com-munities havereportedly asked tobe included in thecease-fire region,owing to theremarkable success

they have seen under the commission’s umbrella, includingthe return of about 150,000 refugees as of last September.According to the commission, many new houses have beenbuilt and local markets have grown considerably.

Clearly, the commission’s presence was a tremendouslyworthy investment and American involvement has been alife-giver to the Nuba people, who have a renewed chance athappiness and prosperity. ■

The author is now assigned to the Bureau of DiplomaticSecurity’s Office for Investigations and Counterintelligence.

Chargé d’Affaires Gerald Gallucci travels by helicopter to meet with multinational forces overseeing a cease-fire agreementin Sudan’s Nuba Mountains.

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P E O P L E L I K E Y O U

Leaping to SuccessA CREATIVE BLEND OF DANCE AND DIPLOMACY BY DAVE KRECKE

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elike Yetken’s hands dance,punctuating and persuading as she tellsthe story of how she came to work atthe Department. The human resourcesspecialist reminds one of a line fromBritish poet Alexander Pope, “…thosemove easiest who have learned todance…”

She remembers her first experienceas a dancer, taking tap class at the age ofsix. From the beginning, Melike’s talentwas evident. So she began taking pri-vate lessons, studying ballroom dance,and performing regularly. At 13, shebegan teaching tap, and also studyingballet, modern and jazz technique.

With this developed and diverse dancebackground, she performed with adance troupe throughout high school.

When she began considering col-leges, Melike wanted to go to a schoolwhere she could continue her artisticdevelopment in an internationally rec-ognized dance program. On a cold dayin February, while visiting IndianaUniversity’s ballet school, Melike stum-bled on the School of Public andEnvironmental Affairs. Before she real-ized it, she was sitting down with thedirector of undergraduate studies. Shewas intrigued by the school’s policyanalysis major and was fascinated bythe school’s acclaimed internship pro-gram in Washington, D.C. “I knew Ihad to go to this school and participatein that internship,” she says today. “Itwas a fortunate twist of fate that I pur-sued policy analysis instead of danceand was selected for a State Departmentinternship.”

In her junior year, Melike came toWashington for her internship andworked in recruitment in the Bureau ofHuman Resources. Apart from herinternship, she volunteered to serve on

the United Nations National Forum’sartistic planning committee, a positionshe found through the Baha’i Office ofExternal Affairs. For the conference sheselected the music, choreographed andperformed a solo dance in remem-brance of Ann Frank. The event gaveMelike an opportunity to build a bridge

between the world of dance and herinterest in global diplomacy.

Throughout college, Melike per-formed in modern and jazz dances withIndiana University’s highly acclaimedAfrican American Dance Company,forming lasting friendships with theother members of the company.

Melike says dance has taught her thatthe most challenging experiences donot come easily, but demand determi-nation, dedication and composureunder pressure. Shortly into her intern-ship, Melike was asked to assume a farmore demanding portfolio than origi-nally anticipated in order to relieve aserious staffing crisis in her office. Hersupervisors were so impressed with herperformance that they encouraged herto return for a permanent position.

Even as a working professional,Melike places dance and artistic expres-sion near the center of her life. Sherehearses several evenings a week andhopes to choreograph and perform thissummer in Washington, D.C. ■

The author is a writer/editor at StateMagazine.

39FEBRUARY 2005

P E O P L E L I K E Y O U

Left: Her dad’s photo captures Melike in mid-leap in front of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Above: An animated Melikedescribes the importance of dance in her life.

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By John Bentel

Recent noontime concert performances hosted bythe Foreign Affairs Recreation Association and theState of the Arts Cultural Series included an excitingarray of musical offerings—instrumental andvocal—as well as ballet.

The Tavani Ensemble made its second appear-ance this year, but with an added treat. Theybrought along the Asaph Ballet Ensemble. TheTavani family was wonderful—the children per-formed like seasoned professionals. The angelic bal-let company transported the audience to a higherspiritual plane. The program was a beautiful auraland visual experience.

Sam Brock, piano, and Jean-François Berscond, clarinet,offered the soft sounds of French music. Mr. Brock is adeputy director in the Office of U.N. Political Affairs. Wedon’t often get to hear music played with the hint of perfumethat only French music can convey. The audience rewardedthis dynamic duo with resounding applause.

Ivo Kaltchev, a gifted pianist, performed compositions thatcovered the late 1600s through the present. Mr. Kaltchev, anassistant professor at Catholic University, lived up to pastpraise for his poetic imagination, virtuosity and beautifultone. There was a strong contrast between Messiaen’s avant-

garde Noel and Debussy’s impressionistic Four Preludes from24 Preludes, Book 2.

To end the series for 2004, the choir of the French-speaking Catholic parish St. Louis de France performedenchanting French Christmas songs. For almost 30 years, thechoir has been under the direction of René Soudée, aDepartment employee. Mr. Brock has accompanied the choiras organist during his Washington assignments. ■

The author is a computer specialist in the ExecutiveSecretariat.

40 STATE MAGAZINE

2004 CONCERT SERIES BIDS FAREWELLWITH A FRENCH ACCENT

STATE OF THE ARTS

Dancers from the Asaph Ballet during their performance.

January 12 Nora Gardner, harp

January 26 Irina Yurkovskaya, Russian concert pianist

February 9 Phaze II jazz band with Adrian Norton

February 23 Crossland High School jazz band

March 9 Melissa Dvorak, harp, andSharon Pabon, flute

Performances are on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m.in the Dean Acheson Auditorium.

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What’s New?Student Records Online. Need your class schedule or an unofficialtranscript of training taken through FSI? Visit the FSI Registrar’s Officeweb page on OpenNet at http://fsi.state.gov/admin/reg.

The Department’s Mandatory Leadership andManagement Training RequirementsThe Secretary of State has mandated leadership training from mid-through senior-grade levels for Foreign Service officers and CivilService employees to ensure that they have the necessary preparationfor increasing levels of responsibility. FSI’s Leadership andManagement School offers the required courses to meet thesemandatory training requirements and other courses for all FS and CSemployees.

Mandatory CoursesFS 3/GS 13: PK245 Basic Leadership Skills FS 2/GS 14: PT207 Intermediate Leadership SkillsFS 1/GS 15: PT210 Advanced Leadership Skills

Managers and Supervisors:PT107 EEO Diversity Awareness for Managers and Supervisors

Newly promoted FS-OC/SES:PT133 Senior Executive Threshold Seminar

Senior Policy SeminarsFSI’s Leadership and Management School offers professional develop-ment and policy seminars for senior-level executives of theDepartment and the foreign affairs/national security community:

PT301 Appearing Effective in the MediaPT302 Testifying before CongressPT303 Crisis LeadershipPT305 Executive as Coach and MentorPT300 Leader as FacilitatorPT304 Deputy Assistant Secretary as Leader

For more information contact FSI’s Leadership and ManagementSchool at (703) 302-6743, [email protected] orhttp://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov/fsi/lms.

FasTrac Distance Learning Program: Learn atYour Own Pace, When and Where You Want! All State Department employees, FSNs and EFMs are eligible. FasTracoffers more than 3,000 courses covering numerous topics. Training isconducted online through the Internet. To view the complete FasTraccatalog, visit the FasTrac web site at http://fsi.state.gov/fastrac.

For additional information, please contact the Office of the Registrarat (703) 302-7144/7137.

41FEBRUARY 2005

education training

GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER

Length: H = Hours, D = Days

Security MAR APR Length

MQ911 SOS: Security Overseas Seminar 14, 28 4,11,25 2DMQ912 ASOS: Advanced Security

Overseas Seminar 8 19 1DMQ914 YSOS Youth Security Overseas Seminar 1D

Foreign Service Life Skills MAR APR Length

MQ104 Regulations, Allowances & Finances 25 3DMQ107 English Teaching Seminar 16 2DMQ116 Protocol and U.S. Representation Abroad 9 1DMQ117 Tax Seminar 2 0.5DMQ200 Going Overseas for Singles and

Couples Without Children 19 0.5DMQ203 Singles in the Foreign Service 16 0.5DMQ210 Going Overseas for Families 19 0.5DMQ220 Going Overseas Logistics for Adults 19 2.5HMA230 Going Overseas Logistics for Children 19 2.5HMQ500 Encouraging Resilience in the

Foreign Service Child 27 0.5DMQ703 Post Options for Employment

and Training 24 1DMQ704 Targeting the Job Market 6 1DMQ801 Maintaining Long Distance Relationships 12 0.5DMQ803 Realities of Foreign Service Life 8 1DMQ852 Personal Finance and Investment

in Foreign Affairs 6 0.5DMQ855 Traveling with Pets 20 0.5DMQ915 Emergency Medical Care and

Trauma Workshop 4 1DMQ916 A Save Overseas Home 13 0.5D

Career Transition Center MAR APR Length

RV101 Retirement Planning Seminar 1 19 4DRV102 Job Search Program 7 8WRV103 Financial Management and

Estate Planning 3 21 1DRV104 Annuities & Benefits and

Social Security 2 20 1D

&Dates for FSI Transition Center Courses are shown below. For informa-tion on all the courses available at FSI, visit the FSI Schedule ofCourses on the Department of State’s OpenNet at http://fsi.state.gov.FY 2005 dates are now available in the online catalog. SeeDepartment Notices for announcements of new courses and newcourse dates and periodic announcements of external training oppor-tunities sponsored by FSI.

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The Employee Consultation Service was established as amental health service in the Office of Medical Services inApril 1982. Since then, the program has offered professionaland confidential crisis intervention, brief counseling andreferral services to all Foreign and Civil Service employees ofthe Department of State and the U.S. Agency forInternational Development.

In the beginning, there were three clinical social workerson the staff. They were all familiar with the Foreign Serviceand with the problems Department employees encounter.Clarke Slade was among the first to assist people in copingwith those special challenges. Anne Weiss developed many ofthe current programs, particularly in the area of child and

adolescent medical clearances. Herknowledge of international special educa-tional resources and her clinical socialwork skills are legendary. She retired inMarch 2004, leaving a legacy of care andsupport for her successors to build upon.

Today, five clinical social workers staffthe Employee Consultation Service.Stanley Piotroski, the director of the serv-ice, arrived in July 2004 from theDepartment of Defense. In his previousassignment at the Walter Reed ArmyMedical Center, he served as the interimdirector of the department of social work.Anne Reese is the senior social workerwith ECS and has been providing care toDepartment and USAID employees andtheir families for eight years. Pam Parmer,whose office is in the Harry S TrumanBuilding, has been with ECS for fouryears. Ken Garot, a retired military socialwork officer, is assigned to the Bureau ofDiplomatic Security and assists its staffand families. Mykell Winterowd is thenewest staff member. Although she joinedECS only in October, she has extensiveexperience assisting families servingabroad as a member of the Peace Corpsstaff. Altovise Battle is ECS’s administra-tive assistant. “Al,” as she’s known, ensuresthat the paperwork gets done and goessmoothly.

ECS offers assistance in five majorareas: clinical assessment, brief counsel-ing and referral services; child and adoles-cent medical clearances, post approvals

and the special educational needs Allowance program; thedomestic violence assistance program; Diplomatic Securityand peer support; and medical administrative activities—assisting the Office of Medical Services with the psychosocialaspects of waivers and broken, curtailed or extended assign-ments.

During the next year, ECS will be clarifying its proceduresto assist Foreign Service families and will be offering confi-dential support and referral services for Foreign Service andCivil Service employees experiencing challenges and difficul-ties in their lives.

M E D I C A L R E P O R T

Introducing the Employee Consultation ServiceA TEAM OF COUNSELORS EMPLOYEES CAN TURN TO BY STANLEY S. PIOTROSKI

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Anne Reese and Ken Garot attend an ECS staff meeting.

Page 45: State Magazine, February 2005

Helen Demirjian Bertot, 77, a formerForeign Service secretary and widowof Foreign Service officer Joseph A.Bertot, died Aug. 17, 2004, inAlexandria, Va., from complicationsof a ruptured ulcer. She joined theDepartment in 1954 and served inBeirut and Genoa. After her marriageand forced resignation, she accompa-nied her husband on postings to

Cochabamba, Mexico City, Vera Cruz, Naples, Florence,Valparaiso and The Hague. She retired to Alexandria, whereshe started the Armenian festival, an event held there for thelast 12 years.

Leon G. Dorros, 86, a retired ForeignService officer, died Nov. 4, 2004, inTucson, Ariz. He served in the Armyin World War II and joined theDepartment in 1947. His overseaspostings included Luxembourg,London, Algiers, Lagos, Brazzaville,Rabat and Abidjan. In 1972, he retiredto Tucson, Ariz.

William Quah Hawley, 21, son of for-mer Department employee CarolHawley and Bill Hawley, died Sept. 27,2004, of natural causes. A talentedmusician, he attended the Inter-national School of Kenya from 1993to 1999.

Katherine O’Hanlon, 62, wife ofretired Diplomatic Security Servicespecial agent Brendon PatrickO’Hanlon, died Nov. 13, 2004, inWestfield, N.J. of amyotropic lateralsclerosis. She accompanied her hus-band to postings in Korea, Pakistan,Egypt and the Philippines. Whileoverseas, she volunteered at localorphanages and was known in

embassies for serving green beer, green cookies, corned beefand cabbage every St. Patrick’s Day.

Howard Eugene Shetterly, 82, a retired Foreign Service officer,died Oct. 27, 2004, of melanoma. A Navy pilot during WorldWar II, he joined the Department in 1949 and served inEcuador, Mexico, Brazil and Spain. In 1977, he retired toPlymouth, Mass., and in 1998 moved with his wife toAlbuquerque, N.M., where he was surrounded by theHispanic and Native American culture he appreciated.

Joseph J. Sisco, 85, a retired diplomat known for his role inHenry Kissinger’s Mideast “shuttle diplomacy,” died Nov. 23,2004, in Chevy Chase, Md., of complications from diabetes.He served with the Army in World War II and joined theDepartment in 1951. He was assistant secretary forInternational Organization Affairs under Johnson and assis-tant secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs underNixon. He played a key role in events ranging from the Six-Day War in 1967 to the Cyprus crisis in 1974.

43FEBRUARY 2005

O B I T U A R I E S

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

Allen, Juanita A.Frank, Valerie Galla, Joseph W.Hoye, Robert S.Ott, Dianne L.

Porter, Shirley A.Severe, William R.Sims, Melvin H.Soyster, Elizabeth B.Warfield, Bette Diane

Adams, Wayne G.Austin, Sheldon E.Becker, Frederick A.Buhler, Floyd W.Carter, Bruce Edward Chin, Mary K.Corpuz, Leo P.Countryman Jr., Harold S.Dejournette, Barbara J.Griffiths, Barbara J.

Hachey, Shirley P.Hull, Edmund James Kamerick, Susan E.Kinser-Kidane, Brenda J.Luna, Edilberto Moran, John L.Nasri, Sylvia A.Pifer, Steven Karl Probst, Leslie Rickerman, Lysbeth Johnson

Rochelle, David N.Santos, Alfred L.Stockbridge, Cynthia G.Strickler, Theodore Eugene Stromme, Craig J.Tully, Bruce W.Turley, Frank C.Verdun, Aubrey V.Walsh, Cornelius C.

FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENTS CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENTS

Page 46: State Magazine, February 2005

44 STATE MAGAZINE

O B I T U A R I E S

IN THE EVENT OF DEATHQuestions concerning deaths in service should be

directed 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, or through itsweb site at www.opm.gov.

Ted M.G. Tanen, 78, a retired ForeignService officer, died Nov. 17, 2004, inCalifornia of cancer. He served in theNavy during World War II. His over-seas postings included Burma, Laos,Vietnam, Hungary, Senegal,Mauritania, Nigeria, Tunisia andFrance. Much of his career was dedi-cated to cultural affairs and in retire-ment he initiated major cultural

exchanges between the United States and India, Indonesia,Mexico and other countries. He was an avid horseman.

Donna M. Wright, 65, a retiredForeign Service officer, died Oct. 11,2004, in Washington, D.C., ofleukemia. Her overseas postingsincluded Fiji, Western Europe,Cyprus, Bahamas, Pakistan, Jordanand Japan. After retiring in 2002, shetaught English in China and workedon the Iraq reconstruction program.

Page 47: State Magazine, February 2005
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