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Letters to the Editor

When you think about it, the Department of State is like a large corporation, whose 50,000 employees rank it right up there in size with that household name, American Express. Its employees are scattered worldwide and its portfolio is about as diverse as one can get--from arms control and nuclear nonproliferation to refugees and free elections.

In this special issue, we highlight those employees stateside and overseas who have contributed significantly to their corporation's bottom line--from improving trade and information systems to evacuating employees from war-torn countries. Obviously, in a corporation as large as State, selecting those outstanding performers is a demanding, if not daunting, task.

We are especially proud of our Foreign Service National employees, the largest segment of the "corporation," whose remarkable contributions are highlighted in this issue.

As with any corporation, top officials come and go. And so it is at State. Ambassador Edward W. "Skip" Gnehm Jr., the former director general, reports soon to Australia as U.S. Ambassador to be succeeded by Ambassador Marc Grossman, former assistant secretary of State for European Affairs, who was sworn in June 19 as the new director general of the Foreign Service and director of Human Resources. Their appointments appear inside this issue along with many others.

Our post this month is Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), a bustling urban center full of young and vibrant Vietnamese who are looking to a brighter future and where consulate general staff considers itself fortunate to serve.

On a lighter note, we visit with two passport employees in Charleston, S.C., Lester and Maryann Paine, who take their love of water literally.

We hope your summer is going well--whether on land or water.

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.

In your May issue, you ran an interesting photo on the inside cover of Earl Lubensky, a member of the Foreign Service class of 1950--a class trained as "Kreus Resident Officers"--introducing the burgermeister of Fritzlar, Germany, to the local U.S. military base commander. You note that the class observed its 50th anniversary on May 5, Foreign Service Day.

There was another group of resident officers trained that year and also members of the class of 1950. There were 32 in our class. We were sworn in as Foreign Service officers in November 1950. Upon our arrival in Germany, many of us, in fact, served our first tour as what was called "KROs." Some of us were detached to serve as visa issuing officers to meet emergency requirements in overcrowded refugee camps.

I was among that group, serving in the consulate general in Hamburg but issuing visas under the Displaced Persons Program, sometimes around the clock, in a former German military camp at Wentorf outside Tehran.

Bruce Laingen
President
The American Academy of Diplomacy
Washington, D.C.

Hats Off

Just a note to say how much my colleagues and I like the new look of the magazine. The color photos, layout and articles are superb. Hats off to you all. We find ourselves in awe month after month. Thank you for a great State Magazine.

Mary Jackson
Bureau of Administration

There Were Women, Too

I was pleased to see in the February/March issue the article about the Peace Corps-Foreign Service connection. Many of us owe our interest in foreign affairs and careers in the Foreign Service to our Peace Corps experience. I was disappointed, however, that the article focused entirely on men. There are also quite a number of women in the Foreign Service who are "Returned PCVs," including Ambassador Ellen Shippy in Malawi and me.

Katherine H. Peterson
Ambassador
U.S. Embassy, Maseru

Editor's Note: In the May issue, we published a letter from Margaret Beshore Boonstra of Gainesville, Fla., a retired Foreign Service officer who was loaned by State to the Peace Corps, which she described as "wild and wonderful."

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