state magazine, february 2007

M A G A Z I N E

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

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7

PhnomPenh

DepartmentAwards DayHonorees attest to the diversity of talent at State.

Penetrating thePromotion ProcessBeware of the conventional wisdom.

San Juan NocheA DS tour in Puerto Rico can be rewarding.

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32ON THE COVERThe spires of the Royal Palace of Phnom Penhrise above the banks of the Mekong River.Photograph by Corbis

STATE MAGAZINE + FEBRUARY 2007 + NUMBER 509

CONTENTS

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15 Dr. Jessie Colson, LegendHundreds benefited from her mentoring.

16 ‘Keys of Paradise’State celebrates National Adoption Month.

18 FS Promotion StatisticsFive-year trends are up.

22 Shared Services in JakartaEmbassy takes consolidation to the next level.

34 Stress ReliefReturnees from high-stress posts get help.

35 The New EUR-IO/EXMerger is not just a change of office designations.

Post of the Month:Phnom PenhForming a bright future from a dark past.

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COLUMNS2 FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY

3 READERS’ FEEDBACK

4 DIRECT FROM THE D.G.

5 IN THE NEWS

36 SAFETY SCENE

38 STATE OF THE ARTS

39 OBITUARIES

39 RETIREMENTS

40 THE LAST WORD

UNDER SECRETARY HENRIETTA FORE

One of my most enjoyable responsibili-ties as Under Secretary for Management isto serve as the co-chair of the ExecutiveCommittee of the State/U.S. Agency forInternational Development Joint Manage-ment Council, which was created to pursueopportunities where the Department andUSAID can create more integrated manage-ment structures in support of our jointpolicy priorities. Jim Kunder, deputyadministrator of USAID, serves as mypartner in this exciting effort.Our goals advance the “Overseas Right-

sizing” initiative of the President’sManagement Agenda, which directs agen-cies to “reconfigure U.S. governmentoverseas staff allocation to the minimumnecessary to meet U.S. foreign policy goals.”One of the key tenets of this process,managed by the Department of State’sOffice of Rightsizing the U.S. GovernmentOverseas Presence, is to eliminate duplica-tive activities, thereby enhancing efficiency,limiting security risk and reducing the con-struction costs for new embassycompounds.The JMC’s integration efforts began in

2004 with four pilot projects in four Inter-national Cooperative AdministrativeSupport Services cost centers at the U.S.Embassies in Cairo, Dar es Salaam, Jakartaand Phnom Penh. While all four pilotsyielded some cost savings and increased effi-ciency, it quickly became apparent that weneeded to adopt an even more collaborativeeffort, and to harmonize the often differingregulations, information systems and busi-ness processes that our two agencies use todeliver administrative services worldwide.The ambitious $17.5 billion buildingprogram of the Bureau of Overseas BuildingOperations offered an excellent opportunitythrough state-of-the-art facilities to furtherexplore consolidating operations and saveconsiderable construction funds in theprocess, and our Office of Rightsizing begandeveloping staffing projections for newembassy compounds based on a singleadministrative platform.To this end the Joint Management

Council this past July adopted a new strate-

gic vision that projected as its end-statejoint overseas administrative support plat-forms at all posts where State and USAIDare co-located. Theservices subject to con-solidation include allgeneral services func-tions, as well asinformation manage-ment, a number ofhuman resourcesfunctions, payroll andcashiering.We have agreed that

the first tier of consol-idations will take placeon October 1, 2007, atall posts where the twoagencies are alreadyco-located, and havedetermined through a cost-benefit analysisthat there will be savings to the U.S. govern-ment. Fiscal Year 2007 will operate as a“virtual year” for planning purposes. Thisfirst tier constitutes 40 of the 80 posts whereState and USAID are present. Further con-solidation will take place as OBO constructsadditional embassy compounds.The resultant administrative platforms

will be leaner, more flexible and more ableto respond to the needs of both agencies.They will be headed by management per-sonnel selected from the best of both Stateand USAID. Consolidation of our adminis-trative platforms means reengineering ourbusiness practices so that the consolidatedorganization is not just streamlined but alsomore cost effective and efficient, and pro-vides high-quality services. The JMCworking groups, now reorganized alongbusiness lines to mirror an overseas man-agement section, are conducting thorough,comprehensive, results-based analysis of theprocesses and regulations within each oftheir areas of responsibility.Our first tier of overseas posts is now

actively involved in mapping their businessoperations to optimize efficiency, determin-ing how to make the best use of eachagency’s human resources and to empowerlocally employed staff more effectively, and

ensuring that the resulting operationachieves its goals of enhanced customerservice at lower cost to the U.S. taxpayer.

To assist as a catalystand adviser in thisprocess, the two agen-cies have called onthe services of theJoint Business AnalysisTeam, a group of tal-ented, creative andengaged business ana-lysts from both Stateand AID. The JBAT’sfirst order of businesshas been to create aJMC Web site athttp://jmc.state.gov,which contains awealth of guidance

related to JMC activities as well as a mailboxfor the field to ask questions or make sug-gestions. The JBAT, Patrick Truhn of Stateand Carla Royalty of USAID constitute theJMC Directorate, a new organizationresponsible for the day-to-day managementof JMC activities.We are all embarking on an era of

unprecedented cooperation, which willimprove the efficiency and effectiveness ofour management operations and provideboth the operational flexibility and thefiscal integrity for our organizations tomeet the challenges and demands of trans-formational diplomacy and sustainabledevelopment. As in any pioneering effort,we need to be resourceful, flexible andabove all respectful. We need to help col-leagues who may feel uneasy taking on newfunctions, operating in a new environmentor interacting with new customers. Weneed to communicate that we are indeedacting with one purpose and speaking withone voice. As in any partnership, the fun-damental requirement is trust—in ourrespective capabilities and engagement, inour ability to overcome self-interest for thecommon good and in our commitment toall our customers. This trust is the basis ofour strategic vision and will be themeasure of its success.�

Working with USAIDOn Management Issues

2 S TATE MAGAZ INE FEBRUARY 2007

Mailing AddressState Magazine2401 E Street, NWHR/ER/SMG, SA-1, Room H-236Washington, DC 20522-0108

[email protected]

Phone(202) 663-1700

Letters should not exceed 250words and should include thewriter’s name, address and daytimephone number. All letters becomethe property of State Magazine.Letters will be edited for length,accuracy and clarity. Only signedletters will be considered. Namesmay be withheld upon request.

Let Us Hear from You

R E A D E R S ’ F E E D B A C K

3FEBRUARY 2007 S TATE MAGAZ INE

In 1645 the Portuguese began the recon-quest of Pernambuco. Converts who hadreverted to Judaism were now heretics inthe eyes of the church—potentially acapital offense. Most Jews fled to Dutchcolonies.Some Jews, fleeing to Holland, were

attacked by Spanish pirates, who destroyedtheir ship. They wererescued by a Frenchcaptain, who tookthem to the Dutchcolony of New Amster-dam. Twenty-threeJews petitioned for theright to stay. Thecolony’s governor,Pe ter S tuyvesant ,opposed their request,but he was overruledby the Dutch WestIndia Company. Thisgroup of refugees from Recife became thefirst Jewish settlement in the territory thatbecame the United States.

Jeff GorskyBureau of Counsular Affairs

Merry ChristmasDespite widespread efforts to put Christ-

mas back in Christmas, the ongoingstruggle to be politically correct is nowheremore glaring than on the cover of theDecember issue of State Magazine. Insteadof “Merry Christmas,” State chose theexpression “Happy Holidays.”

It’s worth rememberingthat the nation’s foundingfathers were Christians, thatChristian faith underpinsmuch of our national identity,that every president of ourrepublic has been a Christianand that our nation’sstart was predicated on andremains true some 230 yearslater to fundamental principlesrooted in Christian doctrine.In other words, we believe inJesus Christ and in Christmas.

What I’d like to know is, what’s wrongwith that, and why is it so hard to say“Merry Christmas”?

Bob CummingRetired Foreign Service officer

The article “The Tie That Binds” (Decemberissue), on the role of Recife in U.S.-Brazilianrelations, missed an interesting and importantevent in U.S., Brazilian and Jewish history.The Jews of Spain and Portugal had beensubject to centuries of repression, includingforced conversions in Spain in 1391 and Portu-gal in 1498.Many of these converts settled in thefarthest reaches of the Iberian colonies to evadeoversight by the state, church and Inquisition.In 1630, the Dutch occupied the region of Per-nambuco, which included Recife. Dutchtolerance allowed these converts to openlyrevert to the practice of Judaism. The Jewishcommunity, which included new Dutch immi-grants, formed a synagogue, Jewish schools anda Jewish cemetery. The community became soprominent it dominated the city.

3

A Jewish Odyssey

D .G . GEORGE STAPLES

This month, I thought it might be worth-while to debunk several widely held mythsabout the Foreign Service, all to correct therecord on things we all think we really know,but find we don’t.

Myth: Entry-level Foreign Service officersare increasingly required to do back-to-backconsular tours.

Fact: Of the last 951 bidders thatCDA/EL has assigned a first-to-second toursince winter 2005–06, only 16 percent havebeen assigned to a second two-year con-sular tour. These jobs are assignedaccording to the rank-order preferences ofthe officers. More than 80 percent hasreceived one of their top five choices, indi-cating that a second two-year consularassignment was their preference.In the summer 2007 cycle, 40 percent of

those assigned to a second two-year con-sular tour bid it as their number onechoice. For 78 percent of those who willserve a second two-year consular tourstarting summer 2007, it was one of theirtop five choices.Also,• In our just-completed summer 2007cycle, one-half of all bidders across allequity groups received their first choiceof assignment.• 86 percent of all bidders received one oftheir top five choices.• 97 percent of high-equity bidders (30 to70 points) received a top-five bid.• All entry-level bidders coming outof Iraq and Afghanistan received theirfirst choice.• 92 percent of all bidders across equitygroups received a top-10 choice.

Myth:Employees who are granted prefer-ence in their onward assignment followingtours in Iraq, particularly those eligible forone of their top five choices because ofservice at Provincial Reconstruction Teams,are requesting choice assignments inEurope.

Fact: While some employees coming outof Iraq are bidding on European posts, themajority are not. Instead, we are finding thatmany of them are bidding on other posts inthe Middle East, Washington, D.C., AF,WHA and SCA.Furthermore, only those serving at Iraq

PRTs and Regional Embassy Offices are

guaranteed a firm commitment to one oftheir top five choices for an onward assign-ment. Those serving elsewhere in Iraq andAfghanistan are given consideration in anonward assignment, though there are noguarantees. The five choices must be at grade,in-cone (IROG-typejobs will be consideredin-cone for all general-ists) or in-specialty, andnot require a languagewaiver. DCM and Prin-cipal Officer positionsare also not eligible.

Myth: The Depart-ment continues to fallshort in Arabic lan-guage training.

Fact: Since Septem-ber 11, 2001, StateDepartment enroll-ments in Arabiclanguage training at ourForeign Service Institute have nearlyquadrupled, and the number of Arabicspeakers at the level of 3/3 (general profes-sional proficiency) and above has increasedfrom 198 to more than 240. While morespeakers are needed, the Department con-tinues to make every effort to hire and traineven greater numbers of personnel to fillcritical language-designated positions.

Myth: Despite the clear need to talkdirectly to the Arab street, the Departmentdoes not provide Arabic language trainingbeyond the general proficiency level.

Fact:The full Arabic program is 88 weeks,including 10 months at the Institute’s fieldschool in Tunis. Students are expected toreach general professional proficiency inthat time frame, but there is nothing pre-venting the motivated and talented studentfrom reaching higher levels. Several officersare currently assigned to beyond-3/3 train-ing at FSI Tunis. Others have studiedadvanced Arabic at university programs inthe Middle East.

Myth: Distance learning is not accessibleat all posts and is not open to LES.

Fact: Since distance learning courseswere offered starting in 1999 through theFSI Internet-based Learn Center, there havebeen more than 28,000 course comple-tions—more than 12,000 by Locally

Employed Staff, 9,600 by Foreign Servicegeneralists and specialists, 4,830 by CivilService employees and 1,400 by State Eligi-ble Family Members and others—from allposts throughout the world.

Myth: The attrition rate for ForeignService officers hasincreased significantlyover the past fiveyears.

Fact: Actually, thetrend is in the oppo-site direction. TheDepartment’s overallForeign Service Gen-eralist attrition ratehas decreased from 5.1percent in 2001 to 4.2percent in 2005.Whilethe Senior ForeignService attrition ratedid increase from 10.3percent to 11.1

percent over the past five years, the attritionrate among entry-level officers hasdecreased from 2.7 percent to 1.4 percent.Among mid-level officers, the ratedecreased from 4.6 percent in 2001 to 4.3percent in 2005.However, we do see a mini-retirement surge on the horizon, which willdrive overall attrition from 4.3 percent to4.7 percent between now and 2010.

Myth: Employing a Community LiaisonOffice Coordinator at post will negativelyimpact the hardship differential paid tothose at post. Similarly, an unaccompaniedpost can not have a CLO.

Fact: The presence of a CLO does notimpact the differential. It is the servicesavailable in the wider community that havepotential impact. While it is unusual tohave a CLO when a post is unaccompanied,the decision on whether one is needed isbetween the post/bureau and the FamilyLiaison Office.As you can see, there are quite a few

myths floating around the Department.When they are repeated often enough, theyare generally accepted as being true withoutany questions asked.You have the opportunity to get the facts.

If you have any questions or comments, Iencourage you to send them to me viaunclassified e-mail at “DG Direct.”�

Setting the Record Straight



)(NEWS

>>>A few days before Christmas, Secretary Condoleezza Rice pre-

sented about 5,000 toys donated by Department employees torepresentatives of the U.S. Marine Corps, including Brig. Gen.Robert Milstead, director of public affairs, and members of theMarine Security Guard Battalion.Also participating in the ceremony was Richard J. Griffin, assis-

tant secretary for Diplomatic Security. DS leads the Department’sToys for Tots campaign.

The Department’s donations each year surpass those ofevery other federal agency, Secretary Rice noted. The com-bined value of toys and donations in the 2006 campaign,which will benefit needy children in the Washington area, wasabout $100,000—the highest total in the six years of the toydrive at State.By supporting the program,“We are brightening children’s faces

and brightening their lives,” Secretary Rice said.

A stuffed animal seems to be climbing the podium as Secretary Condoleezza Rice makes her remarks. In front of her and behind the Marines sit someof the 5,000 toys donated by Department employees.

State Collects a Mountainof Toys for Tots

PLUS>>> STATE WINS AWARD FOR RNET + TEAM-BUILDING SPARKS CREATIVITY + EVANGELINEMONTGOMERY SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED + MISSION MEXICO BLOG EMPOWERS EMPLOYEES + AAFSWHONORS STATE’S BIG-HEARTED VOLUNTEERS + EMBASSY PERU JOINS ARMY FOR HUMANITARIAN EXERCISE+ FSI OFFERS STREAMLINED COURSE ON FINANCES + RETIREES ACCEPT A GRATEFUL NATION’S THANKS

The Department of State has won theprestigious 2006 President’s Award forManagement Excellence for RNet, itsonline interactive retirement network, as atalent management system. This is thethird consecutive year the Department hasreceived such an honor.Administered through the President’s

Quality Award Program, the award is thehighest award given to Executive Branchagencies for management excellence. Thisyear, the Department was the only agencycited for strategic management of humancapital, a significant part of the President’sManagement Agenda.The Department has begun to fashion

its retiree community as an integral partof its potential talent pool. Rather than

viewing retirement as a definitive break inthe employment relationship, the Depart-ment has created a unique mechanism toredefine retirement as a transition to a dif-ferent and more focused employmentrelationship.The Department’s approach uses tech-

nology to create a unique personnelmanagement system. Combining the stan-dard Web site with the traditional conceptof a university alumni network, the systemuses electronic Web-delivered services to

retirees as a vehicle to create a workforcecontinuity mechanism. Retirees receiveservices and establish an ongoing employ-ment relationship through the sameelectronic vehicle.The Department’s efforts will mitigate

the impact of increased retirements andserve as a catalyst for modernizing work-force management.At this time, the RNet concept is unique

in the Federal sector. RNet can be found atwww.RNet.state.gov.

State WinsManagementExcellenceAward for RNet

Creativity was the order of the day for 24 Locally Employed Staffone rainy July afternoon at the Nonimmigrant Visa Section of theU.S. Embassy in Manila. A door design project was the highlight ofthree weeks of team building facilitated by Consular OfficerHeather Smith.“We embarked on the team-building activity to generate team

spirit, raise morale and continue high productivity,” Smith said.Productivity and morale are two things the Manila NIV unit

needs in abundance on a daily basis. Processing an average of 1,200nonimmigrant visa applicants a day, the unit is one of the busiestin the world.Four teams competed for the top prize: the Frontliners (the staff

responsible for receiving applications), the Runners (responsible

for making sure information gleaned from the application forms isentered correctly into the system), Team Talahib (responsible forprinting and quality control of visas) and CSI-Manila (the Com-munications and Records team, responsible for attending to thehundreds of queries that arrive weekly through e-mail, fax, regularmail and phone calls).On judging day, the Frontliners dressed smartly in blazers and

exuded professionalism and efficiency. The Runners wore jerseysand had an intricate diorama of the various sections within theunit. Team Talahib (Wildgrass) dressed up its area in green crepe-paper bunting made to look like wild grass. CSI Manila put up adramatic black door patterned after the top-rated television crimedrama CSI. The team also prepared an inter-active skit with a

“dead body” on the floor.After viewing the various displays, Consul General

Richard Dale Haynes paid tribute to the creative ener-gies generated by the entire NIV team. CSI Manilawon the prize for having the most creative display andincorporating a skit into its presentation.Every member of the NIV section enjoyed the exer-

cise. “It was a welcome break from the routine ofwork,” one staffer said. It also highlighted for them theimportance of putting together a winning and highlyefficient team.

TEAM-BUILDING SPARKS CREATIVITY

From left, Kathrina Gigante, Lourdes Basconcillo, JudithOctavo, Eiselle Omampo, Heather Smith and CatherineGuballa pose beside the CSI Manila door.

7FEBRUARY 2007 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E

Last summer, the Carl T. Rowan Chapterof Blacks In Government hosted its secondannual Evangeline J. Montgomery Scholar-ship Awards program and made awards

totaling $4,000 to five Washington areahigh school graduates.The scholarship fund is named in honor

of Evangeline J.Montgomery, a long-stand-

ing member of the Carl T. Rowan Chapterand a respected artist. She works in theDepartment’s Bureau of Educational andCultural Affairs as a program officer in theOffice of Citizen Exchanges. She exhibitsher artwork throughout the world, includ-ing in ambassadors’ residences.She and other renowned artists contribute

art to be sold to support the chapter’s schol-arship effort. Annually, a Howard Universitystudentmajoring in art or art history receivesa $1,000 scholarship award, along with fourto five graduating high school seniors fromthe metropolitan area.This year’s recipients were selected from

more than 130 applicants. They wereaccepted to attend George Mason Universi-ty, Prince George’s Community College,Savannah College of Art and Design inAtlanta, Shaw University in North Carolinaand the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Evangeline Montgomery Scholarships Awarded

Evangeline Montgomery, fourth from left,poses with the scholarship winners. At rightis Darlene Young, national president ofBlacks In Government.

Wouldn’t it be great to give overseasmission employees an interactive forum tovoice their viewpoints? The recently estab-lished Mission Mexico Blog (http://t r a n s i t i o n . i n t e l i n k . g o v / s t a t e /mexico/) and the growing number of pio-neering blog sites on eDiplomacy’sCommunity of Practice home page (http://transition.intelink.gov/state/) do just that.

Web logs, or blogs as they are common-ly known, are widely used in the cyberworld to exchange ideas, but they’re stillnew and underutilized in the Department.

Using this innovative informationresource expands the U.S. Mission inMexico’s outreach to more than 2,000employees dispersed among nine con-sulates, thirteen consular agents and thelargest embassy in the Bureau of WesternHemisphere Affairs.

In collaboration with the Office of eDiplo-macy, the U.S. Mission in Mexico launchedthe blog to collect ideas, solicit feedbackand promote an open dialogue betweenthe front office and employees. Ambassa-dor Antonio Garza strongly believes

employees work smarter when they listen toeach other’s ideas and focus on teamwork.The blog gives anyone with Intranet accessthe opportunity to engage directly with themission’s management team.

Deputy Chief of Mission Leslie Bassettplans to use the blog to engage employ-ees on a wide variety of managementissues. News from the Ambassador, Con-sular Affairs, News from the Consulates,and Public Affairs are just a few of the blogcategories.

The Executive Office is using the blog toelicit feedback from entry-level officers onthe mission’s ELO rotational program andcareer development opportunities. Therewas no other method to easily chronicleELO concerns or career aspirations. Theblog provides a solution that is expected tospark a lively discussion.

In another innovation, the U.S. Missionsin Mexico and Canada are working on atogether to implement a North Americablog to share border security informationwith Department of Homeland Security andforeign affairs community partners.

Mission MexicoBlog EmpowersEmployees

8 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7

Director General George M. Staples recently presented the 2006Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide Secretaryof State’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad to fivewinners from different geographic regions.The December ceremony took place in the Benjamin Franklin

Diplomatic Reception Room.The awards recognize U.S. government employees and family

members at embassies and consulates who gave exceptional volun-teer service to their communities or rendered outstandingassistance in emergencies. This year’s winners were Nelda Villines,Mbabane, Swaziland; Kathy Hansen, Seoul, South Korea; ThomasYazdgerdi, Athens, Greece; Steven Carroll, Kabul, Afghanistan; andMarian McGowan, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.“The value of volunteer work is an indispensable part of what

we do in the State Department and a big part of implementing ourforeign policy objectives overseas,” said DG Staples. “It shows weare a generous, giving people who care about others.”A summary of each winner’s activities follows:Steven Carroll–While serving a one-year tour in Kabul, he

organized clothing drives for theWindow of Hope orphanage, col-lecting donations from U.S. school children and delivering them inan armored vehicle. To raise funds for firewood for heating andcooking at the orphanage, he organized a fund-raising charitydinner that raised post morale and $1,500. He helped a non-governmental organization raise $2,700 to fund book bags forchildren across the country, and arranged for the U.S. military todonate 16 containers of surplus food and drugs to the poor.

Kathy Hansen–An Employed Family Member in Seoul, she hasdedicated two years to volunteer services benefiting U.S. govern-ment employees through her involvement in the American ForcesSpouses Club, Seoul Elementary School, Embassy Book Club,Yongsan Vacation Bible School, Yongsan Library and providing

financial support for the adoption of children from Korea,Vietnam and China, among many other activities. She is especial-ly valued for her ability to recruit, direct and advise othervolunteers for community projects.

Marian McGowan–She has been a tireless volunteer withJackie’s House, a home that provides a safe and nurturing envi-ronment for 36 children with mental or physical handicaps,children who have been abused and neglected and children ofparents who cannot provide for them. She teaches them Englishand has established a network of donors to help support thehome. With these donations, she provided paper, crayons, schoolsupplies and even a television and VCR. She encouraged otherembassy volunteers, who now regularly teach English and becomementors to the children.

Nelda Villines–A full-time embassy employee, she has dedicat-ed time and money to help HIV-positive orphans and women inSwaziland for two years. She has visited 30 schools and hospitalsdistributing food, clothing, books and school supplies, blanketsand toys. She assists self-help projects and convinced new arrivalsto the embassy to donate their shipping crates so they could beused to build tables or benches for rural schools. She and herhusband were instrumental in the building of the SamukelweFamily Centre and the Hope Heals Centre.

Thomas Yazdgerdi–Many of his efforts benefited the burgeon-ing immigrant community in Athens. He organized therefurbishing of the Multicultural Daycare Center, worked to getThanksgiving turkeys for The Ark, the Mother Teresa Center andHelping Hands (Athens Refugee Center) and headed the Commu-nity Service Network, spurring embassy personnel to help withclothing drives. He helped create a Katrina Relief OrganizingCommittee which organized a benefit concert that raised nearly$100,000 for Katrina victims.

AAFSW HONORS STATE’S BIG-HEARTED VOLUNTEERS

The U.S. Southern Command and the U.S. Embassy in Limateamed up for a successful joint U.S.-Peruvian military exercise innorthern Peru last August and September.Working with Peruvian national and regional authorities, U.S.

Army South, the U.S. Southern Command’sArmy Service Component Command andthe embassy’s Military Assistance and Advi-sory Group office planned New Horizons2006 to be a civic-humanitarian exercise. Itfocused on delivering medical attention,building and furnishing two health clinics,building a two-room school and drillingwater wells in villages throughout the Lam-bayeque region. Three U.S. military medicalreadiness teams treated more than 20,000patients in six weeks.Working through two U.S. nongovernmen-

tal organizations, Counterpart Internationaland Vida International, embassy communitymembers organized the donation of morethan $200,000 in medical supplies to furnish

and equip the two clinics. The Embassy Association covered portcosts to assemble and load the supplies in California, and the Cali-fornia Maritime Academy transported the equipment and suppliesfree of charge to Peru.When the supplies arrived in Peru, the

Peruvian Ministry of Health delivered them toLambayeque.“We wanted to make sure that the two

clinics built by our military had all the sup-plies and equipment necessary to see patientsfrom the day they were finished,” saidAmbassador Curt Struble. “Luckily, we hadthe talent and initiative in our mission familyto make it happen, with the help of somevery engaged U.S. NGOs.”USSOUTHCOM organizes a series of

“New Horizons” exercises every year invarious countries in Latin America todemonstrate U.S. dedication to regionalsecurity and offer U.S. and local soldiersopportunities to use their talents in realistictraining situations.

Embassy Peru Joins Army for Humanitarian Exercise

Ambassador Curt Struble greets studentsat the dedication of a new school built byU.S. troops in Hornitos, Lambayeque.

9F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E

MAGAZINE STAFF

Rob WileyEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bill PalmerWRITER/EDITOR

Jennifer LelandWRITER/EDITOR

David L. JohnstonART DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Maurice S. ParkerEXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Kelly Clements

Annette R. Cocchiaro

Margot A. Sullivan

State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is pub-lished monthly, except bimonthly in Julyand August, by the U.S. Department ofState, 2201 C St., N.W., Washington, D.C.Periodicals postage paid at Washington,D.C., and at additional mailing locations.

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The submission deadline for the April2007 issue is February 15. The deadlinefor the May 2007 issue is March 15.

For officers at all stages of their careers,the complicated issues of Foreign Servicefinances loom large. The Transition Centerat the Foreign Service Insti-tute offers targetedcourses designed forspecific career stages,but the information in theRegu la t ions , Allowancesand Finances course (MQ104)affects everyone.This popular workshop

grew out of the experiencesof the spouses of the Iranhostages in 1979. Unfamiliarwith the Department’s bureau-cracy, they faced varioushardships trying to negotiatethe labyrinth from theoutside. Staff in what wasthen known as the OverseasBriefing Center realized that bothofficers and family members needed to beeducated about the provisions applying tothem. Thus the RAF course was born.In December, the Transition Center

offered for the first time a new, streamlinedversion of the course, reducing it from

three days to a more manageable two. Itfeatures experts from Transportation,Allowances, Employee Relations, Medical

Services and the Family LiaisonOffice.

In addition to explaining therelevant rules and regulations,

presenters answer questions andleave participants with excellent

resources for future refer-ence. Alongsidethe internalexperts, privatesector practi-tioners covertopics such as

insurance and taxissues, providing the

tools needed to avoidcostly financial missteps.The next Regulations,

Allowances and Finances classeswill be offered at FSI February 13–14,

April 25–26 and June 21–22. For registra-tion information, seeh t t p : / / f s i . s t a t e . g o v / a dm i n / r e g /default.asp?EventID=MQ104 on theIntranet or e-mail your training officer.

FSI OFFERS STREAMLINEDCOURSE ON FINANCES

At the annual retirement ceremony inDecember, Secretary Condoleezza Ricepaid tribute to the men and women of theForeign Service and Civil Service who are“the backbone of our foreign policy” andmake up “the finest diplomatic corps inthe world.”

She noted that those assembled in theDean Acheson Auditorium represented5,700 years of dedicated service under 10presidents. They averaged more than 29

years of service in 175 posts and spoke 35foreign languages, she said.

During their careers, they “helped toopen freedom’s promise to those trapped intyranny during the ColdWar,” she said, andthen helped navigate the post–Cold Warand post-9/11 periods.

“You have labored for the idea that abetter and more hopeful future of freedomand prosperity is the right of every man,woman and child,” she said.

She asked the retirees to encourage everyyoung American they meet to consider fol-lowing in their footsteps—“not for greatwealth or personal glory, but the knowledgethat you have earned the thanks of a grate-ful nation.”

Director General George Staples remind-ed them that they are still part of the StateDepartment family. He read their names aseach walked up on stage for a photo withSecretary Rice. Following the ceremony, theretirees were invited to a champagne recep-tion in the Benjamin Franklin Room.

RETIREESACCEPT AGRATEFULNATION’S

THANKS

10 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7

DEPARTMENT HONORS EXCELLENCE AND DIVERSITY ON AWARDS DAYBY BILL PALMER

A Job Well Done

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11F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E

That was Under Secretary for PoliticalAffairs Nicholas Burns’ tribute to outstandingemployees who had come from Washingtonand around the world to the BenjaminFranklin Room in November to be honoredat the 2006 Departmental Awards Ceremony.

After the presentation of colors by theArmed Forces Color Guard and the playingof the national anthem by the U.S. Air ForceBand, Director General George Staplesopened the ceremony by acknowledgingthose present, thanking the private donorswho made possible many of the most presti-gious awards and introducing UnderSecretary Burns.

Under Secretary Burns praised the awardwinners for embodying qualities such asleadership, creativity, effectiveness, efficiencyand a sense of mission.

“We honor our collective values and

beliefs,” he said. “We know these values ofpatriotism, support for democracy, ethicalbehavior and putting forward the best ofAmerica overseas is what our Foreign Serviceand Civil Service represent.”

He said dissent is also an American tradi-tion and value, and Secretary Rice honorspeople who have the courage to dissent.

Honorees attest to the diversity of talent,background, ethnicity and experiences in theDepartment, he said, adding, “We arestronger because of this diversity.”

The Foreign Service National of the Yearawards were presented in October, but themain awards ceremony had been rescheduledfor November so that Secretary Rice could bepresent, Under Secretary Burns noted. It wasnot to be. He brought greetings from the Sec-retary, who was in the Middle East that daywith President Bush.

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“You have represented our country well.”

Left: A large crowd filled the Benjamin Franklin Room to watch Under Secretary for Political AffairsNicholas Burns, holding plaque, present the awards. Director General George Staples is at the podium.Above: The award winners pose with Under Secretary Burns, seated at center.

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12 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E FEBRUARY 2007

Award for Excellence inLabor DiplomacyJennifer S. SpandeIn recognition of her contributionstoward reversing a downward trend inworker rights in Cambodia and withappreciation for her work on humanrights.

Award for Excellence in Labor Diplomacy—Special Recognition AwardRandolph H. FleitmanIn recognition of his many contributionstoward combating child labor and traf-ficking in persons and with appreciationfor his efforts to improve labor institu-tions in Kenya and Uganda.

Warren Christopher Award for Outstand-ing Achievement in Global AffairsGregory S. WiegandIn recognition of his excellent perform-ance and courage in carrying out U.S.government policy to support Cuba’sdissident movement.

Civil Service Secretary of the YearPatricia A. MoellerWith appreciation for her courage anddedication and in recognition of her con-tributions to addressing the securitychallenges in Iraq.

Diplomatic Security Officer of the YearRoger S. OwensIn recognition of his outstanding contri-butions on a wide range of securityprojects in Iraq and with appreciation forhis achievements to enhance the securityof the U.S. mission in Iraq.

James Clement Dunn Awardfor ExcellenceRobert I. BlauWith appreciation for his excellent per-formance and creative leadership incarrying out U.S. government policy tosupport Cuba’s democratic opposition.

Equal Employment Opportunity AwardCecelia A. CooperWith appreciation for her efforts inmaking equal employment opportunityand diversity an important part of theDepartment’s values.

Robert C. Frasure Memorial AwardDonald Y. YamamotoIn recognition of his exceptional serviceto the U.S. government and with appreci-ation for his efforts to promote peace andcivil justice in Africa.

Swanee Hunt Award for AdvancingWomen’s Role in Policy FormulationMay Qasem BarghouthiIn recognition of her commitment toMission Jerusalem in supportingwomen’s empowerment through promot-ing Palestinian women’s participation inpolitics and civil society.

Cherrie S. DanielsIn recognition of her dedication topromote the role of women as peacemak-ers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Mary A. Ryan Award forOutstanding Public ServiceCatherine BerryWith appreciation for her unwaveringcourage and strong commitment to serveAmerican citizens and foreign nationalswho seek to travel to the United States.

Innovation in the Use ofTechnology AwardJames W. BayukIn recognition of his work to develop anew State Department travel medicineinformation Web site and with apprecia-tion for his contributions to improvingvital medical services for State Depart-ment employees and their familiesrepresenting the United States around theworld.

Herbert Salzman Award for Excellencein International Economic PerformanceAndrew J. QuinnIn recognition of his many efforts toexpand the U.S.-Pakistan economic rela-tionship and with appreciation forassisting in the coordination of the U.S.response to the October 8 earthquake.

Rockwell Anthony Schnabel Awardfor Advancing U.S.-EU RelationsKenneth R. ProppWith appreciation for his dedication toU.S. law enforcement and intelligenceissues in building cooperation with theEuropean Union and EU member states.

Director General’s Award for Impactand Originality in ReportingGregory M. MarcheseIn recognition of outstanding reportingand analysis that contributed to the U.S.government’s understanding of Lebanon’s2005 “Cedar Revolution.”

Frank E. Loy Award for OutstandingEnvironmental DiplomacyStephanie J. CaswellIn recognition of her outstanding man-agement of the Office of Ecology andTerrestrial Conservation and for herexceptional performance representing theU.S. government for nearly 20 years.

Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellencein Public DiplomacyAlberto M. FernandezIn recognition of his engagement withArab media to better inform audiences inthe Near East and North Africa aboutU.S. government policies.

Arnold L. Raphel Memorial AwardJohn W. DinkelmanWith appreciation for his professionalismand in recognition of his commitment todeveloping the skills and potential of the2,330 Foreign Service officers he trainedas deputy coordinator of A-100.

Barbara M. Watson Award forConsular ExcellenceLaura F. DoguIn recognition of her dedication to con-sular diplomacy, strong leadership andsuperlative performance at the AmericanEmbassy in Ankara.

Leamon R. Hunt Award forManagement ExcellenceCharles L. EatonIn recognition of his outstanding per-formance as management officer of theU.S. Embassy in Chisinau, Moldova, andwith appreciation for his efforts toimprove the physical infrastructure, workenvironment, operational efficiency andmanagement controls of the embassy.

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Linguist of the Year AwardPaul F. FritchIn recognition of his extraordinarycommand of Russian, French andGerman, which contributed to the criticalpolicy and program efforts of the U.S.Mission to NATO.

Thomas Morrison InformationManagement AwardKevin A. GatlinIn recognition of his outstanding per-formance in providing the U.S.Department of State with the latest infor-mation technology tools and services andwith appreciation for his contributions tosupporting effective American diplomacyin the information age.

Office Management Specialistof the Year AwardLaney L. GoodallFor her brave dedication to fostering ademocratic and prosperous Iraq.

James A. Baker III—C. Howard Wilkins Jr.Award for Outstanding Deputy Chiefof MissionRobert P. JacksonIn recognition of his exemplary leader-ship and in appreciation for his manycontributions to the U.S. Embassy inDakar from 2004 to 2006.

Luther I. Replogle Award forManagement ImprovementAn Thanh LeIn recognition of his outstanding contri-butions to the operation of the U.S.Diplomatic Mission in Korea and withappreciation for his efforts to improvethe living and working environment forstaff and family members.

Cordell Hull Award for EconomicAchievement by Senior OfficersWilliam T. MonroeIn recognition of his many contributionsin advancing U.S. government economicand commercial interests in Bahrain andin appreciation for his leadership inguiding the U.S.-Bahrain Free TradeAgreement through the ratification,implementation and promotion process.

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Before we had the Foreign Service Insti-tute’s School of Professional and AreaStudies, Curriculum and Staff Develop-ment or the Office of ManagementTraining, there was the School of Commu-nications and Clericals Programs. If youwanted a career in the secretarial field orstaff support area or just wanted to perfectyour communications skills, you signed upfor training under the auspices of Dr. JessieColson, director of the CCP.Under Dr. Colson’s tutelage, you gained

skills and knowledge that could lead topositions of greater responsibility, not tomention a higher salary. Dr. C gave typingcourses that made your fingers glide acrossthe keyboard at 50, 60 and even 120 wordsper minute. As an extra bonus, you couldeven learn shorthand.Dr. Colson introduced students to a new

language on their first day in shorthandclass. She referred to the Pitman and Greggmethods of shorthand, which she told uswere especially useful for taking notesduring meetings. After one day with Dr.Colson, we found ourselves forming littlehalf circles and lines with curls, each ofwhich was a symbol representing a word.As one student said, “This shorthand mustbe a language written on Mars.”Dr. Colson’s CCP predated personal

computers and other modern office tech-nology, so shorthand and typewriters werethe order of the day. Memos, letters andother correspondence were dictated to thesecretary, who would record every word inshorthand notes and would then type fromthe notes to produce the final document.Dr. Colson was mentor to hundreds and

hundreds of employees who were seekingways to improve themselves. She counseledher students on Occupational Choice/AConceptual Framework; Early Determi-nants of Vocational Choice; A SociologicalApproach to the Analysis of Preparation forWork Life; The Skills of Coping; and Learn-ing a Culture. She made us focus onourselves by asking, “Who are we?” and“What are our goals in life?”To be better professionals, we also

focused on eating smarter, telling the truth,being ourselves and never losing sight of

our career goals. On a daily basis, wereceived guidance concerning such issuesas judgment and decision making, copingwith change, problem solving and more.For any State employee seeking a more

professional career with the Department ofState, the Bureau of Personnel—nowHuman Resources—directed the employeeto enroll with Dr. Colson; you were guaran-teed to come away more professional andbetter prepared than the day you enteredthe Department. All those who came toCCP, either to observe or to participate,lauded her mentoring program.Following her retirement in 1989, Dr.

Colson was asked by several other federal

agencies to establish similar programs. Shecontinues to foster career enhancementprograms at U.S. military facilities and inthe private sector. For more than 30 years,she has been the inspiration to hundreds ofmen and women in the federal govern-ment. Today, Dr. Colson continues toencourage the careers of many youngadults through speaking engagements andthrough her Web site.Never one to sit idly, Dr. Colson is cur-

rently a volunteer on the staff of theNational Museum of Women in the Arts,

which opened to the public in Washington,D.C., in 1987 and has established a nation-wide membership that is the third largest inthe country. On behalf of the museum, shehas sponsored several fundraisers, raisingmore than $100,000 for new works bywomen artists.She maintains an active role with the

State Department Federal Credit Union.She is the president of a number of com-mittees at her church, and she sits onseveral church boards.With her excellent knowledge of the

Department’s infrastructure coupled withher common sense strategies, Dr. Colsonis a true pioneer of today’s FSI Manage-ment and Leadership training. She wasone of the first to foster mentoring forState personnel.

Her passion was career enhancement forall persons, and that is what she preachedand practiced. What mattered to JessieColson was that anyone who wanted abetter, more interesting career be providedthe opportunity to work toward andachieve it.Dr. Colson continues to be a Department

legend to all who were fortunate to havebeen under her tutelage.�

The authors are a few of the many former Dr.Colson students.

DEPARTMENT PACESETTER SETS AN EARLY STANDARDIN PROFESSIONALISM BY JESSIE’S LEGACIES

Dr. Jessie Colson, Legend

Dr. Jessie Colson, left, enjoys a happy moment with one of her proteges, Ruth Walker.


November 2006 marked the 30th anniver-sary of National Adoption Month, a timeeach year to recognize the importance ofadoption and conduct pro-adoption out-reach. In the United States, many familycourts set aside a specific day in November tofinalize hundreds of adoptions. The Bureauof Consular Affairs, the Employee RelationsOffice, the Family Liaison Office and numer-ous consular sections around the worldcelebrated with special outreach events,panel discussions and ceremonies.

Guangzhou TraditionBy Akunna E. CookOn November 17, families arriving for

their adoption oath-taking ceremony at theU.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou—the Department’s largest orphanvisa-processing post—were met with a cel-ebration. In the presence of invited guests,including Chinese government officialsand the consulate general’s panel physician,Consul General Robert Goldberg adminis-

tered the oath to 60 families preparing totake their newly adopted children home tothe United States.While American parents are always

happy to see the U.S. flag in the consularwaiting room, there were few dry eyesduring the ceremony as families celebratedthe end of their long journey. Guangzhouhad also purchased new children’s furni-ture and toys for the visa waiting room,allowing older siblings accompanying theirparents to the visa interview to stay occu-pied while they waited. Guangzhou isplanning to make the swearing-in ceremo-ny a new annual tradition.

The author is a consular officer at the U.S.Consulate General in Guangzhou.

Lilongwe ForumBy Mitchell MossMalawi may not be the first country that

comes to mind in discussions about inter-country adoption—at least not until the

high-profile case in October 2006 of a 13-month-old Malawian boy who went to livewith a well-known American pop singerand her family in the United Kingdom.That case made front-page news aroundthe world and generated a great deal of talkabout adoption in Malawi.On November 22, U.S. Ambassador Alan

Eastham hosted a National AdoptionMonth forum at the U.S. Embassy inLilongwe titled “Finding Families for Chil-dren,” which highlighted the nebulous stateof Malawian law and regulations governingadoption and allowed U.S. governmentofficials to explain American views of inter-country adoption and its benefits forchildren in need. The Malawian govern-ment had approved only 20 legal adoptionsin 2006, although it is estimated that thesmall country has more than 1 millionorphans.Malawian government and human

rights officials participated in a panel dis-cussion, while Mark and Beth Pelletier of PH

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STATE DEPARTMENT CELEBRATES NATIONAL ADOPTIONMONTHCOMPILED BY CHRISTOPHER LAMORA AND NYDA BUDIG

‘Keys of Paradise’

Centers for DiseaseControl Malawi’s MarkPelletier and wife Bethdiscuss their adoptionsfrom Kenya and Ethiopia.


the local Centers for Disease Control office gave a moving accountof how they had adopted their daughter from Kenya and are nowadopting a second child from Ethiopia.

The author is a public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy inLilongwe.

Kyiv Media ProgramBy Landon Taylor and Erik BlackOn November 28, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv hosted a program on

Family and Child Welfare for the Ukrainian press. Journalists fromUkraine’s largest TV stations and newspapers attended the two-hour program that included presentations by Assistant Secretary ofConsular Affairs Maura Harty (by DVC), the deputy chief ofmission and consul general, the country director from Holt Inter-national’s Ukraine program, as well as representatives fromUkraine’s government ministries responsible for child welfare andadoptions.The program emphasized the U.S. commitment to be a partner

with Ukraine in addressing the challenges of child welfare issuesand the need to facilitate a fair and transparent adoption process.It also stressed the same “Families for Children” message empha-sized in Lilongwe and elsewhere. Ludmyla Balym, deputy directorof the Ukrainian State Department for Adoption and Protection ofthe Rights of the Child, spoke about the importance the Ukrainiangovernment is now placing on child protection and welfare.She stressed that domestic adoptions are the top priority for

Ukraine now, but noted that when it is impossible to place a childinto a Ukrainian adopting family, intercountry adoption is thenext best solution for an orphan. Participants also screened newpublic service announcements promoting domestic adoptions inUkraine.

Mr. Taylor is the consul general and Mr. Black a vice consul at theU.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

Moscow OverviewBy Constance AndersonImmigrant Visa Unit Chief Connie Anderson, joined by Locally

Employed Staff colleagues and a local Department of HomelandSecurity officer, led a well-received brown-bag discussion onNovember 15 with approximately 25 other embassy personnelabout adoptions in Russia.Anderson and her team presented an overview of the situation

of Russian orphans as well as the U.S. process for allowing foreign-born orphans to immigrate to the United States. Brown-bagparticipants who were themselves internationally adoptive parentsshared their own stories and insights.

The author is the immigrant visa unit chief at the U.S. Embassyin Moscow.

Department GuidesThe Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of Children’s Issues,

which has primary responsibility within the State Department forintercountry adoption matters, premiered its “Guidefor Prospective Adoptive Parents” (http://travel.state.gov/pdf/Prospective_Adoptive_Parents_Guide.pdf), which explains howadoption processing will work when the United States ratifies theHague Adoption Convention. On a parallel track, the Family

Liaison Office issued its revised “Intercountry Adoption Guide-lines for the Foreign Service Family” (www.state.gov/documents/organization/77317.pdf).Both are available online from www.state.gov. The two offices

joined forces on November 29 to present a two-hour discussionsession on this same topic as part of the Bureau of HumanResources Office of Employee Relations’Work/Life Program series.A Work/Life presenter gave an overview of adoptions in general,after which a panel of three officers from Consular Affairs’ Officeof Overseas Citizens Services, who are also internationally adop-tive parents, shared their experiences and offered insights for the40 Department attendees.The event included a lively question-and-answer period and was

recorded on audio tape. The audio file, transcript and handoutmaterials from the session are available to all State Departmentfamilies worldwide by contacting Nyda Budig in Consular Affairsat [email protected] or Mary Jean Dixon in Employee Relations [email protected].�

Christopher Lamora is the chief of the Intercountry Adoption Unitin the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Nyda Budig is the public out-reach coordinator in the Hague Adoption ConventionImplementation Unit.

Top: Adoptive American parents take the oath before meeting consular offi-cers to have the their children’s visa applications reviewed. Above: U.S.Consulate General in Guangzhou officials with some of the American fami-lies and adopted Chinese children at the Nov. 17 event.

FIVE-YEAR TREND OF ELIGIBLES,PROMOTIONS IS UP

BY MONICA BRADLEY

ForeignService

PromotionStatistics

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The 2006 Foreign Service SelectionBoard results by class and cone forboth generalists and specialists havebeen compiled. The tables providedshow promotion numbers and rates,average time-in-class and averagetime-in-service for each competitiongroup. This year’s promotion rateshave been compared to 2005 and afive-year average (2002–2006).The overall promotion rate of eli-

gible FS employees for 2006 was 26percent, compared to 27 percent in2005. The 2006 rate equaled the pre-vious five-year average.The number of eligibles competing

for promotion in 2006—5,376—ismore than a thousand higher than in2002 and more than 500 higher thanthe five-year average. The annualnumber of promotions increased by347 between 2002 and 2006.Promotion opportunities are

determined by service needs andbudgetary constraints. Reviewing sta-tistics for an individual year can bemisleading, but comparing the 2006statistics to previous years is useful toprovide a reasonable idea of whatpromotion rates may look like overtime by both cone and class.

GeneralistsOverall, generalist promotion rates

have increased from 26 to 31 percentsince 2002. The 2006 promotion rateof 14 percent for the Senior ForeignService is slightly lower than the pre-vious five-year average of 15 percent.However, promotion numbers andrates into and within the SeniorForeign Service have remained con-stant since 2004.The number of promotions and

promotion rate from FS-02 to FS-01of 150 and 16.6 percent, respectively,in 2006 were lower than 2005’s 158and 17.7 percent. Although thenumber of promotions in 2006equaled the five-year average, thepromotion rate is slightly lower thanthe five-year average of 17.1 percent.At 49.7 percent, the FS-03 to FS-02

promotion rate is slightly higher than2005’s 48.5 percent. It is also higherthan the five-year average of 44.5percent, even though the actualnumber of promotions in 2006—198—is lower than the five-yearaverage of 205.

Generalist promotions from FS-04to FS-03 increased to 372 in 2006from 357 in 2005, although the pro-motion rate decreased by 10 percent.In looking at the last five years, 2006promotions were more than doublethe 150 promotions in 2002. Thisincrease is due to the increasedhiring under the Diplomatic Readi-ness Initiative.Classwide generalist promotions

ranged from 25 percent of the pro-motions from FS-03 to FS-02 to 53percent of the promotions from FE-OC to FE-MC. In 2005, thepercentages ranged from 24 to 52percent. It is difficult to predictwhich cones will receive the class-wide promotions.It is still too early to determine

whether a trend is developing inclass-wide promotions. However,numbers and rates in 2006—158 and8 percent—were down from 195 and10 percent in 2005.To ensure that the needs of the

service are being met, functionalpromotion opportunities are allocat-ed using each cones proportion ofthe total functional positions. In thisway, each cone receives its share ofneeded promotion opportunities tofill critical staffing gaps, while pro-motions are also provided foremployees the selection boardsdetermine have the broad experiencenecessary to assume future leader-ship positions.Although it will take several more

years before the mid-level deficit iseliminated, it has begun to close. Arecent analysis showed that 2006promotions reduced the 15 percentmid-level deficit that existed inSeptember 2006 to approximately7 percent. Attrition is projected todrive the deficit back up to approxi-mately 11 percent by next September.Assuming positions, hiring, promo-tions and attrition rates remainconstant, the mid-level deficit shouldbe eliminated at the end of the 2010promotion cycle.

SpecialistsAs in previous years, specialist

promotions vary by class and spe-cialist groups. In 2006, thepercentage of all eligible specialistswho were promoted—21 percent—

equaled that of 2005 and the five-year average. Given the wide rangeof specialist groups, examining pro-motion rates for each group is not agood barometer. However, changesin a few skill groups are worthnoting.In 2006, Human Resources offi-

cers and General Services officershad separate competition groups forpromotion across the senior thresh-old, and one employee in each skillgroup was promoted. In the past,these skill groups competed withmanagement officers acrossthe threshold.Promotion numbers and rates for

office management specialists in2006 increased to 78 and 14 percent,respectively, from 67 and 13 percentin 2005. The five-year average was73 and 14 percent.The number of promotions for

security officers increased to 215 in2006 from 191 in 2005; however, thepromotion rate dropped from 37 to31 percent because of the increasednumber of eligibles. While the 2006promotion rate is the same as the2002 promotion rate, the number ofpromotions has increased 48percent since 2002.There were no real surprises in

the information technology skillgroups. At 109, the overall numberof promotions for all three skillgroups was two less than in 2005and one less than the five-yearaverage. However, as with manyother skill groups, the increasednumber of eligibles resulted inthe promotion rate dropping from16 percent in 2005 to 14 percentin 2006.In conclusion, as the Department

moves forward and the next genera-tion prepares to assume theleadership reins, changes in the waybusiness is done will likely result inchanges to the promotion process.To stay competitive, not to mentioneligible for promotion, employeesshould pay close attention torequirements in the Career Develop-ment Program and the precepts.�

The author is a management analystin the Office of ResourceManagement and OrganizationAnalysis.


CATEGORY: GENERALIST CLASS 02 TO CLASS 01

CLASSWIDE MANAGEMENT 148 5 3.4 5.8 6.3 16.9 16.8

CLASSWIDE CONSULAR 150 6 4.0 4.9 3.9 16.5 13.8

CLASSWIDE ECONOMIC 212 10 4.7 5.2 7.2 16.1 17.8

CLASSWIDE POLITICAL 273 28 10.3 5.2 5.6 16.0 14.9

CLASSWIDE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 118 5 4.2 5.6 5.7 15.6 16.1

CLASSWIDE TOTAL 901 54 6.0 5.3 5.8 16.2 15.6

MANAGEMENT 143 19 13.3 5.8 6.6 16.9 18.5

CONSULAR 144 12 8.3 4.9 5.3 16.6 15.9

ECONOMIC 202 18 8.9 5.1 6.5 16.0 15.9

POLITICAL 245 20 8.2 5.1 6.1 16.1 16.1

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 113 27 23.9 5.6 5.8 15.5 15.1

FUNCTIONAL TOTALS 847 96 11.3 5.2 6.1 16.2 16.2

COMBINED TOTALS 901 150 16.6 5.3 6.0 16.2 16.0







CLASSWIDE TOTAL 398 50 12.6 3.9 3.5 8.3 7.7

MANAGEMENT 43 26 60.5 3.7 3.0 7.5 7.0

CONSULAR 100 26 26.0 4.1 4.2 9.0 10.0

ECONOMIC 94 30 31.9 4.0 4.5 8.4 9.0

POLITICAL 74 38 51.4 3.6 3.3 8.2 7.7



COMBINED TOTALS 398 198 49.7 3.9 3.7 8.3 8.2







CLASSWIDE TOTAL 534 372 69.7 2.8 2.7 4.2 4.2

Number Com

petedNum

ber Promoted

%Com

petedProm

oted

AverageTim

e-in-Class of Competed

Promotees’ Average

Time-in-Class

AverageLength

of ServiceCom

peted


Lengthof Service

Number Com

petedNum

ber Promoted

%Com

petedProm

oted

AverageTim



Time-in-Class

AverageLength

of ServiceCom

peted


Lengthof Service

CATEGORY: MC TO CM





CLASSWIDE SCIENCE OFFICERS 1 0 0.0 7.7 0.0 28.7 0.0


CLASSWIDE INFO TECH MNGR 1 0 0.0 6.6 0.0 32.1 0.0

CLASSWIDE PSYCHIATRIST 2 0 0.0 11.7 0.0 20.9 0.0

CLASSWIDE MEDICAL OFFICERS 9 0 0.0 8.4 0.0 18.0 0.0

CLASSWIDE FINANCE 1 0 0.0 4.3 0.0 20.2 0.0

CLASSWIDE TOTAL 178 5 2.8 6.3 6.6 28.7 29.5

CATEGORY: GENERALIST FEOC TO FEMC






CLASSWIDE TOTAL 251 23 9.2 4.1 4.9 24.6 24.7

MANAGEMENT 49 7 14.3 4.4 4.7 24.4 22.1

CONSULAR 41 2 4.9 3.8 4.9 25.4 27.0

ECONOMIC 42 4 9.5 4.1 4.6 24.8 26.5

POLITICAL 49 4 8.2 3.9 4.7 25.2 25.7



COMBINED TOTALS 251 44 17.5 4.1 4.8 24.6 24.4

CATEGORY: GENERALIST FS01 TO FEOC






CLASSWIDE TOTAL 417 31 7.4 5.9 5.8 21.6 20.6

MANAGEMENT 66 12 18.2 5.5 4.6 20.5 19.6

CONSULAR 63 5 7.9 6.1 5.7 22.1 20.0

ECONOMIC 76 6 7.9 6.0 5.9 22.1 19.4

POLITICAL 112 8 7.1 5.9 7.3 22.5 24.0



COMBINED TOTALS 417 72 17.3 5.9 5.9 21.6 20.7


Number Com

petedNum

ber Promoted

%Com

petedProm

oted

AverageTim



Time-in-Class

AverageLength

of ServiceCom

peted


Lengthof Service

Number Com

petedNum

ber Promoted

%Com

petedProm

oted

AverageTim



Time-in-Class

AverageLength

of ServiceCom

peted


Lengthof Service

CATEGORY: SPECIALIST 03 TO 02

FINANCE 39 11 28.2 3.3 3.8 3.4 3.8

HUMAN RESOURCES 10 6 60.0 3.1 3.1 11.7 7.6

GENERAL SERVICES 51 8 15.7 5.3 5.2 10.8 11.7

INFORMATION MGMT 169 24 14.2 4.7 4.8 14.0 13.2

INFO MGMT TECH 45 7 15.6 5.4 6.1 11.4 12.0

DIPLOMATIC COUR 9 2 22.2 5.1 5.2 13.7 16.2

SECURITY OFF 200 49 24.5 4.4 3.4 9.6 8.1

SECURITY ENGINEER 18 10 55.6 3.6 3.3 7.0 7.3

SECURITY TECHNICIAN 2 0 0.0 2.7 0.0 6.8 0.0

CONSTR ENGR 5 3 60.0 3.1 3.4 5.6 5.6

FACILITIES MAINT 18 5 27.8 5.0 4.5 10.0 9.2

ENGLISH LANG PGMS 6 4 66.7 3.4 3.7 3.4 3.8

INFO RESOURCES 5 2 40.0 3.5 3.1 3.5 3.1

MEDICAL TECH 5 0 0.0 5.1 0.0 15.3 0.0

HEALTH PRACTITIONER 26 3 11.5 3.4 3.0 3.5 3.0

OFFICE MGMT SPEC 14 0 0.0 5.2 0.0 27.7 0.0



HUMAN RESOURCES 24 9 37.5 2.3 2.7 4.9 5.1


INFORMATION MGMT 323 46 14.2 3.2 3.8 5.9 6.2

INFO MGMT TECH 44 13 29.5 2.7 3.2 4.2 4.8

DIPLOMATIC COUR 38 2 5.3 5.8 5.0 10.8 7.6

SECURITY OFF 267 134 50.2 1.6 1.6 4.2 4.3


SECURITY TECHNICIAN 37 3 8.1 2.8 3.4 5.6 7.2

CONSTR ENGR 13 5 38.5 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.3


OFFICE MGMT SPEC 108 6 5.6 5.1 9.0 21.1 25.6



OFFICE MGMT SPEC 163 23 14.1 4.1 4.7 13.8 14.9



OFFICE MGMT SPEC 281 49 17.4 3.7 5.1 6.3 8.0


CATEGORY: SPECIALIST OC TO MC

FINANCE 4 0 0.0 4.0 0.0 25.3 0.0

INFO TECH MNGR 14 2 14.3 4.2 3.1 25.7 17.8

DIPLOMATIC COUR 1 0 0.0 3.6 0.0 19.7 0.0

PSYCHIATRIST 2 0 0.0 3.4 0.0 8.6 0.0

SECURITY OFF 10 1 10.0 2.8 2.5 21.5 18.8

CONSTR ENGR 3 0 0.0 4.5 0.0 19.4 0.0

MEDICAL OFFICERS 6 0 0.0 6.9 0.0 14.2 0.0


PRINTING 1 0 0.0 6.6 0.0 17.8 0.0


CATEGORY: SPECIALIST 01 TO OC

FINANCE 20 1 5.0 6.5 7.7 20.4 22.0

HUMAN RESOURCES 5 1 20.0 6.3 5.7 22.4 25.3


INFO TECH MNGR 19 5 26.3 5.4 5.9 22.7 23.8

DIPLOMATIC COUR 2 0 0.0 5.2 0.0 21.3 0.0

PSYCHIATRIST 2 1 50.0 4.3 4.0 4.3 4.0

SECURITY OFF 28 8 28.6 3.9 3.3 20.8 19.8


CONSTR ENGR 7 2 28.6 6.7 13.7 16.5 21.1



INFO RESOURCES 3 1 33.3 9.6 18.4 18.2 29.7

MEDICAL OFFICERS 7 2 28.6 5.6 7.4 5.6 7.4




FINANCE 50 5 10.0 6.0 6.5 10.6 9.6

HUMAN RESOURCES 11 5 45.5 4.6 4.7 18.5 18.1


INFO TECH MNGR 147 12 8.2 5.7 5.0 19.2 18.6

DIPLOMATIC COUR 5 1 20.0 5.5 2.7 16.9 14.5

SECURITY OFF 184 23 12.5 5.7 6.3 18.5 18.6


CONSTR ENGR 8 5 62.5 4.2 3.7 8.9 8.8



INFO RESOURCES 5 0 0.0 3.1 0.0 8.8 0.0

MEDICAL TECH 2 0 0.0 6.7 0.0 26.3 0.0


PRINTING 1 0 0.0 2.7 0.0 6.2 0.0



On October 1, 2006, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta entered its secondphase of consolidating administrative services between State/International Cooperative Administrative Support Services and theU.S. Agency for International Development, merging its Warehouse,Procurement and Locally Employed Staff Human Resourcessections. Phase II is the result of a challenge fromWashington, Ambas-sadorial leadership and close working relationships between the Stateand USAID management staffs. Here’s how it happened.During a February 2006 visit to the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Under

Secretary of State for Management Henrietta Fore challenged Postmanagement to take its initial round of Shared Services initiatives—Motor Pool, Residential Leasing and Residential Maintenance—to thenext level. Phase I came as a result of Jakarta’s inclusion as one of fourposts selected in the pilot program; Phase II was a voluntary effort.Phase I reduced the number of drivers and dispatchers employed by

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JAKARTA TAKES SHARED SERVICES TO THE NEXT LEVEL BY CHRISTOPHER ASHE

ChallengeAccepted

The State/USAID Shared Services Committee accepted Under Secretary Fore’s challenge to moveShared Services to the next level. Serving on the committee were, from left, Anita Brown, Katherine(Dare) Morgan, Henry Kaminski, David Yeutter, Justinus Nugraha, Lawrence Mandel, John Peevey,Ralph Hamilton, William Hansen and Tracy Harding.

by State and USAID. Phase II went after thebig financial gains that result from eliminat-ing direct-hire American positions.Following Under Secretary Fore’s visit,

Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe asked Statemanagement counselor Larry Mandel,USAID Mission Director William Frej andSupervisory Executive Officer John Peeveyto identify new areas for consolidation thatcould enhance the quality of ICASS servic-es, reduce costs and eliminate redundancies.Beginning in late February 2006, the U.S.Embassy in Jakarta’s Shared ServicesWorking Group initiated weekly consolida-tion meetings, attended by HumanResources, Warehousing, Procurement and

Finance representatives. Additionally, theU.S. Embassy in Jakarta consulted with otherShared Services posts and with staff from theOffice for Global Support Services and Ini-tiatives in the Bureau of Administration toidentify Department-wide best practices.Once the Shared ServicesWorking Group

identified its three areas for consolidation—warehousing, procurement and humanresources—smaller technical teams includ-ing LES staff were formed to work on theintegration of the respective administrativeservices. The ICASS Council reviewed andapproved new service standards in theaffected areas.At the end of the process, Post has identi-

fied at least two direct-hire Americanpositions as candidates for elimination, onefrom State and one from USAID, potential-ly saving hundreds of thousands of dollarsfor the U.S. government each year. In thewarehouse consolidation alone, USAIDexpects to save $140,000 annually.On October 1, the fruits of the Working

Group’s labor were realized in the formal

consolidation of Human Resources for LESstaff and Procurement within State/ICASSas well as the transfer of all warehousingfunctions to USAID. As part of each consol-idation, both staff and administrativeprocesses were transferred between Stateand USAID. USAID transferred two LESstaff employees to the State HumanResources Office and two vacant positionsto State/ICASS Procurement, with USAIDtaking over the supervision of State’s ware-house staff.Financial Management Officers from

State and USAID were also intimatelyinvolved at every step to make sure thatthere was funding for each necessarychange and to fund critical integrationstart-up activities. Together they came upwith a mechanism to tie funding togetherwithout setting up separate AlternateService Provider accounting, so that eachagency participating in ICASS couldreceive a single consolidated invoice. Their“one invoice” proposal is being consideredin Washington, and could be an easy and

acceptable alternative to the complicatedbilling situation that would result underseparate ICASS invoices. Similarly, the U.S.Embassy in Jakarta requested waivers ofsome regulatory requirements from USAIDto enable USAID’s warehousing function toadopt State’s best practices for determiningwhich inventory items to count.While the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has

made significant progress in the coordina-tion of Shared Services initiatives with itstenant agencies, Post management is com-mitted to finding further opportunities tostreamline and consolidate operations.“At Embassy Jakarta, our two agencies

already work seamlessly together on the pro-grammatic side, on issues as diverse as avianinfluenza, tsunami relief and good gover-nance,” Ambassador Pascoe said. “State andUSAIDworkingmore closely together on theresource side is essential, allowing us to betterachieve our goals as a single mission.”�

The author works in the Consular Section atthe U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.


The consolidated Human Resources staff includes, first row, from left—Rah Rahardjo, Tina Joedowidagdo, Fatty Trianasari, AgungHernawan, Anita Brown (seated) and Anthie Julianti; and second row, from left—Vinecia Mulyono, Katherine (Dare) Morgan, OcheeSiswoyo, Rheva Pesik and Carolina Purwanti.

areas is further divided into three gradelevels: entry, mid-level and senior.These form the starting point for the

board’s deliberations, but they are by nomeans the only considerations. Service inhardship or danger posts, broadeningassignments outside the primary skill areaand the quality of writing in the EmployeeEvaluation Report are also factors thatboards take into account.Employees who show continued growth

and development throughout a career, whohave sought increasingly challengingassignments and who have taken care toensure that their accomplishments aredescribed in detail in the annual EER havea decided advantage in the competition foradvancement. It is not enough to say anemployee “produced results in a most effec-tive manner.” For an employee to becompetitive, the report must describe whatresults were produced and, ideally, showhow these results contributed to themission of the organization. Laudatory

hy did employee X get promoted while Y did not? Each yearafter the promotion lists are published, this question, in oneform or another, is asked.This is the time when the conventional wisdom generator

goes into high gear, cranking out the “real” reasons behindpromotion decisions. Much of this conventional wisdom is, unfortunately,neither conventional nor wise.It was my privilege to serve as chair of the 2006 Information Resource Manage-

ment panel, which looked at IRM specialists from entry-level to FS-01. Membersof the panel were all seasoned professionals, and our consensus on what makesemployees eligible for promotion came fairly early in the process. I believe mostpanels developed similar views.

Begin at the BeginningBeginning at the beginning is always a good way to start, and for promotions

in the Foreign Service, it all begins with the “decision criteria for tenure and pro-motion in the Foreign Service,” or Precepts. These provide the guidelines forboards as they make promotion decisions. They also define the skills to be con-sidered, as well as the level of accomplishment expected at various grades withinthe service. In addition to the basic precepts, promotion boards are given specif-ic precepts relating to certain career fields.The basic skill areas evaluated by the boards are leadership, management, inter-

personal communications and foreign language, intellectual and substantiveknowledge. Description of the kind of performance expected of each in these skill PH

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PENETRATING THE PROMOTION PROCESSBY CHARLES A. RAY

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comments without details do not impresspromotion boards.Another thing that does not favorably

impress boards is an EER with mis-spellings, typos and other errors thatindicate a lack of careful preparation.While rating and reviewing officers areoften criticized for poorly preparedreports, the rated employee will also suffer.Remember that the official EER is all a pro-motion board has on which to base itsdecision. The employee who allows asloppy report to be submitted is notputting his or her best foot forward.A third area that has a significant impact

on promotion potential is the “Area forImprovement.” Too many rating officialsneglect to take this section of the EER seri-ously, ignoring the evaluation guidelinesand not addressing areas that, if improved,would increase the employee’s value to theForeign Service. Failure to seriously addressthis area weakens the credibility of theentire report. Even more serious is a sub-stantive area for improvement that isrepeated in two or more reports (the boardsnormally review reports for the most recentfive years, at a minimum) that shows noeffort or action by the employee to improve.Each year the Department publishes

guidelines on EER preparation. It wouldbenefit each employee to read and heedthem, as they provide excellent informa-tion on the mechanics of the EER.Along with proper EER preparation,

there are a number of things employees cando to enhance their chances for promotion.The three areas of most importance areassignments, training and performance.

Onward AssignmentsIn seeking onward assignments, employ-

ees should be mindful of the need to showpositive career progression, includingassignments outside the primary skill code.The needs of the service will sometimesresult in less than desirable assignments,but a pattern of assignments showing a lackof upward progression or expanding skillswill not help in the quest for advancement.Likewise, employees should be aware of“homesteading,” or staying away too longfrom primary skill code assignments.Willingness to serve in danger or hard-

ship posts has always been a plus forpromotion potential. It should be stressed,however, that this refers to more than just“being there.” An employee serving in adanger area who has an EER indicatingsubstandard or mediocre performance will

not be given preference for promotion oversuperior performers serving in other areas.Far too many Foreign Service employees

continue to consider training assignmentsother than language training as detrimentalto career advancement. Recent decisionsregarding mandatory training require-ments (especially leadership training) willhelp change that mind-set. Employees whocombine periodic educational opportuni-ties with superior job performance are farmore valuable to the service in the long runthan those who chose to avoid training inorder to stay in the rating system.Leadership skills are critical to mission

success. The higher employees climb on thegrade ladder, the more critical they are. Ifwe as a department are to be relevant in theforeign policy arena, we simply must haveleadership that is both broad and deep.Many people believe the only way todemonstrate leadership skills is to occupyformal leadership positions. Not so.Employees at all levels and in all positionscan demonstrate the ability to lead and becredited with leadership skills in the annualevaluation. A junior officer who volunteersto run the post blood drive, for example, isdemonstrating basic leadership skills. Par-ticipation in VIP visits, special ceremoniesand local community activities is also anexcellent way to showcase leadership.

Limit the LimitationsWhat are some of the things that limit an

employee’s chances for promotion? I havealready mentioned poorly prepared EERs.Typos, misspellings, run-on sentences andsentence fragments all contribute to a neg-ative impression of everyone involved inthe rating, including the rated officer, whoshould care enough about his or her careerto ensure correction of any such errors.Raters should be wary of attempts at

humor or cute turns of phrase in EERs.Unless a word or phrase is universallyunderstood, it should perhaps be avoided. Ifit can be interpreted in both a negative andpositive way, it should definitely be avoided.A history of lack of interpersonal skills

or ability to recognize and deal effectivelywith authority relationships definitelyhurts promotion chances. Failure to takecorrective action on areas of improvementwill also limit upward mobility.Communication skills are essential in

our profession. Employees who can’t reador write effectively don’t contribute aseffectively to mission accomplishment asthey could.

One final area worthy of mention is the“Rated Employee Comment Section.”Despite instructions on preparation of thissection and common sense, far too manypeople blow it. Not for nothing is it called a“suicide box.” Statements that are too long,too short, whiny or filled with grammaticalerrors and typos hurt the employee morethan most people appreciate. An examplethat always comes to mind is the employeewho used three pages of single-spaced textto explain why a rater who described him asverbose was wrong.This is not an exhaustive list, but I believe

it is reflective of howmany people who haveserved on boards think. Specific lists mightdiffer, but the areas I have mentioneddemonstrate an individual’s ability to leadand manage effectively.

No SecretsSo what is the secret to getting promot-

ed? The secret, is there is no secret.Promotion is recognition of your potentialto contribute to the accomplishment ofDepartment and Foreign Service goals, asreflected in your overall performanceduring the rating periods being reviewedby the promotion board.The Precepts, which are available to every

employee, accurately and completelydescribe specific skills and levels of per-formance for entry-level, mid-level andsenior employees. Get a copy and read themcarefully. As you prepare your EER input, orwrite EERs on subordinates, have them athand. Do the descriptions of performanceconform to the precepts? Are detailed exam-ples given to support laudatory comments?If the answer to both questions is yes, pro-motion chances are increased.Does your EER describe performance

that sets you apart from your peers, or doesit say you did well what everyone else is alsodoing well? Glowing prose stating that youdid what everyone is expected to do palesbeside descriptions of actions beyond thedaily routine. Strive for performance thatraises you above the herd. Do that, and pro-motion potential rises yet again.It’s as easy as one-two-three. One, make

sure your performance conforms to expectedstandards but is not simply what you arerequired to do; two, ensure it is adequatelyand properly documented; and three, yourchances for promotion just increased.�

The author is a deputy assistant secretary ofdefense and previously served as U.S. ambas-sador to Cambodia.


A fisherman watches as the sun rises over alake on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

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FORMING A BRIGHT FUTURE FROM A DARK PAST

BY NATHAN SPANDE

FEBRUARY 2007 S TATE MAGAZ INE

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Cambodia is perhaps best known forthe breathtaking ruins at Angkor Wat.Even well-traveled and otherwise jadedtourists who have seen the Pyramids, theGreat Wall, Stonehenge and Greek andRoman ruins, exclaim that there just isn’tanything quite as stunning as thesetemples, which were declared a UNESCOWorld Heritage site in 1992.Cambodia’s economy continues to

expand, jumping from a 5.3 percentgrowth rate in 2002 to an estimated 10percent in 2004 and 13.4 percent in 2005.While Cambodia remains one of thepoorest countries in the world, with agross domestic product in 2005 of $5.4billion, or $390 per capita, the RoyalCambodian Government has undertakena program of economic reform, aided bythe International Monetary Fund, theWorld Bank, the Asian DevelopmentBank, the United Nations DevelopmentProgram and other bilateral and multilat-eral donors.Progress has also been made in the

areas of human rights, workforce devel-opment, labor rights and democraticinstitution–building.

The MissionThe U.S. Mission is housed in a new

compound, which is at once secure andwelcoming. Located at the very heart ofthe city, literally in the shadow of WatPhnom, where the city was founded, theone-year-old embassy is already a touristattraction and the favorite locale forCambodians to get their wedding photostaken. It is the first permanent home ofthe U.S. government despite unbrokendiplomatic relations with Cambodiasince 1950.The embassy welcomes public tours,

opens its library and Internet access forstudents and makes the compound a focalpoint for social activities, ranging from aChristmas party for hundreds of vulnera-ble children to more traditional eventslike a Ramadan Iftar meal for Cambodia’sChams (Muslims).

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Flying kites in Hun Sen Park is a popularspringtime activity for both Cambodiansand expatriates.

Phnom Penhrepresents in microcosm the exciting transformation underway in the tiny Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia. Andthe character of the city, situated on the banks of theMekong River, reflects perfectly the character of its people:heartbreakingly beautiful, unexpectedly complex andcharmingly mystifying.While Cambodians are still struggling to come to terms with their

past and the trauma inflicted by the Khmer Rouge nearly threedecades ago, the country is looking ahead andworking to build its future.

AT A GLANCE

Country nameCambodia

CapitalPhnom Penh

GovernmentMultiparty democracy under aconstitutional monarchy

IndependenceNovember 9, 1953, from France

Population13.8 million

LanguagesKhmer (official), French and English

Total area181,040 square kilometers

Approximate sizeSlightly smaller than Oklahoma

CurrencyRiel (KHR)

Per capita income$2,500

Population below poverty line40 percent

ImportsPetroleum products, cigarettesand gold

Import partnersHong Kong (16.1 percent),China (13.6 percent) and France(12.1 percent)

ExportsClothing, timber and rubber

Export partnersUnited States (48.6 percent), HongKong (24.4 percent) and Germany(5.6 percent)

Internet country code.kh

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2007

In a country with limited infrastructurefor tending to the sick and poor, volun-teerism becomes more than a gesture ofgoodwill. Whether it is the newly arrivedMarine detachment’s building houses orembassy personnel’s caring for HIV-infected children, hosting a party to raisefunds for a hospital and organizing ablood drive, charitable activities bolsterthe high regard Cambodians have forAmericans and for many things American.The arrival of the Peace Corps in

January should help Cambodians fulfilltheir dream of learning English and prac-ticing the principles upon which theUnited States was founded.

The CountryPhnom Penh lies at the confluence of

the Mekong River, the Bassac River andthe channel flowing from Tonle Sap Lake.The capital of Cambodia since the mid-15th century and the country’s largest city,it has a population estimated at 1.3million. The city has seen rapid popula-tion growth since 2001, and isexperiencing a major construction boom.The country is seeking to resurrect its

cultural institutions. Buddhism is the statereligion, but religious tolerance is a hall-mark of Cambodian culture. Every maleBuddhist is expected to become a monkfor at least a short period of his life.Siem Reap is a popular travel destina-

tion. The temples at Angkor Wat, builtbetween the 9th and the 14th centurieswhen the Khmer Empire was the mostpowerful in Southeast Asia, are among themost spectacular sights in the world andrepresent Cambodia’s biggest tourist attrac-tion. Swaths of untouched rain forests andabundant fauna, ranging from elephants toAsian black bears, attract ecotourists.The beautiful sandy beaches at

Sihanoukville, on the Gulf of Thailand, areonly a four-hour drive from Phnom Penhand are as attractive as Thailand’s beaches.

Current IssuesCambodia is enjoying a measure of

peace and stability it has not seen in morethan a generation.Relations with the U.S.improved in

2006, as did the domestic political climate.Political prisoners have been released, theleader of the political opposition returnedfrom exile and criminal charges weredropped against some political opponents.

FEBRUARY 2007 S TATE MAGAZ INE 29

The Cambodian government has also moved inother positive ways, launching a Burma caucus inits National Assembly and—after being one of theprimary recipients of U.N. peacekeeping in theearly 1990s—sending peacekeepers to Sudan andEast Timor.Cambodia still struggles, however, to deal with

its dark past. The Khmer Rouge genocide and theensuing 20 brutal years of civil war took a heavytoll on the country and its people. The last KhmerRouge surrendered less than 10 years ago; theirghosts—and those of their countless victims—stillhaunt the survivors. It will take several generationsto overcome the loss of a whole generation ofdoctors, lawyers, teachers and parents.The nascent international tribunal, which will

try senior Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes againsthumanity, will, it is hoped, bring a sense of justiceto their victims.The embassy works to encourage good gover-

nance and a more open society, and also focuses onlabor rights, the environment, education, healthand trafficking, especially of children. Numerousembassy elements—State, the Centers for DiseaseControl, the U.S. Agency for International Devel-opment, the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit andDefense—work together on all these areas, butespecially health.In less than a decade, the HIV prevalence rate

has been halved, largely due to the extraordinarilygood cooperation between the Cambodian gov-ernment and the embassy. More remains to bedone, as both maternal and infant mortality ratesare disturbingly high, but with the help of donorcountries, Cambodia is making headway.Cambodia is the youngest ancient country in the

world. The temples at Angkor are a strikingreminder of the historic greatness of the Khmerpeople. “As rich as Cambodia,” an old Chinesesaying goes, and the irony is not lost on inhabitantsof this nation once so rich in material wealth,culture and power.With prosperity returning to Cambodia, and

Phnom Penh’s growing vitality becoming moreapparent on every street corner, the Chinese adagemay once again become an accurate description ofthis beautiful and mystifying country.�

The author is an Eligible Family Member whomanages special projects for the U.S. Embassy inPhnom Penh.


Phnom Penh’s iconicIndependence Monument wasdesigned by world-renownedKhmer architect Vann Molyvann.

Above left: A child tweaks Ambassador Mussomeli’s noseat a local orphanage. Below left: Riding an elephant isthe way to arrive in style at Angkor Wat. Middle: GeneralServices Officer Dana Williams distributes sewingmachines to a Cham village. Far right: Phnom Penh’sriverfront, lined with restaurants and cafes, is a popularplace for an evening stroll.


Left: Traveling around Phnom Penh by “cyclo”is popular with locals and tourists alike.Above: The new embassy’s central atriummakes an elegant setting for large eventssuch as the July 4th reception.

he largest of the LesserAntilles, Puerto Rico is an islandof contrasts and incrediblebeauty. It is a territory of theUnited States, so a tour there is

considered a domestic assignment. But withits different language and culture, it can bean exciting, rewarding and culturallyenriching experience.While most Puerto Ricans are proud of

their U.S. citizenship, a small but vocalminority has advocated complete inde-pendence. Terrorist organizations mountedattacks against military, federal and lawenforcement personnel throughout the1950s and 60s. In the most famous attack,two Puerto Rican nationalists killed a U.S.Secret Service Uniformed Division police

officer in 1952 in a foiled attempt to assassi-nate President Truman.In 1999, protests over the U.S. military

presence in Puerto Rico came to a headwhen a civilian guard was killed on theisland of Vieques, to the east of Puerto Rico.Vieques, two-thirds of which was owned bythe U.S., was used by the Navy as a live-weapons testing ground. The protestsreceived international attention, and in2003 the Navy left Puerto Rico and Vieques.In September 2005, agents from the

Department of Justice attempted to arrestFiliberto Ojeda Ríos, a former independ-ence leader on the run for nearly twodecades. He was killed in a shootout aftershooting two federal agents. Puerto Ricanstook to the streets in protest for many

weeks. Even as late as last December, anti-American graffiti could be seen scrawled onhighway ramps and the sides of buildings.The only permanent Department of

State representation on the island is the SanJuan Resident Office, which reports to theBureau of Diplomatic Security’s MiamiField Office. It has both Foreign Serviceand Civil Service positions: an FS residentagent in charge, three FS special agents anda CS investigative assistant. The office isexpanding to include two Puerto Ricopolice officers as part of the Identity FraudTask Force.The SJRO conducts passport and visa

fraud investigations and coordinates withforeign consulates in Puerto Rico and theU.S. Virgin Islands. The office works closely PH

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Diplomatic Security special agents arrivevia ferry in the British Virgin Islands to con-duct a passport fraud investigation.

with the assistant regional security officeinvestigators in embassies in the region, andhas jointly worked investigations in theBritish Virgin Islands and on St. Maarten,Netherlands Antilles. The office also assiststhe Office of Foreign Missions in Miami toensure that foreign consulates comply withthe Vienna Convention and U.S. law.Arguably one of the busiest domestic

offices in DS, the SJRO created the first taskforce headed by the bureau on visa andpassport fraud. It has hosted conferences onthe dangers of identity theft in Puerto Ricoand Overseas Security Advisory Councilmeetings for U.S. businesses located in theU.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.In addition, SJRO agents have conducted

protective details for dozens of foreign dig-nitaries traveling through the internationalairport in San Juan, dealt with hundreds ofleads for passport fraud investigations andconducted searches, arrests and seizures.During the past two years, agents wereinvolved in more than 100 arrests.The office attracts singles and families.

Singles and couples enjoy the nightlife,numerous events and variety of outdooractivities available. Families can send theirchildren to the English-speaking school runby the Department of Defense at Ft.Buchanan at State Department expense.

Although it is possible to enjoy a tour inPuerto Rico without Spanish, many localgovernment contacts do not speak English,so speaking Spanish makes it far easier totake advantage of Puerto Ricans’ legendaryhospitality. The Department recentlyapproved positions in Puerto Rico to belanguage-designated.Though only 100 miles by 36 miles,

Puerto Rico packs a lot of punch for its size.Most of the island is very safe for touristsand residents. The cultural, economic andgovernmental center is San Juan. With apopulation of more than 1 million, SanJuan has museums, casinos and theaters, aswell as colonial architecture and history inViejo San Juan, the original Spanish capital.With its vibrant nightlife, narrow cobble-stone streets and ancient forts, Viejo SanJuan transports visitors to another era.San Juan is a top cruise ship destination

and tourists regularly flood the streetsduring the high season, shopping or simplyrelaxing in an outdoor café with a mojito orpiña colada. Isla Verde, beyond Viejo SanJuan, is lined with high-end hotels andcasinos, and the beaches are full of friendlylocals and tourists from all over.The western side of Puerto Rico,

anchored by the city of Mayagüez, is hometo some of the best surfing anywhere in the

United States. In that area are the Caves ofCamuy, a beautiful and immense series ofcaverns carved out of limestone by under-ground rivers, and the Arecibo Observatory,the largest radio telescope in the world,made famous by such movies as Contactand Goldeneye.The eastern side of Puerto Rico is the

sailing capital. From the town of Fajardo,one can easily sail to Culebra, the jewel ofthe SpanishVirgin Islands, or continue east-ward to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Located inthe mountains in the center of the island isEl Yunque National Park, the only tropicalforest in the U.S. National Park System.Puerto Rico has numerous cultural

events. On Noche de San Juan (San JuanNight), locals light bonfires on the beachand party until midnight, when they walkbackward into the ocean 12 times to sym-bolize good luck and starting life afresh.For DS agents, a tour in Puerto Rico

offers the opportunity for challenging andrewarding work in a stunning and diversearea. Whether Puerto Rico votes to becomea state, remain a territory or become anindependent nation, a tour here can beexciting, enjoyable and career-enhancing.�

The author is the resident agent in charge ofthe San Juan Resident Office.


Above: Puerto Rican police maintain vigilance in historic downtown OldSan Juan. Upper right: A cruise ship docks in Old San Juan. ManyCaribbean cruises start and end in Puerto Rico. Lower right: ResidentAgent in Charge Christopher Tremann and Acting Director of the Police ofPuerto Rico Ismael Morales García conduct a press conference concerningthe arrest of a fugitive and the creation of the Identity Fraud Task Force.

True or False: The best part about an assignment to a high-stress, unaccompanied post is coming home.The answer to this question may seem obvious. However, offi-

cers returning from these posts—and family members who havebeen left behind—may carry heavy baggage of a type that cannotbe checked at the airport.“The most amazing thing is to talk to people

and see in their eyes their surprise at how difficultit is to come back,” says Ray Leki, director of theForeign Service Institute’s Transition Center and afacilitator for the Department’s High StressAssignment Out-brief Program. “A large numberdo well with it eventually, but it’s really tough.”Many new returnees face a bone-deep exhaus-

tion that stems from more than jet lag and a long,tiring journey. Nan Leininger, program specialistfor unaccompanied tours with the Family LiaisonOffice, says, “Over there, the level of tension ishigh, and so pervasive that it becomes normal. Itcan take weeks or months to come down from thatlevel of hypervigilance.”“They underestimate the physiological changes their bodies

have gone through,” adds Dr. Ray De Castro, director of the Officeof Mental Health Services. Employees can expect to be somewhat“fuzzy”—unfocused, bored or more irritable than usual for severalweeks or longer, until the adrenaline fades and sleep patterns beginto readjust, he says.

Meanwhile, loved ones at home expect to be overjoyed, but mayencounter an undercurrent of anger and resentment.“Sometimes I felt better if I was angry at my husband for

leaving,” says one spouse. “I think it’s a natural defense mechanismto deal with the separation. If I hadn’t built up the emotional wall,then I would have fallen apart.”

Those walls need to be demolished and a newrelationship built once the employee has returned.It’s not necessarily a process that can occurovernight.“People are surprised that roles need to be rene-

gotiated,” Leki says. “It tests the assumptions thatboth parties have about their relationship.”The High Stress Assignment Out-brief Program,

offered monthly at the Foreign Service Instituteand many locations overseas, can help reduce theimpact of repatriation.As a spouse said about the program, “It wasn’t

until he came home (from the Out-brief) that westarted talking.”For more information on the program, see

http://fsi.state.gov/fsi/tc/default.asp?id=1325 (OpenNet) orwww.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/74065.htm (Internet) or [email protected].�

The author is a writer/editor for the Foreign Service Institute’sTransition Center.

State Department employees who have served for a month ormore in Iraq must attend the High Stress Assignment Out-briefProgram, either in the Washington area or at post. (See StateAldac 156701). Those returning from other high-threat postsare equally welcome. Many officers who have served inAfghanistan, Saudi Arabia and other posts have attended.The two-hour program helps participants to:• Understand the challenges and complications of returningfrom a high-stress environment.• Learn how to share information with loved ones to helpensure a positive reunion.• Identify signs and symptoms of possible psychological reac-tions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.• Locate additional resources if needed.• Convey to the Department conditions encountered duringthe assignment.For more information, contact the post medical officer

or FSI’s Transition Center at [email protected] or(703) 302-7272).


FSI PROGRAM HELPS EMPLOYEES RE-ADJUST FROM HIGH-STRESS POSTSBY JAN FISCHER BACHMAN

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

“It wasn’tuntil he

came home(from theOut-brief)that westartedtalking.”

STRESS RELIEF

Department employees who spend a month or more in Iraq mustattend the Out-brief Program, which is also available for employeesleaving other high-threat posts.

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UR-IO/EX


By the EUR-IO/EX Staff

The best ideas are most often the sim-plest. For example, since most of theBureau of International OrganizationAffairs’ posts are in Europe, why notcombine budget operations with theBureau of European and Eurasian Affairs?This simple concept marked the begin-

ning of the merger of the EUR and IOexecutive offices. The initiative began inAugust 2005 with collaboration betweenbudget sections in the EUR and IO execu-tive offices. Building on this success,executive office directors Martha Campbell(EUR) and Tom Tiernan (IO) decided tojoin forces in a completely new joint execu-tive office, or JEX.

Team Design and ManagementThe resulting merger was driven from

the bottom up. Employees from the twoexecutive offices worked together todevelop a consolidated organizationalstructure to support two separate bureaus.They identified the best practices of thetwo legacy offices and devised newapproaches to ensure high-quality servicesto EUR and IO customers.The joint functional teams were empow-

ered to determine how best to cross-walkpositions, redistribute duties and assignoffice space. An implementation teamdeveloped a checklist of necessary integra-tion tasks and tracked them to completion.Another team got the word out to bureaucustomers, posts and other bureaus.

Real ChangeThe merger was not a simple change of

office designations; incumbents of posi-tions were relocated to optimizeoperational efficiency of each section in thenew joint executive office. Unificationkicked into high gear in May 2006.“ChangeManagement” sessions facilitated by theForeign Service Institute helped employeesprovide feedback to management and eachother and get to know their new co-workers, procedures, responsibilities andsurroundings.With Under Secretary for Management

Henrietta Fore’s approval, formal letters of

notification were transmitted to the appro-priate authorizing and appropriationscommittees in Congress. The Department’slegal adviser approved a Memorandum ofUnderstanding that contained a detailedoverview of the operational structure in thenew JEX. On July 28, 2006, IO AssistantSecretary Kristen Silverburg and EURAssistant Secretary Dan Fried signed theMOU to make the merger official.

Serving Two BureausAlthough JEX is one office serving two

separate and distinct bureaus, the newoffice had to belong to one bureau—one ofthe two had to get top billing. The officialoffice designation is EUR-IO/EX. The exec-utive director reports to the assistantsecretaries of both IO and EUR. The direc-tor is assisted by four deputies, one ofwhom is located in Frankfurt and alsoserves as the director of the RegionalSupport Center.The JEX management team took pains

to maintain and maximize the strengths ofboth legacy offices. Recognizing that biggeris not always better, they were particularly

sensitive to the risk of losing the “personaltouch” enjoyed in smaller organizations.The managers scheduled more frequent

staff meetings and reached deeper into theorganization for participation. Rather thanlet customers in IO and EUR find their ownway among the sections that comprise JEX,they created a Customer Support Center tohelp customers in EUR and IO navigateamong JEX sections. This one-stop shopprovides assistance to employees checkinginto or out of IO or EUR. In effect, the CSCis a portal through which customers cangain access to all JEX services.The JEX unified management platform

gives both EUR and IO increased opportu-nities to leverage technology and redesignoperations. And although no one lost a job,the merger eliminated seven full-time posi-tions.Change is never easy. Reorganization

takes time, flexibility and attention todetail. Success depends on the degree towhich members of the organization areempowered to contribute to the change,and change is always easier when it makessense.�

INNOVATIVE REORGANIZATION LEADS TO A SHARED EXECUTIVE OFFICE

The New EUR-IO/EX

EUR-IO/EX Director Martha Campbell and former IO Executive Director Thomas Tiernan jointly slicethe cake at the groundbreaking party kicking off the new joint executive office.

S A F E T Y S C E N E

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In the United States, 4,881pedestrians lost their lives in 2005and 64,000 were injured. Global-ly, pedestrians account for morethan a third of all traffic-related deaths. Eighty percentof those deaths occur indeveloping countries.Pedestrians, unlikevehicle occupants, have noprotection from impactwith a vehicle. As a result,pedestrians sustain moremultiple and severeinjuries and are morelikely to be killed.

Vehicle speed, as dictated by the laws of physics,is the critical factor. In a collision, energy is force-fully applied to the human body. Instead of aone-to-one increase in energy applied to the bodyfor every unit increase in vehicle speed, the energyvaries as the square of the vehicle speed. Thistranslates into major increases in injury severitywith even minor increases in vehicle speed.For example, pedestrians can survive

impact with a vehicle 90 percent of thetime if it is traveling at 18 miles perhour or less. The probability of apedestrian being killed riseseightfold as the speed ofthe car increases to 27 milesper hour.

BeforeYouCross

Look

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IS A PRIORITYBY LESLIE HOLLAND


Age and gender play a key role inpedestrian injury and survival. Forexample, an elderly female is much moreprone to injury and death than a healthyyoung male.Most pedestrian fatalities occur in

cities and involve alcohol—in either thedriver or the pedestrian—in nearly halfof the cases.In the United States, pedestrians crossing

at intersections are afforded much greaterprotection than at other crossing pointsdue to traffic controls and enforcement.This may not be the case, however, in manylocations abroad, where there is muchmore commingling of pedestrians withmotorized traffic.Pedestrians tend to be hit at locations

other than intersections and are hit moreoften in normal weather conditions and atnight. Most victims are male.The elderly are more likely to be hit than

younger people, but traffic accidents alsoexact a heavy toll on the young. The UnitedNations has announced that Global RoadSafety Week, April 23–29, will focus onyoung road users and feature events in theUnited States and abroad.There are measures you can take to

avoid becoming a statistic. Whenever pos-sible, cross at a designated crosswalk, evenif that means walking a little farther.Wherever you cross, always stop and lookleft, right and left again before crossing.Take obstructed views into account. Atnight, wear reflective clothing or carry alit flashlight. When walking parallel to thestreet, always walk on the sidewalk.If there is no sidewalk and you areforced to walk in the street, always walkfacing traffic.Whether at home or abroad, drivers and

pedestrians share responsibility in avoidingcollisions. Drivers must do more thansimply follow established speed limits andobserve the right of way. In more populat-ed areas, they should assume the presenceof pedestrians and adjust vehicle speeddownward. Pedestrians, in turn, must neverassume right of way and observe oncomingtraffic before stepping into the road.Make pedestrian safety a priority for you

and your family.�

The author is a certified industrial hygienistwith the Safety, Health and EnvironmentalManagement Division.

David Ollman finished his sixthMarine Corps Marathon last October.“I like to tell everyone that it was myfirst,” he says. “My first since I turned65 and my first as a cancer survivor.”David, a human resource assistant in

the Bureau of Public Affairs, entered hisfirst Marine Corps Marathon when hewas 57 on a challenge from his oldestson. As a former Marine, David couldhardly pass up the challenge. He andhis son ran the next two together.David ran one alone, skipped the nextone with an injury, and then spent twoyears in Israel with his wife Daphne,who was posted to Tel Aviv. After fin-ishing two more—his fourth andfifth—he was guaranteed entry in futureMarine Corps Marathons.But in 2005, David discovered he

was anemic. His doctor recommendeda colonoscopy, which revealed a largetumor on the wall of the large intestine.A biopsy confirmed it was cancerous.“It was a real shock,” he says. “I was arunner. I thought I was healthy.”The cancer had spread to the lymph

nodes surrounding the tumor, so Dr.Anthony Felice recommended anintensive chemotherapy regimen to killany cancer that may have spread toother areas of the body. “The doctorswere great,” David says. “Two weeksafter my colonoscopy I was in surgery,and four weeks later I was in my firstchemo session.”He was already in training for the

marathon and a few other races. “I waswalking on the treadmill two days after

I was discharged from the hospital,”he says. A normal day is four to fivemiles in the early morning and a 45-minute walk at noon.“I’m old and slow, but I finish the

race. I wasn’t going to let cancer slowme down,” he says.The oncology staff was skeptical

when David announced that he wasgoing to run a marathon, but didn’t tryto discourage him. There were dayswhen the fatigue and nausea were justtoo much. He could barely get out ofbed, much less run. But his colleagues,family and friends gave him unwaver-ing support.The chemo treatments ended in

August, and Dr. Felice asked David ifhe was still planning to run themarathon. David assured him he was.Dr. Felice told him he’d been a realinspiration to the staff and patientswith his attitude. In fact David’s atti-tude, determination, fitness and diethad probably helped him be one ofthe few patients to complete the inten-sive chemotherapy without anysetbacks or delays.More important, several of David’s

friends and colleagues and his twoyounger brothers took the first step inpreventing colon cancer by schedulingcolonoscopies.“I hope I encouraged a few people

to avoid cancer,” David says. “I’mcancer free now, but as a cancer sur-vivor, I don’t want anyone to have togo through what I went through whencancer can be prevented.”

NeitherCancer norAge SlowThisMarathoner

By John Bentel

The Foreign Affairs Recreation Associa-tion and the State of the Arts CulturalSeries recently presented an intriguingvariety of performers that includedpianists, vocalists, a guitarist and even theDiplotots.Classical guitarist Charles Mokotoff pre-

sented music of composers from Japan,Mexico, Poland and Paraguay. Charles, aninformation technology specialist at theNational Institutes of Health, has beenhearing impaired for much of his life.Yuquijiro Yocoh’s Variations on the Japan-ese Folk Song “Sakura” brought to mindthe music of Japan simply and gracefully.Sensitively played pieces by Ponce andTansman were inspired by the works offamous classical guitarist Andrés Segovia.Charles also played a satisfying selection byAugustin Barrios Mangoré, who billedhimself the Paganini of the guitar from thejungles of Paraguay.Steven Alan Honley, a former Foreign

Service officer and State Magazine musicreviewer who left the Foreign Service topursue a music and writing career, per-formed piano music by Bach, Mozart,Mendelssohn, Prokofiev and Shostakovich,as well as his own composition, Preludeand Fugue on “B-A-C-H,” which put theaudience in the mood for Halloween.The talented duo of Amy A. Thomas,

flute and alto flute, and Fabian Faccio,pianist, performed music by Jesús Guridiand Astor Piazzolla. Guirdi’s Seis Can-ciones Castellanas included a soft anddreamlike song, “Mananita de San Juan.”Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango” invigoratedthe audience and prepared them for theirreturn to work. The interaction of thepiano and flute was seamless.Soprano Sita Chakrawarti performed a

concert of sacred Christmas music, accom-panied by pianist Sam Brock. Sita is apublic diplomacy officer and Sam is thedirector of the IO/UNESCO office and a

longtime performer in the State of the Artsseries. Sita’s performance of “GesuBambino” by Pietro A. Yon was especiallyheartfelt, while Sam’s arrangement of “GoDown Moses” and “Go Tell It on theMountain” was inspiring.Back by popular demand, the Diplotots

provided some holiday cheer. They sangtraditional holiday songs and even jingled

their merry way around the auditoriumand past many proud parents. Classicalpianist James Matthews relaxed the audi-ence with a sensitive rendition of someChristmas standards—a fine present forthose in attendance.�

The author is a computer specialist in theExecutive Secretariat.

S T A T E O F T H E A R T S


Cultural PerformancesCelebrate the Holidays

Pianist Fabian Faccio and flautist Amy Thomas prepare to take a bow.

CALENDARFebruary 14 Carol Weiss Riches–Music in the Parlor for Valentine’s Day

February 28 Antonio Adams–Tenor in honor of Black History Month

March 14 T-Tones

March 28 Frank Conlon–Pianist, Memorial Concert for Emerson Myers

April 11 William and Mary Players, conducted by David Montgomery

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

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39

Benjiman Thomas “Ben” Blue, 66, a Civil Serviceemployee, died Dec. 11 in Falls Church, Va., from pulmonaryfibrosis due to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. He servedwith the Air Force from 1960 to 1980. He joined the Departmentin 1987, where he served with the Travel Division and, since 2004,the Office of the Inspector General. He was active in his churchand enjoyed working on cars.

<<< Harold S. Daveler, 71, aretired Foreign Service officer, died Dec. 13in Alexandria, Va. He served overseas inLaos, Indonesia and Egypt. After retiring in1993, he accompanied his wife Delberta, aForeign Service specialist, on postings toMalaysia, Argentina and Peru. In Peru, heworked in the administrative section of theembassy.

Catherine J. “Kay” Fessenden, 89, widow of retiredForeign Service officer Russell Fessenden, died Oct. 22 in Ash-field, Mass., of congestive heart failure. She and her husbandof 57 years served from 1954 to 1974 in Paris, Brussels, Bonnand Washington.

<<< JohnOndiak, 80, andhis wife FrederikeSusan Ondiak, 79,died May 3 in a housefire in St. Johann/Pongau, Austria. Afterserving in the Army,he joined the Voice ofAmerica and served

overseas in Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Okinawa, the Philippines, SriLanka and Munich. He retired in 1990 after 45 years of federalservice and moved to Austria.

<<< Stephen R. Tripp, 95,a retired Civil Service employee, died Nov.12 of heart failure in Washington, D.C. Heserved overseas in New Delhi and Bogotá.After retirement, he worked for the UnitedNations as a disaster-relief consultant untilthe late 1970s. He served in the Marinesduring World War II.

<<< Howard Scott Witmer II,66, a retired Foreign Service officer, diedDec. 16 of complications from Parkinson’sDisease in Leesburg, Va. After joining theDepartment in 1966, he served overseas inBonn, Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Lusaka,Budapest, Paris and Mexico City. Heretired in 1991.

In the Event of a DeathQuestions concerning employee deathsshould be directed to the Office of CasualtyAssistance at (202) 736-4302. Inquiries con-cerning deaths of retired employees shouldbe directed to the Office of Retirement at(202) 261-8960.

FEBRUARY 2007 S TATE MAGAZ INE

Cundiff, Roger E.Farris, Leonard TravisGarcia, PaulGonzalez, Rosalia T.Hicks, Delores A.

Hunter, Charles H.Panopoulos, Harry N.Repasch Jr., Thomas A.Rouse, Sandra H.

Civil Service >>>Bakota, Carlos S.Brazier III, George W.Daly, Mary ElizabethHegenbarth, Holly MarieHuggins, JosephKlingenmaier, Patricia

Leach, Elaine D.Marquardt, Arthur H.McArdle, Patricia LynnNewman, David A.Noel, Bobby R.Pearson, Margaret C.

Ramos, David ReyesSittel, Jan N.Slezak, Thomas J.Thompson, Elizabeth D.Urieta, Santiago

Foreign Service >>>

retirements*

T H E L A S T W O R D


COMING IN MARCH• Where’s My Step Increase?

• Family Members Find Overseas Work

• Embassy Embraces Bolivia’s Future

• “Windows on America”

... and much more!

Most Foreign Service officers eagerlyanticipate the yearly promotion list. Thelist provides a barometer of individualcareer progress as well as a gage of how wellthe individual fares within his peer groups.The 2006 list dissected in this issue showsome interesting trends, such as more thana thousand more FSOs competing for pro-motions than in 2002. A close study of theanalysis put together by the Office ofResource Management and OrganizationAnalysis can give a reasonable idea of howpromotion rates will look over time byboth cone and class.The promotion process itself still mysti-

fies many FSOs, with multiple reasonsfloating about on why X was promotedwhile Y was not. However, as formerambassador Charles Ray reports, theprocess isn’t all that opaque. AmbassadorRay chaired the 2006 Information ResourceManagement panel, and he says the processis as easy as one-two-three. One, make sureyour performance meets expected stan-dards but goes beyond the minimum; two,adequately and properly document that

performance; and three, watch yourchances of promotion grow.Readjusting to the “normal” world after

an unaccompanied tour in a high-stress

post can be complicated and messy forboth employees and their families. Somedeal with it quickly, while others take a bit

longer to decompress after months andsometimes years of operating at high alert.Recognizing the need to help during the

readjustment period, the Departmentstarted the High Stress Assignment Out-brief Program, which is offered monthly atthe Foreign Service Institute and at several

overseas locations. Employees who haveserved for a month or more in Iraq mustattend the program, and others returningfrom high-threat posts are also welcome.Back before Foreign Service Institute’s

School of Professional and Area Studies,Curriculum and Staff Development, beforethe Office of Management Training, beforethe formal mentoring programs offered bythe Department, there was Dr. JessieColson and her School of Communica-tions and Clericals Programs. Dr. Colson,who retired in 1989, trained several gener-ations of administrative support specialistsin skills and knowledge—typing, short-hand, and dictation. She also mentoredthem in the ways of the professional,showing them how to carry themselvesthrough a lifetime career in the Depart-ment of State, where professionalismreigns in every office of every floor. In thisissue, some of her legacies pay tribute tothis Department legend.Last but never least, a final salute to our

colleagues en route to their final posting:Benjiman Thomas “Ben” Blue; Harold S.Daveler; Catherine J. “Kay” Fessenden; Johnand Frederike Susan Ondiak; Stephen R.Tripp; and Howard Scott Witmer II.

Popping the Promotion Myth Bubble

Rob WileyEditor-in-Chief

Questions? [email protected]

The promotion process itself still mystifiesmany FSOs, with multiple reasons floatingabout on why X was promoted while Y was not.

U.S. Department of StateBureau of Human ResourcesWashington, DC 20520

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use

If address is incorrect, pleaseindicate change. Do not coveror destroy this address label.POSTMASTER: Send changesof address to:

State MagazineHR/ER/SMGSA–1, Room H-236Washington, DC 20522–0108

PERIODICALSPOSTAGE AND FEES

PAIDDEPARTMENTOF STATE

ISSN 1099-4165

*FEB.2007

WHO>WHAT>WHEN>WHERE

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