OVERSEASSCHOOLS

StateStateM A G A Z I N E

U . S . D E PA R T M E N T O F S TAT EJANUARY 2004

OVERSEASSCHOOLS

CHALKING UPEXPERIENCE

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StateStateMAGAZINE

Carl GoodmanEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Paul KoscakWRITER/EDITOR

Dave KreckeWRITER/EDITOR

David L. JohnstonART DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Sylvia BazalaCHAIR

Jo Ellen PowellEXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Kelly Clements

Tom Gallo

Pam Holliday

Joe Johnson

Tom Krajeski

Jim Trommatter

Ceremony Recognizes AwardeesIN OUR NEXT ISSUE:

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Secretary Powell joins awardees at2003 Departmental Awards Ceremony.

10 MISSION OF THE MONTH: RUSSIAThe country, with 11 time zones, is mysterious and fascinating.

16 OFFICE OF THE MONTH: OVERSEAS SCHOOLSThe office supports 188 schools in 132 countries enrolling 98,000.

20 SUDAN RISESOfficial finds country eager for peace and international respect.

23 STRENGTHENING THE CHAINNew approach integrates supply and financial systems.

24 HELPING HANDFSN relief fund needs your help.

26 CONFERENCE CALLFSNs hold 2nd annual conference despite hurricane’s intrusion.

28 WITH HONORSSecretary rushes home to honor retirees.

36 BEHIND THE NUMBERSWhat do the 2003 Foreign Service promotion statistics mean?

2 From the Secretary

3 Letters to the Editor

4 In the News

9 Direct From the D.G.

31 State of the Arts

32 Safety Scene

34 People Like You

35 Education and Training

40 Appointments

43 Obituaries

44 Personnel Actions

10RUSSIAMISSION OF THE MONTH

CONTENTS JANUARY 2004

The gold-domed Church ofthe Annunciation in Moscow.

Sometime this month, Congresswill approve start-up funds for theMillennium Challenge Account. Thataction is likely to make little news, as

weightier and more urgent concerns fill the papers. Butwhen we look back on this winter from the vantagepoint of January 2005 or 2006, MCA’s transformationfrom vision to reality may be the key event of the season.

Thanks to President Bush’s leadership, the interna-tional community is reshaping the development policylandscape in accord with the Monterrey Consensus.That consensus has shaped a new development strategywith three basic pillars.

First is a shared commitment to economic develop-ment based on sound methods that emphasize goodgovernance and economic freedom. Second is a com-mitment to social development, for sound institutionscan work only if people are healthy and educatedenough to make use of them. Third is sound steward-ship of natural resources. To be sustainable, develop-ment must be a trans-generational process that plants aswell as harvests, invests as well as spends.

The key to the first pillar is the MCA—a new way ofgetting results for development. And we need to getresults.

We care about poverty for obvious moral reasons, butwe care about it for practical reasons, too. As PresidentBush wrote in the National Security Strategy, “A worldwhere some live in comfort and plenty, while half of thehuman race lives on less than two dollars a day, is nei-ther just nor stable.” Nor is that world safe.

Poverty and stark inequality are not “soft” policyissues but core national security concerns. There is adefinite relationship between the war on terrorism andthe challenge of development. While poverty by itselfdoes not cause terrorism, it does breed frustration,hopelessness and resentment—and ideological entre-preneurs know how to turn those emotions into eithersupport for terrorism or acquiescence to it.

More important when it comes to policy is the recog-nition that much poverty is man-made. Natural endow-ments matter, certainly; but social injustice and the badgovernment that perpetuates it often matter even more.Economic systems work when access to opportunity is

fair, so that free people may use their talents and drive toprosper. A free and fair economic system presupposes apolitical system where all citizens have access and voice,so that government may be wise, accountable and legit-imate.

The essential policy implication for development isclear: The best way to eliminate poverty is to spur eco-nomic growth, and the best way to do that is to encour-age good governance—and that’s why the MillenniumChallenge Account represents a revolution in Americandevelopment assistance thinking. The MCA offers thedeveloping world a contract modeled on the free marketitself: We’ll provide generous assistance if recipient gov-ernments commit themselves to advance societies offree minds and free markets.

The MCA is not a charity account, but an incentivesystem for good governance. It will advance economicprocesses that put a country’s productive assets into thehands of efficient ownership. It will help unleash thecreative potential of free people by providing them withthe basic tools of their own prosperity. We will use theMCA not only as a development tool with countries thatare already eligible, we’ll help countries to become eligi-ble—if they want our help.

Taken together, our three-pillar development policyconstitutes the most ambitious approach to alleviatingpoverty since the Kennedy Administration. If fully fund-ed by Congress over the next few years, the MCA alonewould increase U.S. development investments morethan the Marshall Plan. By FY 2006, total U.S. develop-ment assistance would be up 75 percent from FY 2001levels.

It is hard to exaggerate what is at stake here. It tran-scends even the war on terrorism. That stake is whetherglobal economic integration can be made to work forenough people in enough ways to produce a stable andprosperous world.

We know it can, but it won’t happen by itself. We haveto make it happen. We now have a policy to alleviatepoverty that matches creativity and resources to the taskat hand. It will take a sustained and determined collec-tive effort, however, to make that policy a success. Wewill all need to put our shoulders to the wheel. Ournational security depends on it. ■

Account Advances Development,Democracy and National Security

2 STATE MAGAZINE

FROM THE SECRETARYSECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL

Impressive!The State Department is to be

commended for the attention paidto its retiring employees. Theretirement semi-nar followed bythe job search isan outstandingservice for Stateemployees.

Then, theNovember 21stretirement cere-mony hosted bySecretary Powellin the BenjaminFranklin Roomwas very impres-sive. Most strik-ing to me was thefact that the Secretary had returnedthat morning at 3:30 a.m. from anoverseas trip. Yet he was on time tothe office and hosted the ceremony.

Lloyd C. StevensonRetired FSOFairfax, Va.

A Team EffortFor three years I have had the

privilege of organizing theDepartment’s annual retirement

ceremony. TheSecretary hoststhe event and hedeserves most ofthe thanks andcredit for itspomp and goodf e l l o w s h i p .Because myname is on theresponse card, Iget many thanksfrom retireeswho don’t knowabout all the oth-ers who pitch in.

For the most recent ceremony, Ihad 29 volunteers from the Bureauof Human Resources who checkedfolks in and helped them find theirplaces. The Office of Protocol pro-vided food and entertainment,turned out the calligraphy for theinvitations and made sure the

Benjamin Franklin Room was intip-top shape. The Bureau ofAdministration folks ran the elec-tronic cables, arranged the videofeed and, with Public Affairs, tookphotos. Diplomatic Security putthe “Diplomatic” in DiplomaticSecurity, with low-key but thoroughand thoughtful scrutiny of our dis-tinguished colleagues and guests.HR support staff arrived by 6:30a.m. to set up chairs and make otherlogistical arrangements.

It was truly a team effort muchappreciated by our guests.

Peter WhaleyRetired FSO/WAEBureau of Human Resources

3JANUARY 2004

With but a few hours sleep after returning from atrip with the President to the United Kingdom,Secretary Powell warmly greeted 142 retirees with acombined 4,000 years of service at a special ceremonyin the Benjamin Franklin Room. The group includedForeign Service and Civil Service employees at all lev-els from across the Department. “You will always bewelcome here,” the Secretary said. And he meant it.

Good schools make good posts. Nobody knowsthat better than the Office of Overseas Schools. Theoffice currently assists 188 schools in 132 countries.The schools enroll some 98,000 students. Of these,about 28,000 are U.S. citizens. Enrollment varies from13 students in Iceland to nearly 3,000 in Singapore.Learn more, starting on page 16.

Hurricane Isabel didn’t dampen the spirits ofForeign Service National employees in town for their

second annual conference. The diverse group repre-sented 40 countries—large and small—and skill setsof all kinds. The mix prompted some lively discus-sions at the gathering designed to strengthen the roleof FSNs in mission management. Page 26.

Chuck Greco and Bob Haukness have gotten toknow each other pretty well. And well they should.They have been carpooling together for 25 years, log-ging nearly 300,000 miles. With Chuck’s retirementthis month, the “road scholars” are splitting up. ForBob, it means finding a new partner—at least until heturns in his pool pass. People Like You. Page 34.

In the meantime, Happy New Year from all of ushere at State Magazine!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters should not exceed 250 wordsand should include the writer’s name,address and daytime phone number.Letters will be edited for length andclarity. Only signed letters will beconsidered. Names may be withheldupon request. You can reach us atstatemagazine@state.gov.

FROM THE EDITOR

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Secretary Powell has emphasized improving the quality of life at overseas posts for employ-ees and family members alike, particularly at high-differential posts. The Bureau of OverseasBuildings Operations is doing what it can to support this objective.

As part of these efforts, Director Charles E. Williams approved an experimental pro-gram to “make facilities well” at selected posts, addressing in a concerted way

employee office needs and family housing requirements. Under this concept,small to medium-sized posts that normally could expect $50,000 to

$75,000 annually for upgrades to government-owned or long-termleased properties are allocated $1 million.

This is the Wellness Program.Wellness seeks to clear a backlog of work that could languish

for years under usual budget shortfalls. Eligible projects athouses could range from roof repairs and electrical upgrades

to driveway paving and kitchen and bathroom renovations.Office work could involve constructing fire escapes, replacing

antiquated water systems, repairing or upgrading heating and air-conditioning systems or reconfiguring office space.

Each program component is a separate project that requires all custom-ary review by technical experts at post and in Washington, D.C. The major

differences between wellness and the usual way of doing things are that thepost has more money to work with and the funding is already approved. Theprimary concern for selected posts is not seeking project approval but rather

implementing work.The office conceived the wellness program in 2002 when Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,

and Lilongwe, Malawi, were authorized for initial inclusion. Since the office uses exist-ing money rather than new funding, only two posts are eligible annually. Both test posts

were isolated missions with challenging local infrastructures. Positive results justified con-tinuing the program in 2004 at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and N’Djamena, Chad. Efforts at

these posts have only begun but OBO believes that wellness makes a major difference.

4 STATE MAGAZINE

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Mongolian crew works on wellness renovations.

WELL-WISHERS

I N T H E N E W S

More than 100 Foreign Service and Civil Serviceemployees were honored recently with a Group SuperiorHonor Award for their voluntary service in Iraq.

Joining Secretary Colin L. Powell at the podium onIraq Recognition Day were Robert Pearson, directorgeneral of the Foreign Service and director of theBureau of Human Resources, and William Burns, assis-tant secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

“I am pleased to join you today,” the Secretary toldthe honorees, their friends, families and colleagues gath-ered for the Nov. 24 ceremony in the Benjamin FranklinRoom, “to recognize and honor a group of men andwomen who have served in the finest traditions of theState Department on the frontiers of freedom in Iraq.”

He thanked the group for helping Iraq get back on itsfeet by rebuilding and restaffing the nation’s ministriesand providing managerial, secretarial and technical sup-port to the Coalition Provisional Authority.

“As a result of your contributions,” he said, “Iraqisnow have reason to hope.”

The Secretary singled out two employees, ConsulBeth Payne and Regional Security Coordinator BillMiller, for a special tribute to their bravery and heroism.

He recounted the events of Oct. 26, when a rocketattack shook the employees from their beds inBaghdad’s Al-Rashid Hotel. Ms. Payne heard cries forhelp from Paula Wikle, an office management specialist,and scrambled through the wreckage to Ms. Wikle,whose arm was seriously injured.

“From the emergency medical training she hadreceived before going to Baghdad,” the Secretary said,“Beth knew to apply a pressure bandage to Paula’s arminstead of a tourniquet, despite well-intentioned adviceto the contrary.”

He described how Ms. Payne then quickly found helpto bring Ms. Wikle down three flights of stairs and to ahospital. Once at the hospital, she stayed to help otherinjured Americans.

“Paula is now recovering in Florida,” the Secretarysaid reassuringly. “We wish her Godspeed.”

He then described Bill Miller’s heroism. When therockets hit the hotel, the first thing Mr. Miller did was tomake sure that everyone else was okay. He had heardthat someone needed urgent help on the 11th floor,

where he found a seriously wounded Lt. Col. CharlesBuehring. Without regard for his own safety, Mr. Millerstayed with the officer until help arrived.

“Sadly,” Secretary Powell said,” Col. Buehring laterdied. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his spirit,his family and allwho loved him.”

The Secretarypresented BethPayne and BillMiller the StateD e p a r t m e n tAward forHeroism.

Then, addres-sing the assem-bled group ofIraq volunteers,he said, “Myfriends, each ofyou has paid apersonal price tobring peace to afaraway land.Those of youwho set off forIraq knew thehardships andthe dangers youwould face. Yetyou went.”

Recogniz ingthe sacrifice theemployees’ fami-lies made, he said, “They are the unsung heroes ofAmerican diplomacy who stand by you today. They alsoknew the risks and yet let you go.

“Altogether, you represent the best of America,”Secretary Powell said, “and we owe you an enormousdebt of gratitude. So, on behalf of President Bush,myself, all of your colleagues here in the Departmentand especially on behalf of the American people, thankyou for the selfless dedication you have shown on thefront lines of freedom.”

5JANUARY 2004

Employees Give Iraqisa Reason for Hope

Secretary Powell presents Consul Beth Payne(top) and Regional Security Coordinator Bill Millerwith the State Department Award for Heroism.

I N T H E N E W S

6 STATE MAGAZINE

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Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitageannounced in October that the Fulbright academicexchange program will return to Iraq 14 years after itwas suspended in that country. “Iraq is the birthplace ofeducation,” he said. “It is, after all, where both the writ-ten word and arithmetic were first discovered.”

The program is scheduled to resume in 2004, sup-ported by $1 million for scholarships. The Departmentanticipates that an initial group of at least 20 granteeswill pursue master’s-level courses at U.S. universities infields that will contribute to building a democratic soci-ety in Iraq, such as higher education, public adminis-tration, business, economics and public health, amongothers.

The first students may begin arriving in the UnitedStates as early as January of 2004 and will study in the

United States for 18 monthsto two years. Fulbright offi-cials are working closely withIraqi university leaders andofficials from the CoalitionProvisional Authority todesign scholarship opportu-

nities that serve the mutual interests of Iraq and theUnited States.

The program is expected to expand in the future toinclude sponsorship of Iraqi scholars who will travel tothe United States to lecture, gather research and recon-nect with their American academic counterparts.Opportunities for U.S. academics to travel as Fulbrightscholars to Iraq will be available on a limited basis laterin 2004.

Established in 1946 to build mutual understanding ina war-torn world, the Fulbright Program is theAmerican people’s premier academic exchange pro-gram. It is funded through an annual appropriationfrom Congress and by contributions from partner gov-ernments and the private sector and administered bythe Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Headquarters for Passport Services, Overseas Citizens Services and the Public Affairs DiplomacyCenter all have new digs at 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. The opening was made official Nov. 14 duringa ribbon-cutting ceremony and workplace tour by Grant Green, under secretary for Management,although the offices have been operating since September.

The Department leases more than 65,000 square feet in a modern, eight-story building on thesecond, third and fifth floors that visitors enter through a high-rise glass foyer. The new annex, SA-29, hugs the northern edge of the George Washington University campus and is about a 10-minutewalk from the Harry S Truman Building.

“One of the main reasons for selecting this location was its proximity to Main State,” said JamesStanley, passport facilities manager.

Moving the three offices to Pennsylvania Avenue creates temporary space in the Truman Buildingand other locations for employees uprooted by the building’s massive renovation, he said.

Everything at the new address, which theDepartment will lease for the next 10 years, isnew—from the refrigerator in the break room tothe lobby’s dark wood walls.

Offices Move Uptown

Officially opening 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., from left, AliceMoore, managing director, Overseas Citizens Services; DianeAndruch, deputy assistant secretary, OCS; Grant Green, undersecretary for Management; Daniel Smith, principal deputyassistant secretary, Consular Affairs, and Frank Moss, deputyassistant secretary, Passport Services.

Fulbright ProgramReturns to Iraq

I N T H E N E W S

David Rockefeller, left, presents SecretaryPowell with the George C. Marshall Award.

7JANUARY 2004

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell received the GeorgeC. Marshall Foundation award during a black-tie cere-mony at the National Building Museum in Washington,D.C. It was fitting since Secretary Powell models himselfafter the legendary Army general and former Secretaryof State.

“George C. Marshall is a personal hero of mine,” saidSecretary Powell, who keeps the former secretary’s por-trait in his office. “He was one of the greatest Americanswho ever lived.”

Among the numerous colleagues, friends and sup-porters attending the reception were Merrill Lynch CEOStan O’Neal, actor Robert Duvall, philanthropist DavidRockefeller, Vice President Dick Cheney and historianMichael Beschloss, who served as master of ceremonies.

“I am deeply grateful to all of you who came to makethis such a remarkable occasion,” said Secretary Powell.

He drew parallels between today’s war on terrorismand Gen. Marshall’s “superhuman challenge of organiz-ing the Allied victory over Fascism in World War II.”Secretary Powell said Gen. Marshall would be proud of

the leadership the United States hasshown in rallying the world against ter-rorism.

“George Marshall understood that anenduring peace had to be built on morethan military might or a traditional bal-ance of power,” he said. “A permanentpeace could be achieved only in a worldin which men and women everywherecould live in freedom, in dignity and inhope,” the Secretary told the more than500 guests.

The general, who designed the Alliedvictory in Europe and as Secretary ofState later rebuilt the devastated conti-nent with his epic Marshall Plan, was alsoknown as a team player who still madehis point.

Gen. Marshall’s reputation as a res-olute, steadfast leader, even if he didn’tagree with some positions taken by hisadministration, drew the Secretary’spraise. For example, Gen. Marshall raisedobjections when President Franklin D.Roosevelt selected Gen. Dwight D.Eisenhower to command the D-Dayinvasion and when President Harry S.Truman chose to recognize Israel in 1947.But he supported both measures.

“He had done his job. He had given the President hisbest advice,” Secretary Powell said.“It’s what serving this nation wasall about.”

Created in 1997 to com-memorate the 50th anniver-sary of the Marshall Plan,the prize comes with a$25,000 award and is pre-sented every two years. Pastrecipients include HelmutKohl, David Rockefeller andGeorge H.W. Bush. Secretary Powellwas a trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundationfrom 1996 to 2001.

“In this town, nobody pays this kind of tribute toanyone who is either still alive or still in office,” theSecretary remarked. He said he planned to check himselfinto Walter Reed Army hospital the next morning.

To learn more about the award and the foundation, call(540) 463-7103 or visit www.marshallfoundation.org.

Marshall AwardIs Special Prize

for Secretary

8 STATE MAGAZINE

Four retired Foreign Service officers, remembering civil strife theyhad witnessed abroad, toured Civil War battlefields last summer for aglimpse of their own country’s struggle.

Paul Blackburn, John Reid, Jim Conley and Ben Fordney participat-ed in Prelude to Gettysburg, a program sponsored by the ShenandoahCivil War Associates.

The program began at James Madison University with a presentation by Ernest Furgurson, author ofChancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave. The next day, National Park Historian Frank O’Reilly guided the grouparound the Fredericksburg, Va., battlefield, the site of a critical Civil War engagement, where the Union Army suf-fered 12,600 casualties while the Confederate Army suffered half as many.

The following day, the group toured Chancellorsville, sometimes considered Confederate General Robert E. Lee’sgreatest victory. Here, General Lee sent General “Stonewall” Jackson on his famous march around the Union Army.Jackson’s surprise attack on the Union’s right flank pushed back the Federal line for two miles. General Jackson waswounded by his own men and died a few days later. The retirees visited the small house where Jackson died.

Eric Wittenberg, a specialist on Civil War cavalryactions, led the group around Brandy Station battle-field, scene of the largest cavalry engagement foughtin North America. Here, Federal troopers attackedConfederate General Jeb Stuart’s cavalry veterans.

The retired officers hope to return in June 2004 fora similar program at Gettysburg. Inquiries about nextyear’s program may be directed to Ben Fordney,via telephone at (540) 433-2275 or e-mail atbfbafordney@aol.com.

Retirees TourBattlefields

At the burial site of General Thomas J. “Stonewall”Jackson’s left arm, retirees follow the custom of putting

their left arms behind them at the site. They are, from left,Jim Conley, John Reid, Ben Fordney and Paul Blackburn. PH

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They haven’t gone on the road together yet, butopera tenor Plácido Domingo and Secretary of StatePowell raised their voices to help the Departmentcelebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Among those attending the Oct. 15 event in theDean Acheson Auditorium were the tenor’s wife,ambassadors of Spain and Mexico and representa-tives of Hispanic national organizations.

Secretary Powell said diversity helps theDepartment “make the case across the globe thatdiversity doesn’t have to be divisive and that freedomworks.” The Secretary also took the opportunity torecognize the work of locally employed staff in mis-sions based in Spanish-speaking countries.

The Secretary praised the humanitarian work ofMr. Domingo, who has raised millions of dollars for

disaster victims in Mexico and Armenia. His charityalso supports children worldwide, including orphan-ages in St. Petersburg, an AIDS organization in Paris,hospitals in Guatemala and villages in Mexico.

In a personal moment, Secretary Powell said themaestro calls him every year to sing “HappyBirthday” on his voice mail. The audience thenjoined in as the Secretary gave his own rendition ofthe song.

The following day, the Department held a jobshadowing day for 17 Hispanic high school studentsfrom the Washington, D.C., area who were mentoredby senior Department officials. Besides meetingwith Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage, the stu-dents also toured the Department.

The Office of Civil Rights sponsored both events.

A SALUTE TO HISPANIC HERITAGE

I N T H E N E W S

9JANUARY 2004

Last month I prom-ised to preview some ofthe ideas we are consid-ering to capitalize onthe success of theSecretary’s DiplomaticReadiness Initiative andto ensure the best possi-

ble future for the Department of State. I would like tosuggest a new perspective and a new way of thinkingabout how we meet our diplomatic priorities in times ofcrises.

For one thing, we need to improve the skills of theForeign Service, develop flexibility within theDepartment’s Civil Service and expand our capacity toconduct “operational diplomacy.”

For another, we need to make ourselves a corps ofhighly trained, rapidly deployable, technologically savvydiplomats who serve normally, train regularly and areready to step in when and where our expertise is needed.

Increasingly, the Department will be called upon torespond rapidly, with a full range of skills, using all ourresources effectively. How do we do this? Most simply,we need enough people to provide a surge capacity—not only for the crises but also for the permanentdemands that follow. Our team of Foreign Service andCivil Service employees will need up-to-date skills totackle those crises and must refresh existing skills andadd new ones.

Think of it as having a “major” and a “minor” in uni-versity education. You might “major” in the Middle Eastand speak Arabic and “minor” in Latin America andspeak Spanish. You might have experience in both eco-nomics and public diplomacy. You remain “fluent” inboth at any given time.

When crises occur, the pool of available specialists,generalists and Civil Service colleagues would be larger,fully trained and identified. Conversations that need totake place with families would occur earlier, making ouremployees psychologically and intellectually ready, with

families fully informed when temporary crisis-relateddeployment is required.

When the inevitable day comes and we’re in anothercrisis, the Secretary of State must be in a position to sayto the President: You need “x” people in “y” country.Here’s the list from the Department of State. They’reready to go today.

I believe we should include the entire StateDepartment in this effort, making the best use of the tal-ents of our Civil Service, Foreign Service and ForeignService National employees to create force multipliersfor our diplomatic efforts. Strengthening these partner-ships is a priority for me, and we will work with our col-leagues in AFSA and AFGE for the best possible out-comes.

The 10 percent plus-up that the Diplomatic ReadinessInitiative has provided us is effectively allowing us to fillpositions, train throughout a career and respond tocrises in a more organized and planned manner.

The DRI has let us staff our embassy in Kabul, theMiddle East Peace Initiative, the HIV/AIDS office andIraq, while keeping dislocations elsewhere to a mini-mum. It also has allowed us to implement a mandatoryleadership and management-training continuum;increase training in public diplomacy and consularaffairs; and extend language training for new officersfrom 26 to 44 weeks. In addition, the Department hasmade significant strides under DRI in diversifying theForeign Service. In FY03, for example, more than 18percent of new officers were minority candidates—a sixto eight percent increase over previous years.

As a Department, we must continue to recruit aboveattrition rates, train beyond immediate needs and devel-op a rapid response mechanism that is organized inadvance. Effective implementation of America’s foreignpolicy priorities demands it.

I know from experience that the Department alwayshas risen to the challenge, and with your insight andsupport I know this will be true again today and tomor-row. Our country and we deserve no less. ■

Meeting Future Crises

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

Colorful onion domes of theCathedral of St. Basil the Blessed

11JANUARY 2004

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

RUSSIAB Y T H O M A S W. O H L S O N

“Russia has 11 time zones?”

My sister Dawn looked astonished. I was describ-ing my assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow,and this was one of my answers to her question,“What is it like in Russia?” Not surprisingly, this wasthe same sister who once asked, “Which state?” whenI told her I was working for the State Department.

Good thing I didn’t mention the Foreign Serviceor she would be telling my nieces that I wasa Legionnaire.

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Knowing my sister, I cut her some slack. Like me,Dawn grew up during the Cold War era, when informa-tion about Russia was not readily available. WinstonChurchill once said of Russia, “It is a riddle wrapped ina mystery inside an enigma.” The fortunate people liv-ing and working in Russia as part of the U.S. Missionhave the incredible opportunity to look inside this mys-terious and fascinating country.

Yes, Dawn, Russia does cover 11 time zones as itsprawls across nearly one-sixth of the Earth’s landmass.The Russian Federation is physically the largest country

in the world—stretching 6,000 miles from east to westand is home to more than 100 ethnic groups. The word“big” describes both the country and the U.S. Mission.The U.S. Embassy in Moscow and its three constituentposts in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostokhave more than 1,500 employees. We are not just talk-ing about physical size, however, but issues that emergedaily.

Russia has been, and remains, a principal focus forU.S. foreign policy. As a nation, an economy and a soci-ety, Russia engages us regularly on issues that oftenextend beyond its own borders. To contribute to all ofthese efforts, 28 federal agencies are permanently repre-sented here and at constituent posts, addressing issues

Right: Consul General RustyHughes, center, meets withport officials in Murmansk.Below: Peterhoff Palace in

St. Petersburg. Below right:Staff of the U.S. Consulate in

Yekaterinburg travel by bus toserve customers in a districtthe size of the United States

east of the Mississippi.

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A T A G L A N C E

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2002

Country name: Russia

Government type: Federation

Capital: Moscow

Independence: August 24, 1991(from the Soviet Union)

Constitution: Adopted December 12,1993

Population: 144.5 million

Religions: Russian Orthodox and Muslim

Land mass: Approximately 10.6 millionsquare miles

Approximate size: 1.8 times the size ofthe United States.

Language: Russian

Currency: Russian ruble (RUR)

Per capita income: $9,300

Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, coal,minerals and timber

Agricultural products: Grain, sugar beetsand sunflower seeds

Export partners: Germany (9.3%),U.S. (8.3%) and Italy (7.5%)

Literacy rate: 99.6%

Television stations 7,306

ranging from chicken to Chechnya. In addition, theembassy supports thousands of temporary duty visitorseach year, not to mention high-level visitors, includingthe President, the Secretary of State, other Cabinet offi-cers and numerous congressional and staff delegations.

Many of the embassy’s employees and family mem-bers reside in the New Embassy Complex, or NEC,located near the center of Moscow. Talk about livinglarge. After lunch in a great cafeteria, I stopped by mydoctor’s office, then picked up my dry cleaning and ranby a gift shop. After walking home from work, I went tothe gym with my wife while the kids swam in anOlympic-sized pool. Afterwards, I played basketball,my wife tried out a tanning bed and the kids played soc-cer. On the way home, we picked up videos and stoppedto say hello to some friends at a bar, where they werewatching a movie. All inside the NEC.

Yes, aside from providing a completely self-containedand comfortable lifestyle, the embassy also has threedachas, a travel agency and weekly events sponsored bythe Marine Security Guards and Community LiaisonOffice. Since the compound is secure, children can runfree in a kid-friendly environment. Aside from lots ofother children, the compound also has a playground,playing field (which doubles as an ice rink in winter)and the aforementioned gyms and swimming pool.During the summer it stays light out until 11 p.m., andthroughout the year the embassy offers classes in fenc-ing, karate and less-martial activities such as ballroomdancing. If you are not too busy with the embassy lan-guage immersion program or on an embassy-generatedtrip to another country, there is, of course, Moscow.

Moscow had always been one of the great culturalcenters of Europe, with world-class theater, ballet,opera, symphonies and museums. This city of 9 millionalso has all the vitality you would expect of an econom-ically booming modern capital. Historic buildings andchurches have been renovated and restored. Chicrestaurants, cafes and boutiques can be found through-out the city alongside modern department stores andsupermarkets. You can still enjoy a “traditional”Russian evening, however, watching “Swan Lake” at theBolshoi Theatre or listening to Tchaikovsky at the GreatHall of the conservatory named for him.

The heart of Moscow in every way—symbolically,religiously and politically—is the Kremlin. This is thesame place where Ivan the Terrible and Stalin orches-trated their reigns of terror, where Napoleon watched asMoscow burned and where Lenin commanded his van-guard of the proletariat. In more recent times, it is

14 STATE MAGAZINE

where Gorbachev created perestroika, whereYeltsin struggled to preserve the newly demo-cratic republic and where President Putin nowoversees the policies of the Russian Federation.Inside the Kremlin walls are the State Armory andDiamond Fund, containing Czarist treasures that rivalthose of the British royal family. Many visitors are alsosurprised to see so many beautifully preserved churchesin what was once a stronghold of atheism. Adjacent tothe Kremlin is Red Square. The historical center ofMoscow, dating from the 15th century, includes Lenin’sTomb and St. Basil’s Cathedral—a unique and beautifulchurch whose onion domes have come to symbolizeRussian architecture.

Although Moscow is the seat of government and thecountry’s business and financial center, there are otherregions that are no less interesting or important to theU.S. Mission. St. Petersburg, with a population of near-ly 5 million, is the second largest city in Russia. One ofEurope’s most beautiful cities, St. Petersburg is famousfor its dazzling “White Nights” and spectacular settingon the Gulf of Finland. In the decade since democracyand the free market began to take root in Russia, the cityhas come a long way. Those lucky enough to serve in St.Petersburg find that it offers the fascination of post-Soviet society along with the conveniences of a Westerncity. The composition, role and work of the consulategeneral differ from that of the larger embassy in thatopportunities to meet with leading political and cultur-al figures are commonplace. The consulate’s size—some 30 Americans and 80 Foreign Service Nationals—

ensures a strong community spirit and employees relishthe excitement and challenge the city offers.

The U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg is cur-rently the smallest of the four posts comprising the U.S.Mission to Russia. The consulate general is located inthe Urals region, where much of the country’s mineralwealth is produced. Its consular district is the size of theUnited States east of the Mississippi River and hasapproximately 40 million people. Yekaterinburg is abustling city of 1.5 million, the third largest in theRussian Federation. By traveling and reportingthroughout this vast region, American officers canobserve firsthand the process of economic and politicaltransformation that marks modern Russia.

Vladivostok is Russia’s principal Pacific port and thelargest city in the Russian Far East, with a population ofabout 700,000. Vladivostok’s consular district encom-passes an area larger than two-thirds of the continentalUnited States but its population is only about 10 mil-lion. The consulate general employs 12 American offi-cers and 57 FSNs and contract employees who work inone of the most interesting and beautiful regions inRussia. Although the Russian Far East lacks the varietyof historic sites found in European Russia, it does offera wide variety of beautiful scenery for the adventuroustraveler. Numerous rocky islands, steep cliffs and isolat-ed beaches mark the coast. Tour companies offer hiking

Right: Annual 4th of July tug-of-war. Below: VladivostokConsul General Pamela Spratlen and visiting speaker

Rock Brynner with Vladivostok in the background.

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By Thomas W. Ohlson

Before 1917, Russia was ruled by a succession ofmonarchs, who presided over an impoverishednation of peasants. In March 1917, an uprisingforced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne and aprovisional gov-ernment came topower. On Nov.7, 1917, theBolshevik Party,led by VladimirLenin, seized con-trol of the govern-ment and eventu-ally establishedthe Union ofSoviet SocialistRepublics.

The USSR last-ed 69 years.During much ofthis time, rela-tions between theUnited States andthe Soviet Union were strained. On Dec. 26, 1991,the USSR was formally dissolved and on Dec. 27,1991, Russia assumed the seat formerly held by theSoviet Union in the UN Security Council. Since thattime, the United States has allocated more than $11billion in assistance to Russia, funding programs insecurity, humanitarian assistance and economic anddemocratic reform.

U.S.-Russian relations have continued to expandsince Sept. 11, 2001. The tragic events of 9/11 drovehome the fact that, in looking at the major threatsand challenges of the 21st century, the two countrieshave similar interests—combating terrorism, coun-

tering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-tion, curbing drug trafficking and fighting the spreadof HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

Presidents Bush and Putin recognized early onthat by cooperating, rather than competing, mutualinterests could be advanced more effectively. Recent

evidence of thisc o o p e r a t i o nincludes theMoscow Treaty onradical cuts instrategic forces; anew frameworkfor NATO-Russiarelations; a pro-ductive commer-cial energy dia-logue; and a risinglevel of trade andi n v e s t m e n tbetween the twocountries.

Common inter-ests represent onepillar of the new

U.S.-Russian relationship, but it is a commitment tothe same values that will give the new partnership thequality of a long-lasting strategic alliance. In thisrespect, the trends in Russia’s internal democraticdevelopment are encouraging. But the overall pictureis still mixed. While the institutions of civil societyare taking shape, the roots are sometimes shallowand the habits and practices of decades of commu-nism still lie too close to the surface. The road aheadmay sometimes be a bumpy and uncertain one.Nevertheless, the United States is confident thatRussia is moving forward in the right direction andthat the journey is well worth the effort.

Presidents Bush and Putin ratifying the Treaty of Moscow.

and camping tours to the taiga, Kamchatka’s volcanoesand winter ski trips to Siberian ski areas. Hunting andfishing expeditions are also popular.

Politically, economically and socially, the RussianFederation is still transforming. Whether through cul-tural exchanges, visa services, liaisons with Russian offi-cials or any of our other countless activities, the U.S.

Mission to Russia contributes to this political and eco-nomic transformation. Few missions offer such oppor-tunities for professional and personal growth foremployees and family members. ■

The author is a political officer at the U.S. Embassy inMoscow.

Countries Find Common Ground

Chiefs of mission know the importance of having quality schoolsat their posts. Good schools attract good employees whose serviceoverseas is critical to the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. To that end,the Office of Overseas Schools works to ensure the best possible edu-cational opportunities for children of U.S. government personnelstationed abroad.

The office was established in 1964 in the Bureau ofAdministration to help consolidate overseas educational assistanceprograms in the U.S. Agency for International Development, theU.S. Information Agency and the Department of State. Today, theoffice’s grants program is funded through the Department’s Inter-agency Common Administrative Support Services. Under the sys-

16 STATE MAGAZINE

Making the GradeBy Keith Miller

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Above: American Nicaraguan School in Managua.Right: Singapore American School.

tem, federal agencies overseas share the costs of admin-istrative support services.

The Office of Overseas Schools currently assists 188schools in 132 countries. These schools are nonprofit,nondenominational schools that vary widely in histori-cal background, size, facilities, funding, governance, stu-dent bodies and faculties. They range from tiny pri-mary schools (13 students inReykjavik) to large K/12 schools(2,923 students in Singapore).About half the professional staff areU.S. citizens, the primary languageof instruction is English and theschools’ curricula are based prima-rily on U.S. patterns. TheDepartment does not operate orcontrol these schools. Ownership and policy control aretypically in the hands of associations of parents whoelect boards to develop policy and select administratorsto oversee day-to-day operations.

The schools, while incorporating U.S. educationalprograms, are truly international. Of the 98,000 stu-dents enrolled, approximately 28,000 are U.S. citizens,30,000 are host-country citizens and 40,000 are third-country citizens. U.S. dependents rub shoulders withchildren from around the world, many of whom will bethe future leaders in their countries. Moreover, theseschools are critical to our foreign policy objective ofstrengthening mutual understanding betweenAmericans and the people of other countries.

The office staff includes a director, six regional edu-cation officers, education program specialists andadministrative personnel. The director has likened hisstaff to the Marines: “A fewgood people.” The office hasalways prided itself on its abil-ity to leverage staff and fundsto accomplish its mission.

The regional officers aredrawn from various sectors ofthe education community,including public school sys-tems, universities, foreign aideducation programs and over-seas schools. They have exten-sive contacts in educationalorganizations worldwide to

support the office’s mission. Each officer is assigned aspecific geographic region and averages 10 to 12 weeksannually visiting posts and schools and attending meet-ings of regional educational associations.

The officers work closely with U.S. governmentemployees assigned overseas, U.S.-sponsored overseasschools, the Department regional bureaus, Office of

Allowances, Family Liaison Office and EmployeeConsultation Service. They deal with parental educa-tional concerns and issues of adequacy of schools,accreditation, opening of new schools and programs forchildren with special needs, counseling and collegeadmissions.

The value of a regional officer’s contacts and experi-ence was evident in a recent meeting the office organ-ized with Washington Metropolitan Area school super-intendents to assess the impact of evacuations of U.S.diplomatic personnel. The superintendents agreed toadjust their school districts’ registration procedures asmuch as possible to accommodate dependent childrenwho have been evacuated and may be living in tempo-rary housing or with relatives until their parents canmake longer-term arrangements. The office workedclosely with the Family Liaison Office on this issue.

The office has always prideditself on its ability to leveragestaff and funds to accomplishits mission.

Jakarta International School.

The office has developed and sustained many pro-ductive relationships with outside organizations toenhance the quality of schools where dependents areenrolled. These include Johns Hopkins University, foradvice on programs for children with special needs;NASA, for training overseas school teachers in space sci-ence; and the College Board, for college admissionsguidance for dependents and promotion of AdvancedPlacement examinations abroad.

The office stays current on developments in U.S. edu-cation and continually expands its program to respondto new needs. Recent examples include:• A virtual school project in conjunction with ThomasJefferson High School for Science and Technology inFairfax County, Va., using software that permits over-seas schools to post their programs on the Internet andcommunicate with their students anywhere in theworld. The first school to use the program was theInternational School of Islamabad during an ordereddeparture in 2002 when several returning dependentselected to continue their studies online. Eleven newschools in the Near East and South Asia have since beenadded to the program;

• Amendments to the standardized regulations allowoverseas U.S. government employees to claim fullexpenses for Advanced Placement and InternationalBaccalaureate examination fees for their school-agedependents; authorize these employees to receive sup-plementary funds for qualifying gifted children toenrich their education; and increase the amount offunding and greatly increase the list of allowableexpenses available to parents who homeschool theirchildren abroad; and

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The National Association of Elementary SchoolPrincipals recently honored William A. “Bill” Eaton,assistant secretary for Administration, with theHonorary National Distinguished Principal Awardduring a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Each fall the association presents a distinguishedprincipal award to an outstanding principal fromeach state and the District of Columbia and twoeach from the Department of Defense EducationActivity schools and State Department-assistedschools. Awardees participate in a special programthat includes a reception at the State Departmentand a black-tie awards banquet, when the Secretaryof Education presents each principal with a certifi-cate and an engraved school bell.

This past year’s State Department honorees wereBeth Pfannl, elementary school principal at theAmerican School in Asuncion, and Judith AnnDrotar, middle school principal at the AmericanInternational School of Dhaka.

The association occasionally recognizes publicofficials for their support of elementary school edu-cation with an Honorary National DistinguishedPrincipal Award. Recipients have includedPresident George H.W. Bush, President WilliamClinton, Secretary of Education Richard Riley andAssistant Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy.

Vincent Ferrandino, the association’s executivedirector, cited Mr. Eaton’s outstanding leadership inthe field of international education and praised himfor his contributions to enhancing elementaryschool programs in American-sponsored overseasschools.

• Grants to help overseas schools protect their studentsunder the congressionally mandated “soft targets” pro-gram. The office worked closely with DiplomaticSecurity and Overseas Buildings Operations to distrib-ute more than $9 million to Department-assistedschools for shatter-resistant window film, two-wayradios and public address systems. The second phase ofthe program will address those Department-assistedschools that could benefit from additional securityenhancements because of the threat level or studentpopulation. A third phase being considered would helpschools that currently receive no financial assistanceunder the Department’s Overseas Schools ConsolidatedProgram.

In 1967, the Department established the OverseasSchools Advisory Council to seek the advice of U.S.leaders from the business, foundation and educationalcommunities. The council, chaired by Smith BarneyVice President Robert A. Wilson Jr., boasts senior exec-

utives from 19 U.S. corporations with substantial over-seas operations.

The council encourages U.S. firms to give financialand in-kind assistance directly to Department-assistedoverseas schools and has assisted these schools in theirown fund-raising activities. Last year, the schools gen-erated more than $12 million in such assistance fromthe United States, host- and third-country sources. Thecouncil has also established the Educational AssistanceProgram, which provides grants totaling $150,000annually for educational projects that reach the 98,000students in the 188 Department-assisted schools.

You may contact the Office of Overseas Schools onthe web at http://www.state.gov/m/a/os; on the Intranetat http://aopros.a.state.gov; by e-mail at overseas-schools@state.gov; by telephone at (202) 261-8200 or byfax at (202) 261-8224. ■

The author is director of the Office of Overseas Schools.

19JANUARY 2004

Anthony Harduar, left, president of the National Association ofElementary School Principals, presents Assistant SecretaryEaton with the Honorary National Distinguished PrincipalsAward.

He Gets an A-Plus!

21JANUARY 2004

Imagine arriving at your assignment in the middle ofthe night only to be whisked away to your hotel. The nextmorning you rush to open the drapes for the first glimpseof your destination. As you gaze out, your first thoughtis, “What was I thinking when I agreed to come here?”

You see a bleak, sand-colored urban landscape ofrubble and crumbling buildings. There are no trees, nolandscaping and no greenery. Across the street a familyis living in a roofless structure in the hot, stifling cli-mate. Vehicles are fighting their way through streetswithout traffic lights or signs.

Welcome to Khartoum, Sudan.Sudan’s topography ranges from savannah to desert.

Its economy has endured international sanctions and a20-year civil war between the Islamic government in thenorth and two rebel groups in the south. There aresevere shortages of food and medicine and serious dis-

eases abound. Still, the city thrives with limited com-merce and cultural activities.

I was in Khartoum attending the first ChemicalWeapons Convention conference of African nations,which in 1997 wrote a treaty banning poison gas as aweapon. Panama, Singapore, the Czech Republic andUzbekistan hosted previous meetings. This wasKhartoum’s first. Currently, 157 countries have signedthe U.S.-negotiated treaty.

Thirty-two nations participated in the conference,including four African nations that haven’t yetembraced the treaty. Among the goals of the meetingwas to help nations establish legislative bodies to passlaws banning poison gas to comply with the treaty.Members spoke about what they’d done to make thishappen. I spoke about how the United States is preparedto help nations meet their treaty obligations.

SUDAN RISESOFFICIAL FINDS SUDAN EAGER FOR PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL RESPECT

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Sudan hosted the meeting to show its commit-ment to fighting terrorism. Sudan’s minister of for-eign affairs, Mustafa Osman Ismail, spoke about hisvision for Africa as a continent free of chemicalweapons. The Sudanese were eager to show the worldthey’re shedding past links to terrorists like OsamaBin Laden, a former resident of Sudan.

The conference generated considerable interestfrom the Arab media. Two weeks before I arrived,Sudan marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S. cruisemissile attack on the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant,which was suspected of producing chemicalweapons. Sudanese officials demanded that theUnited States apologize for the attack and compen-sate the victims.

The day after I spoke headlines in Al Rai Al Am, thedaily newspaper, read “America Pledges to ProvideTechnical Assistance.” The paper reported that “thedelegate from the United States presented a detailedreview of her country’s experience and affirmed

Washington could pro-vide technical help.”An American presenceseemed to have a posi-tive effect on themedia—not a wordwas written about Al-Shifa and past U.S.-Sudan conflicts.

Eight countriesaccepted the U.S. offerfor technical assistance.

Is Sudan reallychanging or just tryingto improve its image?Recently, Sudan has

acceded to international agreements, such as the poisongas treaty, the biological weapons convention andaccords on child labor and workers’ rights. Sudan lob-bied in Geneva to improve its human rights standingand recently announced its intention to join OPEC.Additionally, the government has been working with theUnited States and the international community to bro-ker a peace agreement with the Sudan People’sLiberation Army to end Africa’s longest-running civilconflict. Secretary Colin L. Powell visited Sudan duringthe recent peace talks to encourage an agreement.

By hosting the conference and continuing to workwith the international community, Khartoum hopes toconvince not only the United States but the world thatit’s committed to change. ■

The author is a Foreign Service officer in the Bureau ofArms Control.

22 STATE MAGAZINE

Left: The author’s first view ofKhartoum from the MeridienHotel as the city awakens.Below: A truckload of Sudanesesoldiers patrols the streets ofKhartoum. Bottom: Some of theparticipants at the firstChemical Weapons Conventionconference of African nations.

STRENGTHENINGTHE CHAIN

23JANUARY 2004

Take a minute to look around your office. You’re likely to find a computer key-board, a desk chair or two, maybe even a package that arrived via diplomatic pouchand mail.

What do these everyday items have in common? They’ve all passed through—andare part of—the State Department’s supply chain, an extensive logistics network thatensures employees have the material they need to do their jobs at domestic officesand overseas posts.

Now the supply chain is getting a major upgrade, courtesy of the new IntegratedLogistics Management System. Selected domestic bureaus began deploying this uni-fied, web-based information system last May. It will replace the outdated systems thatcurrently support logistics operations.

With its automated features and ability to handle transactions currently requiringmore than 25 separate systems, ILMS will make the supply chain more efficient andresponsive to the needs of employees, its operators and customers. It will also fulfillthe long-standing goal of integrating the supply chain with the Department’s finan-cial systems.

Initial ILMS deployments completed in 2003 are already producing real benefits.At the Department’s classified and unclassified diplomatic pouch and mail facili-

ties, ILMS has automated the pouch build, send and receipt processes, enabling staffto increase productivity from an average of 500 to an average of 750 pouches daily. Italso gives customers the ability to track accountable items on the web.

When the fiscal year ended, the four bureaus using ILMS purchasing and procure-ment applications—the Bureaus of Administration, Resource Management, HumanResources and Legal Affairs—demonstrated the importance of the system’s integra-tion with the central financial management system. This integration allows theDepartment to commit and obligate funds in real time for faster and improved budg-et reconciliation, a feature that helped ILMS users in those bureaus and the Office ofAcquisitions Management to process smoothly last-minute purchase requests.

This past October, ILMS distribution applications began arriving at theDepartment’s SA-7, SA-10 and SA-21 warehouses to provide personnel a standard,integrated approach for receiving, tracking, shipping and inventoring materials. Theapplications will also improve visibility of the status and point-to-point movementof items—from office furniture to computer monitors—in warehouse facilities.

Additional domestic deployments of ILMS applications for procurement, invento-ry and other supply chain functions will continue this year. The Office of LogisticsManagement is also considering a longer-term effort to deploy ILMS at overseasposts. ■

The author is an information specialist in the Bureau of Administration.

STRENGTHENINGTHE CHAIN BY MARY LOU

BARTOLETTI

25JANUARY 2004

FSN RELIEF FUND NEEDS YOUR HELP

HELPING HANDHurricane Isabel exposed those of us living along the

mid-Atlantic seaboard to natural catastrophes we havelittle control over. Unfortunately, in many countriesthat suffer from hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, vol-canic eruptions, civil war and other national calamities,there are no support systems or insurance to cover losses.

The FSN Emergency Relief Fund helps ForeignService National colleagues cope with these unantici-pated catastrophes. A quick, nonbureaucratic source ofaid, the fund has been tapped frequently in the past yearto assist FSNs experiencing the Algerian earthquake,floods in Haiti and continuing West African civil wars.

As a result, donations are needed urgently to replen-ish the fund.

In recent years, the fund has disbursed more than$300,000 to FSNs in some 20 countries in Africa, Asia,Europe, the Middle East and South America. Donationscome from many sources: U.S. and FSN colleagues;individuals and groups of U.S. employees; FSN andemployee recreation associations; AFSA, AAFSW andDACOR; and Department and embassy-wide appeals.

Organized in 1983 as the Fund for Assistance to U.S.Government Employees at Overseas Posts following thebombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the fund wascreated initially from donations from Americans and

FSNs at the U.S. Embassies in Chile, Mexico, Nicaraguaand Lebanon and from DACOR’s donation to the U.S.Ambassador in Lebanon to aid bomb victims. It wasrenamed in 1994 as the Emergency Relief Fund forForeign National Employees and given permanentstatus.

An FSN or group of FSNs may seek compensationfor losses from natural disasters or unanticipatedcalamities. They may submit their request through theirFSN association, Human Resources office or regionalbureau. A review committee considers each requestbefore it’s forwarded to the under secretary forManagement for final approval, according to DonnaBordley, fund coordinator.

Tax-deductible contributions may be made by check,credit card or through payroll donations. Check contri-butions may be sent to Fund Coordinator Bordley,RM/CFO, Room 11157, Main State HST. Checks shouldbe payable to the “U.S. Department of State” with thenotation “FSN Emergency Relief Fund.” Donors shouldinclude a return address to receive a receipt for charita-ble tax deduction purposes.

For more information about how to contribute to thefund, contact Donna Bordley by e-mail at bordleyds@state.gov or fax (202) 647-8194. ■

A rescue worker rests on the rubbleof a house that collapsed in theAlgerian town of Boumerdes.

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Hurricane Isabel couldn’t dampen the spirits of theForeign Service National employees from more than 40countries attending the Department’s second annualFSN Worldwide Invitational Conference.

Sitting in a power-deprived Virginia hotel, the 49attendees toasted the successful conclusion of the con-ference at the Harry S Truman Building and the ForeignService Institute in mid-September 2003.

The gathering, sponsored by the Office of OverseasEmployment and FSI, was a forum for discussing keyFSN issues, improving communication with Americanemployees and encouraging a better understanding ofU.S. culture and management style.

Building on the success of the previous conference,this year’s sessions expanded the scope of issues dis-

cussed and the number of invitees. Participants includ-ed six FSNs from U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment missions worldwide. Three FSNs fromlast year’s meeting—Daisy Dominquez from Havana,George Mimba from Nairobi and I—served as “conti-nuity FSNs” to bridge the two conferences and con-tribute to professional and personal interaction amongboth sets of participants.

“The best part of the conference was SecretaryPowell,” said one attendee, expressing a view obviouslyshared by all of her colleagues. Shortly after leadingDepartment employees in a moment of silence for thosewho lost their lives during the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001, the Secretary welcomed conference partici-pants in the Loy Henderson Conference Room. He

Conference CallFSNs Hold Second Annual Conference | By Mandeep Kaur

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shared his foreign policy vision with us, explaining thenew challenges U.S. Missions around the world face andthe critical role he believes FSNs play in implementingthe nation’s foreign policy goals.

Many participants noted that the tone of the confer-ence was set by the Secretary’s warmth, direct andhumane approach and his ability to reach out to FSNs,reassuring us that we are part of his mantra of “OneTeam, One Mission.”

For a window on diversity in Americansociety and academic life, we visited his-toric Howard University. The 130-year-olduniversity is vibrant—with distinguishedarchitecture, museums, galleries and thelatest computer facilities. During our walkthrough the campus, we glimpsed a tradi-tionally African-American university bal-ancing the old with the new, where histori-cal achievements are cherished just as muchas cutting-edge information technology.

Ambassador Ruth Davis—former director generaland an enthusiastic supporter of both FSN confer-ences—now directs the Rangel Fellowship Program atHoward. In her welcome, she described how the pro-gram was established to encourage young Americanminority students to join the Foreign Service.

One of the most significant strengths of the confer-ence was its diversity. Our conference brought togetherFSNs from more than 40 countries—big and small,developed and developing. They were also from differ-ent grades and a range of mission sections: political,economic, public affairs, consular affairs, and manage-ment and development programs. Lively and passion-ate discussions following presentations by guest speak-ers at both locations gave us a better understanding ofhow different issues such as cross-cultural awarenessaffect countries around the world. The conference’sinteractive sessions also helped foster a greater sensitiv-ity to the challenges faced by colleagues from varioussections within the mission in their daily work.

The conference focused on a comprehensive range ofissues aimed at strengthening the roles of FSNs inmission management by improving our understandingof American work culture, compensation policy and theredress mechanism against discrimination in theworkplace.

There were several lively discussions on salary sur-veys, leadership, empowerment, communicating acrossmission sections, bridging cultural differences, FSNassociations, management controls, Computer Assisted

Job Evaluation, FSN access to equal employment oppor-tunity, the role of the Office of Inspector General andthe Center for Administrative Innovation.

The conference also provided information onupcoming State Department initiatives such asSMART—a computer system being developed to enableuser-friendly electronic access to documents, filing,online searches and communication.

Another interesting part of the conference was themaking of a cross-cultural video commissioned by FSI.The video consists of 10 short vignettes based on real-life cross-cultural misunderstandings between ForeignService officers and FSNs from different cultures acrossthe globe. It is an imaginative and humorous video tohelp FSNs appreciate the differences between U.S. andhost-country cultures. Several conferees honed theiracting skills in the vignettes as the camera rolled and thedirector shouted “Action!”

Our conference was action all the way during the fun-filled, half day of ice-breaking and networking activitiesthat helped throw inhibition out the window as everyparticipant and group tried to outdo the other in team-building activities. As a colleague said, “The team-building activities were great—they allowed us to putour skills together to accomplish common goals. Wewere also able to give ourselves candid feedback on whatworked and what did not.”

In an age of result-oriented activity and action, onemight well ask what this conference meant for those ofus who participated and what we took back home. Theconference was the unfolding of a vision to effectivelyintegrate FSNs around the world into the U.S. govern-ment team and mission worldwide. I cannot put itmore aptly than my fellow FSN colleague, who said,“Weare all one.” ■

The author is a cultural affairs assistant at the U.S.Embassy in New Delhi.

In an age of result-oriented activityand action, one might well ask whatthis conference meant for those ofus who participated and what wetook back home.

28 STATE MAGAZINE

Though he returned to Washington from the UnitedKingdom at 3:30 a.m. and had slept only about twohours, an energetic Secretary Powell presided over amid-morning retirement ceremony he hasn’t missedsince assuming office.

Before introducing the Secretary in the BenjaminFranklin Room Nov. 21, Robert Pearson, the new direc-tor general of the Foreign Service and director ofHuman Resources, recited an impressive list of theretirees’ collective accomplishments. He said the 142retirees present had contributed a staggering 4,000 years

of government service, held a wide a variety of CivilService and Foreign Service positions, including six asambassadors and one as assistant secretary, spoke 26foreign languages and served in 123 different ForeignService posts.

In his own brief remarks, the Secretary demonstratedthat the transatlantic flight hadn’t blunted his sense ofhumor. He said he hoped the group didn’t share theview of a retiree from another organization whoclaimed he was leaving with mixed emotions: “I’m sohappy to leave this place, I could cry.”

Story by Dave Krecke

With HonorsSecretary Rushes Home to Honor Retirees

Secretary Powell gives retirees “thumbs up,” while Director General Pearson looks on.

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The Secretary expressed his own and President Bush’sappreciation for the honorees’ lengthy service, theirexpertise, leadership and willingness to contributeunder difficult and often dangerous circumstances.Turning toward the invited guests—spouses, familymembers and friends—he recognized their contribu-tions and sacrifices, frequently serving far from thecomforts of home.

“You will always be part of the State Department fam-ily,” the Secretary told the honorees. “You will always bewelcome here, whether in sharing war stories with your

colleagues or enjoying the offerings of our new cafete-ria.” He enjoined each retiree to spread the word to cit-izens in their communities to help them better under-stand the Department’s work and to encourage promis-ing young people to seek careers with State. At the con-clusion of his remarks, the Secretary shook each retiree’shand and posed for a personal photo.

Honorees included the following:• John Danylyk, an economic intelligence analyst in theBureau of Intelligence and Research, retired a year agowith 40 years of federal service. He has been training tobe a docent for visitors to the Library of Congress andhighly recommends the course as a refresher in U.S. his-tory. John’s wife Suzanne joined him at the ceremony.• Nancy Johnson, whose 25 years in the Foreign Serviceincluded assignments to several Near Eastern posts,invited her sister Carol Cramer, wife of retired ForeignService officer Dwight Cramer, to the event. The sistershad lived abroad, daughters of a Foreign Service officer.• Retirees Warren “Nick” Nixon and Al Erlandsen,Foreign Service officers who served together in the

Left: Steven E. Steiner, left, and Steven B. Steiner may have similar names,but they don’t look alike. Above: Marva Long, left, and her niece JaniferDinkins chat before the event.

“You will always be part of the State Departmentfamily. You will always be welcome here, whether insharing war stories with your colleagues or enjoyingthe offerings of our new cafeteria.”

30 STATE MAGAZINE

administrative section of the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa,joked with Nick’s wife about the need for an “earmuffallowance” at that hardship post.• Jane Phelps began her 32 years of service as a ForeignService National employee in Baghdad in 1960. Shemarried John Phelps, a U.S. military employee, inTehran in 1967 and worked in a variety of embassy posi-tions in the Near East until 1983, when her husband wasassigned to the United States. Jane started working atthe Foreign Service Institute that year and continueduntil her retirement this March. Jane and fellow retireeFrances Suter have been friends at FSI for 20 years. Ms.Suter retired with 29 years of federal service at theDepartment of Defense and FSI, where she worked inconsular training in the School of Professional Studies.• Marva Long worked at the U.S. Information Agencyfor more than 20 years before taking a Departmentassignment in Lagos in 1990 as a Foreign Service officemanagement specialist. She also served in La Paz, Accraand Mbabane for a total of 36 years of governmentservice.• After retiring from the Department in the same year,both Steven E. Steiner and Steven B. Steiner hope thecurtain has finally fallen on the era of misaddressed e-mails, letters, voice mail and official messages that havelinked the two unrelated Steiners for much of their

Department careers. Steven E. was a Foreign Serviceofficer who specialized in nuclear disarmament andserved in the former Soviet Union. Steven B. was a CivilService employee who served 27 years mainly inOverseas Buildings Operations and more recently in theBureau of Resource Management. To confuse mattersfurther, Steven B. also spent a year on an excursionassignment in Moscow.• Margaret “Maggie” Westmoreland, a Foreign Serviceofficer with more than 25 years of service at USIA andState, invited her grandson, Army Pvt. ClaudeFerebee—just home from duty with the 299thEngineering Battalion in Iraq—to the ceremony.Retirees are encouraged to sign up early for ForeignAffairs Day, May 7, by sending an e-mail to foreignaf-fairsday@state.gov or writing the Office of the ExecutiveDirector, Bureau of Human Resources, Room H-1103,SA-1, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20522-0108. ■

Right: Proud grandmother Maggie Westmoreland shares a momentwith her grandson, Army Pvt. Claude Ferebee. Below: Their workcompleted, retirement ceremony volunteers Emily Soroko, left,Gloria Glasgow and Homi Variava enjoy the event. Below right:Jane Phelps, left, her daughter Angela and Frances Suter relaxafter the ceremony.

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Jan. 14 Baroque arias from Sylvia Fubini, contralto, and Carol Ann Johnson, pianist

Jan. 28 Pianist Polly Ferman and dancerValeria Solomonoff

Feb. 11 World Jazz Ensemble with Frank Gaskin Jr.,guitar, and Zicpor Chase and MamadiNyasuma, percussionists

Feb. 25 Violinists from the West Louisville TalentEducation Center; Keith Cook, director

March 3 John Tarcza, classical marimba

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

Fans Pay Tribute to‘Ragtime Bob’ DarchBy John Bentel

The Foreign Affairs Recreation Association and theState of the Arts Cultural Series recently hosted a color-ful variety of entertainment for State Departmentemployees. The series included Latin dances, classicaland ragtime piano, French art songs and a cellist.

The series began with ample servings of tango andsalsa by the First Dance Impressions Ballroom DanceCo., whose co-founder Deborah Joy joined dancers RayBugnosen, Fabio Bonini, Danielle Avenco, Brian Blochand Krasmui Petkov.

Returning for his fourth performance, pianist CarlosCesar Rodriguez presented a riveting recital. The virtu-oso pianist, who teaches piano and coaches young artistsin the Washington area, generated lots of excitementwith his Spanish repertoire.

A memorial concert for “Ragtime Bob” Darch stirredthe State audience. The musician, who died in Octoberof 2002, had appeared in the cultural arts series on sev-eral occasions. Alan Mandel, former professor of musicat American University, led the tribute with a stirring

ragtime selection and “Kitten on the Keys,” a noveltypiece. Sue Keller and Susan Cordell, close friends of Mr.Darch, played a tribute using two pianos, including theold upright that Bob had played. Mr. Darch’s son, BillDarch, and daughter, Abby Ehlers, were guests of honor.

Festa della Voce, Washington’s premier professionalvocal chamber ensemble, offered a concert of “FrenchRomance and Melodie.” Performers included MaryMcReynolds, soprano; Jessi Baden, mezzo-soprano;Peter Burroughs, tenor; James Rogers, baritone; andMichael Crabill, piano. The ensemble performed worksby Massenet and Fauré.

Cellist Nathaniel Chaitkin and pianist Marie-FranceLefebvre, a husband-wife team, stirred the audience’semotion with their blended instruments. Mr. Chaitkinis a member of “The President’s Own,” the U.S. MarineCorps band, and has performed numerous times at offi-cial State functions. Ms. Lefebvre is a diction coach andpianist with the Washington Opera. ■

The author is a computer specialist in the ExecutiveSecretariat.

Pianist Polly Ferman.

31JANUARY 2004

STATE OF THE ARTS

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Changing residences? Your family arrives at your newhouse. In your children’s eagerness to explore their newhome they run quickly from room to room. You losetrack of them till you hear a “thunk.” You dash to wherethe noise came from and find your child rubbing hishead and looking at what appears to be an open wall.Unfortunately that open wall is actually a glass doorwithout any markings.

More than likely there are other hidden hazards inyour home.

Most people think that the home is the safest place tobe. It’s not. And that fact hasn’t changed in the past fourdecades, according to the National Safety Council. Thecouncil found nearly a half century ago that more acci-dents happened in the home than in the workplace. Andit’s still true today. The reported mishaps inDepartment residences also support their finding.

What are the most common hazards?Windows are near the top of the list. Too often pieces

of furniture, especially cribs, are placed in front of win-dows. Furniture that children can climb or jump onshould not be placed anywhere near windows. Andremember, screens on windows are designed to keepbugs out, not children in. Look at the end of the stringson your blinds. Are they separated so that your childrencannot loop them around their necks and strangle?

Another hazard is hot water. Is the water out of thefaucet or shower too hot? To prevent scalding, it shouldbe no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t worrythat it’s not hot enough to clean the dishes in the dish-washer. Most dishwashers have a heating unit to makesure the water is hot enough.

What about those railings? The balusters of railingsaround balconies or stairways should be no more thanfour inches apart. If spacing is wider, children can slipthrough. Horizontal bars are an invitation to climb. Ifthere is a large landing at the top of the stairs, you maybe tempted to use this as a seating area. Don’t put thecouch along a railing. Again, children will be temptedto climb and jump on the furniture and may tumbleover the railing.

For sure, appliances in your new home may not oper-ate the same as the ones in your old house. Look for andread the manuals that come with them or check out themanufacturers’ web sites for information if they are notavailable.

And your utilities? Where is the emergency cutoff forthe electricity? Gas? Water? It’s best to be familiar withtheir locations and how they work before they are need-ed. Even if the only space on the wall is in front of theaccess panel for the emergency cutoffs and you thinkyou probably won’t need to use them—don’t block theaccess. It’s hard to move a bookcase.

If the heat sources in the house are gas, oil or even afireplace or wood-burning stove, the best defenseagainst carbon monoxide poisoning is a well-main-tained appliance and flue. Have the flue inspected peri-odically. A secondary protection is the use of carbonmonoxide alarms. These should be installed at eye levelin any hallway or other area that leads to bedrooms.

We are increasingly dependent on electrical devicessuch as microwave ovens, coffeemakers and toothbrush-es. These may put an excessive load on the electricalsystem. If the breaker in your residence trips often, thesystem is probably overloaded. Have it checked out bya qualified electrician. Outlets in wet areas (within sixfeet of a water source), whether inside or outside, mustbe equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter.These will stop the flow of electricity if there is a shortcircuit. They are available for 110- and 220-volt electri-cal systems.

Finally, if there is a pool, make sure that there is atleast a four-foot-high barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate. This helps control the use of the pool andensure parental supervision.

Suffice it to say there can always be hazards aroundthe house. Most can be spotted easily and need notresult in injuries. Take the time to recognize and correctthose that could cause injuries and you and your familywill have many safe years in your home. ■

The author is a safety and occupational health specialist.

Home, Hazardous HomeStory by Eileen Verity

S A F E T Y S C E N E

34 STATE MAGAZINE

Since 1978, Charles Greco and RobertHaukness—Chuck and Bob, as they pre-fer—have been road warriors, making

the commute from their homes in Reston, Va.,to Foggy Bottom. The duo is the car-poolnucleus that at times grows to four riders, itscurrent complement. Inevitably, though, trans-fers and new schedules push someone out ofthe group, making room for another to jumpin—but only in the back seat. Chuck has squat-ter rights to the front. “After 25 years, that’s myseat,” he asserts.

So while passengers come and go, Chuck andBob, well, they keep on truckin’.

“When we first started, we rotated driving,”recalls Chuck, who heads the budget andfinance office in the Bureau of African Affairs.“Now Bob drives all the time.”

Bob drives a 1985 BMW—with 276,000miles, that is. Before that, a 1986 Ford Tauruswith 160,000 miles; a 1979 Mazda with 100,000miles; and a 1971 Pontiac Grand Prix. “Youshould have seen the hood on that thing,” Bobnoted about the Prix’s battleship-like size.

While some carpoolers meet ina central location, Bob prefers topick up and drop off his passen-gers, all Reston residents. The triporiginally went east on Route 7,to the George WashingtonParkway, to Washington. Later, astraffic patterns changed, heswitched to the Dulles toll roadand Route 66. That changechopped 15 minutes from theweekday trek, reducing the drivefrom 45 to 30 minutes, claims

Bob, who heads the Bureau of Administration’sfinancial management division.

During all of those years on the road, the twomen have forged a friendship that includestheir wives. “In fact, Chuck bought his housefrom my wife, who’s a real estate agent,”adds Bob.

For the future, the camaraderie promises tooutlast the $4-per-day car pool. Chuck, whoentered the Foreign Service and switched toCivil Service in 1975, will cap a 40-year careerwhen he retires this month. But don’t look forhim on some Florida beach sipping margaritas.He’s launching an African art appraisal busi-ness the day he walks out the C Street door.

As for Bob, he’s not far behind. After 33 yearsof government service, he said retirementlooms in the future, too. “I haven’t decidedwhen.”

So for now, what may be State’s most endur-ing car pool continues. “I’ll have to find areplacement,” Bob said.

And maybe apply some car-pool diplomacyfor that coveted front seat. ■

ROAD SCHOLARSIF THERE WERE CAR-POOL OLYMPICS, THEY WOULD GET THE GOLD

Chuck Greco, left, andBob Haukness in frontof the Harry S TrumanBuilding.

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

EDUCATION TRAINING

35JANUARY 2004

GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER

School of Language StudiesIncreased language enrollments due to the Secretary’sDiplomatic Readiness Initiative have required FSI’s School ofLanguage Studies to change class schedules. Classes are beingrun in double sessions. The morning session may begin as earlyas 7:30 a.m. and afternoon sessions may end as late as 5:30 p.m.

FasTrac Distance Learning Program: Learn atYour Own Pace, When and Where You Want! All State Department employees, LEs and EFMs, are eligible.FasTrac offers more than 3,000 courses. Training is conductedonline through the Internet and the Department’s OpenNet.Students may complete courses to include on their official FSItranscript or take a course module they need to “get the jobdone.” Course lengths vary from two to eight hours and knowl-edge preassessments may shorten learning plans. To view thecomplete FasTrac catalog, visit the FasTrac web site athttp://fsi.state.gov/fastrac. For additional information, pleasecontact the distance learning coordinator at the Office of theRegistrar, (703) 302-7497.

NOTE: Smartforce courses originally offered through the Schoolof Applied Information Technology are now a part of the Skillsoftlibrary, identified as “Skillsoft IT.” Please review these courseswhen taking advantage of the FasTrac program.

For additional information, please contact the Office of theRegistrar at (703) 302-7144.Length: H = Hours, D = Days, W=Weeks

The Department’s Mandatory Leadershipand Management Training RequirementsThe Secretary of State has mandated leadership training frommid- through senior-grade levels for Foreign Service officers andCivil Service employees to ensure that they have the necessarypreparation for increasing levels of responsibility. FSI’sLeadership and Management School offers the required coursesto meet these mandatory training requirements and other cours-es for all employees.

Mandatory CoursesFS 3/GS 13: Basic Leadership Skills (PK245)FS 2/GS 14: Intermediate Leadership Skills (PT207)FS 1/GS 15: Advanced Leadership Skills (PT210)Newly promoted FS-OC/SES: Senior Executive Threshold

Seminar (PT133)EEO Diversity Awareness for Managers and Supervisors (PT107)

Some Non-Mandatory Recommendationsfor all FS and GS employees:Employee Relations Seminar (PK246)Managing People Problems (PT121)Teambuilding (PT129)Performance Management Seminar (PT205)Creative Problem Solving Workshop (PT212)Managing Conflict Productively (PT214)Influence by Design (PT224)Valuing Diversity in the Workplace (PT225)Productively Managing Stress (PT251)Managing Up (PT252)

For more information, contact FSI’s Leadership and Manage-ment School at (703) 302-6743, FSILMS@state.gov orhttp://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov/fsi/lms/.

WHAT’S NEW?Student Records Online. Need to know your class scheduleor want an unofficial transcript of training taken throughFSI? Visit the FSI Registrar’s Office web page on theDepartment of State OpenNet athttp://www.fsi.state.gov/admin/reg.

Security FEB MAR Length

SOS: Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911) 2,17 1,15 2DASOS: Advanced Security

Overseas Seminar (MQ912) 24 9 1DTDY SOS: Security Overseas Seminar (MQ913) 2,17 1,15 1DYouth Security Overseas Seminar (MQ914) 21 1D

Foreign Service Life Skills FEB MAR Length

Regulations, Allowances and Finances (MQ104) 10 3DEnglish Teaching Seminar (MQ107) 30 2DMaking Presentations:

Design to Delivery (MQ111) 24 3DProtocol and U.S. Representation

Abroad (MQ116) 21 1DTax Seminar (MQ117) 3 2.5HGoing Overseas Without Children (MQ200) 13 1DSingles in Foreign Service (MQ203) 7 0.5DGoing Overseas for Families (MQ210) 13 0.5DGoing Overseas Logistics for Adults (MQ220) 25 13 2.5HGoing Overseas Logistics for Children (MQ230) 13 2.5HPost Options for Employment

and Training (MQ703) 25 1DLong-Distance Relationships (MQ801) 20 0.5DCommunicating Across Cultures (MQ802) 5 1DEmergency Medical Care and

Trauma Workshop (MQ915) 6 1D

Career Transition Center FEB MAR Length

Retirement Planning Seminar (RV101) 24 4DJob Search Program (RV102) 1 8WFinancial and Estate Planning (RV103) 26 1DAnnuities & Benefits and Social Security (RV104) 25 1D

&

36 STATE MAGAZINE

BEHIND THE NUMBERSWHAT THE PROMOTION STATISTICS MEAN BY CYNTHIA NELSON

37JANUARY 2004

The results of the selection boards are publishedannually in State Magazine. The statistics profile gener-alists and specialists who competed for promotion andthose promoted by class and cone/skill group, providingpromotion rates, average time-in-class and averagetime-in-service information for each group.

These statistics provide employees with informationthey can use in their career planning. Examining trendsor averages over several years is generally more usefulthan focusing only on the most recent statistics becausepromotion rates and average time-in-class and averagetime-in-service vary from year to year. Officers oftenfind reviewing the average times-in-class of their cur-rent grade over the past few yearshelpful in predicting when they canfirst expect to be promoted.

Analyzing both the promotionnumbers and promotion rates is keyto correctly interpreting the data. Inmany cases, promotion numbersappear evenly distributed among thecones while the promotion rates (the percentage of offi-cers promoted out of the total that were competing)seem inequitable. In other cases, the opposite appearstrue. These differences among the cones and skillgroups are due to variances in the number of employeeseligible for promotion in each group.

I have examined the aggregate data for generalists andspecialists for the past four years (2000/2003, the periodsince integration of the U.S. Information Agency intothe Department) and noted the following trends:

Generalist promotions since State and USIA integra-tion have increased by about 11 percent, from 643 in2000 to 716 in 2003. Overall promotion rates increasedfrom 27 percent in 2000 to 29 percent in 2003.

Promotion numbers and rates within the SeniorForeign Service were somewhat lower this year than inthe recent past and about the same across the seniorthreshold. Promotions to career minister decreasedfrom five last year to four this year. Promotions to min-ister counselor decreased from 53 in 2002 to 46 thisyear; promotion rates fell from 24 percent last year to 19percent. The lower promotion rate was due in part toan increase in the number of officers competing at theminister-counselor level: 241 in 2003 compared to 221in 2002. Across the threshold, promotions and promo-tion rates increased slightly, from 75 (17 percent) in2002 to 77 (18 percent) this year.

Promotions and promotion rates in the mid-gradeswere substantially higher this year than in 2002 and in

the past four years. Promotions to FS01 increased from136 in 2002 to 156 this year; promotion rates increasedfrom 16 to 18 percent. Since integration, FS02 to FS01promotions and promotion rates have increased from129 (16 percent) in 2000 to 156 (18 percent) this year.

Both promotions and promotion rates to FS02increased this year. During the past four years, promo-tions have increased from 214 in 2000 to 224 this year;promotion rates have increased by 12 percentage points,from 35 percent in 2000 to 47 percent this year.

The number of promotions from FS04 to FS03increased significantly, jumping from 150 in 2002 to 209this year. Promotion rates to FS03 increased slightly,

from 71 percent last year to 76 percent. The increase inpromotions is due primarily to the growth in the num-ber of employees eligible to compete for FS03. Over thefour-year period, the number of promotions and pro-motion rates has fluctuated because of year-to-year dif-ferences in the number of employees eligible to competefor promotion.

The total number of multifunctional promotions hasincreased from 93 in 1999 and 108 in 2000 (post inte-gration) to 122 this year. Overall promotion rates forofficers competing multifunctionally for OC, FS01 andFS02 have increased from roughly 16 percent in 1999 tomore than 20 percent in 2003. The multifunctionalpromotion rate in 2000 mirrors that of 2003. Both thenumber of multifunctional promotions and promotionrates for all classes were higher this year than in 2002.

Among the specialist skill groups, promotion num-bers have varied during the five-year period, dependingon deficits in each skill group and changes in adminis-trative promotion levels. Overall promotion rates forspecialists for the five-year period have fluctuatedbetween 20 percent this year and 24 percent in 1999 and2000. Given the diversity of career paths among thespecialist skill groups and recent changes in some of theskill groups, examining promotion rates by class doesnot reveal any significant patterns. ■

The author is a program analyst in the Office of ResourceManagement and Organization Analysis.

THESE STATISTICS PROVIDE EMPLOYEES

WITH INFORMATION THEY CAN USE IN

THEIR CAREER PLANNING.

38 STATE MAGAZINE

The Bureau of Human Resources has prepared the follow-ing statistical summary of promotions granted on the basis ofrecommendations made by the 2003 Selection Boards. Thedata show the number of members who competed, the num-ber promoted and the percentage of those competing who

were promoted. Additionally, the data give the average time-in-class and length of service of employees eligible to com-pete for promotion and those promoted. Readers shouldnote that the data have little significance for competitiongroups with relatively small numbers of promotion opportu-nities.

The data are organized by class and primary skill code (i.e.,functional field for generalists and occupational category forspecialists). Multifunctional promotions of generalists in

FEMC TO FECM (Classwide competition of all eligible officers)Management 21 0 0.0 6.3 0.0 28.2 0.0Consular 11 0 0.0 6.8 0.0 29.7 0.0Economic 27 1 3.7 6.3 9.7 29.0 29.8Political 41 3 7.3 6.2 8.3 29.6 27.9Information Tech Manager 1 0 0.0 7.6 0.0 37.5 0.0Psychiatrist 1 0 0.0 13.7 0.0 23.0 0.0 Security Officers 1 0 0.0 6.4 0.0 27.7 0.0Medical Officers 6 0 0.0 7.5 0.0 16.7 0.0Science Officers 1 0 0.0 4.7 0.0 25.7 0.0Public Diplomacy 13 0 0.0 6.4 0.0 28.3 0.0TOTAL 123 4 3.3 6.4 8.7 28.5 28.4

GENERALIST FEOC TO FEMC (Classwide competition of all eligible offi-cers and competition by cone)Management 50 7 14.0 3.9 3.8 24.3 28.1Consular 34 9 26.5 3.9 4.3 24.5 25.3Economic 41 7 17.1 3.4 3.6 23.6 23.2Political 62 17 27.4 3.6 4.0 23.5 23.8Public Diplomacy 54 6 11.1 3.9 4.8 23.7 21.2TOTAL 241 46 19.1 3.7 4.1 23.9 24.3

FS-1 TO FEOC (Multifunctional competition of all eligible officers and com-petition by cone; Eligibles include only those requesting threshold review)FUNCTIONAL PROMOTIONSManagement 85 12 14.1 6.0 5.3 21.3 19.4Consular 62 8 12.9 6.4 8.3 23.2 23.8Economic 70 8 11.4 5.6 4.7 21.4 18.0Political 114 10 8.8 6.3 5.8 21.7 21.1Public Diplomacy 79 13 16.5 7.8 7.7 19.8 17.2MULTIFUNCTIONAL PROMOTIONS*Management 18 3 16.7 6.0 4.0 19.9 17.9Consular 38 5 13.2 7.6 5.9 23.5 21.3Economic 37 5 13.5 6.5 6.1 21.4 20.7Political 78 12 15.4 6.6 5.3 21.5 19.4Public Diplomacy 11 1 9.1 8.1 6.6 17.7 17.4Narcotics 2 0 0.0 7.7 0.0 13.5 0.0TOTAL 438 77 17.6 6.4 6.1 21.3 19.7

FS-2 TO FS-1 (Multifunctional competition of all eligible officers andcompetition by cone)FUNCTIONAL PROMOTIONSManagement 161 23 14.3 5.6 5.5 16.5 16.3Consular 135 16 11.9 5.4 7.7 16.1 16.7Economic 175 21 12.0 5.3 6.8 15.9 16.9Political 239 25 10.5 5.3 5.9 16.2 17.3Public Diplomacy 128 28 21.9 6.5 8.1 15.0 15.4MULTIFUNCTIONAL PROMOTIONS*Management 30 6 20.0 6.2 4.9 18.1 14.8Consular 55 9 16.4 6.4 6.3 16.7 16.1Economic 58 7 12.1 6.3 5.8 17.0 15.6Political 108 17 15.7 6.7 6.2 17.2 15.5Public Diplomacy 21 4 19.0 5.6 8.3 13.9 15.7Narcotics 1 0 0.0 12.9 0.0 12.9 0.0TOTAL 882 156 17.7 5.6 6.6 16.0 16.2

FS-3 TO FS-2 (Multifunctional competition of all eligible officers andcompetition by cone)FUNCTIONAL PROMOTIONSManagement 47 26 55.3 4.6 4.4 11.0 11.8Consular 115 33 28.7 4.7 6.1 10.8 12.9Economic 104 38 36.5 4.5 5.4 10.2 11.0Political 116 44 37.9 4.3 4.6 9.6 10.0Public Diplomacy 45 30 66.7 4.7 4.2 9.3 9.2MULTIFUNCTIONAL PROMOTIONS*Management 14 2 14.3 4.6 5.2 11.0 11.3Consular 30 12 40.0 4.9 4.8 10.1 9.7Economic 41 14 34.1 4.7 4.6 10.2 9.8Political 57 23 40.4 4.6 5.0 9.8 9.3Public Diplomacy 8 2 25.0 4.2 6.2 10.4 14.9TOTAL 480 224 46.7 4.6 4.9 10.2 10.7

* A number of officers were competed functionally and multifunctionally.Thus, they are included in both competition groups and the totals aregreater than the actual membership of the competition group. If memberswere promoted multifunctionally in the first session, they were not compet-ed functionally in the second session.

Number CompetedNumber Promoted

% Competed Promoted

Average Time-in-Class of Competed

Promotees’ Average Time-in-Class

Average Length of Service Completed

Promotees’ Average Length of Service

2003 FOREIGN SERVICEPROMOTION STATISTICS

Number CompetedNumber Promoted

% Competed Promoted

Average Time-in-Class of Competed

Promotees’ Average Time-in-Class

Average Length of Service Completed

Promotees’ Average Length of Service

39JANUARY 2004

Facilities Maintenance 5 2 40.0 4.7 2.7 10.3 10.3English Language Specialist 7 1 14.3 6.4 15.4 13.4 18.9Information Resource 2 1 50.0 3.3 2.7 9.2 8.8Medical Technologist 2 0 0.0 3.7 0.0 23.3 0.0Health Practitioner 10 1 10.0 4.7 3.7 13.9 12.5Printing 1 0 0.0 15.4 0.0 20.9 0.0TOTAL 483 43 8.9 5.9 6.8 16.7 16.4

FS-3 TO FS-2Financial Management 19 9 47.4 2.9 3.0 3.8 4.9Human Resources 5 4 80.0 4.3 4.7 7.5 8.1General Services 40 5 12.5 4.7 6.1 13.1 24.0Information Management 150 28 18.7 4.3 4.6 15.5 14.8Information Mgmt Technical 59 12 20.3 5.7 6.9 13.6 15.0Diplomatic Courier 15 2 13.3 6.2 4.7 21.1 11.5Security Officer 121 38 31.4 6.4 5.9 14.2 13.0Security Engineer 12 7 58.3 2.7 2.7 4.6 4.5Construction Engineer 5 3 60.0 3.3 2.7 5.3 5.2Facilities Maintenance 15 3 20.0 4.7 6.0 8.2 8.9Information Resource 4 3 75.0 2.8 2.7 3.6 4.4Medical Technologist 2 0 0.0 4.7 0.0 22.1 0.0Health Practitioner 18 6 33.3 3.1 3.2 4.6 6.0Printing 1 1 100.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2Office Mgmt Specialist 12 0 0.0 5.4 0.0 30.1 0.0TOTAL 478 121 25.3 5.0 4.9 13.6 11.9

FS-4 TO FS-3Human Resources 10 6 60.0 1.3 1.3 3.7 3.6General Services 36 9 25.0 2.6 4.2 3.9 6.3Information Management 208 50 24.0 3.2 3.4 8.5 8.5Information Mgmt Technical 37 13 35.1 2.5 2.6 4.1 4.3Diplomatic Courier 47 2 4.3 3.4 1.7 8.1 4.2Security Officer 208 106 51.0 1.7 1.6 4.2 4.1Security Engineer 28 9 32.1 1.8 1.9 2.9 3.1Security Technician 30 2 6.7 1.2 1.2 3.8 3.8Construction Engineer 6 3 50.0 2.3 2.7 2.3 2.7Facilities Maintenance 69 10 14.5 4.0 5.9 4.1 6.3Medical Technologist 2 2 100.0 1.8 1.8 4.7 4.7Office Mgmt Specialist 110 6 5.5 5.2 6.0 22.8 24.5TOTAL 791 218 27.6 2.9 2.5 8.1 5.8

FS-5 TO FS-4Office Mgmt Specialist 160 23 14.4 3.9 4.5 14.6 14.5TOTAL 160 23 14.4 3.9 4.5 14.6 14.5

FS-6 TO FS-5Office Mgmt Specialist 257 47 18.3 3.0 4.4 6.9 9.8TOTALS 257 47 18.3 3.0 4.4 6.9 9.8

FS-4 TO FS-3 (Tenured junior officers competed classwide; FP general-ists competed by cone or management subfunction)Management 43 33 76.7 2.7 2.2 4.6 4.0Consular 58 39 67.2 2.9 2.7 4.8 4.7Economic 75 60 80.0 2.2 2.2 3.9 3.9Political 67 53 79.1 2.4 2.4 4.1 4.0Public Diplomacy 33 24 72.7 2.5 2.2 4.3 4.2TOTAL 276 209 75.7 2.5 2.3 4.3 4.1

Specialists FEOC TO FEMC (Competed by occupational category)Financial Management 1 0 0.0 2.5 0.0 17.8 0.0Information Tech Mgmt 9 0 0.0 3.0 0.0 22.4 0.0Diplomatic Courier 1 0 0.0 3.6 0.0 36.7 0.0Psychiatrist 2 1 50.0 4.5 6.4 8.8 10.7Security Officer 19 3 15.8 3.8 4.5 26.1 26.7Construction Engineer 2 0 0.0 4.5 0.0 17.8 0.0English Language Specialist 1 0 0.0 4.9 0.0 23.5 0.0Medical Officer 7 1 14.3 6.6 6.4 12.9 11.0Health Practitioner 2 0 0.0 3.6 0.0 23.8 0.0Printing 1 0 0.0 3.6 0.0 14.8 0.0TOTAL 45 5 11.1 4.1 5.3 21.8 20.3

FS-1 TO FEOC (Eligibles include only those requesting thresholdreview)Financial Management 17 1 5.9 5.5 7.7 20.8 28.9Information Tech Mgmt 25 3 12.0 4.3 3.0 22.9 19.7Diplomatic Courier 3 0 0.0 4.4 0.0 25.9 0.0Psychiatrist 3 1 33.3 4.5 5.1 2.9 5.1Security Officer 27 8 29.6 4.4 4.7 21.5 18.4Security Engineer 13 1 7.7 7.2 10.7 18.4 18.2Construction Engineer 9 0 0.0 9.0 0.0 17.2 0.0Facilities Maintenance 4 0 0.0 5.2 0.0 17.0 0.0English Language Specialist 3 0 0.0 9.0 0.0 18.3 0.0Information Resource 4 0 0.0 6.5 0.0 14.9 0.0Medical Officer 3 1 33.3 5.1 6.1 5.1 6.1Health Practitioner 5 0 0.0 4.7 0.0 21.8 0.0Printing 1 0 0.0 7.0 0.0 17.4 0.0TOTAL 117 15 12.8 5.5 5.1 19.7 17.6

FS-2 TO FS-1Financial Management 45 2 4.4 5.6 11.7 11.5 28.7Human Resources 16 3 18.8 5.5 6.0 22.6 23.7General Services 24 2 8.3 5.0 4.7 17.7 13.5Inform. Tech Mgmt 112 5 4.5 5.7 7.3 19.3 20.3Diplomatic Courier 6 1 16.7 4.5 2.7 21.6 10.2Security Officer 178 17 9.6 5.7 7.2 17.3 16.9Security Engineer 60 3 5.0 7.9 9.7 15.1 15.5Construction Engineer 15 5 33.3 4.2 5.1 8.4 8.9

classes 01, 02 and 03 are shown in separate groups by cone. Asummary explanation of the various skill code groups at each

level is provided below; detailed information on this aspectmay be obtained from the 2003 Selection Board precepts.

Number CompetedNumber Promoted

% Competed Promoted

Average Time-in-Class of Competed

Promotees’ Average Time-in-Class

Average Length of Service Completed

Promotees’ Average Length of Service

Number CompetedNumber Promoted

% Competed Promoted

Average Time-in-Class of Competed

Promotees’ Average Time-in-Class

Average Length of Service Completed

Promotees’ Average Length of Service

40 STATE MAGAZINE

U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of El Salvador. H.Douglas Barclay of New York, apartner in the firm of Hiscock &Barclay, LLP, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofEl Salvador. A specialist in bank-ing and administrative law, hehas been a partner in the 140-

attorney firm and its predecessors since 1961. Mr.Barclay served 20 years in the New York State Senate aschairman of the Senate judiciary committee, the selecttask force on court reorganization and the SenateRepublican conference. He was a delegate to theRepublican national conventions in 1988 and 1992, vicechair of the Bush/Quayle campaign in 1988 and chair ofthe campaign in 1992. Mr. Barclay was a delegate to the2000 Republican national convention, New York co-chair of Lawyers for Bush and a member of the Bush-Cheney transition advisory committee. He has been amember of the board of trustees of Syracuse Universitysince 1979 and was chairman of the board from 1992 to1998. He and his wife Sara have five children.

U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Suriname. MarshaE. Barnes of Maryland, a careermember of the Senior ForeignService, class of Counselor, is thenew U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Suriname. She was aspecial assistant to the deputysecretary, chief of the European

assignments division in the Bureau of HumanResources and deputy executive director of the Bureauof Consular Affairs. Ms. Barnes directed the Office ofCaribbean Affairs from 1999 to 2002. She has servedabroad in Georgetown, Bonn, Berlin and Moscow. She ismarried to Robert A. Bradtke, a deputy assistant secre-tary in the Bureau of European Affairs.

U.S. Ambassador to the CzechRepublic. William J. Cabaniss ofAlabama, chairman and chiefexecutive officer of PrecisionGrinding, Inc., is the new U.S.Ambassador to the CzechRepublic. From 1964 to 1967,Mr. Cabaniss served in the U.S.Army as an Airborne Ranger

officer. After his military service, he returned to hishometown of Birmingham, Ala., and began his businesscareer with the Southern Cement Co., a division ofMartin Marietta Corp. In 1971, he resigned as directorof market development at Southern Cement andacquired the assets of a small metal-company. Sincethen, he has built Precision Grinding, Inc., into a suc-cessful steel plate processing and metal machining busi-ness, where he remains chairman of the board and chiefexecutive officer. Mr. Cabaniss served in the AlabamaHouse of Representatives from 1978 to 1982 and in theAlabama State Senate from 1982 to 1990. He andhis wife Catherine have two daughters and two grand-children.

Assistant Secretary forInternational Narcotics andLaw Enforcement Affairs.Robert B. Charles of Maryland,president of the Charles Group,a consulting firm inGaithersburg, Md., is the newassistant secretary forInternational Narcotics and Law

Enforcement Affairs. From 1999 to 2003, he managedhis firm and taught government and cyber-law atHarvard University Extension School. As a U.S. NavyReservist, Mr. Charles volunteered for active duty afterSept. 11, serving as a trainer and watch officer at theCrisis Watch Center for the Chief of Naval Operations.From 1995 through 1999, he was chief counsel and staffdirector to the U.S. House of RepresentativesSubcommittee on National Security, InternationalAffairs and Criminal Justice and chief staff member ofthe Speaker’s task force on counter-narcotics. Deputyassociate director of policy development in the firstBush Administration, Mr. Charles clerked on the U.S.Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, from 1987 through1988 and practiced law in New York and Washington,D.C. He and his wife Marina have two children.

A P P O I N T M E N T S

41JANUARY 2004

U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Tajikistan. RichardE. Hoagland of the District ofColumbia, a career member ofthe Senior Foreign Service, classof Minister-Counselor, is thenew U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Tajikistan. He direct-ed the Office of Caucasus and

Central Asian Affairs in the Bureau of European andEurasian Affairs from 2001 to 2003. As director of theOffice of Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of SouthAsian Affairs from 1999 to 2001, Mr. Hoagland alsoserved as a special adviser to the National SecurityCouncil for public diplomacy on Afghanistan. He waspress spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, servedone tour in Uzbekistan and two in Pakistan. He spenthis first Pakistan tour working with the Afghan resist-ance during the Soviet-Afghan War from 1986 to 1989.From 1991 to 1992, he was deputy special envoy forAfghanistan after serving as lead analyst for Afghanistanin the Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 1989to 1991.

U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.James C. Kenny of Illinois, exec-utive vice president of KennyConstruction Co. and presidentof Kenny Management Services,is the new U.S. Ambassador toIreland. Kenny Construction is a75-year-old Chicago firminvolved in nationwide projects,

while Kenny Management is a new division that over-sees complex projects such as the expansion of MidwayAirport and the construction of a new stadium for theChicago Bears football team. Mr. Kenny has also devot-ed considerable time to public service. In 1991, Illinoisthen-Governor James Edgar appointed him to theMetropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Board.President George H.W. Bush appointed him to theNational Corporation for Housing Partnerships. Healso served on the transition teams for IllinoisGovernors James Edgar, 1991, and George Ryan, 1998 to1999, and President George W. Bush, 2000 to 2001. Heand his wife Margaret have four children.

U.S. Permanent Representativeto the Organization ofAmerican States. John F. Maistoof Pennsylvania, special assistantto President Bush and seniordirector for Western HemisphereAffairs for National SecurityAdvisor Condoleezza Rice, is thenew U.S. Permanent Represen-

tative to the Organization of American States. He heldthe White House positions from 2001 to 2003. Mr.Maisto was U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela from 1997 to2000 and foreign policy adviser at the U.S. SouthernCommand from 2000 to 2001. Mr. Maisto served as U.S.Ambassador to Nicaragua from 1993 to 1996 and asdeputy assistant secretary for Central American Affairsfrom 1992 to 1993. He was deputy U.S. Representativeto the OAS from 1989 to 1992 and deputy chief ofmission in Panama. He also served in Manila, San Joseand La Paz. He and his wife Maria Consuelo have threechildren.

Assistant Secretary for WesternHemisphere Affairs. Roger F.Noriega of Kansas, U.S.Permanent Representative to theOrganization of American Statesfrom 2001 to 2003, is the newAssistant Secretary for WesternHemisphere Affairs. Before hisOAS appointment, he was a sen-

ior staff member for the Committee on ForeignRelations of the U.S. Senate. He was a senior staff mem-ber for the Committee on International Relations of theU.S. House of Representatives from 1994 to 1997. From1990 through 1993, he was the senior policy adviser andalternate U.S. Representative at the U.S. Mission to theOAS and senior adviser for public information at theOAS from 1993 to 1994. Mr. Noriega has also servedwith the U.S. Agency for International Developmentand the Bureaus of Inter-American Affairs and PublicAffairs. He was press secretary and legislative assistantfor then-Congressman Bob Whittaker from 1983to 1986.

A P P O I N T M E N T S

42 STATE MAGAZINE

Chair of the U.S. Sectionof the International Joint Com-mission, United States andCanada. Dennis L. Schornack ofMichigan, formerly a senior offi-cial in the office of the governorof the State of Michigan, is thenew chair of the U.S. Section ofthe International Joint

Commission, United States and Canada. From 1991 to2002, Mr. Schornack served as special adviser for strate-gic initiatives, directed the Office of Health Care Reformand Policy Development and was senior policy adviserto Governor John Engler. Mr. Schornack had been onJohn Engler’s staff since 1984, when he was executiveassistant for legislative affairs to the majority leader ofthe Michigan Senate. He is married to Linda Gobler.

Coordinator of U.S.Government Activities toCombat HIV/AIDS Globally.Randall L. Tobias of Indiana,chairman emeritus of Eli Lillyand Co., is the new Coordinatorof U.S. Activities to CombatHIV/AIDS globally, with therank of ambassador. He joined

AT&T’s Indiana Bell Telephone Co. subsidiary in 1964.Shortly afterwards, he served two years on active duty asan artillery officer assigned to the faculty of the U.S.Army Artillery School at Fort Sill, Okla. Following hismilitary service he returned to AT&T in Indiana. In1977, Mr. Tobias was transferred to Illinois Bell inChicago to become vice president. Four years later, hewas moved to corporate headquarters in New Jersey,where he ran AT&T’s worldwide long distance and net-work businesses. He served as AT&T’s vice chairmanfrom 1986 to 1993 and as chairman and chief executiveofficer from 1991 to 1993. In 1993, he left AT&T tobecome chairman, president and chief executive officerof Eli Lilly and Co. Under Mr. Tobias’s leadership, thecompany experienced a dramatic turnaround, enjoyingone of the most successful periods in the firm’s history.He retired from Eli Lilly in 1999 and was named chair-man emeritus. He served for 12 years as a trustee of theColonial Williamsburg Foundation and 13 years as atrustee of Duke University. Mr. Tobias and his wifeMarianne live in Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis,Ind. He has two children, two stepchildren and eightgrandchildren.

U.S. Ambassador toSwitzerland and, without addi-tional compensation, U.S.Ambassador to the Principalityof Liechtenstein. Pamela P.Willeford of Texas, chairman ofthe Texas Higher EducationCoordinating Board, is the newU.S. Ambassador to Switzerland

and, concurrently without additional compensation,U.S. Ambassador to the Principality of Liechtenstein.Under her leadership as chairman for the past five years,the board has developed a higher education plan for thestate called “Closing the Gaps by 2015.” Ms. Willefordbegan as a teacher in Dallas public and private schools30 years ago. She served as a trustee of St. Andrew’sEpiscopal School in Austin. She has devoted consider-able time to community service projects, including asdirector of development and coordinator of the TexasCapitol rededication for the State Preservation Board.She has been founding board member and executivecommittee member of the Texas Book Festival since1996. Ms. Willeford has also served as chairman of theadvisory committee for the Laura Bush Foundation forAmerica’s Libraries. She is married to Dr. GeorgeWilleford III.

U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Colombia. WilliamB. Wood of New York, a careermember of the Senior ForeignService, class of Minister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofColombia. He was principaldeputy assistant secretary in the

Bureau of International Organization Affairs from 1998to 2002. He was chief of the political section at the U.S.Mission to the United Nations, where he was chiefnegotiator in the Security Council. He has servedabroad in Uruguay, Argentina, El Salvador and Italy; asa member of the U.S. negotiating delegation at the 1992Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europesummit in Helsinki; and as lead U.S. negotiator at theNATO High Level Task Force on conventional armscontrol. Mr. Wood has served on the policy planningstaff for Latin America, as a special assistant in theBureau of Political-Military Affairs and as an expert inLatin American affairs on the staff of the UnderSecretary for Political Affairs.

A P P O I N T M E N T S

Findley Burns Jr., a retired Foreign Service officer, diedat his home in Southern Pines, N.C., on Oct. 14. Hejoined the Foreign Service in 1941 and was postedmostly in Europe until the latter part of his career. Heserved as ambassador to Jordan from 1966 to 1968 andambassador to Ecuador from 1970 to 1973. He retiredfrom the diplomatic corps after his service in Ecuadorand joined the United Nations as director of its Officeof Technical Cooperation. He remained with the UNuntil 1980.

William S. Caldwell, 82, a formerForeign Service officer, died Nov.1 of cancer in Northridge, Calif.He served in the Foreign Servicefrom 1945 to 1950—first as athird secretary at the U.S.Embassy in Rome and later asdirector of the U.S. InformationService at the U.S. ConsulateGeneral in Palermo. He provid-

ed U.S. support to the Christian Democratic Party,which defeated the Communist Party in the Italian elec-tions of 1948. The election was a crucial turning pointin preventing the spread of communism to WesternEurope. After retiring, he participated in several inter-national groups, including the League of Sister Citiesand the United Nations Association. He served in theU.S. Army during World War II.

Mary Pearl Dougherty, 88, aretired Foreign Service secretary,died Nov. 13 of cancer at theMethodist Home of Washington,D.C. She began her federal careeron the eve of World War II withthe War Department. When shejoined the State Department, itwas considered the most segre-gated federal agency. On her first

assignment to Liberia, she served as the ambassador’ssecretary. Later postings included Vietnam, the CentralAfrican Republic, Zaire, France, Germany and Romania.She crisscrossed Europe in a Volkswagen and inVietnam invited Vietnamese people to receptions in herhome. She mentored young black Foreign Service offi-cers, including Edward Perkins, the first black U.S.

Ambassador to South Africa. On her 75th birthday,friends surprised her with a party, includingAmbassador Perkins. He attended even though he wasalso invited to a reception honoring Nelson Mandela,who was visiting the nation’s capital. She came out ofretirement to work at Howard University and as a con-sultant to the National Association of Negro Businessand Professional Women’s Clubs. She led a delegation ofclub members to West Africa. As a volunteer, she escort-ed State-sponsored international visitors throughoutthe United States.

William J. Fox, a retired ForeignService officer, died May 28,2003, at Marian CommunityHospital in Carbondale, Pa. Hejoined the Foreign Service in1948 and served in Paris,Brussels, New Delhi, Tel Aviv,Bangkok, Frankfurt and Rome.His wife Catharina Jansen Foxaccompanied him on all his

assignments. He retired in 1988. A prisoner of warin Germany during World War II, he received thePurple Heart.

Charles Marshall Hanson Jr., 88,a retired Foreign Service officer,died Oct. 1 in Rockville, Md.,after a brief illness. He joined theForeign Service in 1948—thethird African American to do so.He had passed the ForeignService exam in 1941 but wasdenied entry on racial grounds.President Truman desegregated

the armed forces and civilian services after World WarII. Fluent in six languages, Mr. Hanson served two toursin Liberia and one tour each in Switzerland, India,Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria, Ghana, Curaçao and theUnited Nations. In Ghana, he served as deputy chief ofmission to Ambassador Shirley Temple Black and asconsul general to the Netherlands Antilles. DuringWorld War II, he served with the all-black 92nd InfantryDivision in Italy with his brother Herbert. Ironically,shrapnel from the same shell that wounded him killedhis brother.

43JANUARY 2004

O B I T U A R I E S

44 STATE MAGAZINE

Dorothy Basham McCormick, 80,a retired Civil Service employee,died of a brain tumor at herhome in Arlington, Va., on July29, 2003. Mrs. McCormickbegan her federal career in 1941as a secretary with theReconstruction FinanceCorporation, where she workeduntil 1951. She then worked for

the Office of Defense Mobilization until her first daugh-ter was born in 1954. Mrs. McCormick returned towork in 1970 at the U.S. Tax Court. From 1971 until herretirement in 1983, Mrs. McCormick worked at theForeign Service Institute. Her daughter, EileenMcCormick Place, is a public affairs officer in theBureau of Public Affairs.

Robert R. Schott, 82, a retired Foreign Service officer,died of an aneurysm on Oct. 19 while vacationing inSweden. He joined the diplomatic corps in 1945 andserved his first assignment in Basra, Iraq. Subsequentposts included Tehran, Salonika, Meshed (where heserved as consul) and Nicosia. The partition of Cyprusbetween Greece and Turkey occurred during this turbu-lent period. After retiring in 1970, he remained active asa business consultant in Tehran and Athens. He servedin the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1944.

Elayne Jeannette Urban, 61, aretired Foreign Service officer,died June 28, 2003, of cancer atSuburban Hospital in Bethesda,Md. After a brief stint at theCensus Bureau, she joined theState Department in 1966. Shewas posted to La Paz, Madrid,Bogotá, Santo Domingo,Mazatlán, Guadalajara and

Washington, D.C. After retiring in 1994, she returned tothe Department as a contract employee and worked ona special counterterrorism project until March 2000.She returned to the project part time after the terroristattacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and remained until October2002, when her cancer treatments began.

Richard E. Usher, 84, a retired Foreign Service officer,died Nov. 11 in Potomac, Md. He joined the StateDepartment in 1942 and served in Canada and Ceylonbefore being called to active duty as an Army intelli-gence officer in Ceylon and Burma. After the war, heserved as vice consul in Rangoon. Other postingsincluded Brussels, a second tour in Rangoon, Manilaand the Middle East. In Washington, D.C., he served asdesk officer for Ceylon and Burma, deputy director ofSouth East Asian Affairs, director of East Asian RegionalAffairs and director of the Office of Philippine Affairs.He retired in 1974.

Aleshire, Marilyn E.Atwood, Richard B.Carey, PeggyCartron, George JosephCochran, Carolyn J.Compton, Paula B.Couts, Elizabeth E.Ford Jr., Carl W.Kelly, James F.Kurland, Roger BenedictLeader, Judith K.Lee, Arnold Don

Lightel, Nancy M.Maitland, Duncan H.McLaughlin, John A.McMahon, Joanne C.Micker, Richard C.Moore, Margie W.Murrell, Lena G.Paz, Maria TeresaRockmaker, SigrunSteinberg, MorrisTalbert, Paula C.Thounhurst, Thomas E.

Adams, Charles H.Anderson, Donna J.Austin, Henrietta C.Beech, Floyd RichardBell, Randolph M.Bigler, Alan O.Blohm, Robert J.Brown, Stuart V.Cady, Nancy H.Carter-Tripp, H. MarshallChin, Alvin H.Collins, Richard PaulDailey, Grace G.Davis, Kenneth B.Deibler, Roy A.Delaney, Thomas J.Dipasquale, DomenickDittmer, Lyle A.Drain, Robert Wilder

Dubrow, Jeannette P.Dunkerley, Craig G.Dworken Jr., Morton R.Feeney, John J.Gallagher, Michael J.Gleason, Steven R.Hacker, PaulHauptmann, Jerzy J.Himmelsbach, Russell F.Itoh, William H.Jennings, Hartford TerryKaneda, Robert JamesKilgore, Gloria J.Kinney, Stephanie SmithKoenig, StevenKragen, Robert EdwardKursch, Donald B.Laurance, LaurieLino, Marisa R.

Lippincott, Stephen A.Mathews, Linda MarieMcIlvaine, StevensonMong, Susan J.Pinkham, Shirlie CarolRamirez III, Adolfo A.Raymer, Robert ThomasRichardson, Joseph P.Riegg, Nicholas H.Ries, Eric RalphRomanski, Anna M.Schwering, Katherine A.Smith, Joan V.Spakauskas, AnthonySpector, J. BrooksWaldrop III, Neal A.Wright, Georgia TyiskaYoung, James M.

FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENTS CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENTS

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

O B I T U A R I E S

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