State Magazine, October 2007

MAGAZINE

U . S . D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7

Florentine FlourishCollege fair in Italy promotesstudent visas.

Foreign LeadersWorkshop develops FSNleadership skills.

Symphony ofDiversityIraqis demonstrate unitythrough performingarts academy.

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CONTENTS OCTOBER 2007

POST OF THE MONTH

PAGE 28

60 Years of Learning at FSI

10 Change of SceneRotation program brings challenge, learning.

12 Mid-term GradesA view of Civil Service rotation at mid-point.

34 Office of the Month: HR/EXHR’s Executive Office promotes efficiency,transparency.

16 A Long Way from C StreetFSI now offers courses worldwide via newtechnologies.

18 Reacting with RelevanceFSI responds to challenges as they arise.

20 Hello, TechnologyFSI’s language instruction changes withthe times.

24 Welcome HomeTransition Center aids Iraq and Afghanistanreturnees.

2 Readers’ Feedback

3 In the News

40 Medical Report

42 Education & Training

43 Appointments

45 Retirements

46 Obituaries

48 The Last Word

FEATURES

COLUMNS

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26

ON THE COVERFSI Celebrates 60 Yearsof Service. Photograph byDavid L. Johnston

is given in his name. His birthday was theday before Foreign Affairs Day this year.

In his memory, and in memory of allForeign Service family members who dieoverseas, I had the idea to install a plaquein their honor. The American ForeignService Association, with the help of BruceLaingen, and the Associates of the Amer-ican Foreign Service Worldwide supportedthe idea, and Department of Statemanagement quickly agreed.

I wrote the dedicatory words for theplaque, consulting with AFSA colleagues. Alist of names didn’t seem appropriate, andafter consideration, we thought it best thatno characterization of the circumstancesof death be reflected on the plaque. Itwould be a dignified remembrance, a placewhere family sacrifices would be recalled.In that spirit, AAFSW annually provides a

floral wreath.For several years, the presiding official

at the annual plaque ceremony alsomentioned the Foreign Service FamiliesPlaque. But that has not happened for afew years, and I think it should. We hear alot, deservedly, about the sacrifice ofForeign Service colleagues. That sacrifice isshared in full measure by family members.I gather that with more and moreunaccompanied tours, and fewer slots inEurope or Washington, that more familymembers will be exposed to separationand chancy schooling and medical care.We need to understand that the price forthis will be paid largely by those who didnot choose our career for themselves.At least, we should honor the memory ofthose who fall along the way.

William S. ShepardRetired Foreign Service officer

Larger Tragedy AvertedThank you for your coverage of the

suicide bombing at the Iraqi Council ofRepresentatives on April 12. All of us atthe U.S. Embassy in Baghdad are verygrateful for the courageous work of ourBureau of Diplomatic Security agents here.I was surprised, however, that the articledid not mention our two colleagues fromthe political section who were in the roomwhen the bombing occurred. Both aForeign Service officer and a ForeignService National were there, just a few feetfrom the explosion. Given that our officersgo to the Council of Representatives on analmost daily basis, we are particularlyfortunate that none of our colleagues wasseriously hurt.

Alyce AbdallaEconomic OfficerU.S. Embassy in Baghdad

[email protected]

Phone(202) 663-1700

Fax(202) 663-1769

Mailing Address2401 E Street, NWHR/ER/SMG, SA-1, Room H-236Washington, DC 20522-0108

Letters should not exceed 250 words andshould include the writer’s name, addressand daytime phone number. All lettersbecome the property of State Magazine.Letters will be edited for length, accuracyand clarity. Only signed letters willbe considered.

LET US HEAR FROM YOU

A plaque, “In Memory of Our Foreign Service Family

Members Who Have Died Abroad,” was unveiled on Foreign

Affairs Day 2000 by the then Under Secretary, and

a message from President Bill Clinton honoring Foreign

Service families was read. He noted that such recognition

was long overdue.

Our son, Warren Burke Shepard, died of hepatitis while

we were assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Athens in 1980.

All children are special, and Warren was a rare gift. Just 14,

he was to have attended Philips Exeter Academy that fall.

On his death, memorial ceremonies were held in Athens and

at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Every year

since, ceremonies are held in his memory at the American

Community School in Athens and at Exeter, where an award

Memorial Plaque’s Importance Emphasized

The plaque gleams in theC Street lobby of theHarry S Truman Building.

READERS’ FEEDBACK

2 | STATE MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2007

OCTOBER 2007 | STATE MAGAZINE | 3

Ambassador Mussomeli poses withSuper Chicken at a press event.

Hatching a ‘Super’ PlanThe U.S. government is supporting

efforts to reduce human exposure to avianinfluenza in Cambodia through the activi-ties and technical expertise of the U.S.Agency for International Development,the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, and the Departments ofAgriculture, Defense and State. Since2005, the U.S. government has providedapproximately $9 million to Cambodia inthis endeavor.

A cartoon character called SuperChicken is an important element of thenationwide communications campaignorganized by the Academy for EducationalDevelopment on behalf of USAID. Origi-nally developed in Cambodia in 2005,“Super Moan” (pronounced Mo-ahn), ashe is known there, is a broad-breasted,red-caped rooster. Through televised

“We must remain vigilant in our effortsto detect and contain the virus. And wemust educate the citizens of this nation,particularly at the village level, so thatthey, too, may play an active role inprevention, early warning, and control of avirus that continues to strike them quiteliterally where they live.”

Although incidents of animal-to-humantransmission are low, the H5N1 avianinfluenza virus remains highly pathogenic.Its rate of mutation raises concern that itwill lead to a human influenza pandemic.The Cambodian government, with U.S.assistance, has made advances over thepast 18 months in educating its populationabout the dangers of bird flu and puttinginto place a system to track avian influenzaoutbreaks and coordinate a governmentresponse.

public service announcements, posters,booklets and in costumed form at publicevents, the rooster teaches Cambodianshow to recognize avian influenza andprevent its spread.

Super Moan has been so effective thatthe Cambodian Ministry of Agricultureadopted him as the national avianinfluenza emblem. His popularity andeffectiveness has been recognized beyondCambodia’s borders. Laos adopted aslightly modified Super Chicken characterfor its national program in 2006. Countriesas far away as Africa are also interested.

At a recent press event, U.S.Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli said,“The death of a young girl in Cambodiafrom the H5N1 virus last month serves toremind us that we have not yet containedbird flu here.

Cambodia’s ‘Super Chicken’ Helps Fight Avian Flu

NEWS

The Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room, decoratedwith Foreign Service youth art work from the State DepartmentFederal Credit Union’s art contest, provided the backdrop for July’sannual Foreign Service Youth Awards ceremony coordinated by theFamily Liaison Office.

Under Secretary for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy KarenHughes gave the keynote address. She said young people in ForeignService families are the country’s youngest ambassadors,representing American culture and values everywhere they go.

Jon Clements, president and CEO of Clements InternationalInsurance, presented the Community Service Awards to MarkPhillips of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Kate Miller of Cairo, Egypt.

Ambassador Ruth Davis, senior advisor to the assistant secretaryfor African Affairs, presented the Kid Vid Awards, funded byOakwood Corporate Housing, to Megan Potts of Frankfurt,Germany; Nathan Lewis of Rabat, Morocco; Erik Thackston of Riode Janeiro, Brazil; and Skyler and Haley Hodell of Hong Kong.Their videos will be added to the collection at the OverseasBriefing Center.

Blanca Reubensaal, president of the Board of Directors of theForeign Service Youth Foundation, presented the Young Diplomats’Essay Awards, funded by Diplomatic Auto Sales, to Hana Passan ofLusaka, Zambia; Charles Brands of Santo Domingo, DominicanRepublic; and Nicholas Marrano of Madrid, Spain.

Children with parents serving in unaccompanied, high-riskposts were recognized for their sacrifices and contributions. Of the365 children who have received medals and certificates, 34attended the ceremony and were acknowledged by DeputySecretary of State John Negroponte.

Negroponte, Hughes HonorFS Youth Award Winners

Due to a new process, the Department of State hasachieved “green-green” status on the e-Government partof the President’s Management Agenda’s scorecard forthe four consecutive quarters prior to the fourth quarterof fiscal 2007. Earlier, the Department had been at “yellow-green” status.

The Department uses the PMA to manage informationtechnology, working to meet the PMA standards

for IT systems and data security by regularlycertifying and accrediting its systems. ChiefInformation Security Officer John Streufertand the Bureau of Information Resource

Management’s Office of InformationAssurance have revised the domestic ITsystems’ certification and accreditationprocess to provide more partnering withbureaus, process transparency, lowercosts and greater IT security. Bureaus

now contract for certification andaccreditation with contractor-staffed teams, and IA ensuresrequirements are met. Thesechanges are seen as cheaper,more transparent and offering

more open communication betweenbureaus, teams and IA.

Department’s PMA Score Improves

Under Secretary Karen Hughestalks to a couple of the awardwinners after the ceremony.

Cheryl L. Cook alsodoes postgraduate

work at the HowardUniversity School of

Divinity and conductscommunity workshopson developing leaders.

Cheryl L. Cook, a contractor with the Bureau ofEducational and Cultural Affairs and an associate memberof the Carl T. RowanBlacks inGovernment chapter,was selected from apool of 150nomineesnationwide as the2006 National StaffEmployee of the Yearby the AmericanStaffing Association.

She is the directorof E-GOALS, theDepartment’s onlinesurvey and perform-ance measurementsystem.

CONTRACTOR IN ECAWINS STAFFING AWARD


This month marks the start of the 2007 Combined FederalCampaign, and the State Department’s campaign manager,Patricia M. Pittarelli, is busily organizing the effort to raise at least$2.1 million by December 31 for more than 3,000 local andnational charities.

For Pittarelli, an employee relations specialist in the Bureau ofHuman Resources, and campaign coordinator Shelly Kornegay, theDepartment’s 2007 CFC effort began in July and in recent weeksinvolved setting up a Department-wide CFC committee “so that it’snot just Shelly and I carrying the load,” Pittarelli said. They alsoidentified all of the potential contributors—Department retirees,Washington, D.C.-based employees and Foreign Service personnelworldwide—so that each may receive a CFC catalog of eligiblecharities and a pledge card. Contributors also get a thank-you note,and those who give more than one percent of their annual incomesget an eagle pin.

On Oct. 1, the campaign will hold its public launch in the

Exhibit Hall of the Harry S Truman Building, with what Pittarelliexpects will be door prizes and a celebrity speaker. The campaign’stheme is “Be a Star.” Scheduled to speak are the Director General,who is vice chairman of the Department’s campaign, and represen-tatives of about 10 charities that benefit from the CFC.

Earlier this year, the Department presented awards to those whomade considerable efforts in its 2006 CFC drive, whichcontributed $2.2 million to the record-breaking $60 million raisedby all federal agencies. These individuals, many of whomcoordinated their bureau or office’s giving, reflect how the Depart-ment is filled with public-spirited employees, Pittarelli said.Lending a hand “is what we like to do. With CFC, we can do it inan organized way,” she said.

Employees can contribute online via Employee Express (ifoverseas, they must download and print the pledge form) or byusing their pledge card to establish a payroll deduction or a one-time payment.

DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES 2007 CFC INITIATIVE

Then-Director General George Staples honored the special effort ofthe Office of Inspector General’s CFC team, among others, at theDepartment’s CFC awards ceremony. Shown from left are: DianeLawrence, Staples, Vonda Richardson and Willie J. Thomas.

Bureau of Human Resources internationalcompensation analysts, who conduct 175 annualsalary compensation analyses annually, are nowbenefiting from a recent upgrade of the Paylinesupport application. The analyses allow the Depart-ment to provide its 49,000 Locally Employed Staffoverseas with locally equitable salaries and benefits.

HR analyzes the compensation paid by compa-rable companies in countries where U.S. embassiesand consulates are located. However, Payline’s pred-ecessor supported only minimum and maximumanalyses, and labor-market position surveys were

analyzed with spreadsheets. Later, other softwarewas created to support market position analyses,but the analysts continued using the earliersoftware for minimum and maximum surveys.

The Payline upgrade now supports both themarket position and minimum and maximumanalyses and has tools to assist in efficient andaccurate processing of compensation reviews forboth methods. HR’s Office of OverseasEmployment hopes to have Payline eventuallyprovide survey data in an electronic format fordownloading to reduce data-entry work. This maycreate a direct interface to the Department’s newcable system, SMART.

PayAnalysisSoftwareEnhanced


MAGAZINE STAFF

Rob WileyEditor-in-Chief

Ed WarnerDeputy Editor

Bill PalmerWriter/Editor

David L. JohnstonArt Director

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

James A. ForbesExecutive Secretary

Kelly Clements

Annette R. Cocchiarn

State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) ispublished monthly, except bimonthly inJuly and August, by the U.S. Departmentof State, 2201 C St., N.W., Washington,DC. Periodicals postage paid atWashington, D.C., and at additionalmailing locations.

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The submission deadline for the Decemberissue is October 15. The deadline for theJanuary 2008 issue is November 15.

At the 18th Annual General ServicesAdministration Child Care Conference inJuly, the Department of State’s Diplotots’childcare center in SA-1 was, with threeother GSA-affiliatedcenters,visited byconferenceparticipants.

Diplototswas

among the centers selected for itssuccessful accreditation through theNational Association for the Education of

Young Children, the industry’s seal ofapproval for childcare centers. NAEYCevaluates a center on such elements as

administration, staffing/professionaldevelopment, curriculum and appropriateattention to health and safety. Diplotots,established in May 1996, earned NAEYCaccreditation in December 2003.

GSA also chose to visit Diplotots basedon its varied curriculum and educationalofferings. Diplotots features languageprograms, music, dance and tumbleclasses, and a summer camp. Diplotots isnow preparing to host a visit by GSA

Deputy Regional Administrator AnnEverett, who oversees development of

the child care program at GSA.

Conference Attendees Visit Diplotots

On July 19, the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn issued the first U.S. immigrant visain the country since the 1940 Soviet occupation forced the closure of theAmerican mission (then a legation) in Estonia. Although the mission reopenedas an embassy in 1991, all immigrant visa processing for Estonian residentshad, until now, been handled by the nearby U.S. Embassy in Helsinki. Thisphotograph, taken by Nikita Chernov of the Molodjozh Estonii daily newspaper,shows Ambassador to Estonia Dave Phillips presenting the first visa to HeleriPleer-Vollmer, who is moving with her American citizen husband to Minnesota.

FIRST IMMIGRANT VISA ISSUEDIN TALLINN SINCE 1940

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In 2004, colleague Emin Kasimov and I,both Foreign Service Nationals, participatedin a Leadership Education and Developmentworkshop, which develops critical leadershipskills such as communicating, supervising,counseling, motivating and decision-making. Upon completing the course and itstrain-the-trainer session, we were certified asLEAD workshop facilitators and sent back tothe U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, totrain our colleagues.

LEAD training develops professional andpersonal skills and helps to improveinterpersonal relations and communication,self-confidence and readiness for responsi-bility, and it also enhances the ability tomotivate and lead. These skills are useful forthe Department’s nearly 55,000 FSNs,although the course on leadership is onlymandatory for American Foreign Serviceofficers. Some leadership skills classes forFSNs, however, have been cut; for instance,they are no longer offered by the RegionalSupport Center in Frankfurt, Germany. The

lack of training or travel funds often inhibitsFSN training. Fortunately, LEAD trainerslike us occasionally conduct classes at posts.

Our first LEAD class, held in 2005, engen-dered lively discussions and classroomparticipation. Buoyed by our experience, weoffered to facilitate a second course a monthlater and invited participants from otherposts. Afterwards the embassy’s deputy chiefof mission, Jason Hyland, demonstratedleadership by expressing a personal interestin each student.

Our third class that year took place at theRegional Program Office in Vienna, Austria,for 25 participants from 18 posts. All wrotein their journals about what they learnedand how they could apply it in their jobs orpersonal lives.

Next, we held a LEAD class at the U.S.Embassy in Tokyo, where the U.S. Missionin Japan attendees overcame theirreluctance to express themselves andactively and confidently shared their experi-ences, showing how LEAD training helps

people to open up with co-workers. TheTokyo embassy was so pleased that it invitedus to conduct another session in 2006, andthat course elicited such student commentsas “This was my best week ever at theembassy,” and “I never saw myself as aleader, only as a follower.”

The U.S. Embassy in Baku seeks todevelop all employees’ leadership skills.There, Emin and I continue to facilitateLEAD workshops and to provide training toemployees from other posts. The May 2006course in Baku had participants from SriLanka, Pakistan, Albania and the Federationof Bosnia and Herzegovina.

By training for leadership, a U.S. missiongains effective supervisors and leaders andimproves communication and employeerelations. Then, we are all more effective andsuccessful in achieving mission and Depart-ment goals. ■

The author is a human resources assistant atthe U.S. Embassy in Baku.

WORKSHOP DEVELOPS FSN LEADERSHIP SKILLS BY NAILIA HASHIM-ZADEFOREIGN LEADERS

Participants from the first Baku LEADworkshop pose with course facilitators.

Florentine Flourish

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Although the number ofstudent visas fell in the wake ofthe September 11, 2001, attacks,Assistant Secretary of State forConsular Affairs Maura Hartywanted the nation’s welcomemat for foreign students toremain firmly in place.

“We believe the bestadvertisement for America isAmerica,” she said. “There is nobetter way to learn about theUnited States than to live andstudy and work with Americans.The loss of this opportunity foreven a single student is a loss we

are not prepared to bear.” In 2006, the United States

issued more than 591,000 F-, M-and J-type student visas world-wide, at last surpassing thepost-September 11 decline. Butthe U.S. Consulate General inFlorence, Italy, believed it coulddo better, and it rolled out thewelcome mat in a new way, witha Study USA college fair.

The Consulate General madethe fair the centerpiece of itsparticipation in the Province ofFlorence’s prestigious GenioFiorentino cultural series, which

celebrates Florentine innovationand tradition. The fair arosefrom talks between the Presidentof the Province of Florence,Matteo Renzi, and ConsulGeneral Nora Dempsey. Renzi, a2007 Voluntary Visitor Programparticipant, explained that hisvisitor program experiencemade him eager to find moreways to encourage Italianstudents to seek out U.S. studyexperiences.

Florence’s consular districthosts 10,000 American studentsevery year, the highestconcentration of Americancollege students outside theUnited States. But in the fouryears since the reopening of theconsulate’s nonimmigrant visa

section in October 2003, only8,000 people applied for visas tostudy in the United States or goon an exchange.

Responding, Consul GeneralDempsey proposed the collegefair, a long-time goal of theconsulate, and she and Renzichristened the fair Andare Oltre– Go Beyond.

In preparation, CommercialSpecialist Barbara Lapini spear-headed the university searchcampaign, approaching the 45U.S. universities with programsin the consular district andrecruiting non-U.S. schools. Alsoinvolved were the consulate’spublic affairs, executive, admin-istrative, American citizensservices and NIV sections. In

COLLEGE FAIR PROMOTES STUDENT VISASBY SARAH BECK, KATHRYN RAKICHAND BRIAN C. WINANS

The Florence Dance Company performs in frontof the consulate general building.

addition, the U.S. Embassy inRome, the U.S. Consulate inMilan, local interns andnumerous student volunteersprovided substantial support onthe day of the fair.

Helping HandA generous 25,000-euro

contribution from the Provinceof Florence transformed the fairinto a memorable, interactiveexperience. The province alsocrafted an advertising campaignthat made the fair one of theGenio series’ most popularevents. By pointing to Florentineexplorer Amerigo Vespucci,

whose first name appeared onthe map as “America” in 1507,the province’s Web site invitedstudents to also discover America.More than 1,000 Italians andAmericans visited the site.

The fair took place on thestreet in front of the consulate,facing the Arno River. There, 30booths promoted 26 Americanuniversities, two of which hadflown representatives in fromthe United States. There was alsoa Fulbright stand and a boothwhere the NIV section used aflat-screen plasma television todisplay a presentation on thevisa application process. The

booth was mobbed with eagerstudents throughout the fair.

U.S. Ambassador to ItalyRonald P. Spogli spoke at theopening ceremony, alongsidePresident Renzi and ConsulGeneral Dempsey. Journalistsand television crews capturedthe day’s events, and there wereglowing articles in newspapersover the days to come. A two-hour talk show thatsubsequently aired on Italiantelevision also outlined informa-tion for Italians interested instudying in the United States,offering substantial footage ofthe college fair. In addition,

there were four seminars withexperts explaining aspects ofstudying abroad, from taking theEnglish-language test to studentorientation.

Cultural highlights of the fairwere the performances of theFlorence Dance Company, thePuccini Music Festival and theDuke’s Men of Yale, an a cappellachoir from Yale University. ■

Brian C. Winans is vice consul,Kathryn Rakich is executiveassistant to the consul generaland Sarah Beck is a consularassistant at the U.S. ConsulateGeneral in Florence.


Above: U.S. Ambassador to Italy Ronald P. Spogli, center in suit, stands with Italian students.Below: Some of the fair’s attendees mob the consulate general’s U.S.-study information table.

As part of the year-long Civil ServiceMid-Level Rotational Program, I amfulfilling professional and personal develop-ment goals and having a lot of fun, too.

For instance, I’ve been pleased tosupport Mission Abuja’s presidential,legislative and gubernatorial election obser-vation efforts in Nigeria’s northeastgeopolitical zone of Bauchi State; to escorta West African ambassador and his familyto the Oval Office to meet PresidentBush—yes, I even picked up a box ofWhite House M&Ms—and to prepare anambassador-designate for his congressionaltestimony. In my new portfolio as deskofficer in the Bureau of African Affairs’Office of West African Affairs, I primarily

cover Nigeria and the Economic Commu-nity of West African States but have alsocovered the Mali, Mauritania and Nigerdesks during the summer transition.

The CSMLRP was developed by CivilService employees in the Foggy BottomSociety and championed by Bureau ofHuman Resources Deputy AssistantSecretary Linda Taglialatela, who recognizedthe need for a formal and systematic processfor offering temporary professional develop-ment assignments to Civil Service officers atthe GS-12 and GS-13 grade levels.

For two years, I was the senior adviserfor the East Asian and Pacific Affairs regionin the Bureau of Economic, Energy andBusiness Affairs’ Office of Commercial and

Business Affairs. I hoped the CSMLRPwould open additional opportunities tosupport the Department in ways to which Iotherwise would not have been exposed. Ihave not been disappointed. This detailassignment has been a wonderful opportu-nity to learn, grow and become acquaintedwith the mentors, management and bilat-eral issues in AF.

A Team WelcomeThe Office of West African Affairs

welcomed me as one of its team andempowered me from the beginning. It hasbeen one of the best offices in which I haveever worked, in the public or privatesectors. Within my first month on the job, Iwas drafting a paper on Nigeria-China rela-tions, updating the Nigeria CountryBackground Notes, meeting Nigerian polit-ical figures in the period leading up to

ROTATION PROGRAM BRINGS CHALLENGE, LEARNINGSTORY AND PHOTOS BY TIJEN AYBAR

Change of Scene


Six of the Civil Service Mid-Level RotationalProgram’s initial seven participants discusstheir goals for the program. Seated from leftare: Mary Ellen Sariti, Katherine Kuchta-Helbling,Tijen Aybar, Stuart Denyer, Rachel Waldsteinand Jonathan Thompson.

Nigeria’s historic elections, attending confer-ences, writing cables and providing guidanceto U.S. organizations exploring businessinterests in Nigeria. I had a lot to learn butwas eager to hit the ground running andapply my background and skills.

The CSMLRP aims to build collaborationamong its participants. I had the chance todo so with a colleague who was working inthe Bureau of Consular Affairs regardinginput for a Nigeria Web page document. MyEEB experience working with business visaissues allowed us to work together to incor-porate valuable visa information for thepublic. This is just one example of theprogram’s promotion of cross-fertilizationand symbiosis.

As my CSMLRP colleagues and I wereadjusting to our new roles, responsibilitiesand offices, CSMLRP Program Director PaulLawrence arranged for a day-long session atthe Foreign Service Institute. We quicklylearned that this was our program. TheCSMLRP provides the freedom to make of itwhat we wanted, and we were encouraged tobe innovative and to think entrepreneurially.

The CSMLRP also aims to develop aculturally diverse group of highly qualifiedstrategic-thinking individuals as futureDepartment leaders. When my CSMLRPcolleagues and I discussed what we wantedout of our program, we decided that thegroup would hold monthly brownbaglunches and that each of us would take turnsdeveloping and leading the activity with aguest speaker. We have held sessions onnetworking and developing IndividualDevelopment Plans, and we are coordinatingwith FSI on our next program on leadership.

We have also crafted a mission statement,developed a reading list and started lists ofbest practices and areas of improvement forthe program.

Learning LeadershipThe Department’s future leaders must be

adaptable, results-driven, and able to leadand manage a multicultural workforce. TheCSMLRP encourages mid-level Civil Serviceemployees to get out of their comfort zones,and the initial seven participants in theprogram have done just that.

I would like to see the Department and theprogram reach out to more bureaus, execu-tive offices and supervisors to promote theflexibility that will allow an organization’stop performers to join the program.

In the first six months of my rotation,I experienced ways in which embassypersonnel implement the Department’spublic diplomacy goals. Our small group inBauchi State provided books to the AmericanCorner at the Bauchi State Library andvisited a women’s multicultural society, atraining facility that runs health clinics andprovides programs on developing civilsociety and women’s empowerment. I alsofound myself standing in front of the state’sprison while observing elections and—myfavorite experience—weaving through policecheckpoints made from tree branches, rocksand tires in an armored convoy. I lookforward to continuing this exciting adventurein AF for the next six months. ■

The author is a desk officer in AF’s Office ofWest African Affairs and the cofounder of theStately Speakers Toastmasters Club.


Left: The author in Jos, Nigeria, en route to Bauchi State. Above: Tijen Aybarvisits a women’s training facility that runs health clinics and provides programson developing civil society and women’s empowerment in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

We quicklylearned thatthis was ourprogram.The CSMLRPprovides thefreedom to makeof it what wewanted, and wewere encouragedto be innovativeand to thinkentrepreneurially.

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The author takes a breakfrom her work at CA.

A VIEW OF CIVIL SERVICE ROTATION AT MID-POINT BY MARY ELLEN SARITIMid-term Grades

I had been in my position for five years, at

the top of my pay grade for my job series. I

wanted a new challenge and a chance for a

promotion. But I had almost no contact with

other bureaus of the State Department and felt

like a very small part of a vast bureaucracy.

Then, the Civil Service Mid-Level Rotational

Program came along. Now, I’m detailed to the

Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of Overseas

Citizens Services for Africa.

My involvement in the program grew outof meetings of the Foggy Bottom Societythat focused on creating professional devel-opment opportunities for Civil Serviceemployees. The FBS began exploring a jobrotation for such employees that wouldresemble out-of-cone assignments in the

Foreign Service. The FBS meeting thatconvinced me to try the CSMLRP was onewhere Deputy Assistant Secretary forHuman Resources Linda Tagliatela spoke ofcreating a “vibrant career path in the CivilService that would develop talent in a newand different way.”

My supervisor agreed to support theprogram. I had worked in Shanghai for twoyears as an Eligible Family Member in theAmerican Citizens Services section of theU.S. consulate. I’d loved it, so when CA’sOffice of Overseas Citizens Services showedup on the list of openings for the CSMLRP,I listed it as my first choice and got it. I hadthe change I wanted, without the risk of apermanent change I might not like.

Learning CurveNow, halfway through my rotation,

I sometimes wonder what I was thinking.The move from one mid-level position toanother was difficult. The first few weeks,I felt I had been “de-skilled.” In Shanghai,

I was an entry-level professional as aconsular associate doing mostly routineconsular work. When I had somethingdifficult to do, I could contact CA in Wash-ington for an “expert” opinion. Now, I amthe CA expert for 12 countries in Africa.ACS officers contact me with their mostdifficult questions, such as “What do I do ifan American citizen parent wants to get aConsular Report of Birth Abroad in myconsular district, but the baby was born inthe country next door?” or “Can a dual-national run for national office?”

Two weeks into my new job, armedinsurgents attempted to oust the newlyelected government of one of my countries,and the embassy initiated an authorizeddeparture of nonemergency Americans.At the end of my third month, eight Ameri-cans were kidnapped overseas and twoAmericans perished in a plane crash.

I was given a lot of responsibility to workthese complex cases. But my colleagues andmanagers provided the detailed assistance Ineeded. Then, they praised me for my excel-lent work.

Expanded NetworksThe experience also let me expand my

professional network. I have new colleagues

in the 12 countries I’m responsible for andat least as many in Washington, within andoutside the Department.

Here’s an example of how networkinghas helped: When a CSMLRP colleagueserving as desk officer for one of my coun-tries suggested changes to a document Iwas responsible for clearing, my managersreadily accepted her changes because Iknew her from the program.

Another example of the benefit of havingDepartment contacts played out during therecent passport crunch. Because I had pass-port adjudication experience, I volunteeredfor CA’s Passport Taskforce, where my tiesto CA and the Bureau of Educational andCultural Affairs came into use regarding thepassport applications for a number ofteachers. The teachers were to travel ontheir Fulbright exchanges in August, buttheir passports were caught in the backlog.I helped them work with the Passport Task-force to ensure that they received theirpassports in time to travel.

Many of my former colleagues are nowalso friends and have moved to positions inother Department bureaus and in otherfederal agencies, many as managers. Once,an American businessman from NorthCarolina called about hosting the brotherof the president of a Central Africancountry I was responsible for. He wantedinformation about the business climate inthat country to tailor his guest’s visit. Ithappened that one of my former colleagueshad moved to the Department ofCommerce, and she provided me with thenames of Foreign Commercial Service offi-cers for that country and of a CommerceDepartment employee in North Carolina,all within one hour.

I feel more connected through my newcontacts and have less of a sense that I’mone among thousands. The Department hasbecome both larger and smaller to me.

The rotation program’s participants haveseveral more months to go, but I feel certainthat my number of acquaintances in theDepartment and my understanding of CAand the Department overall will onlyincrease and deepen. ■

The author is on a Civil Service mid-levelrotation in CA.


“I feel more connected through my new contacts and

have less of a sense that I’m one among thousands.”


Decades

of

Change

Celebrating FSI's60th birthday,

State Magazine

devotes the

following pages

to the institute'sevolution and

contribution

Sixty years ago this year, Secretary ofState George C. Marshall established theForeign Service Institute in a small buildingon C Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. Itoffered basic and advanced officer training,language training and management andadministrative training to about 3,000students annually.

Today, FSI has four schools (Leadershipand Management, Applied InformationTechnology, Language Studies andProfessional and Area Studies) and a Transi-tion Center and offers more than 550different courses at a 72-acre campus that isthe first and only U.S. government facilitydevoted to training foreign affairsprofessionals. FSI also teaches the secondyear of hard languages at schools in Tunis(Arabic), Taipei (Chinese), Yokohama(Japanese) and Seoul (Korean).

Philosophically, FSI has evolved into aglobal schoolhouse that provides programsat the George P. Shultz National ForeignAffairs Training Center and at regionalcenters and posts around the world. It alsouses external providers and, increasingly,technology that brings training toemployees’ desktops or home computers.

FSI’s total enrollment—now, close to60,000—reflects a vastly diverse and far-flung workforce, encompassing employeesworking worldwide, family members,Locally Employed staff and personnel from45-plus other federal agencies. Beyond itsWashington-based programs, FSI has begunoffering varied training solutions that areavailable where and when employees needthem. These solutions reduce time awayfrom the office and are more cost-effective.By making training more easily available toits global audience, FSI has sparked atraining boom.

Partnering to Train

In April, FSI kicked off an initiative todevelop partnerships that can expand thetraining opportunities available to Depart-ment employees. Called the FSI Regional

Training Initiative, it seeks to identify andexploit opportunities to broaden FSI’straining reach by deploying FSI instructorsto regional training locations and bytaking advantage of the vast number ofthose rotating in and out of trainingassignments or possessing relevant subject-matter expertise. The potential of thisinitiative includes:

• Producing experts from across theDepartment who could serve as adjunctfaculty authorized to offer FSI coursesaround the world for FSI credit and

with access to the FSI curriculum. • Granting FSI course status to bureaus’

and posts’ training that meets FSI stan-dards for content and quality and issponsored by one of FSI’s fiveschools/centers, depending on thecontent.

• Sharing FSI curriculum for use by postsand bureaus for FSI credit. Thisdepends on post or bureau willingnessto deliver the curriculum as provided,without modification, and on the expe-rience and qualifications of the trainer.

Detailed information on this newinitiative can be found in State ALDAC001525 or on FSI’s OpenNet Web site athttp://fsi.state.gov/regional_training/default.asp?ID=2984.

FSI NOW OFFERS COURSES WORLDWIDE VIA NEWTECHNOLOGIES BY CATHERINE J. RUSSELL,WAYNE OSHIMA AND JANE SCOTT NORRIS

A Long Way from C Street

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Members of FSI’s information technologystaff prepare equipment for use in training.

Virtual Classrooms

FSI now also offers around-the-clock access to learning through a largenumber of distance-learning coursesthat are offered through the Internet-based Learning Management System.Thousands of commercially availablecourses are also available through FSI’sFasTrac program, and FSI hasdeveloped 103 distance-learningcourses covering foreign languages,transformational diplomacy, computersecurity, ethics, public diplomacy,consular matters and use of the Web-enabled Post Administrative SoftwareSuite. Offerings range from self-studyclasses to mentor-guided onlinecourses. Employees worldwide havebeen taking the courses.

Last year, FSI made the popularforeign language teaching productcalled Rosetta Stone availableworldwide. In 2007, 112 language testswill be conducted by digital videocon-ference, and 15 crisis managementexercises at small posts will be offeredusing this technology.

Also in 2007, the School of AppliedInformation Technology pilot-testedthe use of Adobe Content Manager toteach students from Mexico to NewYork who were working from their

homes and offices. Through voice,video and instant messaging, the classwas interactive in real time.

e-Training Provider

Perhaps one of FSI’s mostsignificant recent coups was itsdesignation by the Office of PersonnelManagement as one of five authorizedshared-service providers fore-Training, which is part of the Presi-dent’s Management Agenda e-Govinitiative. This designation applies toFSI’s unique foreign affairs–relateddistance-learning products. Sincethen, FSI was selected by the Office ofManagement and Budget as anauthorized provider of computersecurity training for all federalagencies. The FSI-developed onlinecomputer security course is beingadopted by such federal agency usersas the Environmental ProtectionAgency, the Securities and ExchangeCommission and the National LaborRelations Board.

Clearly, FSI’s impact is now beingfelt well outside of the Department. ■

The authors are, respectively, executivedirector for management, a manage-ment analyst and the dean of the Schoolof Applied Information Technology.

Dr. Katie Sprang, head of FSI’s Instructional Support Division, shows Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice some of FSI’s technology-based training products.

When it comes to meeting the challenges posed bythe Department’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan,the creation of 18 new American Presence Posts or theimplementation of Transformational Diplomacy, theForeign Service Institute has responded, creating arange of new courses and programs to trainDepartment employees in meeting these needs.

FSI’s Leadership and Management School haspioneered several programs aimed at addressing Trans-formational Diplomacy. For instance, one new onlinecourse examines leadership skills that help employeesachieve transformational results in everyday policywork. Aimed at an interagency audience, the Transfor-mational Diplomacy seminar series looks at the ideasand techniques that can help build stronger democra-cies, fight corruption, combat disease and strengthenthe rule of law in partner countries. FSI’s Web site also

has a step-by-step guide for facilitating a discussion on revamping a countryteam’s approaches on priority policy goals.

FSI’s Political and Economic Tradecraft course, meanwhile, now incorporatesa capstone interactive Transformational Diplomacy workshop. Working ingroups, students integrate their briefing, policy and program skills to exploretransformational creative activities that can advance U.S. interests.

To give political and economic officers the tools to become effectivemanagers of transformational programs, FSI launched a course calledManaging Foreign Assistance Awards Overseas. This three-day course trainsofficers to link foreign assistance awards with post-specific strategic-planningpriorities. The course’s early offerings have received rave reviews.

FSI has also responded to the needs of Iraq and Afghanistan by workingwith the interagency community to develop new courses for U.S. civilianand military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in integrated counter-insurgency forces. To develop and teach the courses, FSI relied on contributionsfrom experts from the Departments of State and Defense, the U.S. Agency forInternational Development, think tanks and nongovernmental organizations.In separate one-week courses, students learn the skills needed in Iraq andAfghanistan, including funding, public diplomacy, civil-military relations andcultural and historical topics. The course ends with a practical exercise thatis critiqued by a panel of experts. These courses have produced nearly200 graduates.

Because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice views APPs as a vital part of

FSI RESPONDS TO CHALLENGESAS THEY ARISE BY ROSE LIKINSAND MICHAEL GUEST

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Reacting with Relevance

FSI Director Dr. Ruth Whiteside, left, meets with FSI DeputyDirector Rose Likins at the statue of Benjamin Franklin, alandmark on the FSI campus. Franklin was Ambassador toFrance during the American Revolution.

Transformational Diplomacy and APPofficers as “intrepid diplomats,” theplan to expand the number of APPsby creating nine new APPs in 2007and several more in 2008 required FSIto train APP officers. Various entitiesat FSI cooperated in planning andimplementing the training, first heldin the summer of 2007. The intense,three-week course focused on devel-oping multidisciplinary skills andtools needed to do outreach in thenew APP cities.

FSI is also leading efforts tostrengthen interagency cooperationthrough shared training opportunities.Its new National Security ExecutiveLeadership Seminar brings togetherinteragency leaders at the GS-15/FS-01level to examine the cross-agencysynergy needed to advance the Presi-dent’s National Security Strategy.Working with a range of Departmentbureaus, FSI has set up roundtablediscussions in which participants willdevelop new approaches for prioritypolicy needs. Other courses that fosterenhanced interagency cooperation arethose on political military affairs,combating weapons of mass destruc-tion, terrorism and the neworientation course for the politicaladvisers who serve U.S. militaryservice chiefs and combatantcommanders.

In addition, FSI and the Office ofthe Coordinator for Reconstructionand Stabilization have created sevennew courses that train U.S. agencypersonnel in cooperating in whole-

of-government efforts to stabilizefailing states and reconstruct failedstates. FSI also will pilot two moreS/CRS-related courses in fiscal year2008 and develop an online introduc-tory course. These courses attract adiverse group of participants fromthe Departments of State andDefense, USAID and civilianagencies. This interagency trainingwill enhance the Secretary’s ability toimplement National SecurityPresidential Directive 44.

Finally, over the last year, FSI andthe Bureau of Human Resources haveworked with the National DefenseUniversity, the chancellor of theNational Intelligence University andthe chief learning officer of theDepartment of Homeland Security tocreate a National Security EducationConsortium that will collaborate ontraining to promote interagencyoperation. In May, the Presidentsigned Executive Order 13434,requiring all of the cabinet agenciesto develop programs to create aNational Security Professional Corpswithin the federal government. Thisinitiative is in the early stages ofdevelopment, and details on it will beavailable over the next severalmonths. The executive order and thenational strategy are available onFSI’s Web site, on the Intranet athttp://fsi.state. gov. ■

The authors are deputy director of FSIand dean of FSI’s School of Leadershipand Management, respectively.

FSI’s “old main” building began life as a different kind of school—the Arlington Hall Girl’sSchool, a high school and two-year college from the 1920s to early 1940s.

The School of Language Studies was present at thecreation of the Foreign Service Institute, which wasestablished in 1947 primarily to teach foreign languagesto American diplomats. From a 1947 enrollment of 559students in 31 languages, SLS grew to a 2006 level ofalmost 4,000 enrollments in more than 70 languages.

The school’s approach to language teaching has alsochanged dramatically, responding to developmentsin language teaching and the demands arising fromglobalization, the 2001 terrorist attacks and Trans-formational Diplomacy.

At its start, SLS used the teaching method developedby Dr. Henry Lee Smith Jr., who was recruited to launchSLS. Dr. Smith’s U.S. Army method—later also calledthe FSI method—was the precursor of the audio-lingual, or drill and kill, method. Soon, the FSI methodgained prominence.

After 1959, language tests became mandatory, andthe focus of training shifted from teaching languagesfor specific purposes to teaching global languageproficiency and using the current blend of approaches.

SLS also expanded geographically, establishing over-seas field schools to teach the second year ofthe most difficult languages: Arabic, Chinese,Japanese and Korean. Developing its owncurriculum and textbooks, SLS explored avariety of teaching methods, from “the silentway” and “community language learning” toan eclectic blend of proficiency-based, inten-sive, job-relevant instruction.

The FSI test and its zero-to-fiveproficiency scale established a foundation foruse-oriented language testing around theworld. SLS’ books have generated the “Speaka Language like a Diplomat” ads found in themedia and on the Internet.

SLS’ focus on relevance reflects worldevents. A key program in its early years wasteaching German to visa clerks working withthe displaced persons program. During theKennedy administration, the schooldeveloped language materials in Swahili,Yoruba and other African languages tosupport Department missions in newly inde-pendent nations. In the late 1960s and early1970s, the largest SLS language section wasVietnamese, which trained hundreds ofstudents at its Vietnam Training Center.Today, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Frenchare the largest programs.

Changing Needs, New Technology

One of the most important developments at SLS has been the use of newtechnology to learn languages. From the launch of SLS’ first distance-learningprogram in 1999, SLS and FSI’s Instructional Support Division have developed22 mentored interactive, language-learning programs, some with voice-recognition technology, in 12 languages. These include introductory, expressand intermediate-level online courses in French, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic,among other languages.

There are also language-conversion courses for Spanish to Portuguese andRussian to Polish, and an Out and About series focusing on Moscow, Cairo,Tokyo, Beijing and other difficult-to-navigate cities. Distance-learningprograms enable Department employees to study languages at any time fromany place in the world. One employee with a 4/4 in Spanish tested at a 3/3+ inPortuguese after just three 14-week, online sessions.

Another important development has been the Learning Consultation Service.Now, new language students receive professional advice in determining theirindividual learning styles. A learning consultant provides the students withfeedback and is available throughout the training to help students and instruc-tors maximize the learning experience.

In-country Training

Recognizing the value of in-country training and immersions and the need

FSI’S LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION CHANGES WITH THE TIMES BY GRETA N. MORRISHello, technology

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Early language training by the U.S. Army differsgreatly from that which FSI uses today.

for entry-level officers to haveadditional language training, theDirector General in 2006 launched aninitiative of in-country “transitionimmersions” for entry-level officers.These immersions follow the officers’FSI training and are used with alimited number of difficult andcritical-need languages.

SLS also supports posts’ languageprograms. Last year, it provided $1.2million to 150 posts to supplementpost-funded programs that helpeligible family members andemployees gain the language skillsto live and work successfully inanother culture.

Many language students participatein self-funded immersion programsduring their language training.Accompanied by a Language andCulture instructor, the students maygo abroad or visit U.S. communitiessuch as California’s Little Saigon.

Even as it focuses on promotingproficiency in language learning, SLScollaborates with the FSI School ofProfessional and Area Studies, postsand Department bureaus to developtradecraft modules for languagetraining. For example, virtually alllanguage programs offer modules onconsular skills and public diplomacyand media training. SLS’ Russiansection is completing a new distance-learning program called People to

People that will help employees effec-tively talk with Russian speakers.

Responding to Change

The 2001 terrorist attacksprofoundly affected SLS, increasing theneed to produce additional—and morefluent—Arabic speakers (see relatedstory). The school also revived andenhanced programs in Dari, Farsi andPashto, among other languages. Trans-formational Diplomacy, with itsemphasis on outreach to new, youngerand larger audiences and the media,demanded that more employees gainlanguage proficiency and that thosegoing into positions with significantpublic diplomacy responsibilitiesdevelop proficiency to the 3+ or 4level. SLS has responded by makingbeyond-level-3 training available inWashington and at its field schools inTunis, Taipei, Yokohama and Seoul.

Language learning is a career-longendeavor that is challenging but essen-tial to effective diplomacy andachieving America’s strategic mission.SLS has changed as language traininghas changed over the past 60 years. Asthe need for language proficiency inAmerican diplomacy evolves, SLS willrespond to meet those needs. ■

The author is dean of the School ofLanguage Studies and has studiedIndonesian and Thai at FSI.

FSI language tape production equipment circa the 1960s. Today, most of FSI’s multimedialanguage-learning material is digitized.

The best time to learn Arabic is now, because of the StateDepartment’s high need for Arabic speakers, and there is nobetter way to learn than the way you learn best.

FSI’s Arabic program has responded to the increasingdemand for fluent Arabic speakers by introducing a widerange of options to make the training convenient, effective,fun and able to fit the student’s learning preferences.Among the new options are several types of distance-learning courses, new job-specific courses, expandedofferings of Early Morning Arabic and languageimmersions in Arabic-speaking countries and in Arabic-

speaking parts of Michigan. FSI has also introduced a special track in IraqiArabic and an improved curriculum for basic training in modern standardArabic and Egyptian Arabic.

The FSI-developed distance-learning courses introduce learners to thebeautiful Arabic script through a series of basic courses called ArabicExpress. Other courses are designed to help maintain and improve high-level reading skills.

A Foreign Service officer with a master’s degree in the teaching of Englishas a second language took the Arabic Express Part 1 course last summer andfound it was well constructed and provided a good foundation ofvocabulary, grammar, listening and speaking.

“The weekly mentoring session was an excellent motivator to study;I liked that it was tailored to situations that officers encounter overseas,”the officer said.

FSI also targets the job-related needs of individuals, offering specialArabic courses or course segments for those with general services, consular

FSI OFFERS MANY WAYS TOSTUDY THE LANGUAGEBY JAMES BERNHARDT

Time for Arabic is Now

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FSI students participate in a simulated Loya Jirga (a formalmeeting) as a Pashto language exercise. From left: an unidentifiedDefense Language Institute Pashto instructor, FSI Pashto instruc-tor Ahmad Zaki and FSI Pashto language students Justin Kolbeckand Ryia Miller.

and other responsibilities. This spring,Cairo-bound officers took part in aconsular tradecraft module conductedin Egyptian Arabic. The week-longprogram culminated in simulatedinterviews, which used FSI’s mockconsular windows. An officer who haddone one consular tour in LatinAmerica said that, while she hadalready worked at the consularwindow, she was happy to seeauthentic documents from her nextposting and liked trying out herEgyptian Arabic in a realistic setting.Her language instructor, NadiaMokhtar, is a Cairo native and anexperienced consular officer andused colloquial Egyptian in thetraining materials.

Novel Techniques

Other FSI activities make thelanguage come alive. One highlightthis year was a trip by students to theDetroit area, where they reached outto the largest Arab-American commu-nity in the United States. Theypracticed Arabic in formal andinformal settings, including 45minutes spent working behind thecounter at an Arab bakery. In adomestic version of TransformationalDiplomacy, the students heard about

the Arab immigrants’ histories,cultures and aspirations, and talkedwith them about social services,immigration, economics and politics.

FSI’s second-year Arabic course isheld in Tunis and trains students tomore advanced levels. An innovationthere is media training, including aspontaneous TV and radio debate, asa part of the program. This year, withsupport from the Office of PublicDiplomacy and Public Affairs, theschool held its second advancedmedia workshop for officers fromthroughout the region.

The Department has significantlyincreased its commitment to training:In 2001, FSI had 109 Department ofState enrollments in Arabic; by 2006,that number grew to more than 450.But more Arabic speakers areneeded—and at more advancedlevels of proficiency—to carry outTransformational Diplomacy in theArabic-speaking world. SLS continuesto develop more innovative andmore effective methods to fulfillthose needs. ■

The author is chairman of Near East, Central and South Asianlanguages at the School of LanguageStudies.

An FSI language proficiency test is conducted via digital videoconferencing.

TRANSITION CENTER AIDS IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN RETURNEESBY TRANSITION CENTER STAFF

Welcome Home

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Returnees from Iraq or Afghanistanin the last year likely attended aseminar at FSI’s Transition Centercalled the High-Stress AssignmentOutbrief session. The program beganwhen the Department found thefirst wave of returnees reporting thattheir assignments had not been likeany others.

At the request of then-DirectorGeneral Robert Pearson, the Office ofMedical Services partnered with theTransition Center to design and imple-ment this program. Since then,hundreds of employees and somefamily members have attended a sched-uled course at FSI or an individualizedsession with the director of the Transi-tion Center or the director of theOffice of Mental Health Services.

The program is tailored toemployees facing difficult andunfamiliar challenges whenrepatriating from a war zone. Outbriefparticipants share strategies on dealingwith decompression and learn thesymptoms of post-traumatic stressdisorder and about additionalresources. Most important, theOutbrief lets the Department expressits thanks to volunteers and hear feed-back—without personal attribution—on the adequacy of its support before,during and after deployment to anunaccompanied post.

The program helps employees adjustafter dangerous assignments, but formany it is only the first step on a longand sometimes difficult journey. TheOutbrief sessions have led to theproduction of notes on emergingtrends that have influenced importantrevisions to the terms and conditionsof future assignments and to cableshighlighting the leadership challengesfacing colleagues at high-threat posts.

Outbrief sessions have also placedattention on the interpersonal copingstrategies of couples separated byunaccompanied assignments. A soon-to-be-released video produced by theTransition Center will inform prospec-tive employees about the personalchallenges inherent with these assign-ments. In the video, couples share theirexperiences in making difficultdecisions and in preparing for deploy-ment and surviving the assignment,repatriation and reintegration. Thevideo will be important for thosecontemplating an unaccompanied tour

at one of the Department’s highest-priority posts.

The Outbrief program was a directresponse to the needs of theDepartment. Other recent examples ofthe Center’s problem-solving includeseveral outreach mechanisms. TheOverseas Briefing Center’s Post Info toGo system, for instance, is foremployees who cannot visit the Centeron the FSI campus and for familymembers without access to theOpenNet. To provide them with infor-mation on posts, this desktop deliverysystem allows users to electronicallyaccess country briefing materials ande-mail that information home tofamily members.

Additionally, employees no longerneed to visit the OBC to view all postvideos—select videos are now on theBNET system and more are beingadded to the schedule monthly. OBC’sPersonal Post Insights collectioncandidly informs bidders aboutmission living conditions and is ananonymous account of life at post.They are also available through PostInfo to Go.

Another resource, the Find YourWay CD, was created for familymembers and non-Department clientsto navigate Transition Center programsand products via the Internet. It directspeople to appropriate resources basedon their stage of life in the foreignaffairs community.

FSI’s Training Division, meanwhile,will soon offer the Advanced SecurityOverseas Seminar online for those whocannot travel to Washington for thismandatory training. Additionally, theTransition Center’s popular retirementplanning seminar will soon be offeredto entry- and mid-level employees.

A modern one-stop shop fortraining, career transition advice andresearch about overseas posts, theTransition Center has roots datingback to the 1930s. From a smalllibrary and early training courses forspouses, it grew into the OBC in the1970s, and the Career TransitionCenter was added in 2000. Together,the three divisions of the TransitionCenter use decades of expertise fromdedicated professionals to educate andprepare clients for Foreign Servicetransitions. ■

In July, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad andthe Regional Reconstruction Team in Erbil,Iraq, organized the National UnityPerforming and Visual Arts Academy, atraining camp for more than 300 of Iraq’sperforming artists. The 10-day academywas held in Erbil and supported by theHouston-based nongovernmental organiza-tion American Voices and the Ministry ofCulture of the Kurdish RegionalGovernment.

It was the embassy’s largest culturalprogram since opening in the summerof 2004.

Officers from the U.S. Embassy inBaghdad’s Cultural Affairs Office workedwith their counterparts at the Erbil-based

Regional Reconstruction Team to create theacademy. For the program, 10 well-knowneducators traveled to Iraq to instruct youngIraqi musicians, dancers and thespians.

The academy enhanced the artists’ talents,introduced them to American performingarts and provided an opportunity for Iraqisof different geographical and sectarian back-grounds to unify and express their commonpassion for the performing arts.

The program’s music instructors taughtjazz, classical and chamber music, whiledance studies focused on ballet, jazz andcontemporary. Theater sessions featuredselections from the popular musicals Greaseand The Wizard of Oz.

“As a teacher and as a musician myself,

I find this one of the most exciting andrewarding experiences of my entire life,”said Allegra Klein, music instructor andexecutive director of the nongovernmentalorganization Musicians for Harmony.“We’re bringing a new teaching method thatis well established in Europe and America—the Suzuki Method.

“We hope that with the success of thisprogram, we will be able to continue inthe future.”

At the end of the program, all four ofIraq’s orchestras, as well as the newlyformed youth orchestra, assembled on onestage for two concerts. The first, titled JazzBridges, featured ballet, hip-hop and Iraqifolk dances, as well as traditional Arab and

IRAQIS DEMONSTRATE UNITY THROUGH PERFORMINGARTS ACADEMY BY MICHAEL POLYAK

SYMPHONY OF DIVERSITY

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The National Unity Orchestraperforms in Erbil.

Kurdish music blended with Americanjazz. The second, the National UnityConcert, included members of the IraqNational Symphony Orchestra, theSulaimaniyah String Orchestra and theHawler Orchestra. The orchestras

performed the classics, includingBeethoven and Mussorgsky.

At the National Unity Concert, PatButenis, the embassy’s deputy chief ofmission, said the concert “demonstrates theprogress that can be achieved when Iraqis

of various backgrounds come together fora common purpose.”

The National Unity Performing andVisual Arts Academy was developed after asuccessful embassy–American Voicesprogram was held in February at Baghdad’sAl Rasheed Hotel. The event featured anAmerican song-and-dance ensemble andthe Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra,performing for an Iraqi audience andUnder Secretary of State Karen Hughes.

As the latest program concluded, severalstudents expressed their appreciation.

“These 10 days have been the mostamazing 10 days of my life,” said a violinistfrom Baghdad.

A Kurdish hip-hop dancer added, “Thebest thing was that people were caringabout us.”

Falakadin Kakaye, minister of culture forthe Kurdish Regional Government, said hewas “pleased that the orchestras ofBaghdad, Sulaimaniyah and Erbil can behere. This shows that all parts of Iraq cancome together peacefully. I’m sure that thiswill be a step towards national reconcilia-tion for the Iraqi people.” ■

The author was the Iraq public affairs deskofficer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.


Above: Dance instructor Michael Parks Masterson, kneeling furthest right, poses with Kurdish hip-hop dancers. Below: Cultural Affairs Officer Kim Dubois,left, tours the academy with Minister of Culture Kakaye.

“The best thing was that peoplewere caring about us.”

“Surreal” city challengesand charms U.S. diplomatsBy Ramón Negrón and John Vance

Havana

COUNTRY>>> Cuba

CAPITAL>>> Havana

TOTAL AREA>>> 110,860 square kilometers

APPROXIMATE SIZE>>> Slightly smaller thanPennsylvania

GOVERNMENT>>> Communist state

POPULATION>>> 11.4 million

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH>>> 77 years

LANGUAGES>>> Spanish

CURRENCY>>> Cuban peso (CUP)

PER CAPITA INCOME>>> $4,000

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE>>> 1.9 percent

IMPORT COMMODITIES>>> Petroleum, food,machinery andchemicals

EXPORT COMMODITIES>>> Sugar, nickel, tobaccoand fish

INTERNET COUNTRY CODE>>> .cu

POST OF THE MONTH>>>

Havana


★

Night falls over the Cathedral ofHavana and the public square.

In a concession to economic necessity in a post-Soviet world,the Cuban government has allowed the changes necessary toattract tourists’ hard currency to Cuba. While Havana andselected resort areas benefit from an ongoing facelift, thepatient—Cuba—remains in serious condition.

While the wider world has outgrown communism andembraced the free market in the last 20 years, Castro’s regimehas stubbornly clung to its tired Cold War doctrine and anti-capitalist rant.

Waiting to EmigrateCubans’ responses range from resignation to resistance to migra-

tion. According to the Cuban Commission on Human Rights andNational Reconciliation, 246 political prisoners endure harsh condi-tions in crowded prisons and between 2,000 and 3,000 citizens areheld on the charge of “dangerousness.” Almost a quarter millionCubans have applied for U.S. immigrant visas or refugee travel docu-ments. Despite the legal means in place to foster their safe andorderly departure, many Cubans are too desperate to wait. In fiscalyear 2006, an estimated 15,700 Cubans took to the sea.

The results of the Cuban government’s antiquated policies arevisible throughout Havana. In block after block, wooden scaffoldssupport decaying buildings and lumbering American-made ‘50s-erasedans trail smoke past billboards spouting revolutionary rhetoric.

When asked to summarize their experience in Cuba, mostdiplomats at the U.S. Interests Section use the word “surreal.” Theyalso say it is “fascinating,” “difficult” and “inspiring.” Among the keycomponents of the Cuban government’s longstanding policy to insu-late its citizens from the world is its tireless campaign to isolate the51 resident USINT diplomats and their families from Cuban society.There is no question that a tour of duty in Havana is an experienceunlike any other in the Foreign Service.

In January 2006, USINT installed a billboard on its fifth floor thatscrolls current events, quotes and human-interest stories to the citi-zens of Havana. Vexed at the prospect of an informed citizenry, theCastro government moved with uncharacteristic alacrity. Almostovernight a cluster of black flags sprang up to block the ticker fromview. Coupled with the numerous accusatory billboards and ring ofunsmiling police officers around USINT’s six-story oceanfrontbuilding, the flags make it abundantly clear that the Cubangovernment regards USINT as Ground Zero in the clash betweendemocracy and communism.

In Havana’s Miramar suburb, a clock towercommands an immaculate stretch of medianalong Avenida Quinta. The lush vegetationand stately embassies lining both sides of therefurbished street make Quinta Cuba’s mostprestigious boulevard.

Upon closer inspection, one notices theclock has stopped.

There could be no better metaphor forCuba in 2007. For the city of Havana, timehalted when Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

Left: A 1950s car passes the clock tower on Avenida Quinta in Miramar.Above: “We don’t want Easterners…Get out” says the sign held by a fan at abaseball game. The rivalry between Havana and the eastern city of Santiagois intense.


Under ScrutinyBeing a U.S. diplomat in Havana has

long meant living under difficultcircumstances. Listening devices in allUSINT spaces, vehicles and homes meanone can never escape Cuban governmentscrutiny. The pervasive intelligence-gathering effort directed at USINT hasgarnered Havana the dubious honor ofbeing the U.S. government’s sole nonfrater-nization post. The increasingly fickle natureof Cuba’s visa issuance procedures makes itimpossible to plan arrival schedules ofsection personnel and visiting family.And in-country travel is restricted toHavana and its environs.

One challenge in Havana is shared by all,regardless of nationality: the paucity offood and shopping. USINT personnelrapidly learn to buy in bulk when desireditems appear in stores that cater to expatri-ates, as that may be their only opportunity.As the average mark-up on imported itemsis 240 percent, the exorbitant cost of fillinga shopping cart sometimes leaves onewondering which is worse: missing afavorite item or finding it.

Accustomed to mitigating Cuba’s peren-nial grocery shortage through householdand consumables shipments, the USINTcommunity has recently contended with aspate of Cuban government import restric-

tions. Some are reciprocal, while othersseem almost random. Cuban authoritiescurrently hold 28 USINT shipments in localports. Some have been in limbo for morethan 18 months. Since last year, the Cubangovernment has prohibited the delivery ofpersonal vehicles for incoming USINT staff.

Despite the undeniable hardships andfrustrations, many Foreign Service familiesextend their tours in Havana. Althoughgovernment-to-government relations arechilly, the Cuban people are friendly andgenerally like Americans. The quality of theelementary education programs at theInternational, Spanish and French schoolsis an attraction, as is the excellent prospectfor spousal employment at USINT.

The Cuban government’s draconianpolicies toward USINT personnel haveproduced a tightly knit community withfrequent social activities. Also, Havana is asafe city in which to live. Although muchcrime goes unreported, the incidence ofresidential break-ins is exceedingly low inareas where USINT personnel live.

Dominoes and SalsaFinally, while sadly complicating the

plight of habaneros, the frozen-in-timequality of Havana makes it a unique andphotogenic city. From its Spanish colonialarchitecture to its quality cultural events

and vibrant musical heritage, Havanareadily shares its treasures with the visitor.For those exploring its narrow passages onfoot, Havana’s rich culture is on display atevery corner. The exclamations of menshuffling dominoes on rickety tables, thelaughter of women chatting in shadoweddoorways and the shouts of childrenplaying baseball with makeshift batscompete for one’s attention while the ever-present salsa music brings rhythm to thecacophony.

On a recent evening, tinny rock musicblared from a transistor radio belonging toa group of young Cubans gathered on themassive Malecon wall. The language wasEnglish and the station from south Florida.The alluring sounds of Miami constantlyremind restless Cubans how tantalizinglyclose is a way of life that has eluded themfor three generations.

The vignette also captures the contrastbetween two nations with cultures soclosely entwined and political ideologies soirrevocably distant. Within that dichotomylies the charms and challenges of life inHavana for the U.S. diplomat.

Ramón Negrón is a political-economic officerand John Vance was until recently publicaffairs officer at the U.S. Interests Sectionin Havana.


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The USINT building and billboard are obscured by the flag parkhastily put up by the Cuban government.

The U.S. Interests Section opened onSeptember 1, 1977, on the site of the formerU.S. Embassy chancery, which had closed 16years earlier. Operating under the auspicesof the Swiss Embassy, USINT includes anannex for refugee operations. Bothbuildings are situated on Havana’s famousseaside boulevard, the Malecon.

USINT employs 51 American directhires, 14 eligible family members and about300 Cubans, who are selected by the Cubangovernment.

After the 1959 revolution, U.S.-Cubarelations steadily deteriorated. A string ofhostile confrontations—among them, thegrowing nationalization of U.S.-ownedassets in 1960, the Bay of Pigs invasion in1961 and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis—culminated in the U.S. government’s 1963issuance of the Cuban Assets Control Regu-lations, the first of a series of U.S. sanctionsdesigned to isolate the regime and deprive itof U.S. dollars.

The fall of the Soviet Union cost Cubaabout $6 billion in annual subsidies and

spawned aneconomiccrisis in theearly 1990s

known as the “special period,” during whichCuba’s economy contracted by a third. By1994, the situation was so dire that theregime, capitalizing on a Haitian migrationcrisis, unleashed an outflow of 30,000Cubans across the Florida Straits. The crisisforced the Cuban regime to downsize itsmilitary, partially open its economy andagree to the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords.Political repression continued.

In 1996, the Helms-Burton Act codifiedthe U.S. sanctions. Only two areas ofcommercial sales have an exception: the saleand export of medicine and medicalsupplies and the sale of food andagricultural commodities.

As the United States and Cuba have noformal diplomatic relations, contactbetween USINT personnel and the Cubangovernment is kept to a minimum. Thelone exception is USINT’s drug interdictionspecialist, a commissioned Coast Guardofficer who exchanges limited tactical infor-mation with Cuban officials on druginterdiction and migration operations.

Nonetheless, USINT is the mission withthe largest diplomatic footprint in Cuba.It focuses on cultivating contacts withaverage Cubans, civil society and third-country nationals.

Department of Homeland Securitypersonnel at USINT’s refugee unit adjudi-cate 90 percent of the 20,000 traveldocuments USINT issues yearly to fostersafe, legal and orderly migration. The unitalso annually resettles in the U.S. about3,000 Cubans who have been persecuted fortheir political or religious beliefs.

USINT implements the Office of CubanAffairs-led effort to hasten a peacefulCuban-led transition to democracy and afree-market economy. USINT personneldistribute literature and other materials;report on the status of political activists,dissident leaders, religious groups andemerging civil-society actors; interact withbroad swaths of Cuban society; and provideon-the-ground accounts of what is goingon in Cuba.

For Cubans, interaction with USINT offi-cials can bring unwanted attention from anomnipresent state security apparatus dedi-cated to squelching all potential opposition.The fact that Cuba’s Interior Ministry is P

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Transition to Democracy is U.S. GoalBy Ramón Negrón and John Vance

Che Guevara’s image abovethe words “Until victory,always” graces the Ministryof Interior building.

larger than its Defense Ministry is illustrative: Theregime devotes more resources to defending itselffrom its own people than from foreign threats. Inaddition to the risk of becoming political prisoners,opponents of the regime are denied jobs and areconstantly harassed.

Buoyed by limited international joint ventures andVenezuelan subsidies, Cuba claims its economy hasstrengthened since the late 1990s. However, itremains plagued by corruption and inefficiency, andthe vast majority of Cubans have no access to manystaple foods (including beef and milk), the Internet, afree press, property ownership or even a decent hotel.

“The reality of living in a communist country hitme,” a USINT consular officer said, “when Idiscovered my maid left her job as vice president of alarge, state-run enterprise to iron our shirts and takecare of our plants.” ■

Ramón Negrón is a political-economic officer and JohnVance was until recently public affairs officer at theU.S. Interests Section in Havana.


Clockwise from above: A Marine security guard stands in front of theUSINT entrance. Medley in chrome and steel: The past lives on inHavana. A building, left, in a rejuvenated section of Havana Vieja awaitsits turn for a facelift. Consular officer Heather Watson-Ayala, standing,and Cuban national employee Maria del Carmen Munoz review a case.

The Bureau of Human Resources’ Execu-tive Office plays a key role in implementingfederal and Department-wide personnelinitiatives and ensuring compliance withHR policies and procedures. It also providescomputerized business solutions forDepartment of State employees.

Human resources management ismoving away from paper-intensiveprocesses by using information technologyto increase automation and gainefficiencies. For the past several years,HR/EX has sought to shift all human

resources management processes into anelectronic environment. For example,employees can now electronically viewimages of their personnel records, bid onfuture assignments and monitor their offi-cial status. This has brought moretransparency into HR processes andreplaced outdated, inefficient paper-basedsystems.

HR/EX contains the following divisions:Budget, Enterprise Services, PersonnelAdministration, Records and InformationManagement, Systems Development and

Systems Oversight. Each worksinterdependently to keep the Bureau and itsprograms running as smoothly as possible.

Managing Money, Moving PeopleAccountability and evidence-based

results are needed to manage a budget,since efficient budget oversight andmanagement produces better decisions onspending priorities. The HR/EX BudgetDivision uses this strategy when managingtwo major funding components:Operations and Post Assignment Travel.The Operations account comprises all ofthe bureau’s operating funds for normalbusiness functions across various offices,including funds for student intern andfellowship programs, the Student LoanRepayment Program and unemploymentcompensation. The Budget Divisionmanages the Post Assignment Travelaccount, which includes funds fortransporting Foreign Service employees,eligible family members and householdeffects to onward assignments.

HR’S EXECUTIVE OFFICE PROMOTES EFFICIENCY,TRANSPARENCY BY SHANNON GALEY

HR/EXP

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HR/EX Executive Director RubenTorres, seated, confers with formerdeputy director Raphael Mirabal.

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

The Permanent Change of Station Travelprocess is important to many Departmentemployees. Much can go wrong if even theslightest detail in the process is overlooked.In January 2004, the Budget Divisionhelped to implement the PCS Travelapplication that is used by the CareerDevelopment and Assignment traveltechnicians to capture all of the travel-related elements and provide a moredetailed accounting of travel order costs.PCS Travel has resulted in better costestimates and more accurate travel advancesfor employees.

Although streamlining a process willusually introduce efficiency, organizationalchanges can often achieve similar results.In April 2007, HR/EX assumedorganizational responsibility for the CareerDevelopment and Assignment travel tech-nician function, which processes PCS travelorders and related actions. Now that thetravel technician function is under onereporting structure, day-to-daymanagement of travel orders is improving,customer service support levels are risingand there is a more streamlined workflow.The travel technicians also benefit by lever-aging HR/EX’s expertise on mattersranging from training to functional andapplication support.

InnovativeSolutions

In July 2006,HR/EX completed amajor upgrade of theIntegrated PersonnelManagement Systemthat serves as theDepartment’sprimary technicalplatform forproviding superiorhuman capitalmanagement. Thiscomprehensivemodernization effortinvolved a completeredesign of the entireIPMS infrastructureto include hardware,software and networkenhancements. It alsoincluded thesubsequentimplementation of anew “data broker” approach that hasenabled real-time data sharing betweenapplications and ensured better dataintegrity and reliability.

The IPMS has four core applications: theGlobal Employee Management System,

Human Resources Online, KnowledgeCenter and the Post Personnel System.Together, these applications have reducedtransaction processing overhead, enhancedenterprise-wide data sharing and providedemployees and their supervisors with the


Members of the Systems Oversight team include(from left) Barbara Dauphin, Joey Hutchins andGladys Wiggins.

At a GlanceOffice nameBureau of Human ResourcesExecutive Office

SymbolHR/EX

Office DirectorRuben Torres

Staff size250

Office LocationSA-1, Columbia Plaza

Web sitehttp://hrweb.hr.state.gov/prd/hrweb/ex

ability to manage independently theirpersonnel-related information throughautomated seamless workflow processes.The Systems Development Division isresponsible for developing and maintainingsoftware for these applications.

The Global Employee ManagementSystem is an Oracle/PeopleSoft-basedhuman resources management applicationthat is the Department’s official transactionprocessing system for all American direct-hire employees. The recent IPMS upgradeenhanced the GEMS software, and HRplans to take advantage of the software’sexpanded self-service capabilities. Soon,employees will be able to initiate changes totheir records online, and managers will beable to approve these changes and launchjob-related personnel transactions, ifneeded. This new functionality willeliminate the middle man and providemore transparency.

The Human Resource Online system isthe single point of entry for nearly 30 ofthe bureau’s “best in class” applications. HROnline is the bureau’s primary Intranet

portal for employees to access self-serviceapplications such as Employee Profile,Employee Profile Plus, the electronic Offi-

cial Personnel File, Foreign Service Biddingtool, Student Loan Repayment Programand Career Tracker. HR Online is also used

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Above: Among the RIM staff members are (from left) Pamela Bundy, Pamela Moore, Jasmine Fitchett and Bernard Huff. Below: Conducting quality control onscanned images that will be part of employees’ online personnel files are (from left) Saundra Darden and Candice Otis.

by personnel specialists to access such busi-ness applications as GEMS, ServiceComputation Date, Domestic StaffingModel and PCS Travel.

Managing electronic records forthousands of employees means that IPMSmust capture and maintain millions of bitsof data, ranging from employee status toassignment history. All of this data must beprocessed, managed and stored so that itcan be viewed and shared in multiple ways.For this purpose, the Knowledge Center wascreated to serve as HR’s reporting solutionfor all IPMS applications.

HR/EX has set the standard for obtaininga complete, accurate and up-to-date countof U.S. government overseas personnel whoare under Chief of Mission authority. Itdoes so through the Post Personnel System,a Web-based human resources managementand tracking system that is the official datasource for all Locally Employed staff andU.S. personnel under COM authority over-seas. Post Personnel data is stored locallyand transmitted nightly back toWashington, D.C., where it is placed in aconsolidated database that allows aggregate

reporting, data standardization and recon-ciliation. This data can be integrated andshared with other financial, inventory andproperty applications within and outsidethe Department.

Corporate Support No enterprise can succeed without

unlocking the power of human capital. TheSystems Oversight Division, charged withprogram development and functional over-sight, performs three primary functions. Itsupports users of HR systems and applica-tions; manages policy, analysis andreporting; and oversees applicationsrequirements, analysis and testing. Underthe IPMS program, SOD’s subject-matterexperts evaluate transaction processingrequirements, develop IPMS applicationtraining documentation and enforce systemaccess controls.

The Enterprise Services Division isprimarily responsible for network support,bureau Web site maintenance and informa-tion technology system security. ESD alsoincludes the HR Help Desk, which resolvesend-user problems with IPMS applications

and bureau workstations. The Help Deskwas one of the first federal sites to be recog-nized by the International Organization forStandardization for its best practices in ITservice management. Meeting this standardwas a signature HR achievement andushered in the benchmarking ofperformance and customer service levels,allowing HR/EX to continually assess,adapt, innovate and improve.

The Records and InformationManagement Division develops,administers, manages and evaluatespersonnel records management. It alsoadministers the Freedom of Informationand Privacy Act program for all humanresources information and data maintainedin the Department, while monitoring andcontrolling access to personal employeedata. The protection of employees’ privacyand the safeguarding their personalinformation is one of HR/EX’s highestpriorities.

In addition, RIM administers theelectronic Official Personnel Folder applica-tion, which enables employees to viewimages of their official HR documents at


From left, Ryszard Olewnik and Angela White are from HR/EX’s Administration Division, while Ben Lam and Cynthia Davis are from the Budget Division.

their desktop. Department employees nowhave access to their administrative,performance and retirement files and willsoon have access to their PCS Travel files.The eOPF application automated much of

the 2007 Foreign Service Promotion Boardsprocess. Board members can now viewEmployee Evaluation Reports and otherperformance-related documents online.

HR/EX is rolling out two important

process changes as part of its efforts tomodernize HR’s business platform. Forinstance, select Department employees willsoon begin participating in a pilot programto automate the performance evaluationreview process. In addition, changes areunderway to automate the travel messagingcomponent of the PCS Travel application.Both efforts will dramatically improveprocesses that have historically frustratedemployees and managers.

All HR/EX divisions work together toimprove service and provide customerswith the tools to perform their functionsworldwide. Whether through managingbudgets, automating HR processes or reor-ganizing support functions, the ExecutiveOffice never loses sight of its mostimportant customers, the Department’snearly 70,000 employees. ■

The author is a communications consultantin HR/EX. P

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Above: The Enterprise Services staff includes (from left, rear) Brett Gittleson, Bill Griffin and John Williams; (middle) Toni Miller and Karen Mioduski; and (front)Eileen Bluestein and Lisa Chichester. Below: Among the Systems Development Division staff members are (from left) Doug Townsend, Tom Burgess, KristineKaehler, Kevin Phelps and Tracy Byrd.


Some people might consider the Repub-lican Palace, site of a U.S. embassy annex inBaghdad, to be overwrought, flowery andgaudy. Others see its inlaid Italian marblefloors and intricately carved ceilings—threestories high in someplaces—as fine art.These ceilings and floors, found throughoutthe palace, are part of a building that onesource termed “a neo-Babylonian affairbuilt on a massive scale and composed oftremendous pillars, bulky double-leafeddoors, soaring domes and a labyrinth ofpassages … .”

The architectural concept for the palacewas realized in the early 1950s. The rulingmonarchy wanted a monumental palacelocated on a bend in the Tigris River andbuilt to endure the harsh Iraqi climate. King Faisal II’s father commissioned Britisharchitects to build the project, which wouldeventually encompass an area almost twomiles long.

Local and foreign-trained Iraqis wereresponsible for structural, electrical and

mechanical engineering. Limestone wasimported from surrounding countries tobuild the palace. The imposing elements ofthe building’s façade, as well as the massivepillars, were wrought from Lebanese stone,which was transported in immense blocksand broken down at the job site.

The British architects brought fine marblefrom Italy for the floors and walls andbrought expert Italian craftsmen to inlay thestone. Before the marble was exported, everypiece was cut to specifications in Italy. Whenthe craftsmen traveled to Iraq, they simplyhad to assemble the stones on site. Theproject was completed in 1959.

Some of the palace’s intricately carvedceilings are painted in pastels; others burstout of the lintels in primary colors. Mostfollow the precepts of Islamic art: Insteadof images of animals, men or plants, theartists used geometric images that wereintricately repeated.

The ceilings appear to have miles of intri-cate carvings. When looked at closely, they

seem instead to be made of the dots anddashes of a Morse-code message. Thesymbols endlessly repeat themselves to formbeautiful borders and intricate patterns.

The palace also has architecturalanomalies. The room considered the palace’smain rotunda has a ceiling that echoes thePantheon in Rome, with its stacked carvedlimestone bricks. The ceiling of anotherlarge space, the grand ballroom, is a hugemural-covered dome. Images of missilesflying through an endless blue sky areintended to put viewers in awe of the powerof the regime of the palace’s former owner,Saddam Hussein.

Whether one looks down or up, thepalace’s architecture catches the eye. Oneday, it will be returned to the Iraqi people,and the embassy will move the offices nowin the palace to a new facility, now underconstruction. ■

The author is chief of protocol at the U.S.Embassy in Baghdad.

IRAQ’S REPUBLICAN PALACE OFFERS WONDERS TO THE EYEBY JUDES E. STELLINGWERF

Fine Art

MEDICAL REPORT

Post-traumatic Stress DisorderThe Office of Medical Services and the

Family Liaison Office jointly surveyedForeign Service employees who hadcompleted unaccompanied tours from 2002until the summer of 2007. The survey tookplace on the Intranet and ran from June 1through July 15. Of the 2,600 employeeswho completed UTs during the indicatedyears, responses were received from 877.

The survey asked about exposure tophysical danger and the impact of danger-and isolation-related stressors upon a broadrange of psychological symptoms andpsychosocial functioning in theseemployees. Much of the survey focused onsymptoms associated with Post-traumaticStress Disorder.

PTSD is a term that is often misunder-stood and applied inappropriately. It is aspecifically defined anxiety disorder, mostcommonly brought on by an intensely terri-fying incident. An individual meeting thefull diagnostic criteria of PTSD is subject toconsiderable distress and is at risk forimpairment in functioning ranging frommild to disabling. Prompt and appropriatetreatment offers hope of relief and thepossibility of full recovery. This is quitedifferent from the more common andexpected reactions in people whoexperience high levels of stress over a longtime and which are related to normalneurological and hormonal responses tosuch conditions.

Of the 877 respondents, 358 served inIraq, 208 in Afghanistan, 185 in Pakistanand 138 in Saudi Arabia. (Twenty-six

percent of respondents did unaccompaniedtours in more than one place.)

The survey results indicate widespreadstress-related symptoms among employeesserving at UTs, with some reduction in theincidence of these symptoms over time aftercompletion of the tour. Among a list of 17symptoms often found in persons enduringchronically high levels of stress, 10 wereexperienced by more than 20 percent ofrespondents. For example, 47 percentadmitted to insomnia and 33 percentreported being irritable or unusually hostileduring the tour, while 55 percent reportedproblems in relating to their spouse orpartner after completing the tour.

Up to 17 percent of respondents showsymptoms of PTSD. A preliminary review ofthe survey indicates PTSD is probablypresent in at least 2 percent of therespondents. The data suggests that up to anadditional 15 percent may possibly have thisdisorder. A thorough examination by amedical practitioner is required to make adefinitive diagnosis of PTSD.

MED is contracting a data analysis firmto conduct a more detailed analysis to see ifresponses differ depending on the postwhere the UT was served, the length of thetour and the amount of time since departingthe post, among other factors. This willallow for a focused assessment of the stressimpact in Iraq and Afghanistan, andpossible further distinctions among placeswithin those countries.

MED believes that employees serving inUTs may benefit from a spectrum ofservices ranging from brief counseling tointensive psychiatric treatment on returning

from their tour. MED thereforerecommends that the Department consideroffering a three- or four-week mandatoryhome leave following a UT to assist theemployee in adjusting to family, friends anda more normal work environment.

MED will recommend revisions to thepreassignment brief to give more focusedand detailed information about stressorsinduced by assignment to a UT. It will alsorecommend revisions to the mandatory out-brief sessions, directing more time tomental-health counseling resources,insomnia and social withdrawal.

Most significantly, MED strongly recom-mends that the Department begin adeployment stress management program forcurrent and future employees assigned toUTs. This program should be developedwithin MED, and include additional staff—one clinical psychologist or psychiatrist, twocounselors and one administrative supportemployee—and an initial budget of $700,000per year. This new office would develop,teach, counsel and become involved in allactivities supporting employees involvedwith UTs. Liaison with the FLO insupporting families of employees in UTsis also envisioned.

The full preliminary report can be seen onMED’s Intranet site at http://med. state.gov/.

A confidential support group for alumniof UTs meets biweekly in SA-1 (ColumbiaPlaza). For more information, contactEmployee Consultation Services at (202)663-1815. ■

The author is the director of the Office ofMedical Services.

SURVEY: STRESS WIDESPREAD IN UNACCOMPANIED TOURS BY DR. LARRY BROWN

EFFECTS OF PTSD


50%

30%

10%47%

Insomnia

Reported symptomsduring unaccompanied tour

Reported symptomsafter unaccompanied tour

Anxiety Irritability Social Withdrawal

37% 34% 28% 30% 33% 30% 31%


Student Records OnlineNeed your class schedule or an unoffi-

cial transcript of training taken throughFSI? Visit the FSI Registrar’s Office Webpage on the Department of State OpenNetat http://fsi.state.gov/admin/reg.

Leadership Training Leadership training is mandatory for

Foreign Service and Civil Serviceemployees at the FS-03/GS-13 levels andabove to ensure that they have the neces-sary preparation for increasing levels ofresponsibility. FSI’s Leadership andManagement School offers the requiredcourses to meet these mandatory trainingrequirements and other leadershipcourses for all FS and GS employees.

Senior Policy SeminarsFSI’s Leadership and Management

School offers professional developmentand policy seminars for senior-level exec-utives of the Department and the foreignaffairs/national security community.

For more information contact FSI’sLeadership and Management School at(703) 302-6743, [email protected] orhttp://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov/fsi/lms.

FasTrac Distance Learning:Learn at Your Own Pace,When and Where You Want!

All State Department employees, FSNsand EFMs are eligible. With your FasTracpassword, you may access the entireFasTrac catalog of more than 3,000courses, from home or office (Intranet orInternet). Courses cover numerous topics,such as project management, computerskills and grammar and writing skills, as

well as soft skills such as leadership. Toview the FasTrac catalog, visit the FasTracWeb site at http://fsi.state.gov/fastrac.

FSI Distance LearningAn extensive menu of FSI-developed

distance learning courses is also availableto eligible participants on the FSI learningmanagement system. See (U) State009772 dated February 14, 2005, or theFSI Web page (Distance Learning) forinformation.

FS-3/GS-13PK245 Basic Leadership Skills

FS-2/GS-14PT207 Intermediate Leadership Skills

FS-1/GS-15PT210 Advanced Leadership Skills

Managers and SupervisorsPT107 EEO Diversity Awareness for

Managers and Supervisors

Newly promoted FS-OC/SESPT133 Senior Executive Threshold

Seminar

Security Oct Nov Length

MQ911 SOS: Security Overseas Seminar 9, 22 5, 19 2D

MQ912 SOS: Advanced Security Overseas Seminar 16 27 1D

Foreign Service Life Skills Oct Nov Length

MQ111 Making Presentations: Design to Delivery 14 3D

MQ116 Protocol & U.S. Representation Abroad 27 17 1D

MQ703 Post Options for Employment & Training 18 1D

MQ802 Communicating Across Cultures 5 1D

MQ803 Realities of Foreign Service Life 3 1D

MQ851 Raising Bilingual Children 14 2.5H

Career Transition Center Oct Nov Length

RV101 Retirement Planning Seminar 26 4D

RV103 Financial Management and Estate Planning 27 1D

RV104 Annuities, Benefits and Social Security 28 1D

Dates for FSI Transition Center Courses are shown below. For information on all thecourses available at FSI, visit the Schedule of Courses on OpenNet at http://fsi.state.gov.See Department Notices for announcements of new courses and new course dates andperiodic announcements of external training opportunities sponsored by FSI. For addition-al information, please contact the Office of the Registrar at (703) 302-7144/7137.

Length: H = Hours, D = Days, W = Weeks

EDUCATION TRAINING

MANDATORY COURSES


APPOINTMENTS

U.S. Ambassador to ColombiaWilliam R. Brownfield of Texas, a careermember of the Senior Foreign Service,class of Career Minister, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofColombia. Previously, he wasambassador to Venezuela and, beforethat, ambassador to Chile. His otheroverseas postings include Maracaibo,Geneva, Argentina, El Salvador andPanama.

Coordinator for CounterterrorismDell L. Dailey of South Dakota, a retiredArmy lieutenant general, is the newCoordinator for Counterterrorism, withthe rank of Ambassador at Large. Heserved 36 years in the Army, mostrecently as director of the Center forSpecial Operations, where he built closerpartnerships between the military andother government agencies involved inglobal counterterrorism activities.

U.S. Ambassador to Bosniaand HerzegovinaCharles Lewis English of New York, acareer member of the Senior ForeignService, class of Minister-Counselor, isthe new U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia andHerzegovina. Previously, he was deputydirector of the Office of Career Develop-ment and Assignments and director ofthe Office of South Central EuropeanAffairs. His overseas postings includeZagreb, Budapest, Athens and PanamaCity. He is married and has two children.

U.S. Ambassador to BahrainJoseph Adam Ereli of the District ofColumbia, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofCounselor, is the new U.S. Ambassadorto the Kingdom of Bahrain. Previously,he was senior advisor to the UnderSecretary for Public Diplomacy and theDepartment’s deputy spokesman. Hisoverseas postings include Qatar, Yemen,Ethiopia, Syria and Egypt. He is married.

U.S. Ambassador to CameroonJanet E. Garvey of Massachusetts, acareer member of the Senior ForeignService, class of Minister-Counselor, isthe new U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Cameroon. Previously, shewas deputy coordinator at the Bureau ofInternational Information Programs.Her overseas postings include Budapest,Cape Town, Leipzig, Belgrade, Helsinkiand Berlin.

Under Secretary for Economic,Energy and Agricultural AffairsReuben Jeffery III of the District ofColumbia, a lawyer, businessman andgovernment official, is the new UnderSecretary for Economic, Energy andAgricultural Affairs. Previously, he waschairman of the Commodity FuturesTrading Commission. Before that, he wassenior director for InternationalEconomic Affairs at the NationalSecurity Council. He worked forGoldman Sachs for 18 years.

APPOINTMENTS


U.S. Ambassador to ThailandEric G. John of Indiana, a career memberof the Senior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Kingdom ofThailand. Until recently, he was deputyassistant secretary for Southeast Asia inthe Bureau of East Asian and PacificAffairs. His previous overseas postingsinclude Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City,Bangkok and Dar es Salaam. He ismarried and has two children.

Special Envoy for HolocaustIssuesJ. Christian Kennedy of Indiana, a careermember of the Senior Foreign Service,class of Counselor, was accorded therank of Ambassador during his tenure asSpecial Envoy for Holocaust Issues.Previously, he was senior advisor for theForeign Service Career DevelopmentProgram. His overseas postings includeMexico City, Panama City, Georgetownand Poznan, Poland, where he firstworked on Holocaust issues. He ismarried and has three children.

Director of the Office toMonitor and Combat Traffickingin PersonsMark P. Lagon of Virginia, a foreignaffairs professional, is the new Directorof the Office to Monitor and CombatTrafficking in Persons with the rank ofAmbassador at Large. Previously, he wasdeputy assistant secretary forInternational Organization Affairs.Before that, he served on theDepartment’s Policy Planning Staff andthe Republican staff of the SenateForeign Relations Committee.

U.S. Ambassador to SerbiaCameron Munter of California, a careermember of the Senior Foreign Service,class of Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia.Previously, he was deputy chief ofmission in Prague. He led the ProvincialReconstruction Team in Mosul, Iraq. Hisother overseas postings include Warsawand Bonn. He is married and has twochildren.

U.S. Ambassador to SwazilandMaurice S. Parker of California, a careermember of the Senior Foreign Service,class of Minister-Counselor, is the newU.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom ofSwaziland. Previously, he was director ofthe Office of Employment Relations andForeign Service Assignments in theBureau of Human Resources. He wasprincipal officer in Ciudad Juarez andBarcelona and also served overseas inNigeria, Scotland, Colombia andGuyana. He is married.

U.S. Ambassador to Sierra LeoneJune Carter Perry of the District ofColumbia, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic of SierraLeone. Previously, she was ambassadorto Lesotho. Her other overseas postingsinclude the Central African Republic,Madagascar, France, Zambia andZimbabwe. She is married to retiredForeign Service officer Frederick Perry.They have two sons and two grand-children.

*


Carragher, James J.Cohen, Lawrence EllisFleming, Alexander C.Hoeft, Kenneth J.Petitt, Martha A.Rabens, Joyce B.Rochester, Mark

Christian

Sambaiew, Vladimir PeterScannell, Carol LeaSperis, StellaStaples, George M.Thompson, Cameron S.Triola, Stephen

Atkinson, George H.Bleicher, Samuel A.Brown-Henderson,

Gwendolyn C.Burnam, Jeffry M.Butowsky, Mark M.Davis, Ronald L.Davis, Shirley T.

Ehrman, Madeline E.Frick, Dawn M.Hardaway, Bonnie B.Hurd, Thomasine DavisJohnston, Wileva L.Key, Leroy F.Kmetz, Debra AnnLibby, Nola

May, Jacquelin T.Metts, Cheryl M.Modley, Peter M.Pimenov, Ninel Z.Reddock, Geraldine W.Rosenberger, Janet L.M.Spalt, Douglas R.Ward, Michael R.

FOREIGN SERVICE >>> CIVIL SERVICE >>>

U.S. Ambassador to NepalNancy J. Powell of Iowa, a careermember of the Senior Foreign Service,class of Career Minister, is the new U.S.Ambassador to Nepal. Until recently, shewas national intelligence officer forSouth Asia at the National IntelligenceCouncil. She has been ambassador toPakistan, Ghana and Uganda. Her otheroverseas postings include Dhaka,Calcutta, New Delhi, Lome, Islamabad,Ottawa and Kathmandu.

U.S. Ambassador to AlbaniaJohn L. Withers II of Maryland, a careermember of the Senior Foreign Service,class of Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic of Albania.Previously, he was director of the Opera-tions Center. His other overseas postingsinclude Riga, Moscow, Lagos and TheHague. He is married to MaryruthColeman, who is deputy chief of missionin Ljubljana, Slovenia.

retirements


OBITUARIES

Ralph Nelson Clough, 90, a retiredForeign Service officer, died Aug. 10 ofmyelodisplasia. His overseas postingsincluded China, Hong Kong, Switzerland,Great Britain and Taiwan. After retiring in1969, he had a second career writing on

Asian affairs while working at the Brookings Institution, theWoodrow Wilson Center and the School of AdvancedInternational Studies of Johns Hopkins University.

Gloria E. Guadagno, 72, wife ofretired Foreign Service officer PeterGuadagno, died of cancer Aug. 18 inVienna, Va. She accompanied her husbandon postings to Venezuela, Peru, ElSalvador (her native country), the Philip-

pines, Colombia, Italy and Mexico. She enjoyed travel, foreigncultures, music, photography, history, anthropology, interiordesign and ethnic cuisine.

Juanita Jean Haar, 86, a retiredForeign Service staff officer, died May 27of cardiac arrest and emphysema inArcadia, Calif. Her overseas postingsincluded Geneva, Jakarta, New Delhi,Brasilia and Vienna. After retiring in 1981,

she developed a passion for genealogy.

Virginia Campbell Lemon, 85, aretired Foreign Service officer, died July 21.She lived in Ashland, Ore. Her overseasassignments included the DominicanRepublic, Korea and Burma. She was anenvironmental activist who worked to save

wilderness and wildlife habitat. At the age of 80, she ran for theOregon state senate.

Helen House McCarthy, 79, wife ofretired Foreign Service officer JohnMcCarthy, died May 6 in Peterborough,N.H. She accompanied her husband onoverseas postings to Paris, Lyon, Bonn,Berlin, Beirut, Damascus, Karachi and

Rabat. She was an accomplished painter and potter and enjoyedsinging, tennis and cooking. Two of her sons joined the ForeignService—Christopher, who died in 1990, and Michael, who is inNew Delhi.

Robert McGovern, 71, a retiredForeign Service officer, died Aug. 3 in SunCity, Ariz. He served in the Marine Corpsbefore joining the Department. His over-seas postings included Ecuador, Paraguay,Mozambique, South Africa, Libya, Oman,

Australia, Panama, Antigua and Samoa. After retiring in 1986, heserved eight years with the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency. He enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Patricia Whipple Olson, 73, wife ofretired Foreign Service officer Oscar J.Olson, died of cancer Aug. 14 inSpringfield, Va. She accompanied herhusband on assignments to Venezuela,Spain, Mexico, West Berlin, Panama and

Ecuador. While overseas, she taught, presented a televisionprogram on Berlin and served as a community liaison officer.Following her husband’s retirement in 1984, she graduated fromWesley Theological Seminary and served as a pastor.


Edward Ernest Post Jr., 90, aretired Foreign Service officer, died July 15of congestive heart failure in Brinklow,Md. He served in the Pacific Theater inWorld War II and joined the Departmentin 1954. He served overseas in Rhodesia,

Egypt, India, the Philippines and Indonesia. He served as chief ofpublications for the U.S. Information Agency. After retirement, hewas an editor for the National Institutes of Health.

Martha W. “Marty” Racioppi, 86, a retired Civil Serviceemployee, died July 6 in Washington, D.C. She was a World War IIflight nurse in the Asia-Pacific Theater. She joined the Depart-ment in 1964 and worked in the immunization clinic. She retiredin 1987.

John Church Renner, 85, a retiredForeign Service officer, died July 26 ofcongestive heart failure in Alexandria, Va.He served in the Army and CIA beforejoining the Department in 1951, where hebecame an expert on international trade

matters. He served overseas in Germany, France and Belgium,where he was chargé d’affaires. After retirement, he worked forWestinghouse Corp. and later had a third career as a portraitpainter. He enjoyed genealogy and golf.

Hadia J. Roberts, 56, wife of retiredForeign Service officer Donald Roberts,died July 12 of cancer in Fairfax, Va. Anative of Pakistan, she accompanied herhusband on postings to Ankara, Bogota,Bamako, Tunis, Abu Dhabi, Doha and

Manama. She lectured at the Foreign Service Institute on Muslimwomen in South Asian societies. Overseas, she taught, worked inconsular sections and participated in choral and drama groups.At the time of her death, she was working as a language analystfor the Department of Justice.

Charles G. Sommer II, 88, a retiredForeign Service officer, died May 22 ofcongestive heart failure in Escondido,Calif. He served in the Army during WorldWar II and participated in the ManhattanProject before joining the Department. His

overseas postings included Mexico City, Tijuana, Merida, Brisbaneand Caracas. He enjoyed sports and music.

Charles William Sweetwood, 86, a retired ForeignService reserve officer, died June 4. He served in the Army duringWorld War II. He worked for the Bureau of Mines before joiningthe Department in 1965 as a minerals trade specialist. He servedoverseas in New Delhi and Johannesburg. He retired in 1980.

IN THE EVENT OF A DEATH

Questions concerning employee deaths should be directed to the Office of Casualty Assistance at(202) 736-4302. Inquiries concerning deaths of retired employees should be directed to the Office ofRetirement at (202) 261-8960.


Sixty years ago, the United States and itsallies had just won a hot world war againstan implacable foe and were beginning acold one with an equally ruthless enemydetermined to impose its political systemon the free world. The State Departmentfaced an uncertain world, filled with newnations emerging from decades of colonialrule and more established countries strug-gling to recover from six years of total warand devastation.

Against that backdrop, Secretary of StateGeorge C. Marshall opened on C Street amodest little school dedicated to teachingForeign Service officers how to practicediplomacy in this brave new world. TheForeign Service Institute trained andtaught about 3,000 officers that first year.Today, FSI’s global schoolhouse trainsalmost 60,000 students a year on its 72-acre campus in Arlington, Va., and atregional centers and posts around theworld. It remains the first—and only—U.S. government facility devoted totraining foreign affairs professionals.

To honor those 60 years of service, StateMagazine takes an extended look at how farthat modest school on C Street has come.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in1959, FSI was well down its path tobecoming the Department’s global school-house. In Cuba, however, clocks and time

stopped as Castro’s increasingly despoticgovernment began almost 50 years ofhostility toward the United States. The U.S.broke diplomatic relations with Cuba in1961; today, the 51 diplomats serving at the

U.S. Interests Section in Havana describethe duty as fascinating, difficult andinspiring. But the term used most indescribing this haunted, beautiful countrystuck in a 1959 time warp is “surreal.”

It’s official; the Civil Service Mid-LevelRotational Program will run at leastanother year—2008—after the successful

completion of this year’s pilot program(State Magazine, June 2007). In this issuewe get a mid-term report on that pilotprogram from two of the initial sevenparticipants. Tijen Aybar is spending a yearon the Office of West African Affairs team.Mary Ellen Sariti moved into ConsularAffairs’ Office of Overseas Citizens Servicesfor her rotation.

Mid-term grades? Ayber awards theprogram an A for encouraging innovation,and Sariti gives it a similar mark formaking the Department both larger andsmaller for her.

Last but never least, a final salute to ourcolleagues en route to their final posting:Ralph Nelson Clough; Gloria E. Guadagno;Juanita Jean Haar; Virginia CampbellLemon; Helen House McCarthy; RobertMcGovern; Patricia Whipple Olson; EdwardErnest Post Jr.; Martha W. “Marty”Racioppi; John Church Renner; Hadia J.Roberts; Charles G. Sommer II; and CharlesWilliam Sweetwood.

FSI’s Global Schoolhouse

THE LAST WORD

Rob WileyEditor-in-Chief

COMING IN NOVEMBER>>> Warsaw – Life and Triumph

>>> In the Camera’s Eye

>>> CFC’s Giving Tree

>>> Amb. Harry Thomas Confirmed as New DG

... and much more! Questions? [email protected]

U.S. Department of StateBureau of Human ResourcesWashington, DC 20520

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