The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

American Foreign Service Association • March 2008 AFSA NEWS T hese are tough times for the career Foreign Service, which faced deteri- orating conditions of service in 2007. The number of members at unac- companiedposts reached anall-time high. Staffing deficits soaredworldwide asmore positionswere transferred to Iraqandother emergingpriorities. The personnel system became less family-friendly. Budgets fail- ed tocover current commitments, let alone expanded ones. Outside critics refused to give the Foreign Service credit for its loyal service in increasingly difficult and dan- gerous circumstances. And theoverseaspay penaltypassed the20-percentmarkat year’s end. AFSA worked hard to combat these trends, bothunderAmbassador J. Anthony Holmes, who served as AFSA president through midyear, and under the current AFSAGoverningBoard that tookoffice in July 2007. AFSA had some successes, but much remains to be done. Looking Back TheAFSAAnnual Report provides you with an overview of how your association worked for youandyour colleagues in2007. If youwant to knowwhat AFSAhas done for you lately, thenplease review the pages that follow for our month-by-month list- ing of activities. If youwant to knowhow your dues get divided among AFSA’s var- ious activities, you will find a table sum- marizing that. And if youwant to see a list- ingof 19different benefitsof beinganAFSA member, that information is also provid- ed in this report. During 2007, as in every year, AFSA’s talented 27- memberprofessional staff pro- vided expert support tomany hundreds of individualmem- bers (active-duty and retired) worldwide. AFSA continued its long traditionof providing scholarships to Foreign Service children. The association’s finances remained sound, permitting us to self-finance the much needed renovation of our mortgage-free headquarters building. AFSA’s Foreign Service Journal continued to generate reader praise for its coverageof professional and foreign policy topics. And our pub- lic outreach program involved many Foreign Service retirees in explaining the importance of U.S. diplomacy to tens of thousands of citizens nationwide. Last year also sawcontinued growth in AFSA’s influence. Backed by a survey showing that members overwhelmingly support our becoming more vocal in our advocacy of the unmet needs of the Foreign Service, AFSA spoke up more in 2007. AFSAofficers explained the Foreign Service point of view in more interviews with local, national and international media—print, TV and radio— than in, perhaps, any previous year. They also placedmore op-eds inmajor publications than ever before. And AFSA officers met face to facewithmore senators and repre- sentatives than ever before, as well as numerous Hill staffers. AFSA’s spiritedadvocacywas backedby agrowingmembership that approached the 14,000 mark for the first time in history. An unprecedented numberof individualmembers, both active-duty and retired, reinforced our efforts by writ- ing to their lawmakers, home- town newspapers and agency management to urge better support for the diplomatic component of national power. Moving Forward BecauseAFSAisonlyas goodas itsmost recent accomplishments, the task in 2008 is towieldAFSA’s strengths to continue to address the pressing needs of the Foreign Service. This quadrennial election year offers one last chance for the Bush admin- istrationand the 110thCongress to stepup to the plate on issues such as ending the overseas pay disparity and increasing funding for diplomatic engagement. Then at year’s end, when many current senior officials will be cleaning out their desks, AFSA’s leadership (in office through July 2009) expects to meet with the incoming administration’s transition teamtopresent themwithrecommendations toaddress the challenges that they are inheriting. Thus, we expect that 2008will be abusy and productive year. We count on your continued support, encouragement and constructive criticism. With that backing, AFSAwillmake theForeignService amore effective agent of U.S. international lead- ership while also making it a better sup- ported, more respected and more satisfy- ing place in which to live and work. Your Advocate in Tough Times BY JOHN K. NALAND, AFSA PRESIDENT Annual Repor t 2007 MA R CH 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 51