Departments:

Letters to the Editor

More than 400 retirees returned "home" May 7 for Foreign Service Day, a special occasion this year marking the 75th anniversary of the modern Foreign Service. We weren't able to greet and talk with all of you, but we were delighted to learn firsthand from many of you that you're still reading the magazine. We want you to know that we value all of our readers, active and retired, and will continue to try to include material of interest to everyone. So if you're retired, Foreign Service or Civil Service, let us know what life is like after State!

As you can easily see from the contents page, this issue is heavy on the awards presented during Public Service Recognition Week, May 3-8, to employees in the Foreign Service and Civil Service and to Foreign Service Nationals. Many of you are kind enough to inform us of other awards presented in your offices and bureaus throughout the year, but unfortunately we are limited by space to publishing only Department-level awards in the magazine.

The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, featured in this issue, may be associated with maps, but you'll find projects in this office's portfolio far exceeding the boundaries suggested by the name.

Wherever your travels may take you this summer and whatever map you may use, we hope you'll also take along a copy of State Magazine as a companion and friendly reminder of home.

Carl Goodman

We encourage your responses to particular articles featured in State Magazine Online. We do, however, reserve the right to edit parts of letters for space requirements. Only signed letters will be considered. Names may be withheld upon request.

My wife Yasemin and I would like to thank the many State employees who sent emails, cards and letters while I was recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from injuries received last August in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Your support was very helpful to us during this painful period. Since then, we have been blessed with a lovely little boy, Marc, and mother and son are doing well.

We pray that all of you serving our country overseas will be protected from these terrorist acts. God bless you and thank you from our hearts.

Frank Pressley Jr.
U.S. Consulate, Frankfurt

Promoting Understanding

Thank you for including in April's issue the article about our organization's annual conference for diplomats in Northern Ireland. We are pleased to have word of these conferences made known to a wider audience. In case your readers may want to contact us by email, the address is theciu@worldnet.att.net.

Carol K. Cook
Executive Director Centre for International Understanding

Check Policy Before Using Commercial Software

Your article on off-the-shelf software in the February issue raises security concerns. Although the article is informative, some of the computer applications and data transfer/sharing techniques are generally unauthorized.

Security policies govern software applications in a computer networking environment overseas and electronic devices in controlled access areas. Policy violations could occur if these products and techniques are used at other posts without a thorough knowledge of automated information system regulations.

Thank you for your support.

David G. Carpenter
Assistant Secretary Diplomatic Security

Corrections to May Issue

The article on "Improving Intelligence Support to Diplomacy" incorrectly identified Sen. Richard Shelby. He chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Also, the name of Rep. Porter Goss, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, was misspelled in the photo caption.

In addition, the name of the author of "The History of the Foreign Service" was misspelled. He is William Slany, the Department historian.

And Irene Hirano's title was incorrectly identified in the "State Celebrates Asia Pacific Heritage" article. She is the president of the Japanese American National Museum.

HomePage | Previous Department | Next Department