FINAL COVER

State

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE

February 1998

Magazine

“We have to spend smarter

and train better.”

BBuuiillddiinngg aa

NNeeww FFuuttuurree

iinn VViieettnnaamm

Also in this Issue:

— Undersecretary for Management Bonnie Cohen

at Town Hall Meeting, Jan. 14, 1998

Coming in March:

ATHENS

State

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Magazine

Carl Goodman

DITOR-IN-CHIEF

Donna Miles

EPUTY EDITOR

Kathleen Goldynia

ESIGNER

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Kenneth Hunter

HAIRMAN

Sylvia Bazala

XECUTIVE SECRETARY

Kaye Boesel

Catherine Brown

Colleen Hope

Larry Mandel

Jeffrey Meer

Gary Pergl

State

Contents

Department of State • United States of America

State

Magazine

February 1998

No. 411

COLUMNS

2 From the Secretary

4 Direct From the D.G.

15 Safety Scene

34 State of the Arts

36 Ask Dr. Dumont

40 Accent on Outreach

48 Library Report

DEPARTMENTS

3 Letters to the Editor

5 Appointments

8 In the News

37 Obituaries

41 Personnel Actions

44 Education & Training

On the Cover

Undersecretary for

Management Bonnie

Cohen hosts her first

town hall meeting.

Photo by Shawn Moore

State

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE

February 1998

Magazine

“We have to spend smarter

and train better.”

Building a

New Future

in Vietnam

Also in this Issue:

— Undersecretary for Management Bonnie Cohen

At Town Hall Meeting, January 14, 1998

8 Officials Describe Modernization Efforts at State

Plans emphasize growth, training and technological

improvements.

10 Russians Visit NFATC

Former Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin paid a call on FSI.

11 Mister Mayor

Foreign Service experience gave a retiree the skills he needs

to run a city.

12 Inside USIA’s Information Bureau

Teamwork helped the bureau downsize while preparing for

the future.

16 Celebrating Blacks in Foreign Affairs

During Black History Month, the Department reflects on

the contributions of its African-American employees.

18 Bureau of the Month:

Economic and Business Affairs

I Awards Honor Excellence in Economics and Business

I Combating International Bribery

25 Technology Blues

A Foreign Service officer takes a light look at the computer

age and its effect on official communications.

26 Post of the Month:

I Hanoi: Building Toward a New Future in Vietnam

I Vietnam on Two Wheels

I USIS Vietnam

s we begin a new season of congressional testi-

monies and budget rollouts, let me highlight

some of the key challenges for our 1998 foreign

policy agenda on Capitol Hill.

The first is money. We must build on progress made

last year in gaining bipartisan support for the President’s

full request for funding international affairs. Although

we were unable to achieve this objective last year, I still

believe a consensus is possible.

Next, the President needs “fast track” authority to

negotiate new trade agreements that create better jobs for

Americans and help our economy grow. Fast track is also

a foreign policy imperative. In many capitals, if we have

nothing to say on trade, we will find it harder to have

influence on other issues of direct importance to the

American people.

Athird challenge is gaining congressional support to

further implement the Dayton Accords.

Shortly before Christmas, I traveled to Bosnia with the

President, former Senator Bob Dole and members of

Congress to visit our troops and to have frank conversa-

tions with local leaders. I have visited Bosnia several

times, but I was greatly encouraged by the positive

changes I saw. The psychology of peace is beginning to

catch up with the reality that the fighting has stopped.

This year, we have a broad agenda for further progress

in Bosnia on economic, political, legal and security issues.

We expect our allies to do their part, and we will insist

that Bosnians meet their own responsibilities. We also ask

Congress to support our continued presence in Bosnia to

help consolidate peace, and to ensure that when our

forces leave, they do not have to return.

The multinational effort to build peace in Bosnia

reflects the importance of a fourth test for 1998: to gain

the Senate’s consent to enlarge NATO, perhaps the best

friend peace has ever had. The choice Congress will be

asked to make is whether to reject NATO enlargement

and leave the alliance aligned to fight an enemy that no

longer exists, or to maintain America’s role in a new

NATO, bolstered by new democracies, sustained by

enduring principles and dedicated to deterring and over-

coming new threats.

2 State Magazine

FFRROOMM TTHHEE SSEECCRREETTAARRYY

Key Challenges for 1998

In the weeks ahead, we can expect the Senate to ask

questions about the costs of including Poland, Hungary

and the Czech Republic within our alliance. Our reply

will be that the costs now appear far lower than earlier

estimates, that our allies will bear the vast majority of

those costs and that the price of preparedness is never as

great as the consequences of failing to prepare.

I hope and believe that Congress, with support from

leaders of both parties, will make the right choice and

allow the first round of NATO enlargement to proceed.

A fifth legislative test for 1998 is whether we will pay

what we owe to the United Nations and the International

Monetary Fund. Currently, we are hundreds of millions

of dollars behind in our payments to both. This hurts

America. It makes it harder for these critical organiza-

tions to conduct and support programs that serve our

interests. It undermines our influence within the organi-

zations. And it is an open invitation to those around the

world hostile to our leadership to run America down.

That is why we were pleased last year with strong

bipartisan support for legislation that would bring us

closer to meeting our obligations. Unfortunately, the pro-

posals did not receive final approval. This year, we will

renew our call for action.

A sixth test of foreign policy leadership this year is

whether Congress approves the proposed Africa Growth

and Opportunity Act. The Administration strongly sup-

ports this initiative, drafted by Republican and

Democratic leaders, to support a new American

approach to a new Africa.

Obviously, this is not a complete list of the foreign pol-

icy tests Congress and the Administration will face in the

months ahead. There will be many others, including

receiving legislative authority to reorganize our foreign

policy institutions. I ask your help in developing and

maintaining the strongest possible relationship with

Congress on these and other issues that directly affect the

security, prosperity and freedom of the American people.

Madeleine Albright

Secretary of State

The New Format:

Pros and Cons

Dear Editor:

I just received the September/

October issue, my first look at the

new format. I don’t like it at all,

much too elaborate and busy. But

above all, where are the obituaries? I

certainly hope this is not a perma-

nent omission.

Ellen Turner

Eugene, Ore.

The obituaries, which resumed in the

November/December issue, are being con-

densed to help reduce the backlog. As for

the new format, reader response has been

overwhelmingly positive.

—The editors

Dear Editor:

For the first time in a few months

(the usual hiatus accompanying

transfer), I read State Magazine—the

November/December 1997 issue. I

was most pleasantly surprised. The

whole thing (or most—what can you

do with transfer lists?) is much better

reading than before. I particularly

enjoyed the Bureau of the Month fea-

ture on Consular Affairs. I was also

very pleased to see the editorial by

Director General Skip Gnehm. Our

Foreign Service National colleagues

are all too often treated as second-

class citizens or simply ignored by

Foreign Service officers. Keep up the

good work in the new year!

Dan Gamber

Retired Foreign Service Officer

Brussels

Keep Up the Good Work

Dear Editor:

I enjoyed reading State Magazine

some years ago at another library.

Reading the stories, I became

impressed by the people who are

working so hard to conduct the for-

eign affairs of the United States. One

of the stories was about a lady who

lived in my apartment building. She

was top-notch at her job, and I was

pleased to discover that she was

working for our nation through the

State Department. I hope that her

career has been successful and per-

sonally rewarding to her. My thanks

to all of you who are doing such

great work conducting our nation’s

foreign affairs.

Thomas K. Lindsey

Government Publications Librarian

University of Texas at Arlington

Brasilia, Here I Come!

Kudos to Matthew Dever on his

very descriptive article about Brasilia.

He makes me want to run out and

buy a plane ticket to see for myself!

Natoschia Scruggs

Former Intern, Embassy-Abidjan

Côte d’Ivoire

A Memorial for FSNs

Dear Editor:

Your June/July 1996 issue ran an

article by former Director General

Quainton stressing the commitment

to service and citing as an example

the “fidelity, bravery, leadership, ini-

tiative and dedication” of the FSN of

the Year.

In a previous Letter to the Editor, I

wrote: “Now that recognition by

AFSA of another category of individ-

uals, the Croatia crash victims, has

been established, one might ask why

similar steps are not being taken to

memorialize our FSN colleagues

who have given their lives in sup-

port of U.S. interests?”

February 3

LLEETTTTEERRSS TTOO TTHHEE EEDDIITTOORR

Letters should not exceed 250

words and should include the

writer’s name, address and day-

time phone number. Letters will

be edited for length and clarity.

You can also reach us via e-mail

at [email protected].

In July 1997, former AFSA Pres-

ident Tex Harris wrote to Secretary

Albright to support the Department’s

program of recognizing a worldwide

FSN of the Year chosen from regional

winners. Mr. Harris also suggested

that “the Department of State and

other foreign affairs agencies consid-

er the establishment of memorial

plaques, both at posts and in Wash-

ington, to honor Foreign Service

Nationals who have given their lives

in the service of the United States. In

Washington, there could be a com-

bined plaque in the State Department

for FSNs of all agencies.”

In the November/December 1997

issue, Director General Gnehm re-

ferred to FSNs in writing, “the

Secretary and the Department are

fortunate to have a workforce devot-

ed to accomplishing its mission,

often under adverse conditions.”

Given the flow of praise for the FSN

community, shouldn’t the Depart-

ment translate those words into action

by establishing a Department memo-

rial for those who have given their

lives to support U.S. interests? The

five FSN regional winners of FSN of

the Year might then be asked to par-

ticipate in a wreath laying at that

memorial each year and so carry

home a very meaningful experience

that will evidence our pride, thanks

and remembrance of those fallen col-

leagues named thereon.

Sincerely,

Bernard J. Woerz

Retired Foreign Service Officer

Coconut Grove, Fla.

any Foreign Service “old-

timers” bemoan the current

state of affairs, claiming they

joined State “when giants

walked the earth.” Somehow the belief

that those hired recently are not “the best

and the brightest” continues among some

old-timers. Although an “old-timer”

myself, I strongly disagree. I’ve seen first-

hand that we are attracting colleagues

who are smart, dedicated and talented.

But I am the first to say that we can—and

MUST—do better.

I know from my New York days with

Secretary Albright that she has strong

views about our current and future

needs. “We need people with language

skills, economic talents and global issues

backgrounds!” she would tell me. When I

first met Undersecretary Bonnie Cohen,

we discussed at length the need to attract

the highest-caliber employees to Depart-

ment careers. We also talked about the

importance of hiring in increased num-

bers, so we can alleviate the chronic

staffing gaps severely affecting overseas

posts. And, finally, we discussed the

Secretary’s and our mutual commitment

to increasing diversity throughout the

Department’s workforce, especially the

need to reach out to universities, minori-

ty communities and organizations across

the United States to attract the best

minority candidates to State Department careers.

I’m excited to tell you what we’re doing on these three

fronts. We are hiring new employees across the entire

spectrum of the State workforce in fiscal year 1998. Our

projections call for hiring 285 Civil Service employees,

301 Foreign Service specialists and 234 Foreign Service

generalists. These new hires are absolutely critical to

relieve chronic staffing gaps worldwide.

Increasing the number of new hires, however, is only half

the story. The quality of the people we bring on board is

every bit as important as the quantity. Our Office of

Recruitment, Examination and Employment has imple-

mented a Strategic Recruitment Plan to attract the best pos-

sible candidates to Department careers. Several student

programs are a key component of that plan to reach stu-

dents in the formative stage of their careers.

The Presidential Management Intern Program, admin-

istered by the Office of Personnel Management, recruits

talented graduate students into the federal government.

When their internships end, these individu-

als are eligible for conversion to a career or

career-conditional appointment to the Civil

Service. In September, we initiated the first

formal class at State. Members of the group

have educational backgrounds running the

gamut from foreign affairs to law enforce-

ment sciences, and they are likely be our

next generation of Civil Service leaders.

The Student Intern Program is the largest

of our student efforts, open to college jun-

iors, seniors and graduate students. We had

516 placements, 304 of them overseas, last

year. The program is a proven pipeline for

career employees. Former interns pass the

Foreign Service written exam at a rate 50

percent greater than that for the general

population, and they arrive with foreign

affairs experience. As noted in a story on

black history beginning on page 16 of this

issue, one of our best, Ambassador George

Moose, who will represent us at the

European Office of the United Nations,

began his career as an intern in 1966.

A full range of other, less-visible programs,

such as Stay-in-School and Cooperative

Education, also employ young people and

expose them to Department careers.

I’m especially excited about our planned

reinvigoration of the Foreign Affairs

Fellowship Program. Call it State’s own

ROTC program. It targets high-caliber col-

lege sophomores and guarantees them

tuition assistance for the final two years of college and

first year of graduate school. The fellows, who must meet

Foreign Service entry requirements to come on board,

serve a minimum of 4 1/2 years as Foreign Service gen-

eralists. We will make a concerted effort to recruit a

diverse group, with special consideration given to stu-

dents who demonstrate economic need. This program is

extremely resource-intensive, but it is a necessary invest-

ment if we are to make foreign affairs careers accessible

to a talented group of young people who might not oth-

erwise be attracted.

You can help attract the best employees to the

Department of State. Each of you reaches a wide audi-

ence of potential State employees in your personal and

professional lives. I hope you will encourage talented

and ambitious people to consider a career at State. Our

Recruitment Division has more information on the above

programs or any of our recruiting efforts, and would be

glad to assist one and all.

4 State Magazine

DDIIRREECCTT FFRROOMM TTHHEE DD..GG..

My goal in this col-

umn is to discuss

issues I am devoting

my time to and

about which I feel

strongly. This

month’s is a “bread-

and-butter” issue

that’s absolutely

central to my job:

recruiting, selecting

and hiring our

future workforce.

BY EDWARD W. “SKIP” GNEHM JR.

ALGERIA: Cameron R. Hume, of New York, joined the

Foreign Service in 1970, following service as a Peace

Corps volunteer in Libya. His overseas assignments

include Palermo, Tunis, Damascus, Beirut and the Holy

See. He served on the Secretary’s planning staff and as a

desk officer for South Africa and has had three tours of

duty at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

Ambassador Hume graduated from Princeton University

and American University’s Washington College of Law.

He has been an international affairs fellow at the Council

on Foreign Relations, a fellow at Harvard’s Center for

International Affairs, and a guest scholar at the U.S.

Institute of Peace, and has written two books and numer-

ous articles on diplomacy and diplomatic history. His

nomination was confirmed by the Senate Nov. 6.

AUSTRIA: Kathryn Walt Hall, of

Texas, began her career as assistant

city attorney in Berkeley, Calif.,

before joining Safeway, where she

developed and administered one of

the nation’s first and largest affir-

mative action programs. She has

worked as an attorney and busi-

nesswoman in Dallas, Texas, and

served as executive vice president

and managing director with Hall Financial Group, Inc., an

investment firm. In 1995, Ms. Hall was appointed to the

National Advisory Council for Violence Against Women,

and in early 1997 she became a trustee for the Woodrow

Wilson International Center for Scholars. She earned a

bachelor’s degree in economics and a law degree from the

University of California. Her nomination was confirmed

by the Senate Nov. 6.

BELIZE: Carolyn Curiel, of Indiana,

was special assistant to the

President and senior presidential

speechwriter before being nominat-

ed ambassador to Belize. She joined

the Clinton Administration in

February 1993 after a career in jour-

nalism editing, writing and produc-

ing both print and broadcast news.

She headed the Caribbean Division

of United Press International, worked at the Washington

Post and at the New York Times as an editor and was a

writer-producer at ABC News. At the White House, Ms.

Curiel specialized in domestic issues, including race rela-

tions. Ambassador Curiel earned a bachelor’s degree in

radio-TV-film from Purdue University in 1976. Her nomi-

nation was confirmed Nov. 10.

BOLIVIA: Donna Jean Hrinak, of

Pennsylvania, served as ambassa-

dor to the Dominican Republic

from 1994 until her appointment to

Bolivia. She joined the Foreign

Service in 1974 and has served in

the U.S. embassies in Mexico City,

Warsaw, Bogota, Caracas and

Tegucigalpa. She also served as

deputy consul general in São Paulo

and in Washington as deputy assistant secretary of State

for Caribbean and Mexican Affairs in the Bureau of Inter-

American Affairs. Ambassador Hrinak received a bache-

lor’s degree from Michigan State University and attend-

ed George Washington University and the University of

Notre Dame School of Law. The Senate confirmed her

nomination Nov. 10.

COLOMBIA: Curtis Warren Kamman, of Washington,

D.C., has been a Foreign Service officer since 1960 and

has served as ambassador to Bolivia since 1994. He was

ambassador to Chile from 1991 to 1994. He previously

served as deputy assistant secretary for European and

Canadian Affairs, as deputy assistant secretary for intelli-

gence and research, and as chief of the U.S. Interests

Section in Havana. He was political counselor and

deputy chief of mission in Moscow and director of East

African Affairs in Washington, and has held diplomatic

positions in Mexico, Hong Kong, Kenya and the former

Soviet Union. In 1991, he received the President’s

Distinguished Service Award for career officials, and two

years later he was accorded the rank of career minister.

Ambassador Kamman graduated from Yale University in

1959 and has continued his studies at Stanford University

and the University of Washington. The Senate confirmed

his nomination Nov. 3.

CROATIA: William Dale Montgomery,

of Pennsylvania, began his Foreign

Service career in 1974. He served in

Belgrade, Moscow, Dar es Salaam

and Bulgaria, where he was ambas-

sador from 1993 to 1996 until being

named State’s special adviser for

Bosnian peace implementation.

Ambassador Montgomery has a

bachelor’s degree from Bucknell

University and a master’s from George Washington

University. His nomination was confirmed Nov. 10.

February 5

AA PP PP OO II NN TT MM EE NN TT SS

HAITI: Timothy Michael Carney, of Washington state,

served as ambassador to Sudan from 1995 to 1997. He

previously served as deputy assistant secretary for South

Asian Affairs and held assignments in Vietnam,

Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Lesotho and South

Africa. He directed U.N. peacekeeping in Cambodia and

served as a U.N. consultant in Somalia and South Africa.

Ambassador Carney has a bachelor’s degree from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has pursued

advanced Southeast Asian studies at Cornell University,

and has held diplomatic positions in Mexico, Hong Kong,

Kenya and the former Soviet Union. The Senate con-

firmed his nomination Nov. 10.

JAMAICA: Stanley L. McLelland, of Texas, served 16 years

as a senior executive of Valero Energy Corp., an inde-

pendent refinery based in San Antonio. He has partici-

pated in several civic, international and charitable activi-

ties, co-chaired the 1991 U.S.-Mexico Border Attorneys

General Conference, and served in trade delegations to

Mexico in 1991 and 1995. He also serves on the United

Way of America’s National Corporate Associates

Council. Ambassador McLelland graduated in 1967 from

the University of Texas at Austin and received his law

degree in 1970 from the University of Texas Law School.

In 1991, he graduated from Stanford University’s

Graduate School of Business’ Executive Program. His

nomination was confirmed Nov. 10.

MONGOLIA: Alphonse F. La Porta, of New York, entered

the Foreign Service in 1965. He is experienced in Asian

affairs and has held assignments in Malaysia, Indonesia

and Turkey. His most recent overseas assignment was as

deputy chief of mission in Wellington, New Zealand,

from 1987 to 1991. In Washington, Ambassador La Porta

directed the Office of Cambodian Genocide Investi-

gation, was executive assistant to the President’s special

representative for the Philippine Multilateral Assistance

Initiative, and was deputy director of the Office of

Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Affairs. He

was with the Office of Management Operations from

1985 to 1987 and contributed to the State 2000 and other

management reform reports. Ambassador La Porta

became vice president of the American Foreign Service

Association in 1995, and president last year. He is a grad-

uate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign

Service and New York University. The Senate confirmed

his nomination Oct. 21.

MOZAMBIQUE: Brian Dean Curran,

of Florida, joined the Foreign

Service in 1973 and has served in

Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Belgium,

France and Ireland. He was deputy

assistant secretary for Legislative

Affairs from 1994 to 1996. Ambas-

sador Curran received a bachelor’s

from the School of Foreign Service

at Georgetown University in 1970

and a master’s degree in 1972 from the John Hopkins

University School of Advanced International Studies.

The Senate confirmed his nomination Oct. 21.

POLAND: Daniel Fried, of Washington, D.C., began his

career with the Foreign Service in 1977. He served in

State’s Economic Bureau, in its Office of Soviet Affairs

and as desk officer for Poland, and held assignments in

Leningrad, Belgrade and Warsaw. Ambassador Fried

served on the staff of the National Security Council from

1993 until 1997, first as director and then as special assis-

tant to the President and senior director for Central and

Eastern Europe. He received a bachelor’s degree from

Cornell University and a master’s in international affairs

from Columbia University and is the recipient of several

group and individual superior and meritorious honor

awards from State. The Senate confirmed his nomination

Nov. 6.

SRI LANKA/MALDIVES: Shaun E. Donnelly, of Indiana,

has been with the Department since 1972, specializing in

international economic affairs, including international

trade, energy, development finance and economic sanc-

tions policy. He previously was an economic officer in

Senegal, Ethiopia and Egypt, and deputy chief of mission

in Mali and Tunisia. Since September 1994, Mr. Donnelly

has served as deputy assistant secretary of State in the

Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. Ambassador

Donnelly is a graduate of Culver Military Academy and

earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lawrence

University and a master’s in economics from Northwestern

University. The Senate confirmed his nomination Nov. 6.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Edward

E. “Terry” Shumaker III, of New

Hampshire, was a senior partner

with the law firm of Gallagher,

Callahan & Gartrell before his

ambassadorial appointment. He

was appointed to the National

Commission for Employment

Policy in 1994 and was elected in

1996 as one of the first 100 fellows

6 State Magazine

AA PP PP OO II NN TT MM EE NN TT SS

of the American College of Labor and Employment

Lawyers. Ambassador Shumaker also served on the New

Hampshire Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee,

the New Hampshire National and Community Service

Executive Board and New Hampshire’s electoral college.

He graduated from The Choate School in 1966 and

earned an bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in

1970 and a law degree from Boston University in 1973.

His nomination was confirmed by the Senate Oct. 23.

TUNISIA: Robin Lynn Raphel, of

Washington, D.C., began her career

as a lecturer at Damavand College

in Tehran. She was an economic

analyst for the Central Intelligence

Agency from 1973 to 1975, then

worked for the U.S. Agency for

International Development in

Pakistan before joining the Foreign

Service. In Washington, Ambas-

sador Raphel worked at State in several capacities. She

was an economist in the Office of Investment Affairs, an

economic officer on the Israel desk, a staff aide for the

assistant secretary for the Near East and South Asian

Affairs Bureau, and special assistant to the under secretary

for Political Affairs. She covered Middle Eastern, South

Asian, African and East Asian issues in London, and was a

counselor for Political Affairs in South Africa from 1988 to

1991 and in India from 1991 to 1993. Before her latest

appointment, she was assistant secretary for South Asian

Affairs. Ambassador Raphel received a bachelor’s degree

in history and economics from the University of

Washington and attended the University of London. She

also did graduate work at Cambridge University and

earned a master’s in economics from the University of

Maryland. Her nomination was confirmed Nov. 5.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES

AND MIGRATION: Julia V. Taft, of Washington, D.C., is a

leading authority on refugee affairs and humanitarian

assistance. She began her career as a White House fellow,

later became special assistant to the Secretary of Health,

Education and Welfare, and then became a deputy assis-

tant secretary. She directed the U.S. Indochinese Refugee

Resettlement Program and later served as State’s acting

U.S. coordinator for refugees. From 1986 to 1989,

Ambassador Taft was director of USAID’s Office of U.S.

Foreign Disaster Assistance. Before her latest appoint-

ment, she was president and CEO of InterAction, the

American Council for Voluntary International Action.

Ambassador Taft received her bachelor’s degree in 1964

and master’s in 1969 from the University of Colorado in

Boulder. The Senate confirmed her nomination Nov. 6.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTELLIGENCE AND

RESEARCH: Phyllis Elliott Oakley, of Louisiana, served as

the Department’s first female deputy spokesperson from

1986 to 1989. She later served with the Agency for

International Development, working with the Afghan-

istan Cross-Border Humanitarian Assistance Program in

Islamabad, then as State’s Afghanistan desk officer. She

was deputy assistant secretary for regional analysis in the

Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 1991 to 1993

before being named assistant secretary of the Bureau of

Population, Refugees and Migration. Ambassador

Oakley earned her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern

University in 1956 and a master’s from the Fletcher

School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts

University in 1957. The Senate confirmed her nomination

Nov. 6.

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE

UNITED STATES TO THE EURO-

PEAN OFFICE OF THE UNITED

NATIONS: George Moose, of

Washington, D.C., has served as

assistant secretary for African

Affairs since 1993. He previously

served as alternate representative

to the U.N. Security Council from

1991 to 1992, as ambassador to

Senegal from 1988 to 1991, and as ambassador to Benin

from 1983 to 1986. Ambassador Moose joined the Foreign

Service in 1967. His other assignments have included

postings to Vietnam and Barbados and various positions

in State, including director of the Office of Management

Operations and deputy director of the Office of Southern

African Affairs. He has received numerous awards,

including the Department’s Superior Honor Award and

the Meritorious Honor Award. The Senate confirmed his

nomination Nov. 6.

February 7

AA PP PP OO II NN TT MM EE NN TT SS

By Donna Miles

Photos by Shawn Moore

ndersecretary for Management

Bonnie Cohen said she felt

“shocked” after taking a

good, hard look at the Department’s

operations last August when she

took the reins as Management chief.

She found that the slogan of the

federal streamlining effort, “doing

more with less,” had become a way

of life at State—perhaps, she said,

too much so.

Ms. Cohen said she was struck by

the scope of the Department’s mis-

sion. She said she was equally

struck, however, by the demands

the Department places on its 23,000

employees struggling to fill the

gaps left by workforce cuts and

shrinking budgets.

But things are looking up, said Ms.

Cohen and Edward W. “Skip”

Gnehm Jr., director general of the

Foreign Service and director of

Personnel. Deputy Secretary Strobe

Talbott introduced the officials to a

standing-room-only crowd of about

1,000 State employees who attended

the Jan. 14 town hall meeting. Both

officials said nobody is more commit-

ted to strengthening the Department

than Secretary Madeleine Albright,

who has made rebuilding the

Department’s resources one of her

highest priorities.

Ms. Cohen said the Department’s

fiscal 1998 budget is just under $2.9

billion—representing the first time

in five years that State’s budget is

larger, rather than smaller, than the

previous year’s. The Department

can now focus on what she called

her five top priorities: preparing for

the integration of the Arms Control

and Disarmament Agency, the U.S.

Information Agency and some

Agency for International Develop-

ment functions under State; filling

personnel vacancies and providing

more training opportunities for

workers; and providing employees

with better computer systems to do

their jobs and better working condi-

tions, especially overseas.

Ms. Cohen acknowledged that the

anticipated integration of the Arms

Control and Disarmament Agency

and U.S. Information Agency into

State has some people concerned

about their jobs. She said State is

committed to protecting the three

organizations’ budgets to ensure

that resources dedicated to foreign

affairs, including positions, aren’t

cut during the integration.

Ms. Cohen called filling vacancies

throughout the Department a top

priority. She said State will increase

by 820 employees this year—a 100

percent increase over last year’s rate.

The fiscal 1998 hiring plan calls for

recruiting 234 Foreign Service gener-

alists, 301 Foreign Service specialists

and 285 Civil Service employees.

Mr. Gnehm said the new hires will

help reinvigorate and restore confi-

dence in the system and bolster the

Department’s role in foreign policy.

The undersecretary said State

needs to do more to provide fair

salaries and benefits to Foreign

Service Nationals, the Department’s

largest group of employees. She

said her staff is seeking to improve

the way FSN wages are adjusted

and to resolve long-standing FSN

pension issues.

8 State Magazine

II NN TT HH EE NN EE WW SS

Officials Describe Growth,

Modernization Efforts at State

Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott, left, reviews notes before the town hall meeting.

With him, from left, are Larry Mandel, special assistant to Undersecretary for

Management Bonnie Cohen; Edward W. “Skip” Gnehm Jr., director general of the

Foreign Service and director of Personnel, and Undersecretary Cohen.

Ms. Cohen said State needs to put

more emphasis on employee training

to better prepare its people to confront

the challenges ahead. “It’s important

that we assure ourselves that everyone

who needs training gets the training

and that people get training for their

entire careers, not just at the point

when we bring them into the State

Department,” she told the audience.

The director general agreed that an

increased emphasis on training will

help keep qualified people from leav-

ing the Department, while underscor-

ing the concept of State service as a

career. “We are a profession,” he said,

“and by instituting a continuum of

training for Civil Service and Foreign

Service workers, we’ll do a better job

of conveying that message.”

Ms. Cohen told the audience her

staff is also working to improve the

Department’s information and com-

munication systems. This fiscal year,

$117 million is earmarked for infor-

mation technology investments, and

Main State is being wired now for

building-wide Internet access. While

it modernizes its systems, the

Department needs to take some les-

sons from private industry, she said,

to learn how to use its technology

more efficiently. “We have to spend

smarter and train better,” she said.

After visiting several overseas

embassies, the undersecretary said

she found buildings to be in “a con-

dition I think that would surprise

the American public.” Ms. Cohen

said she and Secretary Albright are

committed to improving working

conditions for the 60 percent of

State’s workforce assigned overseas.

The fiscal 1998 budget allocates $800

million for improvements, but Ms.

Cohen said that falls far short of

what’s needed, and State will need

to ensure that money is directed

where it’s most needed. “We won’t

be able to do everything,” she

acknowledged, “but we will be able

to tell you what we are doing and

when we will do it.”

Ms. Cohen said she is taking to

heart the challenge posed by

Secretary Albright: to help us all to

function better, faster and with more

flexibility. Our goal is to make the

Department “a place where the best

people are excited not only about the

work they do, but also about the

support and tools we give them to

do it with.”

Ms. Cohen encouraged employees

to send their suggestions to her,

signed or unsigned. “You live the

system and experience the system.

We need your input to help us make

the system work better for you.”

February 9

II NN TT HH EE NN EE WW SS

Edward W. “Skip” Gnehm Jr., director general of the Foreign Service and director

of Personnel, outlines his plan to promote training at State as Undersecretary for

Management Bonnie Cohen looks on.

About 1,000 employees packed the Dean Acheson Auditorium to hear about State’s

plans for the future.

he ceremonial gate of the

National Foreign Affairs Train-

ing Center in Arlington, Va.,

recently swung wide to welcome a

delegation headed by former Russian

Ambassador and Dean of the Dip-

lomatic Corps Anatoly Dobrynin.

Martin Luther King Remembered

State employees in Washington celebrated the achievements of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Jan.

15 ceremony in Main State’s Dean Acheson Auditorium.

Secretary Madeleine K. Albright hosted the event, with the theme “Remember! Celebrate! Act!”, commemorat-

ing past struggles to attain equality and calling on Americans to continue seeking ways to achieve racial harmony.

The Rev. Wintley A. Phipps, an internationally known composer and singer of American gospel music, was the

keynote speaker. Students from Bailey’s Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences in Falls Church, Va., were

scheduled to peform, but inclement weather closed many area schools. President Clinton has called the school a

model for racial harmony.

10 State Magazine

II NN TT HH EE NN EE WW SS

Mr. Dobrynin served as ambassa-

dor from the Soviet Union to the

United States from 1962 to 1986,

under six presidents, from John F.

Kennedy to Ronald Reagan. Now

adviser to the Russian president,

Ambassador Dobrynin was accom-

panied by the current Russian

ambassador, Yuliy Vorontsov, and

Russia’s cultural affairs counselor,

Anatoliy Zukekhin.

Ambassador Ruth A. Davis, direc-

tor of the Foreign Service Institute,

greeted the delegation, along with

Deputy Director Ruth A. Whiteside

and Executive Director for Manage-

ment Catherine J. Russell. Discussion

centered around the challenge of

training diplomats of the 21st centu-

ry. The group discussed future coop-

eration on training, research and

development issues.

While touring the facility, the

Russian guests visited the Consular

Training Division’s “visa window”

and the “jail,” sites of scenarios con-

ducted to simulate real-world con-

sular work. Ambassador Dobrynin

got hands-on experience with FSI’s

multimedia and web-based training

tools used in Russian language and

area study. Before leaving NFATC to

accompany the group to the Russian

Embassy, Ambassador Dobrynin vis-

ited the Stephen Low Library to auto-

graph his 1995 book, “In Confidence:

Moscow’s Ambassador to America’s

Six Cold War Presidents.”

Russians Visit NFATC

Former Russian Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin greets State officials at the National

Foreign Affairs Training Center. FSI Director Ruth Davis, right, looks on.



Photo by Bob Kaiser

By Donna Miles

wenty-eight years in the Foreign Service taught

Joe Terranova a lot about managing budgets,

running administrative offices and working with

a wide variety of people.

But little did the Washington, D.C., native realize when

he retired as executive director of the Foreign Service

Institute in 1980 that he’d built the perfect

résumé for a new career as mayor of

Winter Park, Fla.

“There’s a great similarity between

what I did in the Foreign Service and in

running a city,” said Mr. Terranova,

whose State assignments included duty

in Monrovia, Madrid, Belgrade, Karachi,

Saigon and Paris. He said he learned at those posts

about many of the services his 425 employees provide

Winter Park residents: police, water purification, sewer

and trash removal services, among them.

“When you’re in administration in an embassy opera-

tion, you work with the full range of services, particular-

ly at hardship posts,” Mr. Terranova said. “My Foreign

Service experience has helped me quite a bit in under-

standing the operation of running a city.”

Mr. Terranova said he wasn’t thinking about a future in

politics when he and his wife, Pat Killarny, retired to cen-

tral Florida. But as he got active in the local community—

as president of the city’s university club, a trustee on the

library board and a Chamber of Commerce member—

Mr. Terranova found himself increasingly involved in

city politics.

He entered politics in 1993, winning a seat on the

Winter Park City Commission. Two years later he was

appointed vice mayor. When he thought about running

for mayor, he said he had a long discussion with his wife

and she said, “Joe, go for it.”

He admits the campaign was tough,

with three other Winter Park residents in

the race. Mr. Terranova said Pat, whom

he married after she retired from the

Foreign Service in 1979, stood by him all

the way.

When the polls closed on election day,

Mr. Terranova had won by just one vote.

“The election was so close, they had to

recount it. Turns out they had made a mistake and I had

one additional vote,” he said, adding with a laugh, “That

doubled my lead.”

After almost a year in office, Mr. Terranova is still

enjoying the challenges of the job. He called it “a great

career for people who enjoy working with all sorts of

people on all sorts of contentious issues, and working to

reach a consensus.

“Being a city mayor has been a great opportunity and

a great challenge for me,” he said. “It’s a job I’d definite-

ly recommend for other Foreign Service people.”

February 11

Mister

Mayor

A Foreign Service career

provided a retiree with

the foundation he needed

to run a city government.

“My Foreign Service

experience has helped

me quite a bit in under-

standing the operation

of running a city.”

Mayor Joe Terranova meets with children in Winter Park, Fla.

Photo by Lucy Little

Perhaps not everyone in the I

Bureau is as obsessed with tending

to the field’s needs as Mr. Prieto, but

his approach—wired and ready to

provide customers with whatever

their jobs require—is typical of the

bureau’s 367 employees. Their job, in

a nutshell, is to help agency staff

members overseas reach foreign

opinion makers with policy informa-

tion, quickly and authoritatively.

“Across the board in the I Bureau,”

said Marrie Schaefer, a Foreign

Service officer who works with Mr.

Prieto on the East Asia Team, “people

see themselves as professionals.

There is a can-do attitude, and initia-

tive is genuinely encouraged. You

become more creative, you work

harder, and you see results.”

These views are a relatively recent

outgrowth of the team-oriented man-

agement style the bureau adopted

when it was launched Oct. 1, 1994.

Facing a downsizing directive from

the Office of Management and

Budget, USIA Director Joseph Duffey

concentrated the cuts—not 3 percent

across the board but 30 percent in

one part of the agency. Four task

forces of nearly 100 employees met

for five weeks to discuss how to cope

with the required cutbacks and how

best to structure the new organiza-

tion. Several long-standing agency

products like the Washington-based

magazines and exhibits service were

phased out, and many employees

took buyouts.

“Very early on,” Barry Fulton, the I

Bureau’s first associate director,

remembered, “someone suggested a

team-based approach, and everyone

agreed after only 10 or 15 minutes of

discussion without really understand-

ing what a radical transformation this

would mean. Union representatives

liked the idea of cutting out layers of

bureaucracy. Management saw it as a

way of continuing to do the work

with fewer people.”

The I Bureau’s structure and man-

agement style are nothing new to

American corporations. In recent

years, many have adopted a similar

set of ideas, ranging from W. Edward

Deming’s Total Quality Management

concept to those in such business

best-sellers as Michael Hammer’s

Reengineering the Corporation or The

Wisdom of Teams by Jon Katzenbach

and Douglas Smith.

In the I Bureau approach, cross-

disciplinary teams of professionals

working in small groups provide

products and services to USIA’s field

posts. One type of team is “geo-

graphic.” I/GNEA, for example,

takes care of Near East/South Asia

posts. Its 16-person staff consists of a

team leader, writer-editors, field

service officers, Arabic translators, a

book officer, information resource

officers and a program assistant.

Each day the team puts together in

both English and Arabic a regional

edition of the Washington File, the

compendium of official texts and

transcripts by U.S. government offi-

cials that goes to all missions. The

team’s two information resource

officers spend much of their time

traveling throughout the region to

advise posts on transforming agency

libraries overseas into information

resource centers. Smaller and less

costly than libraries serving the pub-

lic, these centers use on-line technol-

ogy to get the U.S. position on key

issues to an elite audience of foreign

officials, journalists and academics.

A second kind of permanent team,

“thematic,” deals with specific sub-

12 State Magazine

USIA

By George Clack

Inside USIA’s Information Bureau

he last thing Steve Prieto does each night before

going to bed is to check his e-mail. The overseas

posts Mr. Prieto is responsible for as a field service offi-

cer with the East Asia Team in the U.S. Information

Agency’s Information Bureau are 12 or 13 hours ahead

of Washington time. Before another day passes he

wants to see whether he can answer any queries quick-

ly or let a post know that a problem involving some I

Bureau product is being worked on.

ject matter. For example, I/TDHR

produces information on democracy

and human rights via Washington

File pieces, electronic journals, web

sites on the Internet and U.S. experts

who travel abroad to discuss issues

with invited audiences at posts. The

team’s 12-person staff includes a

team leader, writer-editors, speaker

programmers, reference specialists

and a program assistant.

The bureau also has ad hoc teams

that pool in-house expertise to tackle

a particular project or problem, then

disband when the issue is closed.

One group, for example, created a

multimedia CD-ROM to answer

prospective foreign students’ ques-

tions about attending U.S. colleges.

During the 18-month project, more

than 20 different employees—graph-

ic designers, writer-editors, comput-

er experts, photo editors, speaker

programmers, a reference specialist

and a TV producer—from eight per-

manent teams worked on the task.

On a smaller scale, other ad hoc

teams formulated bureau-wide poli-

cies on telecommuting, devised a

career ladder system for translators

and built web sites on such topics as

the Denver Economic Summit.

More than a buzzword in the I

Bureau, “empowerment” is probably

the key to making the culture work.

“Things are definitely less bureau-

cratic,” said Estelle Baird, a speaker-

programmer with the Democracy

and Human Rights Team. “When

you see there is a problem, you take

action to solve it.”

“We don’t simply do our own

thing, though,” said Peg McKay, a

writer-editor with the Political

Security Team. “When I was man-

aging editor for an issue of our

team’s electronic journal, I spent a

lot of time consulting with area

offices about the authors, approach-

es, manuscripts. Someone at my

level never would have done that

pre–I Bureau.”

In the I Bureau, empowerment is

also a logical consequence of down-

sizing and delayering. The employ-

ee-to-supervisor ratio went from 4:1

in its predecessor organization to

13:1 today. So team leaders see them-

selves more as coaches, facilitators

and direction setters than as tradi-

tional managers who need to know

all the answers. Decision making on

most matters is shared, and top-

down decisions are rare.

A second basic principle is bureau

leaders’ commitment to the latest

information technology. “This was

an underlying assumption of the

new bureau,” said Myron “Mike”

Hoffmann, current acting associate

director and the deputy bureau

chief from the beginning. “With

shrinking resources, the best way to

February 13

The author is leader of the I Bureau’s

Bureau employees test digital videoconferencing equipment. Videoconferences with overseas posts jumped from fewer than 20 a

year in the early 1990s to 104 in 1997.

Continued on next page

Workers at the U.S. consulate general in Hamilton, Bermuda, don

denim to raise money for diabetes awareness education.

home page, consistently rated as

one of the best government web

sites, includes an archive of the daily

Washington File as well as special

sections on trade issues, NATO

enlargement and the Atlantic

Community, the global environ-

ment, the Middle East peace

process, U.S. relations with China

and U.S. commitment to democracy

and human rights. The Electronic

Media Team has primary responsi-

bility for this home page and works

with knowledgeable staff from the

geographic and thematic teams to

create new material. But virtually

every team has developed at least

one Internet expert skilled enough

to launch or update a web site.

Because empowerment requires

the right kind of leadership, the

bureau devotes much effort to

selecting new team leaders and

office directors and training them in

its culture. “Leadership in the I

Bureau calls for some qualities not

always shared by otherwise excel-

lent leaders,” said Mike Hoffmann.

“People who have hyperactive egos,

who feel impelled to be involved in

maintain operations in the field is to

exploit technology to deliver infor-

mation rapidly and efficiently.

Technology is not an end in itself,

but a way to make up for deficien-

cies in resources.”

This high-tech approach has a vari-

ety of consequences. Every employ-

ee, for instance, is expected to spend

at least 12 hours a month learning

new work-related skills—primarily

computer skills. Everybody in the

bureau has had full desktop accessi-

bility to the World Wide Web for

more than a year, and for most staff,

information gathering on the Internet

is now a routine part of their jobs.

Because of its speed, e-mail has

replaced cables as the preferred mode

of communication with field posts.

One of the very few diktats from sen-

ior management requires all inquiries

from posts to be answered within 48

hours, a principle that’s taken deep

root in the bureau’s culture.

Another major push has been in

developing the agency’s Internet

presence. The agency’s international

14 State Magazine

all decisions, will probably not be

the best possible leaders for the I

Bureau. You must have the confi-

dence as a leader to set directions

and establish parameters and then

allow the very smart people around

you to do their jobs.” To ensure that

leaders get good, systematic feed-

back on their performance, all team

leaders, all office directors and even

the bureau associate director and

deputy go through an annual 360-

degree evaluation by their peers,

staff and supervisors.

Every effort is made to ensure that

focus on the I Bureau’s management

practices is reflected in its bottom

line: results in the field. “We’ve had

two major successes,” said Barry

Fulton, who left the bureau last

spring. “First, the innovation and

creativity we unleashed in the shape

of new and better products, and,

second, the fact that productivity is

up as well. Today the bureau’s staff

is 38 percent smaller, but there’s no

doubt the amount of work accom-

plished is 80 to 90 percent of what it

was before.”

USIA Continued

Bermuda Shorts

Go Denim

Employees at the U.S. consulate general

in Hamilton, Bermuda, recently traded

their Bermuda shorts for denims and

joined a community effort to highlight the

dangers of diabetes.

The island-wide observation of “Denim

Day” was sponsored by the Bermuda

Diabetic Association to raise funds for dia-

betes awareness education. Consulate

general staffers joined local businesses in

donating funds to the cause in exchange

for wearing jeans to work for the day. The

event was hailed as a big success.

—Jamie W. Carlington

I’ve read a lot about air pollu-

tion and smog, and that the air

in Los Angeles is improving.

What exactly is smog?—EUR

According to Webster’s New

World Dictionary, the original

meaning of smog was “a nox-

ious mixture of fog and

smoke.” Over the years, it has come to

mean a “low-lying, perceptible layer of

polluted air.” It’s produced by complex

photochemical reactions of a combina-

tion of pollutants from many sources,

including smokestacks, vehicle exhaust,

curing paint and solvents, and sunlight.

Ground-level ozone is the primary pol-

lutant associated with smog. Weather

and geography greatly influence how

bad smog gets and where it accumu-

lates. Wind may blow smog-forming

pollutants some distance from their

sources, and lack of wind can cause

smog to stagnate for days.

I’m concerned about pesticide

use in our home overseas.

How can I learn more about

safe pest control?—ARA

An excellent place to start is a recently developed

16-page booklet, Pest Management in Your Home—

A Guide to Integrated Pest Management of Common

Household Pests for Overseas Families. It looks at

integrated pest management and describes safe, effective

and long-lasting measures for combating common house-

hold pests including roaches, ants and rodents. The booklet

is being printed now and should be available soon in your

post’s Community Liaison Office.

I’ve noticed a number of strange brands of bot-

tled water available locally. Should I assume

they’re safe to drink?—AF

No. In some parts of the world, drinking bottled

water can be risky. A few years ago, a regional

medical officer reported a case of an American

who developed typhoid from drinking bottled

water while working for the United Nations in an

African city. It turned out that an unscrupulous business-

man was filling used bottles of a local brand of

water with tap water and resealing them. In

the United States, the Food and Drug

Administra-tion oversees bottled water quali-

ty, enforcing Environmental Protection

Agency standards. There’s no assurance that

bottled water purchased locally is not microbi-

ologically contaminated. So when in doubt,

check with your health unit regarding local

suppliers or boil water for three minutes

before drinking it.

I’m an information management

specialist who spends 90 percent of

the workday at my computer. In

recent years, I’ve heard many of my

colleagues complain about numbness, pain

and tingling in their hands and wrists, and

some have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel

syndrome. I, on the other hand, have been

experiencing pain between my neck and right

shoulder for about six months. Could my

computer use be the problem?—DC

Yes, it’s possible that your condition

is computer related. In the past year,

our office has conducted numerous

ergonomic workstation assessments for

employees who reported symptoms of carpal

tunnel syndrome and other cumulative trau-

ma, including shoulder pain. These employees were all

intensive mouse users and invariably had been using their

mouse on their worktables instead of on their keyboard

trays—producing awkward and stressful positions.

The goal of ergonomic assessments is to adjust and

arrange your work area to help you work comfortably

and productively. To help relieve some of the strain on

your shoulder, try placing your mouse on your keyboard

and position the tray to the neutral position. The mouse,

like the keyboard, should be positioned so that as you

type or use your mouse, your elbows rest comfortably at

your sides and your hands and wrists become a natural

extension of your forearms. When you use your mouse

in the proper position, your shoulders should relax as

your arms fall naturally at your sides. Of course, you

should see a physician to get a professional evaluation of

your condition.

February 15

SS AA FF EE TT YY SS CC EE NN EE

This column is written by

Stephen Urman, director of

the Office of Safety/ Health

and Environmental Man-

agement. You may send

questions to Mr. Urman at

A/FBO/OPS/SAF, SA–6,

Room L–300, Washington,

D.C. 20522, or write to the

editor. (Your privacy will be

respected.) Department poli-

cy prohibits reprisal actions

against employees who

express concerns regarding

unsafe or unhealthful work-

ing conditions.

BY STEPHEN URMAN

16 State Magazine

The Civil War was barely over when

Ebenezer D. Bassett declared his intention

to become the United States’ first black

diplomat. Born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1833,

the son of a mulatto and a Pequot Indian

had built an impressive résumé for the job:

honor student, teacher and principal.

n 1869, Mr. Bassett’s dreams were realized when

President Ulysses S. Grant named him minister resi-

dent and consul general to Haiti. In accepting the job

of overseeing U.S. diplomatic relations with Haiti as

it struggled against strife and revolution, Mr. Bassett

forged the first of many milestones for black Americans

within the State Department.

Those milestones are being celebrated throughout

Black History Month as State observes the contributions

of black Americans to U.S. foreign policy.

As of Dec. 31, 1997, 67 black Americans—46 of them

career officers—have served as chiefs of mission. And sev-

eral black Americans hold top principal officer posts. Ruth

Davis was named director of the National Foreign Affairs

Training Center last July, David R. Andrews became the

Department’s legal adviser last September and Susan Rice

is now the assistant secretary for African Affairs.

The road that led to these appointments had its share

of bumps. Two years after Mr. Bassett’s appointment to

Haiti, President Grant named James Milton Turner

ambassador to Liberia. For many years, State limited its

appointments of black consular and diplomatic officers

to these two countries.

But the assignments of three career consuls in 1906,

together with a fourth black career officer appointed in

1899, slowly expanded the Department’s policies about

assignments for its black diplomats. James Garneth

Carter, tailor, letter carrier and newspaper manager, was

appointed to the consulate at Madagascar in 1906.

William J. Yerby, a medical doctor, was appointed to

Sierra Leone in 1906 and transferred to Senegal in 1920.

James Weldon Johnson, songwriter and poet, was

appointed consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, and later

to Corinto, Nicaragua.

These posts were small, in tropical countries, and

unpopular with most officers. Black clerks and vice con-

suls went as support staff. When black personnel were

transferred, it was usually to another post where blacks

Celebrating Blacks in Foreign Affairs

Friends and colleagues join Ambassador Clifton R. Wharton on his retirement in 1964.

February 17

were posted: the African countries, the Canary Islands,

the Azores, Portugal and France.

After passage of the Rogers Act in 1924—legislation

that established a career service in which merit alone was

the basis for appointment and promotion—William H.

Hunt, Yerby and Carter became the first black career offi-

cers in the new Foreign Service.

That same year, Clifton R. Wharton began a career with

the Department that was to span more than four decades,

during which he would rise from a law clerkship to become

the first black career minister in the Foreign Service. When

he arrived at State, Mr. Wharton was the Department’s only

black employee in a professional position.

After passing the Foreign Service examinations, he

reported to Monrovia, Liberia, where he served for five

years before becoming the first black officer to be posted

to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. He later served in

Madagascar; Oporto, Portugal; and the Azores.

Ambassador Wharton’s first break from the pattern of

assignments for blacks came in 1949, when he was

assigned as consul general and first secretary at Lisbon.

Soon after, he also became supervisory consul general for

Portugal and the adjacent Portuguese islands. The post-

ing represented a double victory. Not only was he the

first black officer at Lisbon, he was the senior officer as

well. From that post, Mr. Wharton continued his list of

firsts: first black Foreign Service officer at Moron,

Argentina, next Romania, then Norway.

Loy Henderson, deputy undersecretary for Adminis-

tration, recalled in a letter to Mr. Wharton, “One of the

most unforgettable moments of my Foreign Service life

was my conversation with you when you flew from

Marseilles to Washington in order to make sure that your

appointment as minister of Romania was based on merit

and qualification—not on racial considerations.” He con-

tinued, “You made it clear to me that if the matter of race

had been one of the criteria, you would not be able to

accept the appointment. I was deeply touched and glad

to tell you that race had not been a factor.”

Again, when Mr. Wharton was appointed ambassador

to Norway, the Washington Post ran an editorial that read,

“The post goes to Mr. Wharton because he deserves it,

not because he happens to be a Negro.”

After he retired in 1964, Mr. Wharton credited persist-

ence, stamina and faith for helping him overcome racial

hurdles to forge a successful Foreign Service career. His

son, Clifton Wharton Jr., followed in his father’s foot-

steps, becoming the first African-American to serve as

deputy secretary of State in 1993, although he resigned

after just nine months on the job.

Mr. Wharton Sr. also paved the way for a long list of

other black Americans to assume top-level positions

within the Department. Edward Perkins became the first

black director general of the Foreign Service and director

of Personnel in 1989.

Aurelia Brazeal, now principal deputy assistant secre-

tary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, was the first African-

American woman in the career Foreign Service to advance

from entry level to the senior ranks and, in 1990, to an

ambassadorship. In 1993, George Moose became the first

African American to serve as assistant secretary for

African Affairs. That same year, Conrad K. Harper was

named State’s first African-American legal adviser.

This article was compiled from several feature stories written in

the late 1970s and 1980 by Homer L. Calkin, a former member

of the Department’s Historical Office.

Conrad K. Harper, State’s first African-American legal adviser.

Ted Perkins is sworn in as ambassador to South Africa. Also

pictured are Mrs. Perkins and Secretary George Schultz.

Like all baby boomers, the Bureau has been shaped by

the ever-changing postwar environment. Initially, there

were offices, then later deputy assistant secretaries, for

International Trade Policy, Financial Development Policy

and Transportation and Communications Policy.

International resources were added to the Bureau’s

responsibilities in response to material needs associated

with the Korean War. The Cold War brought an Office of

Economic Defense and Trade Policy to restrict communist

access to strategic goods and technologies. Much later,

détente would see this part of EB evolve into the Office of

East-West Trade, and defense-related trade controls

moved to the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs.

Growing energy imports added fuels and energy to the

resources portfolio, and the oil embargo of the 1970s led

the Bureau heavily into international energy policy.

The steady growth of international trade and invest-

ment, together with the growing interdependence of for-

eign policy issues and multinational business activities,

increasingly engaged the Department in dialogue with

the U.S. and international business communities and

domestically oriented economic agencies. In 1972, “E

February 19

Economic and

Business Affairs

he Bureau of Economic and Busi-

ness Affairs is a baby boomer. It

was born in December 1944, when

the Department created an assistant

secretary for Economic Affairs to over-

see its economic staff. The Bureau

played a key role in establishing the

major post war institutions of Western

economic recovery and continuing

prosperity. They include the Inter-

national Monetary Fund, World Bank

and General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade, now the World Trade Organi-

zation, among others.

Bureau of the Month:

The Bureau actively promotes programs

that reduce U.S. dependence on oil to

enhance U.S. energy security.

Photo courtesy of Department of Energy

Bureau” became the Bureau of

Economic and Business Affairs—

”EB.” Its offices today maintain close

ties with a vast range of U.S. busi-

nesses and trade and labor organiza-

tions, providing the Department’s

main day-to-day interface with the

commercial private sector. These

offices also serve as the Department’s

main representatives in the intera-

gency economic policy forums.

As de facto home base for the

Department’s 1,000-plus economic

officers, EB serves as the unofficial

custodian of the Foreign Service eco-

nomic function. Its management

works with the undersecretary for

Economic and Agricultural Affairs,

the Bureau of Personnel, the

National Foreign Affairs Training

Center and the regional bureaus to

ensure that the Department recruits

and trains talented economic officers

to fill its domestic and overseas

needs. EB also works with the

regional bureaus and the director

general to ensure that officers with

strong track records on economics

20 State Magazine

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and President Bill Clinton sign the “Open Skies” bilateral aviation agreement. The Economic

Bureau served as lead U.S. negotiator.

The Bureau’s International Finance and Development Office represents State at the

International Monetary Fund, above, and a variety of other economic and financial

organizations.

Photo courtesy of International Monetary Fund

Photo courtesy of the White House

are placed in key leadership posi-

tions in posts where these issues are

central to the relationship.

The vast range and complexity of

today’s global economy and the spe-

cialized nature of some international

economic organizations involve EB in

a host of fascinating issues, from reg-

ulating the processing of pet food to

allocating radio frequencies to new

satellite-based global mobile tele-

phone companies to managing the

current Asian economic upheavals.

Managing such a far-ranging portfo-

lio requires EB’s organization and

staffing to reflect the diversity of

domestic agencies, private sector

groups and international institutions

involved. EB has some 200 officers

and support staff organized along

functional lines under five deputy

assistant secretaries.

International Communications

and Information Policy manages the

Department’s involvement in policy

for the booming telecommunications

and information industries. CIP, an

independent bureau from 1983 until

joining EB in 1995, oversees and

coordinates policy for U.S. participa-

tion in international organizations

involved in communications and

February 21

information policy, satellite and

cable policy and a variety of

telecommunications trade and infra-

structure development initiatives.

Energy, Sanctions and Commod-

ities plays a key role in developing

and implementing U.S. economic

sanctions, such as embargoes and

export controls, that aim to achieve

foreign policy objectives while tak-

ing into account U.S. competitive-

ness. Congress and policy makers in

the post Cold War era look more

and more to economic sanctions as

the tool of first resort to achieve for-

eign policy objectives when persua-

sion fails. ESC also develops and

supervises policies to enhance U.S.

EB’s Steve Miller and Peg Caton visit the port facilities in Baltimore as part of the

Bureau’s focus on foreign policy aspects of maritime issues.

Enhancing diversification of energy supplies is a goal of the Energy, Sanction, and Commodities Office.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy

energy security through diversifica-

tion of supply, conservation, con-

sumer country cohesion and prepa-

ration for supply disruptions, as

well as dialogue with individual

producer nations, including OPEC,

the Newly Independent States,

Canada and Mexico.

International Finance and Devel-op

ment provides the Department’s

financial analysis and economic poli-

cy recommendations in response to

specific regional needs such as the

Asian financial crisis and to guide the

overall thrust and composition of

bilateral and multilateral develop-

ment assistance. IFD works closely

with the Treasury Department and

Agency for International Develop-

ment on the foreign policy aspects of

monetary issues, development

finance, investment policy and eco-

nomic reform in developing countries

and economies in transition. It repre-

sents the Department in the U.S.

Export-Import Bank, the International

Monetary Fund, the World Bank and

regional development banks, and the

financial and investment committees

of the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development.

Trade Policy and Programs takes

the lead for the Department in pursu-

ing trade liberalization through bilat-

eral and multilateral trade negotia-

tions. It represents the Department in

the formal and informal interagency

trade policy coordinating processes,

such as the National Economic

Council and Trade Policy Review

Group. TPP develops and imple-

ments Department policy on multilat-

eral trade issues in the World Trade

Organization and in regional or bilat-

eral forums such as the Asia-Pacific

Economic Cooperation forum, the

North America Free Trade Agreement

and the Japan Framework talks. It

also handles important industrial sec-

tor issues such as intellectual proper-

ty, competition policy, agricultural

trade and the textile program.

State, in cooperation with the

Transportation Department, has spe-

cial responsibility for negotiating

bilateral aviation agreements with

foreign governments, and Tanspor-

tation Affairs is the chief aviation

negotiator for the United States. TRA

is pressing for the liberalization of

international aviation policies of U.S.

partners by building on the “Open

Skies” principles it has negotiated

into agreements with 28 countries.

TRA is also responsible for coordi-

nating and implementing foreign

policy aspects of aviation safety and

security policies, as well as maritime

and land transportation issues.

22 State Magazine

A tanker offloads oil into underground storage areas—an effort to reduce U.S. vulnerability to shortages of petroleum.

The Bureau maintains dialogue with oil-producing nations to help prevent supply disruptions.

Photo courtesy of the Energy Department

By Alan P. Larson

his year I chaired the

selection committee for

the Salzman Award for

Excellence in International

Economic Work and served on the

selection committee for the Cobb

Awards. This was a special honor,

for I’ve known and worked with

both Ambassador Charles E. Cobb

and the late Ambassador Herb

Salzman. While many factors con-

tributed to the conspicuous success

of the outstanding officers we

reviewed, a single theme emerged:

Strong, effective advocacy of U.S.

economic policies and commercial

interests is the key to success.

As ambassador to the Paris-

based Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development from

1977 to 1981, Ambassador Salzman

established the Salzman Award in

1981 to recognize outstanding con-

tributions in advancing U.S. interna-

tional relations and policy objectives

in the economic field. Rita Fredericks

Salzman and the Salzman family

continue to support the award in his

memory. In 1997 Ambassador

Salzman’s son Anthony presented

the award to Mary Janice Fleck in

Kuala Lumpur.

The committee was impressed with

1997’s Salzman nominations, cover-

ing 12 officers and the first nomina-

tion of a team of two officers working

on the same or closely related issues.

The choice among the three finalists

was especially difficult, and the com-

mittee recognized outstanding contri-

butions by all three. The committee

chose Ms. Fleck for policy advocacy,

key to securing Malaysian support for

vital U.S. policy objectives in the

World Trade Organization’s Infor-

mation Technology Agreement and

for U.S. “Open Skies” civil aviation

policies. She also encouraged

Malaysian leadership to support our

common interests with other coun-

tries in the region.

The Cobb Awards, one for chiefs

of mission and another for officers

below the rank of chief of mission,

are funded by Mr. Cobb, former

ambassador to Iceland.

The two winners, Michael Delany

and Ambassador A. Elizabeth Jones,

represent radically different work-

ing environments. But their nomina-

tions highlight a common focus on

identifying interests and opportuni-

ties for U.S. business, exercising

leadership in working with U.S.

business and foreign customers, and

taking the initiative to develop cre-

ative solutions overcoming

obstacles to growth of U.S. trade

and investment overseas.

As section chief at the embassy

in Helsinki, Mr. Delany refocused

the embassy’s economic section

from traditional economic report-

ing toward a more aggressive

direct advocacy of U.S. interna-

tional economic policies and com-

mercial interests. In the process,

he developed an extensive net-

work of economic contacts and

more in-depth knowledge of the

Finnish economy.

In Kazakstan, Ambassador

Jones brought her energy, creative

imagination and dynamic leader-

ship to bear on promoting U.S.

commercial interests in a devel-

oping country making the transition

to a market economy. The Caspian

Basin, with oil and gas reserves

rivaled only by the Persian Gulf, has

attracted nearly $1 billion in U.S.

investment in its energy sector.

The nominations clearly demon-

strated not only that economic and

commercial officers around the

world are working hard to deliver

our policy message and support our

commercial interests, but also that

ambassadors everywhere are in-

volved more deeply than ever in our

economic advocacy. The Cobb and

Salzman Awards recognize the sig-

nificance of these efforts. I urge

chiefs of mission and regional assis-

tant secretaries to nominate more

officers and ambassadors for these

awards, to recognize their outstand-

ing efforts on behalf of U.S. econom-

ic and commercial interests.

February 23

Awards Highlight Advocacy of U.S.

Interests, Policies

BBuurreeaauu ooff tthhee MMoonntthh:: EEccoonnoommiicc aanndd BBuussiinneessss AAffffaaiirrss

The author is assistant secretary of State

for Economic and Business Affairs.

Mary Janice Fleck in Kuala Lumpur

was awarded the 1997 Salzman Award.

With her is the late ambassador’s

granddaughter.

By Thomas White

wenty years ago the U.S. Congress passed the

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits

Americans from bribing foreign public officials

to obtain business. The problem of corruption

internationally has received considerably greater atten-

tion as recognition has grown of the tremendous costs it

imposes on good governance, fair competition, economic

development and efficiency. U.S. business has adjusted to

operating within the terms of the anti-bribery law over

the past two decades, but the lack of comparable prohibi-

tions on off shore bribery in other countries has created

an uneven playing field for American companies

engaged in international business. American firms esti-

mate they lose billions of dollars in international com-

mercial contracts each year because of bribery by com-

peting foreign firms.

But the situation is about to change dramatically for the

better. On Dec. 17, at the headquarters of the Organization

for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris,

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright signed a binding

international Convention on Combating Corruption in

International Business Transactions. The agreement

requires the United States and 33 other major industrial-

ized countries to enact legislation by the end of this year

to criminalize and provide “dissuasive” sanctions for

business-related bribes to foreign public officials.

The anti-bribery convention marks a major achieve-

ment for the United States, which worked for more than

20 years to reach such an agreement with major U.S. com-

mercial competitors. It’s also a major achievement for the

Department and for the Bureau of Economic and

Business Affairs, which led the negotiation effort.

This diplomatic victory hinged on a team concept.

Former Secretary Warren Christopher and then–EB assis-

tant secretary Daniel Tarullo led a broad, multi-agency

effort in 1994. They forged with the United States part-

ners a general anti-bribery recommendation and an

agreement to a program for the new OECD Working

Group on Bribery.

The State team was broad based, since the anti-bribery

effort touched on legal, international commerce, account-

ing, procurement, taxation and other issues, and the

24 State Magazine

Combating International Bribery

The author is director of the Office of Investment Affairs.

Secretary Madeleine Albright signs the anti-bribery treaty in Paris. Looking on are Finland’s deputy minister of finance, Juko

Skianari, left, and Rodrigo de Rato-Figaredo, vice president of Spain’s government and trade ministry.

BBuurreeaauu ooff tthhee MMoonntthh:: EEccoonnoommiicc aanndd BBuussiinneessss AAffffaaiirrss

application of these concepts from Australia to East Asia

to Europe to Latin America to North America.

The Bureau worked closely with the Office of the Legal

Advisor, the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law

Enforcement Affairs and the Bureau of International

Organizations Affairs, and with the Department’s region-

al bureaus, particularly the Bureau of European Affairs,

including the U.S. Mission to the OECD.

Overseas posts also contributed to the effort, both in

terms of analysis of local attitudes, laws and regulations

and through frequently testy exchanges with foreign gov-

ernment representatives as key decisions approached.

The EB-led team concept was replicated at the inter-

agency level. A clear and compelling national interest in

advancing this issue, shared by all involved agencies, set

the tone for this process. Representatives from the Justice,

Commerce and Treasury Departments and from the

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Securities

and Exchange Commission played important roles,

including their Cabinet-level leadership. Secretary of

Commerce Robert Daley chaired the U.S. delegation to

the annual OECD ministerial meeting last spring, setting

the course for December’s historic anti-bribery conven-

tion. The signing of the anti-bribery convention is an

important achievement for U.S. diplomacy, and illus-

trates the key role the Foreign Service performs in

advancing concrete American economic interests abroad.

The outcome will directly benefit honest American com-

panies doing business overseas—with all the attendant

job and export implications—while furthering U.S.

efforts to foster economic reform, development and the

democratization process internationally.

February 25

By Audrey B. Huon-Dumentat

These days, we have too many communication

choices. As efficient as many of these choices can be,

they also have their failures. Faxes disappear into thin

air. Phone messages left on answering machines go

mysteriously unanswered. E-mails are left hanging in

thin air with no acknowledgment or answer.

Any communication exchange is only as good as the

lowest-technology equipment used to conduct it. Your

super-duper fax machine can’t “talk” to your counter-

part’s 1960s version. Your slower-than-molasses modem

downloads gorgeous, full-color graphics from the web,

when all you needed was one address! You distribute

something on paper because the Internet is not yet the

rage, and the Secretary of State publishes the same thing

electronically. Then you discover that the Secretary’s

version went out differently from yours because the

word processing program didn’t convert the table right

or the last-minute change didn’t get hand-entered cor-

rectly. Is technology working for us or against us?

E-mail is everyone’s favorite technology, but it

seems to be overrated. It can take days for a message

to get to me through the SMTP censor. Who is SMTP

anyway? The IM personal mail gestapo?

Sometimes e-mail goes down for days, leaving most

of us wondering why those folks in the Department

are ignoring us. There are also the spooky electronic

fits and starts. The phantom “this vs-mail user is

unknown to the system” message appears, and you

never find out whether the “unknown” user received

it or not. Or you get a message indicating non receipt

and find out later that the person got it anyway.

Just what do you do when someone’s e-mail box is

full and won’t accept your message? You could always

resort to sending it by fax, if you can find a fax num-

ber. They’re unlisted in most white pages. You could,

as a last resort, send your message through the

slow-boat pouch, but that hardly qualifies as a real

communication solution these days.

Have you ever played e-mail and audix tag? Ever

wished that secretaries were not becoming an endan-

gered species at State? I’ve spent days trying to catch

someone on the phone when a complicated problem

required a real conversation.

I guess this is just part of doing business globally.

There‘s no secret recipe for making sure a message

gets passed well and answered. At least they don’t kill

the messenger anymore as they did in the old days of

diplomacy, although I’ve been sorely tempted to take a

bat to my computer when I get the message that some-

one’s e-mail box is full.

For most routine things, e-mail is the way to go, but

I admit this only with a sigh of resignation. It’s quick

enough for most purposes, and qualifies as more or

less “record” traffic since it can be documented.

I used to prefer cables, but nowadays they seem to tick

people off, so I’ve joined the kinder-and-gentler bureau-

cratic ranks. Now, when action is necessary and needs to

be traceable, my personal preference is the Stone Age

yellow routing and transmittal slip, Optional Form 41, to

be precise. My second choice is the tried-and-true

interoffice memo, though I don’t go so far as to use the

standard form because it’s an oddball size that won’t

work with my printer. And even if it could, I can’t figure

out how to format it correctly so it prints out right.

The author is assistant general service officer at the embassy

in Dakar, Senegal.

Technology Blues

Hanoi

Post of the Month:

Building Toward a New

Future in Vietnam

U.S. diplomats began returning to Vietnam only three

years ago. In January 1995 State set up a liaison

office, and in August 1995 then-Secretary Warren

Christopher opened the American embassy in Hanoi,

with Desaix Anderson as chargé d’affaires.

Ambassador Douglas “Pete” Peterson arrived in

Hanoi on May 9, 1997, to begin work as the first U.S.

ambassador to postwar Vietnam.

mbassador Peterson was an inspired

choice for the position—a former con-

gressman and a former prisoner of war

who spent more than six years at the Hoa Lo prison,

dubbed the “Hanoi Hilton” by some POWs.

Since the early 1990s, Ambassador Peterson, a former

Florida congressman, had returned to Vietnam several

times to bolster reconciliation efforts, and even visited his

old jail cell.

“This is a historic event and the beginning of a new era

of constructive relations between Vietnam and the United

States,” he said as he arrived at Hanoi’s Noi Bai interna-

tional airport to assume his ambassadorial post.

Vietnamese well-wishers, American veterans and busi-

ness representatives welcomed the ambassador under

the sweltering sun, as he told them his top diplomatic

priority was to seek “the fullest possible accounting of

persons missing from the war.” More than 2,000

Americans are officially missing from the war.

Ambassador Peterson also called for the conclusion of

a trade agreement with Vietnam. “Simply put, the U.S.

policy is to help Vietnam become a prosperous country, at

peace with its neighbors and fully integrated into this

most dynamic region of the world,” he said.

Since his latest arrival in Vietnam, he has worked with

Foreign Service and Department of Defense personnel to

implement U.S. foreign policy, protect American citizens,

advance American business interests and provide a

working and living environment able to support this

active mission.

Since January 1995, the embassy staff has grown to

include some 50 direct-hire American and 130 local

employees, representing State, the U.S. Information

Service, the Foreign Commercial Service, the Foreign

Agricultural Service, the Defense Attachés Office, the

Joint Task and the Force–Full Accounting, and a Centers

for Disease Control physician. The embassy’s constituent

post in Ho Chi Minh City, with a dozen Americans and

nearly 40 Vietnamese employees, also includes represen-

tatives of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The embassy’s work is exciting, but hectic. In the last

year, owing to the United States’ constructive engage-

ment with Vietnam, the two countries signed a copyright

agreement and are making progress toward science and

technology, trade, and aviation agreements.

The gratification of helping make a difference for both

countries is a much-needed compensation for the diffi-

cult working conditions. The chancery is in the third year

of reconstruction, and before the project is completed, the

search is already on for a site for a new embassy.

The embassy’s housing pool includes apartments and

single-family homes. Only seven employees reside at the

diplomatic compound built by the host government. In

the urban European tradition, the houses are tall rather

than sprawling. It’s not unusual for a 1,000-square-foot

house to have three levels.

Much of Hanoi has an almost medieval flavor.

Different guilds have different streets on which they

hawk their wares. To this day, there is a silk street, a met-

alworkers’ street, a goldsmiths’ street and the newcom-

ers: streets devoted specifically to plumbing fixtures,

tiles, rubber hoses, bookbags, wedding dresses, TVs,

kitchen appliances, raincoats, sports equipment, water

tanks and other goods.

28 State Magazine

Post of the Month: Hanoi

Photos by Robert Carlson

A street vendor offers yams for sale.

The full range of what’s available is within one block,

and the proximity keeps the prices in check. There are

also Western incursions, such as the Czech crystal stores

with Western prices and local supermarkets with coun-

terfeit electronic goods.

Although most Americans’ images of Vietnam are of a

nation at war 20 years ago, today’s Vietnam is a dynam-

ic, changing young nation. Sixty percent of its 77 million

citizens were born after 1975. Vietnamese youth frequent

discos with names like Metal and Roxy, speak or are

studying English and cruise the streets on Honda Dream

motorbikes.

Hanoi’s traffic is a mixture of bicycles, motorcycles,

cars and trucks going at different speeds, no traffic lights,

and pedestrians walking across all of this. There are sev-

eral theories of roadway survival. One theory is that the

traffic is a river and you are a rock it flows around; anoth-

er advises never to look back since no one else does; still

another, never stop because you’ll cause an accident.

“Never stop” is the advice the entire embassy staff in

Hanoi appears to be following as it strives to expand the

relationship between the United States and Vietnam and

to advance U.S. national interests in Southeast Asia.

30 State Magazine

Right, the U.S. embassy in Hanoi. Below, bicycles and motor-

bikes serve as the primary transportation on Lan Ha Road,

the street outside the embassy.

By Daniel Fern

An information manage-

ment specialist and political

officer posted in Hanoi

explored the heart of

Vietnam during a 1,200-

mile bike ride from Hanoi to

Ho Chi Minh City.

The sun was just starting to rise. It

was Saturday, and I was among a

group of nine bicyclists—one

Australian, one Vietnamese and

seven Americans—en route to

Highway 1. By the time we reached

the highway, it was already congest-

ed with vehicles. Since the road was

completely blocked by traffic, we

picked up our bikes and walked on

the railroad tracks along this stretch

disappear. The children became the

highlight of the trip.

It rained for less than two hours

during the entire 14-day trip. We

stopped often to take photos and got

to know several of the beautiful cities

as we passed through them—Hue,

Da Nang and Hoi An, among them.

On the final day of our trip, horrif-

ic traffic forced us to concentrate on

just riding the final 50 kilometers

into Ho Chi Minh City. It wasn’t

until we crossed the Saigon Bridge

that we knew we’d made it, one flat

tire, two bruises and 400 pictures

later. Only a climb up Mount Everest

could exceed the feeling of accom-

plishment. I wonder if Ted Osius

will put that trip together, too?

February 31

Vietnam on two Wheels

The author is an information management

specialist in Hanoi.

Political Officer Ted Osius and Information Management Specialist Daniel Fern on the trip with just over 900 miles to go.

of highway, bypassing the traffic.

The farther we rode from Hanoi, the

quieter it became. There were fewer

horns honking, fewer cars and

motorbikes.

In the countryside, we were greet-

ed by children who came out of

nowhere to greet us and ask our

names. They waved their little arms

vigorously and jumped with joy. I

often found that the children’s

enthusiasm helped me forget my

frustrations with the Vietnamese bus

drivers who sometimes intentional-

ly tried to run us off the road. Bus

and truck drivers were fast and reck-

less and constantly honked their

horns—reminding me of what I dis-

liked about living in Vietnam. But

then a young child would run up to

the side of the road with a big smile

and greeting, and my frustrations

Post of the Month: Hanoi

By Elizabeth Kauffman

hen Public Affairs Officer William Bach

arrived in Hanoi in September 1995, every

task needed attention: furnishing office

space, hiring and training a staff, mapping

a public diplomacy plan and explaining to Vietnamese

counterparts how educational exchange and information

programs contribute to building a solid relationship. In

addition, Mr. Bach acted as embassy press liaison, arrang-

ing press releases, briefings, media interviews and press

conferences for U.S. officials.

By 1997, an American assistant and six Vietnamese

employees had joined Bach in administering exchange and

information programs focused on market-oriented eco-

nomics and the legal foundations of a civil society. Plans

are under way this year for a Ho Chi Minh City branch.

A 20-year hiatus in State’s Vietnam presence creates

gaps in mutual understanding that can be filled only by

two-way personal exchanges. The Fulbright Program,

initiated in Vietnam in 1992, enrolls some 30 Vietnamese

officials, scholars and professionals annually in graduate

programs at leading American universities. At the

Fulbright Learning Center in Ho Chi Minh City,

American Fulbright lecturers offer rigorous coursework

in principles of market economy decision making to

more than 150 business executives and economic policy

makers from throughout the country. In 1997, the pro-

gram began funding American graduate student research

in Vietnam. Plans for 1998 include placing American lec-

turers at seven universities throughout Vietnam to teach

and consult in various disciplines.

Besides academic exchanges, the U.S. Information

Service annually funds up to 30 one-month international

visitor programs, matching selected Vietnamese opinion

leaders—lawmakers, educators, editors, artists and jour-

nalists—with their American counterparts. They discuss

such issues as consumer rights, sustainable development,

U.S. commercial law or the role of women in U.S. politics.

American speakers and specialists travel to Vietnam to

discuss specific issues with counterparts.

In one such program, the suggestions of an American

expert in commercial law, conferring with lawmakers on

Vietnam’s draft commercial code, resulted in a code more

compatible with international norms. Other programs have

32 State Magazine

The author is a country affairs officer with East Asian/

Pacific Affairs.

USIS Vietnam

Post of the Month: Hanoi

A Day at

the Races

By Robert Richard Downes

’ve taken on many different assignments and tasks

during my Foreign Service career. I investigated

murders and visited prisons during my consular

days, accompanied local police as they ran steam-

rollers over hundreds of pirated tapes and watches,

and engaged in all-night negotiating sessions involv-

ing literally billions of dollars of multilateral assis-

tance programs.

But I never expected to represent my country by

driving in a sulky race as I did at the Mariendorf

Trabrennbahn in Berlin on German-American Friend-

ship Day.

A sulky is a seat suspended over two wheels and

pulled by a horse at up to 40 miles per hour. In many

respects, sulky racing is similar to the chariot races in

Ben Hur, but the horses trot rather than run and it’s

considered bad form to hit your opponents with a

whip or run into their sulkies with spiked wheels.

I was introduced to sulky racing during a staff meet-

ing at the U.S. embassy in Berlin. The mayor of

Templehof was looking for American representatives

to drive in the special German-American Friendship

Cup race. As a Texan who had done some minor rodeo

riding in high school, I found this was too intriguing

an opportunity to pass up.

Germany requires eight to 10 hours of instruction

before you can drive a sulky, even in an amateur race.

I squeezed in the training time before work and on

weekends.

The race was 1,900 meters, or one-and-a-half times

around the track, and I was fortunate to have the cov-

eted first-place position in the center of the track. As

the only American among the nine drivers, I felt extra

pressure to do well.

As we passed the crowd for the first time, I was in

third place and gaining on the second horse. Suddenly

a horse’s head appeared over my shoulder, and the

horse began to kick my cart. My own horse, Jump for

Joy, picked up speed. As we completed the first lap, I

was still in third place and moving faster to overtake

number two. The crowd went wild as we neared the

finish line, but sadly the cheers were not for me. In the

last 300 meters while I was zipping along at 65 kilo-

meters per hour, three other horses slipped by me. Yet

for the only beginner in the race, fifth place wasn’t so

bad. After all, there’s always next year!

The author is a Foreign Service officer assigned as treasury

representative to the embassy in Berlin.

included seminars on intellectual property rights protec-

tion or American regionalism. Under the Citizen Exchange

Program, projects initiated by American non governmental

organizations and academic institutions result in learning

and institutional links. A growing Information Resource

Center in Hanoi provides timely articles and policy infor-

mation to key Vietnamese opinion makers.

USIS promotes understanding of the United States

through book donations to Hanoi University, an English

Teaching Fellow at the Institute of International

Relations, a Library Fellow at Can Tho University, a

February 33

series of book translations, and a university affiliation

between the University of San Francisco and Hanoi

National University Law School.

The agency also promotes U.S.-Vietnam cooperation in

the fields of educational reforms, and encourages pri-

vately funded educational exchange. Under a coopera-

tive agreement with the Institute for International

Education, USIS provides information on higher educa-

tion in the United States to Vietnamese students and

institutions and promotes contacts between American

and Vietnamese universities.

By Donna Miles

Photos by Rosalie Dangelo

uring 21 years at State, Rosalie Dangelo has

been a public information specialist, a per-

sonnel specialist and an ombudsman for

Civil Service employees. But it wasn’t until

1980, when she bought a new camera, that she realized

she’s something else, too—an artist.

“Once I got that camera, I started to see things through

a different set of eyes,” said Ms. Dangelo, now serving a

detail in the Department’s Africa Bureau. “Photography

gave me an opportunity to focus my mind in a totally dif-

ferent way, to be free to get closer to things and see beau-

ty in them.”

Much of Ms. Dangelo’s work centers around nature—

birds, flowers, light dancing on bodies of water. She’s

34 State Magazine

SSTTAATTEE OOFF TTHH EE AARR TTSS

Focusing on Art

Rosalie Dangelo

By John Bentel

The State of the Arts Cultural Series recently hosted

Chechen-born cellist Tanya Anisimova, who won first

prize at the prestigious Prague Young Artists

International Competition at the age of 15. Ms.

Anisimova’s program of Bach compositions, played on

an Italian cello over 100 years old, began with Suite I,

Prelude. She segued into Suite II, Prelude Sarabande in

D minor, and concluded with Partita III, Preludio Loure.

The program continued with improvisational music,

concluding with an encore of “The Flight of the Bumble

Bee” performed at a breakneck speed.

Returning for his fifth appearance at the State of the

Arts Cultural Series, former Foreign Service Officer

Steven Alan Honley performed a recital of “Music by

American Composers.” An accomplished instrumental-

ist, singer, and composer, Mr. Honley directs music at an

Alexandria, Va., church, is assistant conductor of the

Washington area Friday Morning Music Club Chorale

February 35

SSTTAATTEE OOFF TTHH EE AARR TTSS

traveled extensively pursuing her art, to Italy, New

Zealand, Sweden, Belgium and The Netherlands, as well

as Florida and the American Southwest. Most recently,

she traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., to capture images of

holiday luminaries.

But Ms. Dangelo considers herself a simple photogra-

pher. She owns just two lenses, prefers taking her film to

a lab over processing it herself, and bought a tripod only

after she realized she needed one in the darkness of the

rain forest. “I don’t work with a lot of gadgets,” she said.

“All I need is my camera and whatever it is that touches

me visually.”

“Photography provides me a creative outlet, a chance

to expand myself beyond what I do at the office each

day,” Ms. Dangelo said. “I’ve had people come up to me

when I’m shooting and say, “You look so happy!” And I

realize that when I’m photographing, I’m smiling.”

Department Hosts Concerts

and has long been part of the choral program at George

Washington University.

Mr. Honley started his most recent State performance

with several Edward MacDowell selections, including

“New England Idyls,” “In Puritan Times” and “Sea

Idyls”. He also played his organ version of Charles Ives’

“Variations on America,” then offered short selections

from Leonard Bernstein’s “Anniversaries” series and the

Dutch hymn “We Gather Together.”

Mr. Honley was a Foreign Service officer from 1985 to

1997. Following postings in Mexico and New Zealand, he

served in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the

Bureau of African Affairs and the Board of Examiners. He

led the Ambassadors of Song and played French horn in

the Diplomatic Brass Ensemble and was State Magazine’s

first regular music critic from 1990 to 1994. He left the

Foreign Service to pursue a career as a freelance musician

and writer.

What’s the State of the Arts at your office or post?

State Magazine is looking for artists within the

Department: musicians, singers, creative writers,

photographers, actors, painters and the whole

range of other gifted individuals we collectively refer

to as artists. If you or someone you know fills the

bill, drop us a note at the mailing or e-mail address

on the inside front cover.

The author is a computer specialist in the Executive Secretariat.

Lynton, England

36 State Magazine

Our baby is now sitting up and

crawling, and my family and

friends buy lots of toys for her.

I’m not sure about the general

safety considerations when buying toys

for infants and toddlers. What should we

be looking for before we give our infant

something new to play with?—ARA

You’re correct in recognizing

that there are different safety

concerns for each stage in a

baby’s development. In gener-

al, all infant toys should be washable

because they are mouthed frequently

and passed around, spreading germs.

Toys with hard plastic, rubber or other

cleanable surfaces should be washed

and disinfected in a mild bleach solution

at least once a day. Another safety guide-

line is to be sure that all parts of any

infant toy are at least 1 1/4 inch in diam-

eter so they can’t be swallowed, and that

stuffed animals are not so large or heavy

that they could suffocate children.

Shatterproof mirrors washable dolls and stuffed ani-

mals with riveted eyes soft stacking blocks and nesting

toys and cloth, vinyl or board books are safe and appro-

priate toys for the first year. But rattles warrant special

consideration. The Product Safety Commission recom-

mends against giving a rattle smaller than 1 3/8 by 2

inches to a baby because it could lodge in the baby’s

windpipe and cause suffocation. For 1- to 2-year-olds,

pull toys with strings no longer than 12 inches books

with cloth or cardboard pages large-sized snap-together

beads and blocks banging musical instruments such as

xylophones large-sized crayons, watercolors or nontoxic

markers and puzzles with knobs and a few large pieces

are both safe and appropriate choices.

I have the distinction of being a male “baby

boomer.” As I age, I’m wondering if there are

any particular health risks for my generation.

Are there specific things, besides maintaining

normal weight, not smoking or drinking to excess and

keeping an active lifestyle, that I should be doing to pro-

tect my health?—NEA

Male baby boomers, that group of men born

between 1947 and 1954, have no specific health

risks other than those of the normal aging

process. The big four risks are skin cancer,

prostate cancer, colon cancer and diseases of

the heart and blood vessels—diseases that

are curable when diagnosed and treated in

the early stages. Yet some people, particular-

ly men, don’t take advantage of the screen-

ing and preventative measures their doctors

offer, and seek out medical attention only

when a problem arises.

Beginning at about age 40, it’s advisable

to have a blood pressure reading yearly, and

more frequently if it’s abnormal. Also rec-

ommended are annual checks for colon and

prostate cancer, with either a rectal exami-

nation, a blood test or a special visual colon

exam. Testicular self-exams should be con-

ducted every three months. In addition,

maintaining a weight near the ideal, stick-

ing to a regular exercise program, and eat-

ing a low-cholesterol diet that’s rich in veg-

etables, fruit and grains all contribute to a

healthy lifestyle.

I get cold sores when I’m sick, if I

have a fever, if I’m out in the sun

and if I get very angry or upset.

Sometimes I get them for no appar-

ent reason. I’ve heard of at least 100 treatments, from

applying ice to smallpox vaccinations to painting the

lesions with a variety of ugly, bad-tasting liquid concoc-

tions. Is there a cure? Is there anything that will help

reduce the frequency or the pain or the length of time I

have these miserable sores?—AF

The bad news is that there’s no cure for the her-

pes simplex virus, the one responsible for cold

sores and fever blisters, and some 20 percent of

American adults are affected and have an aver-

age of three eruptions each year. Recently introduced

medicines such as Acyclovir, also called Zovrax, have

been associated with shortening the course of the out-

break. A new medicine called Peniclovir has been partic-

ularly promising. It comes as an ointment and is applied

directly to the sores to block the virus from replicating its

DNA. The pre-eruption pain is lessened, and the course

of the outbreak is shortened by as much as 25 percent. As

the sores are healing, it’s important to avoid letting fluid

from the blister come in contact with others, as the virus

can be transmitted to others.

AA SS KK DD RR .. DD UU MM OO NN TT

BY CEDRIC DUMONT, M.D.

This column appears

monthly in State Magazine.

Whether you are serving

overseas or at home, you are

encouraged to get your

questions answered in these

pages. Write to the editor

or to Dr. Dumont directly.

In either case, your post

will not be identified.

The author is chief of the Department’s Office of Medical

Services.

February 37

Karl Ackerman, 70, former assistant

secretary of State for Security, died

Sept. 21 in Bethesda, Md. He

joined the Foreign Service in 1949,

serving as a security officer in

Rome, with later postings in Paris,

Taipei, Oslo and Bangkok. In

Washington, Mr. Ackerman was

deputy executive secretary, execu-

tive director of the Bureau of Inter-

American Affairs and director of Foreign Service assign-

ments. He retired in 1982.

Earl A. Ambre, 68, a retired person-

nel management specialist, died

Nov. 12 in Phoenix, Ariz. Mr.

Ambre joined the Department in

1979, managing its retirement

planning and career transition

programs until his own retirement

in 1995.

Barbara Candelaria, 67, died Aug. 8

in Prescott, Ariz. While accompa-

nying her husband, retired

Foreign Service Officer Benjamin

Candelaria, on overseas tours,

Mrs. Candelaria worked for the

Department. She served in several

offices in Nairobi and headed up

health units in Havana and

Maputo. She left State when her

husband retired in 1990.

Gabrielle Teresa DeThomas, 15,

daughter of Joseph DeThomas,

deputy chief of mission in Vienna,

and Karen DeThomas, died Dec. 1

in Vienna. She was a student at the

American International School in

Vienna and had accompanied her

parents to assignments in Mexico

and Addis Ababa before arriving

in Vienna last August. (See related

story, page 39).

Dwight Dickinson III, 80, ambassador to Togo from 1970 to

1974, died Sept. 24 in Newport, R.I. Mr. Dickinson

entered the Foreign Service in 1946 and served in Mexico

City, Curaçao, Beirut, Rabat, Paris, New York and

Washington. He retired in 1974.

Robert L. Gingles, 62, a retired

Foreign Service officer who served

in the Bureau of Administration,

died Sept. 4 in Buenos Aires. He

joined the Foreign Service in 1966

and served in Washington, Yaounde,

Sofia, Islamabad, Paris, Buenos

Aires, Rome, Tehran, Mexico City

and Paris. He retired in 1984.

Parker T. Hart, 87, former assistant

secretary of State for Near East and

South Asian Affairs from 1959 to

1961 and ambassador to three

countries, died Oct. 15 in

Washington. He spent 31 years in

the Foreign Service, serving as

ambassador to Saudi Arabia,

Turkey and Kuwait and minister to

Syria and Yemen before being

named director of the Foreign Service Institute. He

retired in 1969.

Billy N. Hughes, 73, died Sept. 18 in Nashville, Tenn. Mr.

Hughes joined the Department in 1951, with postings in

Hong Kong, Panama, Washington and Orlando, Fla. He

retired from the Office of Diplomatic Security in 1987.

Richard T. Kennedy, 78, undersecretary of State for

Management from 1981 to 1982 and ambassador-at-large

from 1982 to 1993, died Jan. 12 in Washington. After 30 years

in the Army, he held positions on the National Security

Council staff, and served as deputy assistant to the

President for National Security Planning and on the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ambassador Kennedy

became special adviser to the Secretary of State for Non-

Proliferation Policy and Nuclear Energy Affairs, and the

U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy

Agency in Vienna, where he chaired the board of governors.

He chaired the steering committee of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy

Agency, serving as the U.S. representative. He retired from

State in 1993.

OO BB II TT UU AA RR II EE SS

Goodwin Shapiro, 76, a retired

Foreign Service officer, died June

25 in El Paso, Texas. Mr. Shapiro

joined the Department after World

War II in an administrative capaci-

ty before becoming an aide to

Ambassador Daniel Bell and

Ambassador Arthur Dean. He

entered the Foreign Service in 1956

and served in Mexico, South

Korea, Spain and Argentina before

becoming deputy director of the Office of Special

Consular Services. He retired in 1980.

Henry L. Taylor, 79, a retired Foreign Service officer, died

Aug. 25 in Jacksonville, Fla. Mr. Taylor joined State in

1943 and served in Bogota, Buenaventura, Grenada,

38 State Magazine

OO BB II TT UU AA RR II EE SS

Tegucigalpa, Sao Paulo, San Luis Potosi, Mexico City,

Panama, Islamabad, Tehran and Washington, D.C. He

was a desk officer for Costa Rica, Guatemala and

Nicaragua, served in Panama City during the 1964 riots

and coordinated Cuban Affairs in Miami during the first

airlift. He retired in 1974.

State Magazine welcomes contributions to

the obituary column in the format displayed.

Every effort will be made to return photos.

Magazine policy is to publish obituaries of State

Department employees or retirees and immediate

family members of current Department workers at

the family’s request.

Berg Celebrates Golden Anniversary

John H.R. Berg, chief of the Travel and Visitors Unit at the U.S. embassy in Paris, recently celebrated 50

years of federal service—48 with State.

Mr. Berg began his govern-

ment service in 1947, working

for the U.S. Army after fleeing

Nazi Germany. He joined the

embassy staff in Paris two

years later.

To commemorate his golden

anniversary, Ambassador Felix

G. Rohatyn presented Mr. Berg

with a 50-year Length of Service

Award and the Secretary’s

Career Achievement Award. His

service was commended on the

floor of the U.S. Senate, with the

Congressional Record entry:

“...be it resolved, it is the sense

of the Senate that John H.R.

Berg deserves the highest praise

from the Congress for his stead-

fast devotion, caring leadership

and lifetime of service to the

United States government.”

Ambassador and Mrs. Felix G. Rohatyn commend John H.R. Berg for 50 years of

U.S. government service. Mrs. Berg is on the left.

State Workers Rally to Comfort Grieving Family

By Joseph M. DeThomas

ur 15-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, went to bed

early Nov. 30 feeling nauseous and achy. We put

her to bed, made her as comfortable as we could,

agreed she should stay home from school in the morning

and told her we would take her to the doctor in the morn-

ing if she still felt ill. She went to sleep and died of bacte-

rial meningitis during the night, devastating our family,

diminishing the amount of light in the world, but also

unleashing a surge of support from the American com-

munity in Vienna, the Foreign Service and the

Department. Our family lost its brightest light and great-

est hope, but it was rescued by the Foreign Service and

expatriate American family.

I returned home from the office to be told the news

about Gaby by my wife. Our first moments of agony were

spent alone. Within minutes, however, members of the

embassy community began to arrive. First, Robbi Keyes

came to hold my wife and comfort her, while I tried to

make sense of this disaster and provide information to the

rescue squad and the Vienna police. Thereafter, a stream

of embassy personnel and family members arrived to take

us and the situation in hand. Regional Psychiatrist Janet

Mules, Regional Medical Officer John Keyes, Regional

Security Officer Tony Richards, Consular Foreign Service

National Michael Strahberger and Administrative

Counselor Steven White assumed the practical tasks of

dealing with the Austrian authorities.

Perhaps more importantly, an army of embassy and

nonofficial Americans organized themselves by some

magic unapparent to us, keeping us functioning, healthy

and, above all, company. Ambassador Kathryn Hall and

her husband, Craig, and their fellow Vienna chiefs of mis-

sion John Ritch and Sam Brown led the way. In particu-

lar, Ambassador Hall and her husband encouraged

embassy personnel and families to visit us, rather than

keep the traditional distance and space neither of us

wanted or needed.

Christina Ritch and Alison Teal Brown spent the next

four days holding the our hands and warding off despair

with patience, conversation and hugs. Anne Snyder and

her husband, Deputy Chief of Mission Joe Snyder of the

U.S. mission to the U.N. organizations in Vienna, with the

omnipresent and tireless Dr. Mules, ran the equivalent of

a four-day wake—organizing hundreds of visits, phone

calls, prayer services, meals and crying jags. The English-

speaking clergy and churches of Vienna galvanized and

focused the prayers of hundreds of well-wishers. Each

carried at least a small piece of our grief away with them.

Robbi Keyes and other mothers recognized that our 9-

year-old son, Ben, needed a break from the drama play-

ing out in our residence. They organized play dates to

allow him time with children his own age. One little

fourth grader who lived down the street invited Ben to

play. He followed up with a special written invitation

designed to appeal to the mind of a 9-year-old boy.

Calls from the Department and other U.S. government

agencies began as soon as Washington awoke to the news

of Gabrielle’s death. Our gang of embassy spouses and

FSNs, including Donna Craven, Marilyn Wipple, Waltraud

Lenzhofer and Margit Kubinecz, ensured that we were not

overwhelmed by the phone, but managed to keep a flow of

visitors and calls coming to us to keep us talking. They took

their job seriously. When the Secretary called one night

after we had gone to bed, it took some serious negotiation

with our phone screener to get her put through to our bed-

room. And above all, my secretary, Margie Douglas, my

driver, Eric Fuchs, and the DCM residence staff refused to

rest if there was a single burden they could lift from us.

My own past came back to haunt me in a most positive

way. Colleagues from UNVIE, including Mark Fitzpatrick,

Ira Goldman, Roy Simpkins and Sam Boskin, took turns

sitting with me, letting me rage at the universe or remi-

nisce about Gaby. The same continued after we left Vienna.

We accompanied our child’s body home Dec. 5, and were

met at Washington’s Dulles Airport by John Feeney and

Ruth van Heuven of the European Bureau’s Austria,

Germany, Switzerland office. Colleagues from 20 years of

Foreign Service life called, visited and sat with us at the

visitation and funeral for Gabrielle. My assistant secre-

taries, deputy assistant secretaries and ambassadors from

current and past assignments all stepped forward.

Gaby’s burial Dec. 8 in Arlington, Va., marked the end

of the longest and most disastrous week of our lives. We

would not have survived it without the support and care

of an extended Foreign Service family accumulated with-

out our knowing it over 20 years. Karen and I often com-

plained that our transient lifestyle and my position as

DCM deprived us of friends and companionship. At our

darkest moment, however, the bonds of our special com-

munity tightened and held us up.

In our effort to recover from our loss, we have been

reading about how to deal with bereavement. Whether

by design or intuition, it is clear that our community did

precisely what the experts say should be done to comfort

the grief-stricken. We were borne through this worst of

personal disasters by hundreds of hugs and thousands of

prayers from a unique and extraordinary family. While

we know we have mentioned only a few of the people

who called, wrote, touched, hugged or prayed for us,

each gesture was a gift beyond price. We will never for-

get them. We love them all.

The author is deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy

in Vienna.

February 39

40 State Magazine

or the past six years, dozens of Department

employees have been practicing the tenets of

both Secretary Madeleine Albright and President

Clinton by bringing their specialized skills to a

Washington, D.C., inner-city school.

The Washington High Schools International Studies

Partnership, the outreach program instituted and run by

our colleagues in partnership with multi-ethnic

Cardozo High School, meets the Secretary’s mandate

that Department employees enthusiastically reach out

to the American people to create a greater understand-

ing of how foreign policy affects their daily lives, and

how the Department goes about serving the public’s

needs and interests. The program also meets the

President’s education initiative to ensure high-quality

education for all Americans.

When their help was declined at a district food shelter

on Christmas Eve in 1991, the Tom Miller family learned

that holidays can produce more volunteers than are need-

ed. That experience helped Mr. Miller, currently ambassa-

dor and special envoy for Cyprus, decide that meaningful

volunteerism should last longer than the holiday season

and should use volunteers’ special skills and talents.

He and Jock Covey, now senior director for Bosnia at

the National Security Council, recognized that the

Department’s rich resources could enhance district stu-

dents’ lives, so they initiated a program to bring

Department officials and district high school students

together. The two agreed that a Model U.N. program

would be an ideal venue for their purposes, but learned

that the district lacked the resources and budget to run

one. They proposed a partnership with them supplying

the foreign policy experts and raising private funding if

the district would create a Model U.N. program.

The Washington High Schools International Studies

Partnership was launched in 1992 with 10 Department

volunteers, 30 Cardozo High School students and two

teachers. The program consists of two or three 10-week

sessions during the school year. Over the last six years,

hundreds of students in grades 9 to 12 have participated,

and more than 100 Department employees and seasoned

Model U.N.ers at George Mason, George Washington and

Georgetown universities help with simulation exercises.

Ambassador Miller views the Model U.N. format “as

an opportunity for students to build skills, learn and

have fun.” Through discussions with teachers and sub-

stantive officers, visits with country desk officers, tours of

State’s operations center and visits to foreign embassies,

the students prepare themselves for simulation exercises

where they role-play as country representatives at a U.N.

Security Council meeting and attempt to resolve a typical

international challenge. They leave the experience with a

greater awareness of, interest in and appreciation for

other cultures, foreign policy issues and the Department.

They also develop many diplomatic skills useful in daily

life: communication, cooperation, leadership, teamwork,

conflict resolution, negotiation and persuasion abilities.

The volunteers also provide more immediate and tan-

gible rewards: a briefing by Recruitment’s Russell Taylor

about job and career opportunities, pizza and soft drinks

in the Operations Center or Treaty Room, T-shirts, a trip

for some participants to the U.N. General Assembly to

meet the U.N. Secretary General and retail gift certificates.

After returning from a three-year tour abroad, the

ambassador wants to expand the program to involve stu-

dents at all 13 district high schools. Through this effort, he

hopes to encourage students to participate in the

Department’s work-study and college scholarship pro-

grams and, ultimately, to consider pursuing careers in for-

eign affairs. He and other long-term participants hope to

encourage more people in the Department to volunteer an

hour or two each month to coach, mentor, role-play, share

experiences, coordinate or provide administrative skills.

As Ambassador Miller said, “Tell us your strengths and

we’ll find a need.” Bureau of Inter-American Affairs’ Annie

Pforzheimer described the program as “an opportunity to

become more connected with, and to give something back

to, the community where we work.” Interested persons

may contact Elmira Bayrasli at (202) 647-0684.

Giving Back to the Community

AACCCCEENNTT OONN OOUUTTRREEAACCHH

BY DIANA WESTON

The “Accent on Outreach” page highlights the

various ways our colleagues fulfill the Secretary’s

mandate to reach out to the American people. If

you have a story to share, contact Diana Weston,

PA/PC, at (202) 647-5826.

The author is a public affairs specialist in PA’s Office of

Communication.

Allt, Emily J., Pre-Assignment Training to Tirana

Arriaga, Robert D., Damascus to Tunis

Asdourian, Jon Dwight, Sofia to Diplomatic Security

Bailey, Laura A., Montevideo to San Jose

Bakas, Mary Ann, Budapest to European Affairs

Bandler, Donald Keith, Paris to National Security

Council

Barron, Frederike A., Personnel to Tokyo

Bates III, Frank, Moscow to Diplomatic Security

Broadway, Jamuna D., Public Affairs to Athens

Bryan, Carol A., Istanbul to Lima

Burnworth, Richard L., Bogota to Administration

Campbell, Piper A., European Affairs to Croatia

Catt, Michael S., Moscow to European Affairs

Chalupsky, Steven J., Harare to Lagos

Chatelain, Timmie Thomas, Phnom Penh to Banjul

Conte, Francis M., Bucharest to Port-au-Prince

Corn, Glenn, European Affairs to Moscow

Davies, Joyce, Nairobi to La Paz

Dee, Diane, Beijing to Sofia

Desloover, Michel M., East Asian and Pacific Affairs

to Rangoon

Ellis, Elizabeth Ann, Belgrade to Near Eastern Affairs

Escobedo, George L., Diplomatic Security to

Administration, Information Management

Evers, Alan, FS Specialist Intake to Office of Foreign

Buildings

Failla, Sebastian R., Vienna (OSCE) to Moscow

Fasciglione, Richard J., Port of Spain to Damascus

Flanagan, Ellen M., Bonn to Frankfurt

Flintrop, Martina T., Lomé to Johannesburg

Foynes, Melissa Claire, London to Ho Chi Minh City

Franke, Durwood L., Quito to Administration,

Information Management

Gabler, Bradley D., Brazzaville to Phnom Penh

Gelbard, Robert S., Personnel to Office of

the Secretary

Gill, William, Mumbai to Casablanca

Glaser, Kathleen M., N’Djamena to Tel Aviv

Glover, Kira Maria, Foreign Service Institute to

St. Petersburg

Gonzales, Rebecca E., Athens to Bogotá

Goodman, Andrew Lewis A., Miscellaneous Other

UO Agencies to Office of the Secretary

Grooms, James W., Hanoi to Bogotá

Guerrero Jr., Raymond J., Lima to La Paz

Hahn, Helen H., Muscat to Paramaribo

Hamilton Jr., Hugh G., Personnel to Frankfurt

Hampson, John M., Dublin to Foreign Service Institute

Harley, Joyce E., Phnom Penh to Budapest

Harrison, Beverly O., Lisbon to Amman

Harter, Dennis G., Foreign Service Institute to Hanoi

Hatfield, Thomas, Shanghai to Chennai (Madras)

Hayes, Patricia G., European Affairs to Mexico City

Hedges, William L., La Paz to Moscow

Heileman, Carolee, Bamako to Foreign Service Institute

Herbst, John E., Office of the Secretary to Jerusalem

Hermann, David C., Oceans & Int’l. Envir. & Sci. Affs

to Foreign Service Institute

Hollander, Sharon C., FS Specialist Intake to Beijing

Hon, Laura T., Shanghai to Jakarta

House, Christopher, Lagos to Nairobi

Howard, Linda S., Caracas to Nairobi

Hoyesen, Harald G., Diplomatic Security to Foreign

Buildings Office

Hughes, Lisa B. Schreiber, Foreign Service Institute

to Calgary

Hughes, Sue A., Athens to Bonn

Inemer, Timothy P., Inter-American Affairs to

Managua

Jackson, Linda L., Vienna (UNVIE) to Accra

Jackson, Marilyn F., Nairobi to Caracas

Jackson, Robert P., Foreign Service Institute to Lisbon

Jaworski, Andreas O., European Affairs to Belgrade

Johnson, Mark, Office of the Undersecretary for

Management to Office of the Inspector General

Jojola, Rudolph R., Personnel to Kuala Lumpur

Jones, John M., Ouagadougou to Office of the

Secretary of Defense

Jones, Phyllis M., Muscat to Nicosia

Jones, Teresa Chin, Personnel to Administration,

Information Management

Jordan, Catherine A.,Maputo to Jakarta

Jorgenson, Mary C., Kuwait to Ankara

Kash, Lesley, Paris to Bucharest

Kaufmann, Judith R., Foreign Service Institute to

Personnel

Kennedy, Laura-Elizabeth, European Affairs to

Foreign Service Institute

Kennedy, Stephen W., Tokyo to East Asian and

Pacific Affairs

Kerr, Laurence M., Tbilisi to European Affairs

King, Frederick Edward, Manila to Rangoon

Kirkpatrick, Alexander T., Personnel to Administration

Klinger, Ross Leland, New Delhi to Islamabad

Knotts, Bruce Fred, Karachi to Sudan

Kornbluth, David A., Non-Governmental Organizations

to Personnel

Korpi, Ryan F., Lomé to Cairo

Kritenbrink, Daniel Joseph, Sapporo to Kuwait

Kubiske, Lisa Jean, Office of the Secretary to Dep.

Spec. Rep. for Trade Negotiations

Kwong, Ralph S., Berlin to Sarajevo

Lambert, George G., Sarajevo to Frankfurt

Lampitt, Edwin J., Almaty to Moscow

Lampkins, Kenneth J., Bangui to Yaounde

Lang, Stephan Allen, Havana to Bangkok

Lapenn, Jessica, Riyadh to Paris

Leather, Edmund R., Hamilton to Bern

Leberknight, Cheri J., Harare to Moscow

Lee, Jennifer M., European Affairs to Budapest

Lieberson, Donna P., Ottawa to Personnel

Lowder, Todd S., Paris to Warsaw

Magoon, Beth L., Kiev to Vienna

Mahmood, Najib, FS Specialist Intake to Office of

Foreign Buildings

Malzahn, Karen Lee, Office of the Secretary to Manama

Manley, David P., Foreign Service Institute to

Diplomatic Security

Maybarduk, Gary H., Inter-American Affairs to Havana

McIntosh, Brian H., Nassau to Kuwait

McWhirter, James A., Port-au-Prince to Beijing

February 41

FFOORREEIIGGNN SSEERRVVIICCEE PPEERRSSOONNNNEELL

Transfers (January)

Retirements (January)

Burns, Grace B., Canberra

De Vos, Peter Jon, Intransit-Costa Rica

Emond, Richard Bernard, Administration,

Information Management

Gralnek, Maurice N., Jakarta

Hamic, George A., Osaka Kobe

Harrison, Carl D., Diplomatic Security

Hayes, Joseph E., East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Hendrickson Jr., E. Mason, Manila

Howard Jr., Edwin W., Diplomatic Security

Huff, James Gerhard, Personnel

Kellner, Kenneth J., Diplomatic Security

Lecker, Frederick Charles, Diplomatic Security

Mackie, Nancy J., Nairobi

McCray, Jimmie L., Jerusalem

McDonald, Richard Henry, Tirana

McGhee, Joseph R., Rome

McGuire, Roger A., Canberra

Mutch, Frank K., Panama

Quainton, Anthony C. E., Dir. Gen. of For. Ser. &

Dir. of Personnel

Quinones, Carlos Kenneth, Intelligence and Research

Ransom, David M., Intransit-Bahrain

Reams, Ronald Aubrey, Cairo

Simpkins, Leroy C., Vienna—U.N. Mission

Swenson, Roger G., Political and Military Affairs

Waight, James W., Diplomatic Security

Appointments (January)

Crittenberger, Katharine C., Arms Control and

Disarmament Agency

Hadda, Katherine B., European Affairs

La Fleur, Christopher J., Tokyo

Oleszycki, Charles R., Arms Control and

Disarmament Agency

Smith, Glenn A., SUVA

Resignations (January)

Agiewich, Erica S., Bucharest

Atherton, Betty Chiang, Bamako

Bloom, Ricky M., Mexico City

Bock, Andrew M., Budapest

Boyle, Teresa Jeanene, Abidjan

Bradshaw, Mutsumi R., Rangoon

Dinger, Paula G., Suva

Goodman, Julie, Windhoek

Grant, Ward G., Belize City

Johnson, Natalie A., Executive Secretariat

Keshap, Karen Young, Rabat

Laney, James T., Seoul

Lyew, Lloyd Yancy, Moscow

McHugh, Carol Weitz, Sanaa

Mitchell, Sondra R., Manama

Transfers Continued

McCann, Jennifer A., Inter-American Affairs to Lima

McCracken, James E., Ulaanbaatar to Personnel

McEldowney, Nancy E., Bonn to National Security

Council

McHale, Jonathan R., Tokyo to Dep. Spec.

Representative for Trade Negotiations

Meagher, Patrick Joseph, Yaounde to Dhaka

Memler, William H., Inter-American Affairs to Sarajevo

Milasi, Paolina, African Affairs to Harare

Million, Adda J., Frankfurt to Wellington

Mitman, Matthias J., Economic & Business Affairs

to Office of the Secretary

Montgomery, Denise Dell, Diplomatic Security to

Mexico City

Montgomery, Steven A., Manila to Nairobi

Mooney, William F., Intelligence and Research to

Oceans & Int’l. Envir. & Sci. Affs.

Moore, Alice C., East Asian and Pacific Affairs

to Bangkok

Moore, Gloria L., FS Specialist Intake to Lima

Morris, Margaret T., Personnel to Office of the Secretary

Myers, Martin H., Cairo to Abidjan

Myles, Marianne M., Personnel to Naples

Nash, Louise A., Lima to Georgetown

Nelsen, Larry A., Bern to London

Nemeth, Robert J., Inter-American Affairs to

Mexico City

Nigro Jr., Louis John, Vatican to Conakry

Noble, Aline Johnson, Brussels (USEU) to Madrid

Nolan, Stephen James, Harare to Nairobi

Norton, James C., Seoul to Bonn

Nuland, Victoria Jane, Non-Governmental

Organizations to Office of the Secretary

O’Brien, Geraldine H., Office of the Sec. to Personnel

Olson, Allen Kieth, Office of Foreign Buildings

to Hungary

Page, Harriett E., Tunis to The Hague

Pates, Bonnie J., Amman to Kuwait

Perina, Rudolf Vilem, European Affairs to Foreign

Service Institute

Pinzino, Luigina E., Rome to Vatican

Powers, Aubrey, Bangkok to Frankfurt

Rabette, David M., Near Eastern Affairs to Riyadh

Robinson, Ronald Sinclair, Asmara to Rio de Janeiro

42 State Magazine

FFOORREEIIGGNN SSEERRVVIICCEE PPEERRSSOONNNNEELL

Monger, Judy A., Jerusalem

Nasri, Fares Z., Damascus

O’Connor, Edward W., Guatemala

Pauly, Pamela E., Monrovia

Polson, Virginia K., Congo

Rozinov, Rinat, Tel Aviv

Resignations Continued

Ross, Shannon M., Pre-Assignment Training to Rio

de Janeiro

Sack, Larry A., FS Specialist Intake to Office of

Foreign Buildings

Saloom III, Joseph A., African Affairs to Bonn

Shea, Debra L., FS Specialist Intake to Dhaka

Shear, Dean K., Santo Domingo to Diplomatic Security

Smith, Jacqueline R., Lisbon to Guangzhou

Stein, Jerry A., Freetown to Damascus

Steinmetz, Ingeborg B., Madrid to Rome

Stern, Edward D., European Affairs to Vienna

Strickler, Theodore Eugene, Consular Affairs to

Office of the Undersecretary for Management

Tadie, Eugene Phillip, European Affairs to Tel Aviv

Walker, Thomas G., Caracas to Port-au-Prince

Wasilewski, Roman Hugh, Intelligence and Research

to Bogota

Wharton, Royal M., Port Moresby to International

Org. Affairs

Wick, David Steven, Paramaribo to Foreign Service

Institute

Wilkins, Catherine, Office of Foreign Buildings to

Colombia

Wolfe II, James Andrew, Berlin to Sarajevo

Wright, Glenda, East Asian and Pacific Affairs to

Kolonia

Yacenda, Frank J., Tirana to Brasilia

Yacovoni, Rosemarie C., Lahore to Guangzhou

Rumold, Cindy L., Caracas

Shearer, Derek N., Helsinki

Walker, William Graham, Dept. of Defense

Wharton, Ann Maria, Port Moresby

Wotring, Joan K., La Paz

Information Management

Winners Named

Demsas Abraha, a computer management specialist

at the U.S. embassy in Addis Ababa, recently was

named the second winner of the Marion Middlebrooks

Foreign Service National Information Management

Award. Mr. Abraha was selected for the award based

on his service as de facto systems manager in Addis

Ababa, and for the support he provided to the

embassies in Asmara, Djibouti and N’Djamena. He also

instituted a training schedule and enhanced various

systems that increased the posts’ networks and techno-

logical abilities with limited funding.

Dario Valori from the U.S. embassy in Rome was

runner-up in the competition. He was recognized for his

database work and for his sustained initiatives and tech-

nical expertise in planning and implementing upgrades.

Demsas Abraha, left, from the embassy in Addis Ababa,

receives the Marion Middlebrooks Foreign Service

National Information Management Award from Patrick F.

Kennedy, assistant secretary for Administration.

Promotions (January)

Appointments (January)

Reassignments (January)

Retirement (January)

Resignations (January)

February 43

CCIIVVIILL SSEERRVVIICCEE PPEERRSSOONNNNEELL

GG–11

Chen, Ying Chih, Foreign Service Institute

GM–14

Guzowski, Danuta U., Office of Civil Service

Ombudsman

GS–4

Carson, Julie A., New Orleans Passport Agency

Keita, Kamilah, Information Resource Management

Singleton, Ocenetta, New Orleans Passport Agency

GS–5

Ellis, Beverly A., Houston Passport Agency

GS–6

Adams, Karen, Office of Career Development &

Assignments

Waako, Margaret R., Houston Passport Agency

GS–7

Carter, Paula M., Bureau of Consular Affairs

Rilley, Joyce Ann, Bureau of Population, Refugees

and Migration

GS–8

McDuffie, Sherry Ann, Office of the Chief Financial

Officer

GS–9

Abramson, Sherrill M., Office of Foreign Buildings

Alexander, Mildred L., Washington Passport Agency

Canady, Monica A., Office of the Inspector General

Dowd, Delores D., Office of the Inspector General

Feltes, Katrina N., Bureau of Inter-American Affairs

Hartranft, Amy E., Office of Audits

Hilley, Carol R., East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Hughes, Joyce, Bureau of Consular Affairs

Martin, Suzanne, Office of the Inspector General

McDonald, Angela R., Office of the Inspector General

GS–11

Bazemore, Lisa C., Office of the Chief Financial

Officer

Cook, Michael Allen, Bureau of Consular Affairs

Washington, Doretha K., Office of the Chief Financial

Officer

Williams, Britany D., Washington Passport Agency

GS–12

Creeser, Gregory J., Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

Fox, Barbara T., Foreign Service Institute

Gimondo, Ronald L., Bureau of International Org. Affairs

Laing, Peter, National Passport Center, Portsmouth, N.H.

Martin, Timothy P., Bureau of Consular Affairs

McNeilly, Sandra J., Undersecretary for Political Affairs

Urbanski, Sandra K., Bureau of Administration

GS–13

Atkins, John B., Bureau of Consular Affairs

Ferry, Brenda W., Bureau of Diplomatic Security

Kieffer, Carolyn Anne, New Orleans Passport Agency

Lee, Melanie Louise, Office of Foreign Buildings

McKenna, Patricia L., Office of the Chief

Financial Officer

Workman, Carol A., Bureau of Diplomatic Security

GS–14

Davis, Stacy B., Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

Deshong, Christopher L., Office of the Inspector General

Hoffman, Michael A., New York Passport Agency

Johnson, Bernard A., Bureau of Diplomatic Security

GS–15

May, Nancy C., Bureau of Intelligence and Research

White, Craig M., Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

XP–7

Powell, Earl L., Bureau of Administration, Information

Management

Swann, Dale G., Bureau of Administration,

Information Management

XP–8

Lyles, Carolyn M., Bureau of Administration,

Information Management

XP–9

Cheatham, Donald, Bureau of Administration,

Information Management

Holsendorff, Earl F., Bureau of Administration,

Information Management

Poole, Raymond B., Bureau of Administration,

Information Management

Young, Ralph E., Bureau of Administration,

Information Management

Brooks, Maren, Office for Inter, Narc. and Law

Enforcement

Calvert, Veronica, Office of the Chief Financial

Officer

Goriup, Attilio E., Office of Foreign Buildings

Hammes, David J., Office of Foreign Buildings

Lytell, Melissa D., Consular Affairs

Martin, Mary Darlene, Office of Foreign Buildings

Mavlian, Sally H., Dir. Gen. of For. Ser. & Dir.

of Personnel

Padlan, Emmanuel D., Diplomatic Security

Prince, Jonathan M., Public Affairs

Sanders, Sharon A., Diplomatic Security

Scotti, William H., Office of Overseas Schools

Wheeler-Wilcox, Shannon L., Consular Affairs

Brown, Sandy D., Public Affairs to Population,

Refugees and Migration

Farwell, Janet E. L., Political-Military Affairs to Office

of the Legal Adviser

Leibbrandt, Susan D., Political-Military Affairs to

East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Epstein, David G., Diplomatic Security

Marshall, Gloria Marie, Economic, Business and

Agricultural Affs.

McCloughan, Jean G., Administration, Information

Management

Pfund, Peter H., Office of the Legal Adviser

Ross, Russell R., Diplomatic Security

Russell, Bessie L., Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Ahrens, Ruth E., Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Bohnet, Anne Virginia, Foreign Service Institute

Choffel, Julie, Consular Affairs

Clinton, Cheri, Consular Affairs

Grayson, Desean C., Population, Refugees and

Migration

Grier, Robin Y., Consular Affairs

Heald, Lisa W., Inter. Narc. and Law Enforcement

Infor. Aff.

Ioffreda, Angelo S., Economic & Business Affairs

Kramer, Cheryl L., Office of the Inspector General

LaFleur, Vinca Showalter, Public Affairs

Mols, Diana Lynn, Office of Foreign Buildings

Montgomery, Vivian E., Inter-American Affairs

Nalepa, Gregory A., Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Nichols, Byron L., Washington Passport Agency

Quickenden, Christine L., Office of the Legal Adviser

Sinacore, Nicole, Office of the Inspector General

Williams, Steven, Consular Affairs

Withey, Alison, Asst Sec, Oceans & Int’l. Envir. &

Sci. Affs.

Woods, Lamar G., Office of the Chief Financial

Officer

Yu,Wai-Ming, Los Angeles Passport Agency

Parris, Lisa G., African Affairs to East Asian and

Pacific Affairs

Roach, Gary S., Dir. Gen. of For. Ser. & Dir. of

Personnel to Washington Passport Agency

Shaw, Sharon T., Economic & Business Affairs to

Office of the Undersecretary for Global Affairs

Intensive Area Studies

East Asia (AR 220) 8 — 2 Weeks

Europe (AR 291) 8 — 2 Weeks

Inter-American Studies (AR 239) 8 — 2 Weeks

Near East/North Africa (AR 240) 8 — 2 Weeks

Russia/Eurasia (AR 281) 8 — 2 Weeks

South Asia (AR 260) 8 — 2 Weeks

Southeast Asia (AR 270) 8 — 2 Weeks

Sub-Saharan Africa (AR 210) 8 — 2 Weeks

Advanced Area Studies

Albania (AR 563) Insular Southeast Asia (AR 571)

Andean Republics (AR 533) Italy (AR 594)

Arabian Peninsula/Gulf (AR 541) Japan (AR 522)

Baltic States (AR 588) Korea (AR 523)

Benelux/EU/NATO (AR 568) Lusophone Africa (AR 514)

Brazil (AR 535) Mainland Southeast Asia (AR 572)

Central America (AR 539) Mexico (AR 531)

Central Asia (AR 586) Mongolia (AR 524)

China/Hong Kong/Taiwan (AR 521) Nordic Countries (AR 596)

East Central Europe (AR 582) Northern Africa (AR 515)

Eastern Africa (AR 511) Poland (AR 587)

Fertile Crescent (AR 542) Romania (AR 569)

Former Yugoslavia (AR 562) Russia/Belarus (AR 566)

France (AR 567) South Asia (AR 560)

Francophone Africa (AR 513) Southern Africa (AR 512)

German-Speaking Europe (AR 593) Southern Cone (AR 534)

Greece/Cyprus (AR 589) The Caribbean (AR 538)

Haiti (AR 536) Turkey (AR 543)

Hispanic Caribbean (AR 538) Ukraine (AR 565)

Iberian Peninsula (AR 591)

These courses are integrated with the corresponding languages and are scheduled

weekly for 3 hours. Starting dates correspond to language starting dates.

SLS, Basic Language Courses (Full-Time Training)

French (LFR100) 29 — 24 Weeks

Spanish (LQB 100) 29 — 24 Weeks

Arabic Refresher (LAD 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

Chinese Refresher (LCM 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

Hebrew Refresher (LAD 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

Japanese Refresher (LJA 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

Korean Refresher (LKP 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

Russian Refresher (LRU 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

Vietnamese Refresher (LRU 201) 29 — 6 Weeks

SLS, Familiarization & Short-Term (F.A.S.T.) Language Courses

Albanian (F.A.S.T.) (LAB 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Amharic (F.A.S.T.) (LAC 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Arabic (Egyptian) (LAE 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Arabic (Modern Standard) (LAD 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Armenian (F.A.S.T.) (LRE 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Azerbaijani (F.A.S.T.) (LAX 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Bengali (F.A.S.T.) (LBN 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Bulgarian (F.A.S.T.) (LBU 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Burmese (F.A.S.T.) (LBY 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Byelorussian (F.A.S.T.) (LBL 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Chinese (Standard) (F.A.S.T.) (LCM 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Chinese (Cantonese) (F.A.S.T.) (LCC 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Croatian (F.A.S.T.) (LHR 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Czech (F.A.S.T.) (LCX 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Danish (F.A.S.T.) (LDA 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Dutch/Flemish (F.A.S.T.) (LDU 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Estonian (F.A.S.T.) (LES 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Finnish (F.A.S.T.) (LFJ 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

French (F.A.S.T.) (LFR 200) 29 — 8 Weeks

Georgian (F.A.S.T.) (LGG 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

German (F.A.S.T.) (LGM 200) 29 — 8 Weeks

Greek (F.A.S.T.) (LGR 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Haitian Creole (F.A.S.T.) (LHC 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Hebrew (F.A.S.T.) (LHE 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Hindi (F.A.S.T.) (LHJ 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Hungarian (F.A.S.T.) (LHU 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Icelandic (F.A.S.T.) (LJC 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Indonesian (F.A.S.T.) (LJN 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Italian (F.A.S.T.) (LJT 200) 29 — 8 Weeks

Japanese (F.A.S.T.) (LJA 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Kazakh (F.A.S.T.) (LKE 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Khmer (Cambodian) (F.A.S.T.) (LCA 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Korean (F.A.S.T.) (LKP 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Kyrgyz (F.A.S.T.) (LKM 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Lao (F.A.S.T.) (LLC 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Latvian (F.A.S.T.) (LLE 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Lithuanian (F.A.S.T.) (LML 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Macedonian (F.A.S.T.) (LMA 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Malay (F.A.S.T.) (LML 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Mongolian (F.A.S.T.) (LMV 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Nepalese (F.A.S.T.) (LNE 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Norwegian (F.A.S.T.) (LNR 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Persian/Dari (F.A.S.T.) (LPG 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Persian/Farsi (F.A.S.T.) (LPF 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Pilipino/Tagalog (F.A.S.T.) (LTA 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Polish (F.A.S.T.) (LPL 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Portuguese (Brazilian) (F.A.S.T.) (LPY 200) 29 — 8 Weeks

Romanian (F.A.S.T.) (LRQ 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Russian (F.A.S.T.) (LRU 200) 29 — 8 Weeks

Serbian (F.A.S.T.) (LSR 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Singhalese (F.A.S.T.) (LSJ 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Slovak (F.A.S.T.) (LSK 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Spanish (F.A.S.T.) (LQB 200) 29 — 8 Weeks

44 State Magazine

Courses: National Foreign Affairs Training Center

Education Training

Program June July Length Program June July Length

(F.A.S.T.) Language Courses, Continued

Swahili/Kiswahili (F.A.S.T.) (LSW 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Swedish (F.A.S.T.) (LSY 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Tajik (F.A.S.T.) (LTB 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Thai (F.A.S.T.) (LTH 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Turkish (F.A.S.T.) (LTU 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Turkmen (F.A.S.T.) (LUB 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Ukrainian (F.A.S.T.) (LUK 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Urdu (F.A.S.T.) (LUR 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Uzbek (F.A.S.T.) (LUX 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Vietnamese (F.A.S.T.) (LVS 200) 29 — 7 Weeks

Administrative Training

NEPA Training Domestic Operations

(PA 129) 27 1 Week

Property Management for

Custodial Officers (PA 135) — 23 2 Days

Appropriations Law (PA 215) 23 — 4 Days

Customer Service (PA 143) 11 — 2 Days

Budget & Financial Management (PA 211) 22 — 5 Weeks

FSN Classification and Compensation

(PA 232) — 13 2 Weeks

General Services Operation (PA 221) 22 20 12 Weeks

ICASS Executive Seminar (PA 245) 15 15 1 Day

Overseas Contracting Officers

Warrant Trng (PA 223) 8 — 4 Weeks

Personnel Course (PA 231) 22 — 7 Weeks

Overseas Administrative Management

Course (PA 243) 1 13 2 Weeks

Working with ICASS (PA 214) 2 28 4 Days

(International Cooperative Admin.

Support Services) 16 —

How To Be a Contracting Officer

Repres. (PA 130) Correspondence Course

How To Write a Statement of Work

(PA 134) Correspondence Course

How To Be a Certifying Officer (PA 291) Correspondence Course

Intro to Simplified Acquisitions & Req.

Overseas (PA 222) Correspondence Course

Management Controls Workbook

(PA 164) Correspondence Course

Training for Overseas Voucher

Examiners (PA 200) Correspondence Course

Training for Overseas Cashier

(PA 293) Correspondence Course

Training for Overseas Cashier Superior

(PA 294) Correspondence Course

Consular Training

Automation-Consular Managers (PC 116) 1 20 1 Week

15 —

Advanced Consular Course (PC 532) — 14 3 Weeks

Congen Rosslyn Consular (PC 530) Continuous Enrollment

Consular Orientation (PC 105) (6 Days) Continuous Enrollment

Immigration Law and Visa

Operation (PC 102) Correspondence Course

Nationality Law and Consular

Procedures (PC 103) Correspondence Course

Overseas Citizens Services

(PC 104) (6 Days) Correspondence Course

Passport Examiner Correspondence

Course (PC 110) Correspondence Course

Curriculum and Staff Development

Basic Facilitation & Delivery Workshop

(PD 513) 11 — 3 Days

Strategic Planning & Performance

Measurement (PD 529) 17 — 2 Days

Training Design Workshop

(PD 512) 25 — 3 Days

Visual Aid Basics (PD 520) 6 — 1 Day

Economic & Commercial Training

Advanced Economic Review

Seminar (PE 501) — 13 5 Weeks

Applied Economics/Non-Economic

Officers (PE 280) — 6 6 Weeks

Aviation Policy and

Negotiation (PE 130) — 20 3 Days

Country Data Analysis (PE 504) — 20 2 Weeks

Economic Tradecraft (PE 124) — 6 2 Week

Energy and the Environment (PE 128) 22 — 1 Week

Export Promotion (PE 125) 29 20 1 Week

Political/Economic Tradecraft (PG 140) 8 27 3 Weeks

Resource Reporting Officer

Training (PE 103) — 21 2 Weeks

Science, Technology & Foreign

Policy (PG 562) 15 — 1 Week

Senior Commercial Course (PE 290) 29 27 2 Days

Telecommunication Policy (PE 131) — 23 1 Day

US Commercial Interest in the Power

Sector (PE 132) — 27 1 Day

US Environmental Technology

Industry (PE 133) — 28 1 Day

Leadership & Management Development

Deputy Chiefs of Mission (PT 102) 7 12 2.2 Weeks

EEO/Diversity Awareness for 4 9 2 Days

Managers and Supervisors (PT 107) 11 15

18 22

25 30

Introduction to Management

Skills (PT 207) 22 1 Week

February 45

Program June July Length Program June July Length

Courses: National Foreign Affairs Training Center

Education Training

Leadership & Management Development, Continued

Managing State Projects (PT 208) 22 20 1 Week

Political/Economics Counselors

Seminar (PT 127) — 20 1 Week

Executive Introduction to Project

Management (PT 209) 29 2 Days

Information Management Training

Introduction, Word 97 for

Windows (PS 232) 3 1 2 Days

10 8

17 15

18 17

24 22

—29

Intermediate, Word 97 for

Windows (PS 233) 9 8 2 Days

24 22

Advanced, Word 97 for Windows (PS 246) 11 9 1 Day

25 23

Word 6.0 Workshop (PS 252) 5 10 0.5 Days

Introduction, Access 97 for

Windows (PS 250) 3 1 2 Days

17 15

Intermediate, Access 97 (PS 251) 8 6 2 Days

25 22

Corporate Systems & Administration

(PS 654) 22 — 4 Weeks

Introduction, Excel 97 for

Windows (PS 270) 1 13 2 Days

15 27

29 —

Intermediate, Excel 97 for

Windows (PS 271) 4 20 2 Days

17 —

Excel 5.0 Workshop (PS 254) 12 17 0.5 Days

Introduction, PowerPoint 97

for Windows (PS 240) 1 13 2 Days

15 27

Intermediate, PowerPoint 97

for Windows (PS 241) 23 30 1 Day

PowerPoint 5.0 Workshop (PS 253) 19 24 0.5 Days

Information Management Seminar (PS 217) 20 3 Weeks

Internet, Concepts (PS 218) 5 10 1 Day

12 17

19 —

Managing Information Programs (PS 213) 1 — 3 Weeks

Network Essentials (PS 214) 7 3

Microsoft Project (PS 180) 22 — 2 Days

PC/Windows Network 4.0 Fundamentals

(PS 201) 8 13 2 Days

15 20

23 —

Windows NT 4.0 Advanced End

User (PS 202) 1 14 1 Day

Windows NT 4.0 Administration (PS 261)** — 13 2 Weeks

Workgroups for Windows Administration

(PS 262) 17 — 3 Days

MS Exchange Administration (PS 269)** 27 1 Week

** Registration for PS 261 and PS 269 requires pre-approval from SAIT/IMT.

Please submit your DS–755 to the Office of the Registrar.

Warrenton—Information Management Training

Backup-Limited Communications

Operations (YW-119) 22 20 2 Weeks

TEL/KEY SYS—Intro to Telephone &

Key Systems (YW-140) 8 13 1 Week

Satellite Operations/Maintenance

(YW 149) 8 — 3 Weeks

C-LAN—Classified Local Area

Network (YW-177) 8 13 4 Weeks

TERP V-Terminal Equipment

Replacement Prog. V (YW-184) 8 6 2 Weeks

Refresher Communication (YW-164) 1,8 6,13 1 Week

15,22 20,27

29 —

ADP—Automated Data Processing

(YW-190) 15 27 4 Weeks

SC-7 Operations & Maintenance

(YW 192) — 20 3 Weeks

Air Con-Air Condition Systems (YW 205) 15 20 2 Weeks

CIP Current Installation Practices (YW 203) 22 4 Weeks

Generators Power Generator Systems

(YW 206) — 6 2 Weeks

Networking with Windows for

Workgroups 3.11 (YW-210) 8 6 1 Week

Commercial Terminal CT-7/9 (YW 212) 22 13 1 Week

Wide-Band Digital Transmission

Networking (YW 213) 8 20 2 Weeks

SX-50—Mitel PBX SX-50 (YW-219) 15 20 1 Week

SX-200D—Mitel PBX SX-200

Digital (YW-220) 23 28 1 Week

SX-2000—Mitel PBX SX-2000

Analog (YW-221) 1 6 1 Week

SX-20/200A—Mitel PBX SX-20/200

Analog (YW-222) 26 — 1 Week

Basic PC Maintenance (YW 224) 1 13 1 Week

Windows NT 4.0 Local Administration

(YW 225) 16 14 2 Weeks

BPS Black Packet Switching (YW 334) 2 20 1 Week

46 State Magazine

Courses: National Foreign Affairs Training Center

Education Training

Program June July Length

Warrenton—Information Management Training, Continued

Meridian 61C (YW-497) 15 20 2 Weeks

Banyan LAN-Local Networks (YW 640) 15 — 2 Weeks

PC B/A—Personal Computer Basics/

Advanced (YW-641) 8 6 3 Weeks

Microsoft Exchange (YW 749) 1 27 1 Week

29 —

IDNX/90 EXS, IDNX/20 and IDNX

MICRO/20 (YW-850) 23 21 1 Week

Junior Officer Training and Orientation Training

Orientation for Foreign Officers (PG 101) — 6 7 Weeks

Orientation for Designated Posts (PN 112) — 9 2 Days

Orientation for Civil Service

Employees(PN 105) 16 — 3 Days

Orientation for Foreign Service

Specialist (PN 106) — 27 3 Weeks

Introduction to Working in

an Embassy (PN 113) 3 — 2 Days

Washington Tradecraft (PT 203) — 20 1 Week

Office Management Training

Better Office English: Written (PK 225) 1 — 2 Weeks

Better Office English: Oral (PK 226) — 13 2 Weeks

Civil Service Training for Entering

Personnel (PK 104) — 10 2 Weeks

Professional Development Seminar

(PK 302) 1 — 2 Weeks

Drafting Correspondence (PK 159) — 27 1 Week

Office Management 2000 (PK 330) — 6 2 Weeks

Files Management and Retirement

(PK 207) 8 — 1 Day

Proofreading (PK 143) — 9 2 Days

Travel Regulations and Vouchers

(PK 205) 23 1 1.5 Day

Writing Effective Letters and Memos

(PK 241) — 13 1 Week

Senior Secretarial Seminar (PK 111) — 29 3 Days

Political Training

Negotiation Art & Skills (PP 501) 15 — 1 Week

Labor Officer Functions (PL 103) — 13 3 Weeks

Political Tradecraft (PP 202) — 6 3 Weeks

Political Military Affairs (PP 505) — 15 3 Days

Workers Rights Reporting (PP 504) — 17 1 Day

Orientation for Narcotics Control

Officers (PA 202) — 20 2 Weeks

Security Overseas Seminar

Advanced Security Overseas

Seminar (MQ 912) 9 14 1 Day

23 28

SOS: Security Overseas Seminar (MQ 911) 1 6 2 Days

15 20

Youth SOS (MQ 914) 16 7 1 Day

23 14

—21

—28

Overseas Briefing Center (non-SOS)

Deputy/Chief of Mission (MQ 110) 15 20 3 Days

Long-Distance Relationships (MQ 801) 6 — 0.5 Days

Communicating Across Cultures (MQ 802) 5 — 1 Day

Spouse to Spouse (MQ 803) 6 31 1 Day

Life After the Foreign Service (MQ 600) — 7 2 Days

Post Options for Employment and

Training (MQ 703) 13 — 1 Day

Promoting United States Wines (MQ 856) — 15 0.2 Day

Protocol and US Representation

Abroad (MQ 116) 27 — 1 Day

Overseas Health Concerns (MQ 857) 17 — 0.2 Day

Regulations, Allowances and

Finances (MQ 104) — 28 3 Days

Targeting the Job Market (MQ 704) 11 — 2 Days

Career Transition Center

Job Search Program (RV 102) — 6 13 Weeks

Retirement Planning Seminar (RV 101) 29 — 1 Week

February 47

Courses: National Foreign Affairs Training Center

Education Training

Program June July Length Program June July Length

All computer classes fill quickly. Please contact the Office of the Registrar at (703) 302-7147 to find out about enrollment status.

Students should check with the Office of the Registrar (703-302-7144) to confirm course dates.

Credit Union Scholarships Announced

The deadline for applications for the State Department

Federal Credit Union scholarship competition is April 10.

Over the past 22 years, the credit union has awarded more

than $100,000 in scholarships to academically outstanding

members who need financial assistance. To qualify, a student

must demonstrate financial need, be a credit union member

in good standing and be enrolled in a degree program with a

minimum grade point average of 2.5.

For more application details and application forms, stop

by any of the five SDFCU branch offices or credit union

liaisons overseas call (703) 706-5000, or write: SDFCU, Attn:

Marketing Department, 1630 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314.

By Dan Clemmer

ost people who use libraries

know certain categories of refer-

ence books: dictionaries, quota-

tion books, statistics, gazetteers,

business directories, political handbooks,

usage guides, encyclopedias and who’s

whos, among others. But some very useful

books are not easily categorized and can be

overlooked. They can all be found in the

library reading room in 1239 Main State.

Parents worried about financing a college or universi-

ty education for their children may find comfort in

Peterson’s College Money Book, a guide to financial aid at

1,700 colleges and universities. Included are indexes of

non-need scholarships for undergraduates, athletic

grants for undergraduates, co-op programs, ROTC pro-

grams, tuition waivers and tuition payment alternatives.

(LB2337.2.P34 1998 Ref.)

If you’ve run across an old book you think might be

valuable, Collected Books: The Guide to Values, by Allen and

Patricia Ahearn, may clarify whether you have a precious

object or just an old book. The reference provides esti-

mated retail prices as of 1991 and identifies first editions,

which are generally more valuable than later editions.

(Z987.5.U6A36 Ref.)

How to Say It Best: Choice Words, Phrases, & Model

Speeches for Every Occasion, by Jack Griffin, offers a helping

hand to frightened or novice speakers. It gives advice in

handling a variety of situations, including the best way to

make a presentation. ( PN4121.G7195 Ref.)

Although the word “letters” does not appear in How to

Say It: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Paragraphs for

Every Situation, by Rosalie Maggio, the book offers most

“everything you need to know to write an effective busi-

ness or social letter in little more time than it takes to

hand write, type or input it.” It includes sample letters of

apology, sympathy, appreciation and congratulation, as

well as cover letters, letters to the editor and get-well let-

ters. (PE1483.M26 Ref.)

Would-be-writers—and there are plenty of them in the

Department—frequently turn to the Writer’s Market:

Where and How to Sell What You Write, edited by Kirsten C.

Holm and Don Prues, for help in identifying a market for

their memoirs or novel. A listing of book publishers

includes information on the types of manuscripts sought,

the average amount of advances and the number of sub-

missions received each year. Similar informa-

tion is provided for magazines. (PN161.W83

1988 Ref.)

If you’ve ever been curious about the

old Russian Embassy building in Washington

at 1125 16th St., N.W., or any of the other

buildings on or near 16th Street, Sixteenth

Street Architecture, by Sue A. Kohler and

Jeffrey R. Carson, will satisfy your curiosity.

(NA735.W3U62 Ref.)

Library users with questions about book

preservation, papers, photographs and other

objects of sentimental or monetary value regularly refer to

Caring for Your Collections, edited by Arthur W. Schultz.

The book also includes information on storing, securing,

appraising, insuring and donating collections and obtain-

ing professional conservation services. (AM303.C37 Ref.)

When speakers at retirement parties seek our help

finding interesting events that happened the year or the

day that “Good Ole Bob” came to work for the

Department, we refer them to Famous First Facts, by

Joseph Nathan Kane. It indexes significant “firsts” by

subject, name, year and day—from the first female

ambassador to sign a treaty to the first time a patent was

issued for chewing gum. (AG5.K315 1981 Ref.)

Another useful reference book for Department speak-

ers and writers is “Emperor Dead” and Other Historic

American Diplomatic Dispatches, edited by Peter D. Eicher.

The book, written by a Foreign Service officer, is the first

in the Diplomats and Diplomacy series sponsored by the

Association for the Diplomatic Studies and Training and

by Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired. The book is

arranged chronologically and includes dispatches about

the most significant events from 1776 to the early 1960s.

(E183.7.E525 Ref.)

Although quotation books are plentiful, one devoted to

an ethnic group is unusual. Contemporary Quotations in

Black, compiled and edited by Anita King, collects quotes

by or about blacks ranging from Rosa Parks to Nelson

Mandela. (E184.6.C665 Ref.)

And for those times when a speechwriter can’t remem-

ber the name of the Jimmy Stewart character in “It’s a

Wonderful Life” or the actor who played Mahatma

Gandhi in “Gandhi,” a helpful reference is Memorable

Film Characters: An Index to Roles and Performers,

1915–1983, compiled by Susan Lieberman and Frances

Cable. (PN1995.9.C36L5 Ref.)

48 State Magazine

LL II BB RR AA RR YY RR EE PP OO RR TT

Reference Books off the Beaten Track

The author is the Department’s chief librarian.

Department of State, USA

Bureau of Personnel

Washington, DC 20520

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use

Periodicals

Postage and Fees Paid

Department of State

USPS 0278—1859

If address is incorrect, please

indicate change. Do not cover

or destroy this address label.

Mail change of address to:

PER/ER/SMG

SA–6, Room 433

Washington, DC 20522–0602

Celebrate

Black History Month