Feature Story:

Public Service Recognition Week
Foreign Service Day in Review

ore than 400 Foreign Service retirees, family members and guests from approximately 35 states, Washington, D.C., and four countries participated May 7 in the annual Foreign Service Day.

Co-sponsored by the State Department, American Foreign Service Association, Association of American Foreign Service Women and Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired, the occasion was part of State's Public Service Recognition Week observance.

Packing the Loy Henderson Conference Room, attendees received warm welcomes from the presidents of the sponsoring organizations and from Edward W. "Skip" Gnehm Jr., the director general of the Foreign Service and director of Personnel.

Ambassador Gnehm described the 75th anniversary of the Foreign Service as "special and solemn." He recalled the bombings last August in East Africa on the very day he was scheduled to welcome the 88th class of new Foreign Service officers. Was it appropriate to do so, staff had asked. He determined that it was and found the new officers just as determined to face the challenges and dangers of life in the Foreign Service.

"They weren't daunted or intimidated," by the bombings, he said, immediately volunteering their services in the Family Liaison Office and on the East Africa Task Force. This demonstrated, the director general said, that "we're getting the best in the Foreign Service today."

In his state of the Foreign Service message, he said the Department has made a long-term commitment to recruiting "the best and brightest" and had implemented a "robust hiring plan" to mitigate the deficits of the past. He said hiring increased from 450 new hires in 1997 to 1,350 thus far in 1999. He said shortages remain in such critical areas as office management, information technology and general services.

To compete with the private sector for talent, Ambassador Gnehm said, the Department is trying innovative recruiting methods, including the World Wide Web and a pilot, alternative examination for current government employees interested in the Foreign Service. The Department has to find an alternative to the 24-month wait associated with the traditional Foreign Service written examination, which will be given on Nov. 6 as scheduled, without impacting the quality of entrants.

"We can't compete with corporate America" locked into the traditional Foreign Service time frames, the director general said.

He also reported that the reorganization of the foreign affairs agencies was proceeding on schedule, and that the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency became part of State on April 1. "ACDA went fine," he said, but consolidating the U.S. Information Agency "will be harder" because it is much larger.

Department counselor Wendy Sherman spoke for Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, who was ill.

"Diplomacy is a front-line profession," Ms. Sherman said, not one in which we can hide in bunkers.

"NATO didn't start this crisis," Ms. Sherman said, referring to the crisis in Kosovo, "Belgrade did." The crisis would end only, she said, with "one out" (Serbia) and "two ins" (a NATO-led peacekeeping force and the families forced from their homes).

The Secretary of State's Awards for Outstanding Volunteerism, supported by the Association of American Foreign Service Women, were awarded to five individuals for making a difference in their communities. They are:

Johanna Braden, wife of Marine Corps Maj. Thomas C. Braden, the defense attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia, was cited for securing basic supplies and equipment for a hospice for elderly citizens, providing clothing and gifts for an orphanage and helping build a recreation room for intensive and long-term patients at a children's hospital.

Kristina Dodd, wife of Brian Dodd of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, was honored for promoting morale among mission members and supporting local charities, including homes for pensioners, teen mothers and orphan girls. As president of the Embassy Volunteers Association, she also raised funds for victims of Hurricane Mitch.

Michele Johnson, wife of U.S. Agency for International Development's Thomas Johnson at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, was cited for creating an innovative musical program celebrating the cultural, commercial and social ties between southern Mozambique and neighboring provinces and for raising funds to serve youth with HIV/AIDS.

Cheryl Rose, wife of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration employee Christopher Rose at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, was honored for providing love and care to infants and children victimized by the AIDS epidemic in Thailand.

Eglal Rousseau, wife of U.S. Agency for International Development employee Richard Rousseau at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was honored for providing some 60 of the city's child beggars with food, immunizations, educational materials and employment opportunities for some of their parents.

Susan Summers, a Foreign Service nurse at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco, was cited for organizing contributions of food and funds to more than 100 children and their families seeking surgery for head and face injuries, for volunteering at a detention center for girls in Casablanca and for facilitating the work of American and Moroccan charities.

Two cups were presented during Foreign Service Day to two former ambassadors for their achievements and contributions in both the public and private sectors.

Ambassador Thomas D. Boyatt received the Foreign Service Cup, sponsored by DACOR, for combining public service with an active understanding of the private sector. A resident of McLean, Va., and president of Boyatt Wood Enterprises, Mr. Boyatt retired from the Foreign Service in 1984 after serving as U.S. Ambassador to Upper Volta and Colombia and in other positions in Chile, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Washington, D.C. He was honored for his many post-retirement efforts to encourage the best in American diplomacy as a board member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, treasurer and board member of AFSA and for the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training and finance committee chair and board member of DACOR.

Former Secretary of State Lawrence S. "Larry" Eagleburger received the Director General's Cup for setting the standard for the U.S. foreign policy community through his professionalism and dedication to the national interest, candor in dealing with Congress and foreign officials and genuine concern for others. The honor also recognizes his achievements in the complex post­Cold War world.

A career member of the Foreign Service and legendary for his sense of humor, Mr. Eagleburger continues service as chair of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Claims. A former ambassador to Yugoslavia, assistant secretary for European Affairs and under secretary for Political Affairs, he was called out of retirement by President Bush to serve as deputy secretary of State. He was later confirmed as Secretary.

Pausing to reflect on those killed in the East Africa bombings are, from left, AFSA President Dan Geisler, Secretary Madeleine Albright and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

At a memorial ceremony unveiling plaques honoring those killed and injured during the bombings last August of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, National Security Adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger delivered President Clinton's message of gratitude and thanks to the victims' families and friends and conveyed the nation's debt to those who conduct its foreign policy on the front lines.

"We are proud every day to work with the men and women of the State Department," Mr. Berger read.

Secretary Madeleine Albright said that while no ceremony "can rewind history or undo events," it was fitting to honor the service, sacrifice and patriotism of those killed or injured in the embassy bombings while also recognizing the proud tradition of the Foreign Service.

The Secretary noted, however, that the victims worked for several U.S. agencies, not just State. "And while the Foreign Service was at the core of these embassies, they worked together as a team," she said, adding, "In the new century as in this one, America will lead, and we will do so as a team."

Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., who attended the ceremony, spoke later at a luncheon in the Benjamin Franklin Room. The former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom chaired two accountability review boards investigating the bombings in East Africa and currently serves on the panel charged with recommending to the Secretary how best to locate and secure overseas posts.

Admiral Crowe, 74, who was assistant naval attaché to President Eisenhower, noted that the modern Foreign Service is one year his senior. He expressed deep admiration for career Foreign Service officers, commending them for their "dedication, even temperament, imagination, coolness under pressure and highly developed sense of humor."

While the work environment may undergo drastic changes, he said, core skills possessed by analysts, negotiators, interpreters, advocates, facilitators and salespersons "will still be in fashion and serving the republic well."

The Foreign Service, he said, has lived up to its expected role in building the postwar security structure. He called it "a national asset to be treasured and nurtured."

Seminars were conducted during the afternoon by all the regional bureaus. In the Bureau of European Affairs seminar, the crisis in Kosovo was very much on the minds of those attending. Assistant Secretary Marc Grossman fielded questions from attendees about whether diplomacy and trade sanctions had been given a chance to work. He responded that they had but obviously were unsuccessful.

Former Senator Bob Dole, who spent 35 years in Congress before resigning to run for President, was the keynote speaker. He used the occasion to stress that "foreign policy should be nonpartisan or bipartisan" and that Congress should support the President and Secretary of State.

The crisis in Kosovo, he said, presents the United States and NATO with an opportunity to demonstrate "credibility and relevance" in the 21st century.

In concluding the day's activities, Director General Gnehm urged all attendees to help convince Congress and the public that the Foreign Service, like the military services, should never be asked to put its people on the line unprepared.

"We need your help to make this case," the director general said.

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