StateStateM A G A Z I N E

U . S . D E PA R T M E N T O F S TAT EMAY 2004

The Race for SpaceOffice of Real Property Management

State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is published monthly,except bimonthly in July and August, by the U.S. Departmentof State, 2201 C St., N.W., Washington, DC. Periodicals postagepaid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing locations.Send changes of address to State Magazine, HR/ER/SMG, SA-1,Room H-236, Washington, DC 20522-0108. You may alsoe-mail address changes to statemagazine@state.gov.

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Deadlines: May 15 for July/August issue.June 15 for September issue.

StateStateMAGAZINE

Carl GoodmanEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Paul KoscakWRITER/EDITOR

Dave KreckeWRITER/EDITOR

David L. JohnstonART DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Sylvia BazalaCHAIR

Jo Ellen PowellEXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Kelly Clements

Tom Gallo

Pam Holliday

Joe Johnson

Tom Krajeski

Jim Trommatter

Office of the MonthIN OUR NEXT ISSUE:

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Near East and South Asia InformationPrograms staff celebrates the inaugura-tion of a new information web site for itsoverseas audiences.

12 POST OF THE MONTH: TIRANAAlbania moves from isolation toward an optimistic European future.

18 OFFICE OF THE MONTH:REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENTState demands require creativity.

21 NOVICE DIPLOMATS GET LOWDOWN ON CAREERSManila conference offers entry-level diplomats solid advice on careers.

22 RECRUITERS SEEK AMERICAN INDIANSThe quest for Native Americans centers in Oklahoma.

24 AN AMERICAN ROAD SHOW IN BANGLADESHThe embassy projects U.S. programs beyond the capital.

26 VOLUNTEERS LEARN FROM STUDENTSModel U.N. program benefits all participants.

28 EURASIAN YOUTHS SAMPLE DEMOCRACYAMERICAN STYLEFive-day Washington workshop promotes democratic values.

12POST OF THEMONTH: TIRANA

CONTENTS MAY 2004

Untouched beauty of the Himararegion on the Ionian Coast.

NUMBER 479

2 From the Secretary

3 Letters to the Editor

4 In the News

8 Direct from the D.G.

9 Profiles in Service

29 Education and Training

30 Safety Scene

31 State of the Arts

32 People Like You

34 Obituaries

36 Personnel Actions

One recent success of U.S. foreign policy is the Libyan govern-ment’s decision to abandon its illicit weapons of mass destructionprograms. How did this success come about? Some have arguedthat the impressive use of military force by the United States andits Coalition partners in Iraq is what persuaded the Libyan leader-ship to change its ways. Force and not diplomacy, they have said,got results. But the truth is more complex than that.

Operation Iraqi Freedom may have advanced Libyan thinkingto come to its wise conclusion, and a signal success of President

Bush’s Proliferation Security Initiative may have affected the timing of that decision. But theLibyan government has been edging slowly away from its destructive and futile past policiesfor some time. No one factor, and no single isolated event, suffices to explain Libya’s recentjudgments. Rather, the Libyan decision shows us something about the intrinsic nature of asuccessful diplomacy.

American power formed the essential backdrop to Libya’s decision. There can be little doubtabout this. But that backdrop was not enough. It took American and British persuasion to turna Libyan impulse into a victory for all sides. So, in this case, as in most others, power is a nec-essary condition for foreign policy success, but it’s usually not a sufficient one.

The Libyan case also shows that patience and persistence count. For many years, over sever-al administrations, American policy toward Libya, and toward weapons of mass destructionproliferation generally, has been set on a tough and consistent course. Libyan leaders, there-fore, had no reason to suppose that any American administration would change the essence ofour policy against illicit WMD proliferation, state support for terrorism and insidious med-dling into the affairs of neighboring states.

The Libyan decision, properly understood, demonstrates that diplomacy is neither theopposite of force nor the same as force. Diplomacy without power is just naked pleading andpower without diplomacy is often unavailing. Genuine diplomacy is the combination ofpower and persuasion, the orchestration of deeds and words in pursuit of policy objectives.

Everyone knows that American foreign policy is based on universal principles. We stand forliberty, for freedom, for government of, by and for the people under the rule of law. Just asclear is the fact that our policy priorities are based on our national interests. We cannot justwave our hands and turn our ideals into reality everywhere at once. We must deal with theworld as it is to make the world more as we would like it to be.

But equally obvious should be the recognition that our policy is anchored in a soundmethod that connects our interests to our ideals. If we want American power to endure, andthe reputation of that power to achieve the ends we seek without resort to force, we must bepatient and wise as well as strong and bold in the face of danger. That is ultimately how ourideals and our interests are best served – through diplomacy, properly understood. ■

Diplomacy,Properly Understood

2 STATE MAGAZINE

FROM THE SECRETARYSECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL

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Freetown 56 Years AgoIn December 1947, I was trans-

ferred from my first Foreign Servicepost in Accra, Ghana, to

Bremerhaven,Germany. Inthose days, airtravel was notan option andvessels sailingfrom the GoldCoast were few.I sailed aboardthe Holland-West AfricaLine, theA m s t e l k i r k ,

requiring 27 days from Takoradi toAmsterdam.

Along the way, the ship put intoseveral ports. We hired local boat-men to take us ashore. One of thoseports was Freetown. Your Marchissue, featuring Freetown as Post ofthe Month, brought back memoriesof that port call. I photographed theharbor from atop a hill. My ship was

anchored well out in the harbor asthere was no dock to pull alongside.

Despite the damage that conflicthas done to Freetown, your recentcoverage shows that the city is moredeveloped now than in 1947.

Robert B. Houston Jr.Retired FSOArlington, Va.

Right Effort, Wrong PhotoYour March issue’s focus on the

new State-USAID relationship waswelcome. While one of the articles,“The View from Indonesia,”described the agency’s efforts inthat country’s war against terrorismas including combating moneylaundering and financial crimes,there is nothing in the text toexplain the choice of the photo thataccompanied the piece. It is cap-tioned “Indonesian soldiers stage amock hostage rescue in Jakarta.”

There is strong opposition inCongress and among human rights

organizations to the Administra-tion’s training of and other assis-tance to the Indonesian military,which has one of the worst humanrights records in the region, asrepeatedly documented in theDepartment’s human rights report.

Hopefully, USAID is not provid-ing assistance to the rogueIndonesian military as implied bythe photo.

Edmund McWilliamsRetired Senior FSOFalls Church, Va.

The photo was selected by the editors,not the authors.—The Editor

3MAY 2004

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters should not exceed 250 wordsand should include the writer’s name,address and daytime phone number.Letters will be edited for length andclarity. Only signed letters will beconsidered. Names may be withheldupon request. You can reach us atstatemagazine@state.gov.

FROM THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The demand for domestic office space greatlyexceeds its availability, requiring the Department’sreal property managers to be very creative. Where,for instance, do you store 41,000 medical records?How about a movie theatre adjacent to anotherannex and shuttle route? The Office of the Month,our cover story, starts on page 18.

In this month’s service profile from Afghanistan,we get a lesson in nation building from the groundlevel. Larry Cohen’s diplomacy is marked by barrenbases, bumpy roads and beef jerky. The ForeignService officer visited remote valley outposts andpoppy-rich fields, engaging villagers and chiefsalong the way. Come along on page 9.

Isolation was once the hallmark of tiny Albania,which is about the size of Maryland. No longer. The

former communist country has shed its isolationand repression and today is blending Balkan tradi-tion with European optimism. Tirana, the capital,mirrors this exciting transformation to a vibrantEuropean democracy. The Post of the Month beginson page 12.

Bill Littlewood is a “cold warrior” with a strongaffection for Antarctica. The former science advisereven has an outcropping the size of a city blocknamed for him. The ledge juts through glacial iceand contains rock found in the AmericanSouthwest. That’s because the North American con-tinent and Antarctica were once attached—about abillion years ago. See People Like You on page 32.

4 STATE MAGAZINE

I N T H E N E W S

Trash the

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Employees should keep a low elec-tronic profile to reduce junk e-mail,known as spam. Among the recommen-dations: Keep your government e-mailaddress private. Don’t post your govern-ment address on the web. Don’t forwardelectronic chain mail from your govern-ment address. And don’t list youraddress in Internet directories.

In addition to simply ignoring spam,officials recommend reviewing a website’s privacy policy before doing busi-ness online instead of replying or tryingto unsubscribe from e-mail lists.

Bureaus and posts can forward unso-licited junk e-mail to the Virus IncidentResponse Team at spam@state.gov.

SPAM

1978A salesperson sends out an emailannouncing a new product.The New York Times calls this aSimultaneously Posted AdvertisingMessage, or SPAM.

5MAY 2004

I N T H E N E W S

Dozens of students from theWashington, D.C., area learnedabout the State Departmentduring the annual GroundhogJob Shadow Day, March 18.The event, which drew morethan 100 participants, allowsstudents to follow employeesthrough a typical workday, giv-ing them a firsthand look athow their studies might applyto the workplace.

In addition to shadowing,the students were greeted byDepartment officials, touredthe Diplomatic Receptionrooms and were treated tolunch.

Shadowing Gives Kids Workplace Insight

Isabel Mata, 17, right, a senior at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School, and AlisonWollack, 15, a sophomore at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, both in the District ofColumbia, accompanied A Bureau’s Tom Gallo during Job Shadow Day.

Complying with the President’s managementagenda to streamline and improve the govern-ment, the State Department has established anOffice of Rightsizing. Driven by the Office of

Management and Budget and a congressionalmandate, the move officially sanctions what theDepartment has already been doing overseas forthe past two years.

The new office, to be overseen by UnderSecretary for Management Grant Green, is head-ed by Jay Anania. He will manage State’s contri-bution to the federal government’s rightsizingcampaign. Among its tasks, the office will conductstaff reviews, encourage centralized managementand support of overseas staff and operations—popularly known as regionalization—and coordi-nate with OMB, Congress and the GeneralAccounting Office.

The new office became official Feb. 11.

New OfficeComplies withPresidentialMandate

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt capti-vated Israeli students, educators and writers with storiesfrom his “miserable Irish childhood” during a brief visitto Tel Aviv and Jerusalem sponsored by the embassy’spublic affairs section.

The author of the best-selling novel Angela’s Ashesmet with a group of writers, journalists and Americanstudies faculty at the ambassador’s residence for aninformal discussion. In Jerusalem, he encouraged agroup of 100 Jewish and Arab high school studentsfrom the Gymnasia High School to consider theuniqueness of their day-to-day personal experiences,suggesting that each and every one was a “potential pro-tagonist of your own story, a star of your own filmscript.”

The program followed a bus bombing in Jerusalemthat killed a student from the school. Mr. McCourtspoke of loss and pain and urged the students to look

with fresh eyes at their own lives and to turn those oftenharsh realities into artistic expression. A participant inthe embassy’s Culture Connect Program, the formerNew York City high school teacher drew overflowcrowds of young Israelis from diverse socioeconomicand ethnic backgrounds to a reading at Jerusalem’s mostvibrant literary cafe and to a prestigious teacher-training college.

While sharing tales of hardship and humor withyoung Israelis, Mr. McCourt promoted understandingof the United States to his diverse audience.

6 STATE MAGAZINE

‘You Are theProtagonists,’

Frank McCourtTells Students

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Author Frank McCourt engages Lois Ben-David, left, an Israeliministry of education official; Cherrie Daniels, director of theAmerican Center in Jerusalem; and Brian Sexton from the Bureauof Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The State Department’s web site received high marks forcustomer service in job recruiting, according to a survey by theUniversity of Michigan as part of the American CustomerSatisfaction Index.

The volunteer quarterly survey measured 44 agency websites for online customer service. State’s was among those rival-ing leading commercial sites in customer satisfaction.

Department officials redesigned their site more than a yearago based on feedback from the survey, focusing on site navi-gation. The user-friendly score was up two points since the sitewas first measured in August 2002.

State’s Web SiteGets High Marks

Seven overseas members of the New Diplomacy TaskForce joined their Washington-based colleagues andmore than 40 outside guests for a two-day conference toexamine the status of technology innovation in theDepartment.

In his opening remarks, Under Secretary forManagement Grant Green described theprogress made over the past three years andwarned that the Department must never againrisk falling behind technologically. He urgedDepartment planners to institutionalize theprocess of keeping up with technology by stay-ing alert to new developments and ensuringthat sufficient resources are devoted to the task.

The 100-member task force moves theDepartment in that direction. Composed ofgeneralists, specialists and Foreign ServiceNational employees, the group includesemployees engaged in political, economic andpublic diplomacy work as well as informationtechnology specialists. It is charged with pro-moting innovative new diplomacy ideas andcapturing the expertise and best practices ofthe Department’s overseas and domestic per-sonnel. Taking advantage of technological bestpractices developed in the field and inWashington, the team is finding ways of harnessing newtechnology to help the Department conduct diplomacymore efficiently and effectively.

The forum’s agenda included a series of presentationsand panels covering topics from “virtual consulates” tocontent management, to consular affairs and globalinformation systems. The conference featured interac-

tive demonstrations of State’s technology in the ExhibitHall. The presentations are available on the e-diploma-cy web site at www.extranet.state.gov/m/ediplomacy.

7MAY 2004

I N T H E N E W S

A booth in the exhibit hall displays several brands of personal digital assistants,highly mobile mini-computers the Department recently authorized to be connectedwith the OpenNet.

The third worldwide invitational conference for Foreign Service National employees will beheld at the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center June 3-11.

Fifty-two FSNs from 49 posts have been invited to participate in the conference, whose themeis One Mission, One Team. The invitees, who represent 40,000 colleagues worldwide, wereselected from among 260 nominees, according to Doug Frank, director of the Office ofOverseas Employment.

In all, 170 FSNs will have participated in the conferences. The previous ones were held inSeptember of 2002 and 2003.

3rd FSN Conference Planned

New Diplomacy ConferenceSpurs Task Force

8 STATE MAGAZINE

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Last year, theDepartment and U.S.Agency for Inter-national Developmentsubmitted to theCongress and thePresident a jointStrategic Plan for

Fiscal Years 2004 through 2009. The object was to alignforeign policy and development assistance to supportthe President’s National Security and ManagementAgenda.

To meet that goal, the agencies formed the JointPolicy Council and the Joint Management Council.

The management council, co-chaired by State’s UnderSecretary for Management Grant Green and USAID’sDeputy Administrator Frederick Schieck, is building acommon management foundation overseas and inWashington to enhance contributions to our commonmission: creating a more secure, democratic and pros-perous world for the benefit of the American people andthe international community.

My office, together with subject experts in the Bureauof Human Resources, has joined with our counterpartsin USAID to address human capital issues as part of themanagement council. Other areas of cooperation,staffed by appropriate representatives of both agencies,include resource management, management processes,information and communications technology, e-gov-ernment, facilities, security and rightsizing the U.S. gov-ernment’s presence overseas.

The management council began its work inSeptember 2003 and holds quarterly reviews. I want tosummarize our progress in the working group onhuman capital issues and to indicate some of the goalsthat we are seeking to accomplish in the months ahead.The human capital working group, chaired by Ruth A.Whiteside for the Department and Rose Marie Depp forUSAID, consists of subcommittees on employee train-ing, cross assignments, diplomatic and developmentreadiness initiatives, overseas employment, human

resources systems and information technology applica-tions and membership for Foreign Service selectionboards. We have made significant progress in each ofthose areas.

Our colleagues at the Foreign Service Institute havetaken the lead in working with USAID to address thevital issue of training for employees. The content andstructure of new senior policy seminars is the first resultof that partnership. Improving distance learning foremployees of both agencies is an area of ongoing coop-eration.

Perhaps the most visible accomplishment of the pastsix months has been the creation of a pilot program ofcross assignments. The Department and USAID haveidentified and advertised positions, bids have been madeand the mechanics for making assignments are beingestablished. We also have excellent cooperation betweenour respective readiness initiatives, with cross trainingfor recruiters and the exchange of materials and infor-mation. The working group on overseas employment isaddressing complex issues on recruiting and employingfamily members and is considering joint guidance onpolicies for Foreign Service National employees.

We have exchanged information on public membersfor Foreign Service selection boards and have agreed onprocedures for recruiting State members for USAIDboards as needed.

Finally, we are comparing experiences and needs inhuman resources systems and information technology.USAID is interested in our staffing models and workforce analysis and is reviewing the software we use forour human resources applications. The technical andpractical considerations are not simple, but our systemsprovide a very useful model for consideration.

The human capital working group will be seeking inthe months ahead to address the outstanding items in itswork plan, with specific targets set in its implementationtimeline. The next session of the Joint ManagementCouncil is scheduled for June 2004. The council’s basicdocuments, including its business plan, are available onthe intranet page of the Office of Management Policy. ■

Human Capital and theJoint Management Council

DIRECT FROM THE D.G.AMBASSADOR W. ROBERT PEARSON

So what’s nation building in Afghanistan really like?Set aside all the bureau babble and vacuous academicdescriptions and what’s left is a typical day in the fieldwith a provincial reconstruction team.

The overloaded, high-mileage Toyota Hi Lux bumpedalong the rutted dirt road in a canyon hedged by razor-sharp cliffs. Facing rearward on the flatbed, a soldier sitson a cushioned captain’s chair manning a 50-calibermachine gun. The mid-November temperature is freez-ing, yet the windows are wide open for security. I amsqueezed behind the driver. Water bottles and packets ofbeef jerky fill the seat pocket. As we navigate tortuousmountainside turns, packs and other gear fall on myhead. Farmers and children wave to us. Chador-veiledwomen look the other way.

I’m on patrol with Kiwi Team Two in the HinduKush, six hours from the New Zealand-run provincialreconstruction team base in Bamiyan province. I’m theState Department’s special adviser and our destinationis Firebase Romero, an outpost in the remote MadrValley. This trip is unusual. A New Zealand 60-Minutesnews team is traveling with us. We stop to interview afarmer standing in his crop of colorful waist-high pop-

pies. We stop at Doa’bi, a crossroads village andAfghanistan’s version of Dodge City, to meet withMullah Sultan, the acting district police chief. A squab-ble between his supporters and the acting district gover-

nor, Gen. Toufan, the previous districtpolice chief and district governor, hasled to bloodshed. Our patrol willattempt to calm the waters.

Kiwi Team Two arrives at FirebaseRomero, an abandoned military com-pound built by U.S. Special Forces in2001. We make good use of the facili-ties. Local carpenters knock down theplywood structures and use the wood tomake school furniture. Local relationsare mixed. Most villages are friendly tothe team. A few, however, swayed byTaliban-influenced mullahs are overtlyhostile. Except for the firebase, authori-ty and law enforcement don’t exist.Whether the base and its provincialreconstruction team can pacify therough-and-tumble valley is a lingering

question.Our patrol meets with Gen. Toufan, an ally-of-

convenience with acting police chief Mullah Sultan.While the general won’t admit it, we understand whythey and others want control over the valley—poppies.Used to make heroin, the red flower brings easy cash tothe Kahmard Valley and enriches those in power. Theteam urges thegovernor to endthe illicit farm-ing. We also tryto broker a dealbetween Gen.Toufan and hisrivals to reducetensions in thevalley and avoidbloodshed.

The news crewsets up its equip-

9MAY 2004

PROFILES IN SERVICE

A Lesson in Nation BuildingBACKWOODS DIPLOMACY MARKED BY BARREN BASES, BUMPY ROADSAND BEEF JERKY BY LAWRENCE COHEN

Above: The famous Band-i Mir Lakes, west of Bamiyan. Below: The author.

10

ment in the governor’s office. Gen.Toufan is gracious. They question himabout the poppy cultivation. One ofmany mini-warlords, the general sayspoppy farming is a recent activity thatwill be controlled only when strong gov-ernment comes to the valley. He’s askedwhy endangered falcons are being caughtand sold to rich Arabs—for up to$150,000 each. Gen. Toufan, a bit unset-tled, claims he knows nothing about this.The team’s ministry of interior represen-tative, Gen. Ali, points out that Afghanlaw prohibits military officers from hold-ing office. What exactly is Gen. Toufan’sconnection to the local Afghan Militia Force’s 34thDivision, he probes?

We ask to visit the jail. Among the prisoners is a13-year-old. Gen. Ali demands his release. During ourmeeting, supporters of Gen. Toufan’s rival appear out-side the building. A crowd backing the governor alsobuilds. Both sides are eager for a fight. Rocks arethrown. Kiwi Team Two keeps the mob under controlwhile we’re engaged in hard-nose diplomacy aimed atkeeping the two sides apart.

Although my assignment lasted just a few months, itwas an unforgettable experience. The Kiwis were greatcolleagues, and relations with them were informal.Except for the commander and his second-in-command, everyone else was Bish, Spike, Snake, Blu,Boots or Chuy. Anything okay or acceptable was“sweet.” The facilities were spartan. We lived in insulat-ed plywood huts and became accustomed to the frosty

morning run to the showers, the power outages and thepaper-plate chow line.

While beautiful, Bamiyan is a harsh place to live. At8,500 feet, our summer-weight housing coped withalpine conditions. By late November, nighttime temper-atures dipped below freezing and a cold beer took abackseat to a hot bowl of soup. Despite the hardships,complaints were rare. The Kiwis worked diligently toimprove the base. In just a few months, they constructedan enlarged mess hall, new showers, latrines, a laundry,command post, communication center and office space.

The local Hazara people warmly welcomed our team.Because they’re Shiite Muslims, a minority in Sunni-dominated Afghanistan, the Hazara were severely perse-cuted by the Taliban. Most mud-walled compounds inBamiyan displayed a green flag memorializing at leastone family member killed by the Taliban. The Hazaraappreciate the security offered by the United States andcoalition forces, and they’re among the most ferventsupporters of a new, democratic Afghanistan.

Each day brought new and different challenges. Adelegation arrives at the front gate to complain about arenegade militia leader. We meet with Bamiyan’s gover-nor and his staff to craft a municipal master develop-ment plan. We interview mullahs for the InternationalVisitor’s program. Team representatives visit the UnitedNations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan to coordi-nate humanitarian projects. Bamiyan’s security chiefhas urgent business to discuss. Inauguration ofBamiyan’s Afghan National Army recruitment center isonly days away, but the site remains unfinished. Theteam is providing security for local elections. A villageis working with the team to install a water system.

All in a day’s work for the provincial reconstructionteam. ■

EMPLOYEE PROFILEName: Lawrence Cohen

Hometown: Pottstown, Pa.

Age: 49

Position: Special Political Adviser, ProvincialReconstruction Team Bamiyan

Previous assignment: Brasilia politicalsection

Reason for serving in Afghanistan:A personal and professional challenge andan intense curiosity about the country

The author hits the trail.

STATE MAGAZINE

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PROFILES IN SERVICE

11MAY 2004

By Lawrence Cohen

Rebuilding Afghanistan is difficult. BeyondKabul’s reach and influence, the countryside is apatchwork of disparate factions more apt to settledifferences with bullets than bargaining.

Overcoming these challenges takes more thanjust diplomacy, force or expertise. In fact, it takesthem all.

Meet the provincial reconstruction team.These joint civilian-military units are deployed

throughout Afghanistan to establish relationshipswith key government, religious, military and U.N.leaders to enhance the reach and legitimacy of thecentral government in outlying regions. They pro-vide everything from security and disarmament tovoter registration and monitoring political develop-ments.

They also assist in deploying and mentoringAfghan National Army and police units and sharecurrent security information with local officials andaid workers. They mediate between adversaries, bro-ker agreements between factions and work in areasother agencies can’t reach. In short, the teams apply

just about every nation-building skill except militaryoperations.

State employees are essential to the team’s success.They reduce the natural tension between the mili-tary and civilian worlds, helping commanders man-age with minimum conflict and maximum results.Most important, they understand the big picture, thelarger goals, so often lacking among provincial offi-cials. This can make or break national reconstruc-tion.

The provincial reconstruction teams, which cannumber up to 100 strong, include personnel frommilitary civil affairs and the State Department, U.S.Agency for International Development, Departmentof Agriculture, British Department for InternationalDevelopment and Afghan Ministry of the Interior.

The U.S. Army commands teams in Herat,Kandahar, Jalalabad, Gardez and Parwan; the Britishmanage a team in Mazar e Sharif; the Germans oper-ate one in Konduz; and New Zealand commands theBamiyan team. ■

The author is a political officer in Brasilia.

Joint Team Strives to Build Trust, SupportUSDA Adviser Manuel Ayala explains his potato sorter, made from scrap wood, to local farmers.

Aerial view of Tirana with the Dajtimountain range in the background.

13MAY 2004

P O S T O F T H E M O N T H

BY PETER SALINGAND BRIAN SHOTT

Once among the most isolated

places on Earth, Albania today offers

a dynamic mix of old Balkan tradition

and new European optimism.

TIRANA

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Above: Brightly painted buildings are a trademark of Tirana. Below: Dancers in Albanian national costumes at the Tirana Spring Festival.

After the Berlin Wall’s collapse, Albania, like otherformer communist countries, began emerging fromnearly five decades of isolation under the repressiveregime of Enver Hoxha. Following massive peacefuldemonstrations in the winter of 1990 and spring of1991, the communist authorities allowed open, multi-party elections, marking Albania’s dramatic transitionto democracy.

Communism’s demise brought new freedoms for theAlbanian people and opened Albania’s long-closeddoors to the outside world.When Secretary of StateJames Baker visited in 1991,he was greeted warmly byhundreds of thousands ofpeople in the city’s mainsquare. Diplomatic relationswere reestablished later thatyear after 45 years.

The city’s chaotic streetsystem is a daily reminder ofthe Hoxha era. Paranoidabout the country beinginvaded, Hoxha outlawedmaps, resulting in streetswithout names and build-

ings without addresses. Location by proximity to a par-ticular landmark is a system both locals and newcomershave adopted with remarkable flexibility.

One such landmark is the U.S. Embassy, a tributeboth to its architectural prominence and the mission’sactive role in Albania. After diplomatic relations wererestored in 1991, the U.S. Mission reclaimed thechancery, originally built in 1929 as the Department’sfirst building designed specifically to house a diplomat-ic mission. In addition, the compound houses a sepa-

15MAY 2004

A T A G L A N C E

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2003

Country name: Albania

Capital: Tirana

Government: Democracy

Independence: Nov. 28, 1912 (from theOttoman Empire)

Population: 3.6 million

Religions: Muslim, Albanian Orthodoxand Roman Catholic

Languages: Albanian, Greek

Land mass: Over 12,800 square miles

Approximate size: Slightly smaller thanMaryland

Currency: lek (ALL)

Per capita income: $4,400

Exports: Textiles, asphalt, metal, crude oil,vegetables, fruits and tobacco

Poverty rate: 30 percent of populationbelow the poverty line

rate consular section and a recently renovated buildingfor the general services and regional security staff andmedical unit. A multistory, modern annex is underconstruction to house public affairs, the U.S. Agency forInternational Development and other elements. Justice,Commerce, Treasury and Defense are also very activelyengaged in Albania as is the Peace Corps. The missioncurrently numbers 84 Americans, including familymembers, and 341 locally employed staff.

The mission supports Albania’s aspiration to joinEuro-Atlantic structures and assists political, economic,legal and defense reform efforts. The embassy worksclosely with state and local authorities to improve bor-der and customs controls. Corruption and organizedcrime continue to be problems, and the United States ishelping the Albanian government overcome themthrough broad reforms. Albania has been a staunch allyin the global war on terrorism and has deployed troopsto both Iraq and Afghanistan. Albania also has troopsin Bosnia. The mission supports the country’s ongoingdemocratic transition with programs to strengthen civilsociety and encourage cultural and intellectualexchange between Albania and the United States.

Americans live in a variety of housing arrangements.The U.S. government-owned Rilindja Ridge compoundoffers a private, secure and family-friendly environ-ment. About a mile from the city center, the “Ridge” sitsatop a hill with a breathtaking view of the mountainrange surrounding Tirana. Residents take advantage ofthe new children’s playground and gym and the tenniscourt at the ambassador’s residence. The Marine Househosts Friday night happy hours and other social gather-ings. Construction of a multipurpose recreation centerwith a swimming pool and fitness center is to begin thissummer. Many embassy personnel now live in housesconcentrated in one of Tirana’s newer residential dis-tricts.

Tirana is undergoing a renaissance, with the city gov-ernment undertaking measures to alleviate traffic con-gestion, address vital infrastructure problems andspruce up the Hoxha era’s dingy visual legacy. Trafficlights are being installed for the first time. The manynew and often luxurious restaurants and shops liningthe main boulevards are juxtaposed with rubble waitingto be cleared. The once clear mountain view from thecity center is now partially obstructed by the modernhigh-rise construction. All of this contributes to anexciting sense of change as Tirana strives to transformitself into a vibrant European capital. In stark contrast,standing out among the sheep and cows that graze in

16 STATE MAGAZINE

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Above: Olive stands are typical ofopen-air markets in Tirana. Right:Finance staff members, from left,Anila Lleshi, Luljeta Shasha,Ajrina Topciu, Arleta Paskali andDonna Edmonds discuss budgetissues.

17MAY 2004

fields along the roads are the 700,000 round concretebunkers that dot the countryside, a ubiquitousreminder of Hoxha’s all-consuming national defensestrategy.

Despite the official paranoia of the past, Albaniansare strikingly open and hospitable and interested inAmerican and Western culture. Many Albanians arehighly educated and multilingual. The unrest of 1997,when pyramid investment schemes collapsed and thecountry fell into chaos, is slowly fading into memory ascrowds fill many cafes and restaurants late into theevening.

Tirana offers a surprising array of cultural events andgreat getaways for the traveler. Embassy staff enjoysopera, ballet and art exhibits at affordable prices. Thereare open-air markets filled with fresh produce andstores offering imported goods. Lessons in Albanian,music or tennis are affordable as are day trips and week-

end getaways. The mountains have hiking opportunitiesand striking landscapes, while Kruja, home of the 15th-century Albanian national hero Skanderberg, offers amedieval fortress, antiques, rugs and handicrafts. Thebeautiful beaches and clear blue waters of Vlora,Dhermi, Himara and Saranda are great escapes by theAdriatic. The Greek island of Corfu and theMontenegrin coasts are alternatives. Take a long week-end and visit Rome, Athens, Vienna, Budapest orIstanbul.

Albania’s capital mirrors a country in transition. Themayor of Tirana had many of the buildings surround-ing the town’s center repainted in bright colors, sym-bolizing Albania’s determination to work for a brighterfuture. ■

Mr. Saling was an intern in the political-economic sec-tion and Mr. Shott is assistant public affairs officer.

AnArchitecturalGem

Built in 1929, the chancery in Tirana isbelieved to be the oldest chancery buildingconstructed by the Department of State. Itoriginally housed the minister’s residence, asmall chancery, quarters for the secretary, agarage and servants’ quarters and a gatehouse.Wyeth and Sullivan of Washington, D.C.,designed the chancery, giving it the 18th-century Italianate appearance it retains today.

The Italian government rented the complexfrom 1946 to 1991. The United Statesregained control when U.S.-Albanian rela-tions were restored in 1991. Today, thechancery hums with the business of an activeembassy, a far cry from the pastoral quiet ofTirana in the 1930s.

The chancery building at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana.

18 STATE MAGAZINE

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

By William E. Kohlenbush

PropertyReal

Management

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The Office of Real Property Management in the Bureau of Administration opened inSeptember 1987. It manages the Department’s domestic leasing, design, construction, furni-ture selection, and architectural and engineering services.

Department employees occupy offices totaling approximately 7.6 million square feet. Toput this in perspective, the Harry S Truman Building has 2 million square feet. If you were tostuff State’s domestic properties into one building with each floor averaging 15,000 square feetyou would have a 500-story monster.

From left: Nathan Mackall, draftsman; Marianne Saunders, space management specialist; and Robert Sanders, architect.

RPM services all Department bureaus and personnelin the District of Columbia, 48 annexes—includingBlair House—and approximately 58 field offices, likethe National Passport Center in Portsmouth, N.H., andthe passport office in Honolulu.

Its 42-member staff work in two divisions thatinclude a computer-aided drafting office and a smallcadre of contractors.

RPM’s core business is designing and managing officerenovation projects. During the past 12 months, theoffice has managed more than 200 renovation projects andnew leases at a total cost of approximately $100 million.

The assignment and utilization division employsmanagement specialists, realty specialists, an architectand an interior designer who lease all domestic spacefollowing federal and State guidelines. They also con-

duct space studies, develop floor plans and assist inselecting finishes, furniture and other interior items.Maximum office use, efficiency and an attractive, pro-fessional work environment are their goals.

The design and construction division includes archi-tects, electrical, mechanical and civil engineers and con-struction management staff. While overseeing thedesign and construction of new buildings and the reno-vation of existing buildings, the staff ensures that allsecurity, telecommunications, safety, building andhandicapped accessibility codes are met. They workclosely with outside architectural and engineering firmsin preparing the designs.

One of RPM’s more recent leasing projects was thedesign and furnishing of the new Diplomatic Securityheadquarters building in Rosslyn, Va. The RPM staffworked with the General Services Administration, thebuilding owner, designers and contractors to ready343,000 square feet of space, consolidating the opera-tions of 1,200 Diplomatic Security employees formerlyscattered among five annexes. The project began in

September 2001 and was completed in June 2003. Theproject cost approximately $39 million—about $1 mil-lion under budget.

In response to Diplomatic Security’s 9-11 effort tobetter protect staff, RPM is working with security engi-neers to install special clear film on the inside of win-dows. During an explosion or blast, the film preventsthe glass from shattering on the occupants. GSA award-ed contracts totaling $4 million to apply the windowprotection in seven State facilities in the National CapitalRegion and 29other sites aroundthe country. Thework is scheduledto be completed inSeptember 2004.

Beyond theBeltway, theC h a r l e s t o nRegional Center isbeing upgraded.Originally meantto consolidatemost of ResourceM a n a g e m e n t ’sworldwide financial processing, the 8.7-acre site withfour buildings totaling 193,000 square feet was acquiredfree from the Department of Defense in March 1994.Renovation of the first building was completed in May.Since then, two other buildings have been renovated,allowing RM to expand and another bureau, ConsularAffairs, to establish the Charleston Passport Center. Thecenter opened in May 2000. The final building in RM’sconsolidation is a new 92,000-square-foot buildingcompleted this past April.

Another major project is the expansion of classroomsand addition of a permanent child care facility at the

19MAY 2004

During the past 12 months,RPM has managed more than200 renovation projects andnew leases at a total cost ofapproximately $100 million.

USUN new office building to be constructed onthe site of the existing mission in New York.

20 STATE MAGAZINE

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George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs TrainingCenter in Arlington, Va. This $24.2 million project pro-vides 129,000 square feet of additional training, officeand support space and 14,000 square feet for the childcare center. Construction is scheduled to be completedin 2007.

In July 2002, RPM managed the cleanup of theDepartment’s anthrax-contaminated mail facility inSterling, Va. More than 400 tons of mail-handlingequipment and furnishings were incinerated, steamsterilized and bathed in ethylene oxide. The cleanupteam included both federal and local officials.

In 1997, the Department agreed with GSA’s recom-mendation to build a new U.S. Mission to the UnitedNations on the site currently occupied by the mission.The move requires temporary relocation to anotherbuilding. An interim office building was leased inOctober 2003. Renovations are under way and move-in

is scheduled for June. The existingoffice building is scheduled to bedemolished in July and construc-tion of the new building will beginin January 2005. The project willbe completed in late 2007.

The demand for office spacegreatly exceeds its availability. Thisrequires RPM to be creative. Forinstance, when the Office ofMedical Services needed room forits 41,000 medical records, findinga building with floors strong

enough to support the weight was a challenge. RPMeventually leased space in an old Rosslyn movie theaterwith high ceilings, doubling the useable space andadding two floors. The site is adjacent to another annexand on a shuttle route.

Even though RPM manages domestic office space, itoften works with foreign governments occupying theInternational Chancery Center on 47 acres in theDistrict of Columbia. The center has 19 separate lotswith 16 existing chanceries. Two others, for China andMorocco, are planned. Buildings are constructed toreflect the architecture of the host country. RPM coor-dinates and reviews the designs with the NationalCapital Planning Commission and the Commission ofFine Arts. ■

The author is a program manager in Real PropertyManagement.

Top left: Robbie Morton and Deborah Will.Top right: Frances Hawkins. Left: fromleft, Tom Sgroi, Bob Mack, Hank Aldagand the author.

21MAY 2004

By Sterling Tilley Jr.

More than 90 new Foreign Service officers and spe-cialists from Chiang Mai to Australia met in Manila fortwo days of discussions about assignments, training,career development and family issues.

Senior Department officials headlined the Januaryevent by video broadcast with advice and perspective.Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, the keynote speaker,told the novice diplomats that “good leaders don’t standby waiting for direction, they do something when theyget the call.”

Manila Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Mussomeli offeredmore practical guidance. “You need good long-termstrategies, out-of-cone experience, balanced overseasand domestic assignments and seventh-floor job experi-ence.”

Making video appearances were Maura Harty, assis-tant secretary for Consular Affairs; William Eaton, assis-tant secretary for Administration; Kathy Peterson,director of the Foreign Service Institute; and BruceMorrison, acting chief information officer.

Marc Grossman, under secretary for Political Affairs,said diplomats need to move beyond passive observing

and reporting to promoting and protecting U.S.interests.

Paul Koh, deputy chief of mission in Singapore,was more specific. He encouraged more publicdiplomacy events and more attention to local tra-ditions and norms to increase support for U.S.policies.

“Use your diplomatic contacts more to exchangeinformation. Avoid having all the right answers.Help other countries come to conclusions on theirown instead of dictating to them,” Mr. Koh said.

The entry-level conference, Manila’s first, wasn’tall work. Attendees toured Manila, shopped,played golf, scuba dived and visited World War IIbattle sites. ■

The author is a consular officer in Manila.

FSI’s Kathy Peterson, left, and CDA’s Janet Bogue address conference participants, below.

NOVICE DIPLOMATS GETLOWDOWN ON CAREERS

22 STATE MAGAZINE

Recruiters SeekAmerican Indians

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By Paul Koscak

Oklahoma and the State Department are nearly 1,200miles apart, but for some it’s a distance beyond imagi-nation.

Only people from the coasts work at the StateDepartment. That’s an all too popular perceptionamong Midwesterners, according to Vlad Sambaiew,diplomat-in-residence at the University of Oklahoma.Mr. Sambaiew, a 27-year Foreign Service officer whohas served in Canada, France, Russia and Japan, nowserves America’s heartland—Oklahoma, Kansas,Missouri and Northern Texas—seeking AmericanIndian and other candidates for State Departmentcareers.

“In this part of the country, no matter if you’reAmerican Indian or not, people often don’t think ofbeing overseas as a profession,” he said. “They think

State Department positions are dominated by peoplefrom the East and West Coasts.”

Having people see beyond their geography is Mr.Sambaiew’s biggest challenge. “The idea of beinginvolved in international affairs, that you can do this fora living, is the hardest point to get across.”

With at least 8 percent of its students registered asAmerican Indian, the University of Oklahoma is per-haps the ideal location to change that outlook. The uni-versity, with its surprisingly eastern ambiance of iviedgothic buildings, is also centrally located near otherinstitutions and organizations serving the AmericanIndian community.

When Mr. Sambaiew arrived last August, he begannetworking for leads, visiting American Indian studentorganizations, student affairs directors and the universi-ty’s director of international programs, Edward Perkins.Mr. Perkins is the former director general of the Foreign

Vlad Sambaiew, top right, helps screen applicants with Richard Hope for Woodrow Wilson National Fellowships.

23MAY 2004

Service and director of Human Resources. He retired in1996. By making himself known, the resident diplomatis now a popular guest lecturer for international rela-tions and business courses.

Other times, working through the career servicesoffice, he offers lunchtime seminars on StateDepartment careers. He recently lectured to an interna-tional economics class at the Haskell Indian NationsUniversity in Lawrence, Kan. Mr. Sambaiew’s regularevening course in globalization has 42 students. At theUniversity of Texas at Dallas, an afternoon career semi-nar drew 31 students. That evening, his lecture on inter-

national trade at the univer-sity business school attracted52 students.

“I always use the time dur-ing my guest lectureships totalk about State Departmentcareers and opportunities,”he said. This summer, theDepartment will sponsor fiveinterns from the Universityof Oklahoma.

As minorities go,American Indians are excep-tionally represented in thefederal workforce. Number-ing about 2.5 million, or 0.9percent of Americans,

American Indians make upnearly 2 percent of the federal

work force, more than double their percentage of thepopulation. Hispanics, at 12.5 percent of the popula-tion, make up 6.4 percent of federal workers, andAfrican-Americans, at 13 percent, account for morethan 17 percent of federal employees.

Cheryl Coviello, a Foreign Service officer andrecruiter, also specializes in American Indians. She findsthe task challenging because many agencies and compa-nies are competing for a limited pool of qualified candi-dates.

At many professional American Indian conferences,the State Department is just another employer.“Everyone’s there—the Department of Commerce, theCIA, NASA. NASA even brought an astronaut claimingto be part Indian. Every agency wants a part of theaction.”

Ms. Coviello uses the American Indian Science andEngineering Society conference in Albuquerque, N.M.,and the Native American Education Society conferencein Greensboro, N.C., to promote careers with the StateDepartment. She recently visited tribal leaders inWisconsin. At the education conference, she gave teach-ers information about diplomatic careers to offer theirstudents. Through the American Indian Science andEngineering Society, the Department hired two summerinterns.

Like her colleague in Oklahoma, Ms. Coviello foundthat many American Indians are reluctant to relocate.“They just don’t want to leave home,” she said. ■

The author is a writer/editor for State Magazine.

Above: Vlad Sambaiew discusses career opportunities with Jennifer Nelson. Below: More than 40 students areenrolled in Mr. Sambaiew’s evening globalization course.

24 STATE MAGAZINE

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Like a sportsseason, anaggressive pub-lic relationscampaign tos t r e n g t h e n

American ties with Bangladesh kicks off another year.The spotlight’s on Rajshahi, a city in the northwest. Lastyear, it was Sylhet. And in 2002, when the America Weekroad show was first unleashed, Chittagong got the hon-ors.

Part public relations, part carnival, the America Weekroad show is an annual high-energy venue wherealmost 100 embassy employees and nationals promoteAmerican services and values throughout the country.It really doesn’t matter where the show travels providedit’s outside of Bangladesh’s capital, where news aboutAmerica is likely to be negative.

BY JOE MELLOTT

AN AMERICANROAD SHOW IN

BANGLADESH

Mohammed Hilal Uddin Chowdhury describes running a dairy farm to Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr., center, andUSAID Mission Director Gene George.

25MAY 2004

The event aims to thwart per-ceptions of anti-Muslim bias inthe United States fueled by newvisa requirements and the war in Afghanistan. Becauseinformation about America outside the capital is limit-ed, bringing the mission to the countryside leaves a last-ing impression and improves America’s image.

In Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second-largest city aswell as the country’s commercial hub and port, the mes-sage was commerce. The U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment took the lead with trade show-stylebooths and a catalog show that became the centerpiecein Chittagong’s business district. The consular sectionspoke to business owners about new visa requirementsand to students about study opportunities in the UnitedStates.

The road show also enhanced ties between the missionand the large security concerned American communityin Chittagong with a dinner hosted by the ambassador.An exhibit by a Bangladeshi-American photographer onthe 9/11 attacks, a jazz concert and coffee house-styleentertainment provided by embassy talent rounded outthe evening. The road show inspired a permanent officeat Chittagong International University called theAmerican Corner, linking American culture to the com-munity.

Building on the success at Chittagong, the road showmoved to Sylhet in northeastern Bangladesh, where theculture and language differ from the rest of the country.There, the show took on the flavor of a South Asian fair,

or mela, featuring seminars on trade, travel and theenvironment. News conferences and tours by theambassador, consul general, the USAID director andother officials engaged the media. The ambassador tookthe media to a local agribusiness supported by a USAIDpartner that produced the first pasteurized dairy prod-ucts in the region. The deputy chief of mission escortedthe media to a local clinic where USAID is improvinghealth care for Bangladeshi families. The high-profilevisits not only generated lots of positive news about U.S.officials turning up in unexpected places, but it kept themission informed.

Believing that many fraudulent documents stem frommisunderstanding of visa rules and procedures, consularofficers gave seminars on immigrant and diversity visas.The sessions produced better-prepared applicants andreduced some of the workload in the consular section.

Aside from the thousands of visitors and press cover-age the road shows attract, the events provide a rareopportunity for all the mission’s offices and agencies towork together. For those with access to a computer, theAmerica Week campaign continues online. AmericaWeek is the glue that holds numerous programs to-gether, and it’s the most cost-effective way to tell theAmerican story to a skeptical public. ■

The author is an economic officer in Dhaka.

THE EVENT AIMS TO

THWART PERCEPTIONS

OF ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS

IN THE UNITED STATES

FUELED BY NEW VISA

REQUIREMENTS AND

THE WAR IN

AFGHANISTAN.

Staff of an USAID-funded program display their clients’ products.

26 STATE MAGAZINE

Volunteers Learn From Studentsin Model U.N. ProgramBy Juliet Wurr

The students from Bell Multicultural High School inWashington, D.C., looked—frankly—bored. Someslouched in their chairs, gazing at the floor. One sat doo-dling in a notebook, his pen tracing the letters to form“Honduras” over and over. Three Asian girls sat atten-tively in the front row, but their puzzled looks suggestedthey hadn’t understood much of what had been said.

“We are here to work with you on Model UnitedNations,” said an enthusiastic Anthony Hogan of theUnited Nations Foundation.

Silence.This was going to be a difficult group, I concluded,

questioning my decision to spend an hour a week in aDistrict of Columbia multiethnic classroom.

But when we broke into groups, one Department ofState volunteer with three students, to discuss conflict

and conflict resolution, I remembered what brought mehere—why I had volunteered in the first place: theopportunity to expose young minds to new ideas andexperiences.

This opportunity was, in fact, what Tom Miller (nowU.S. Ambassador to Greece), and Jock Covey, retiredForeign Service officer, had in mind in 1991 when theylaunched the Washington High Schools InternationalStudies Partnership in 1991. What began as an outreachprogram involving 10 Department of State volunteersand 30 Cardozo High School students now engagesmore than 50 volunteers working with 100 studentsfrom four District of Columbia high schools.

Known now as the Model United NationsPartnership, the project receives funding from theUnited Nations Foundation, through a grant to the D.C.Program for U.N. Education, to create and advise on theModel U.N. curriculum. The District’s business com-

State Department volunteers Mark Weinberg and Eunice Reddick coach the Delegation of Spain.

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27MAY 2004

munity also supports the Department of State-D.C.Public Schools partnership.

The Bureau of International Organization Affairs,which manages the official program, recently organizeda lively event to commemorate nearly 14 years ofdynamic partnership by inviting students and teachersfrom five inner-city high schools to the Department.The March 12 event filled the Loy HendersonConference Room and included Model U.N. founders,donors and State Department volunteers.

In a cameo performance, Secretary Powell captivatedthe audience by recounting his childhood in the SouthBronx and the path to international understanding thatunfolded during his Army career. IO Assistant SecretaryKim Holmes emphasized the role of leadership in help-ing the U.N. perform efficiently and live up to its found-ing principles. Mr. Holmes encouraged StateDepartment volunteers to guide their students inacquiring diplomatic skills, so they could one daydefend U.S. interests in the multilateral arena.

Volunteers from the State Department often cite their“desire to give back” and to share their internationalexperience as the motivation for their involvement withModel U.N. But the students from Bell MulticulturalHigh School had plenty to tell us volunteers about con-flict and war. Peter from Sudan, Simegne from Ethiopiaand Juan-Carlos from Salvador—all came to the UnitedStates because of political upheaval in their countries ofbirth. Likewise, students at Anacostia, Cardozo andEastern high schools knew firsthand how violence shat-tered lives. We could learn from each other.

The culmination of the 12-week introduction to theUnited Nations and international affairs is a SecurityCouncil simulation held at the State Department.Students role-play as country representatives at a U.N.Security Council meeting and attempt to resolve a typi-cal international challenge. This year’s Model U.N.debated an international response to the global AIDSepidemic.

During the preceding weeks, students had researchedthe problem of HIV/AIDS and the policies of memberstates. They practiced writing resolutions and givingbriefings. At the simulation, it all had to come together.

Despite being awed by the Department’s impressiveLoy Henderson Conference Room, it didn’t take stu-dents long to start waving their country placards to berecognized to speak. As a coach, I sat behind the repre-sentatives from France and Germany, and watched asEastern High’s confident Dominique Cauley presentedFrance’s position on the AIDS crisis. Watching her

intently was the representative of Germany, Alpha—oneof my Bell students—eager to speak. At the podium hiswords came tumbling out, describing the devastationHIV/AIDS had wreaked on Africa. Alpha’s wordsweren’t a role-play, however, but a description of the lifehe’d known in his native Senegal.

The Security Council resolution adopted by the dele-gates at the end of the simulation reflected the opti-

mism of youth, and how the goodwill of all peopleworking together could solve any problem, however dif-ficult. It was an important reminder to those of usinvolved in the real—and often more contentious—world of conflict resolution.

The charter of the United Nations, adopted in 1945,embodies the aspirations of war-torn countries to livetogether in peace as good neighbors and to promotesocial progress. The Model United Nations Partnershipunderscores the Department of State’s commitment toensuring that vision is realized in its most immediateneighborhood—Washington, DC. As partners, theDepartment of State, the United Nations Foundation,the DC Program for U.N. Education, the D.C. businesscommunity and the D.C. public schools are equippingthe District’s youth to carry forth the United Nations’vision of international cooperation and harmony. ■

The author is a public diplomacy officer in the Bureau ofInternational Organization Affairs.

Students from Bell Multicultural High School and Eastern High School rep-resent the UN’s Russian delegation.

M28 STATE MAGAZINE

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Eurasian Youths SampleDemocracy American Style

By Christina Shaw

More than 100 teens from former Soviet republicssampled American democracy during a five-day work-shop sponsored by the Department’s Bureau ofEducational and Cultural Affairs and the Close UpFoundation. The young people toured the Lincoln andRoosevelt memorials and met with lawmakers andother officials as part of the Future Leaders ExchangeProgram, known as FLEX. The program, begun in 1992to promote democratic values and institutions inEurasia, involves about 1,400 students annually.

The 126 students also attended lectures at the EurasiaFoundation and at the Institute on Religion and Public

Policy. They created their own mock congress; listenedto presentations from Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana,chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,and Patricia Harrison, assistant secretary forEducational and Cultural Affairs; and appeared onC-Span during their whirlwind visit as part of FLEX’scivic education workshop.

Ms. Harrison described the teens as their countries’ambassadors. Only 12 percent of those applying for theWashington workshop were selected, based on theiressay-writing skills. ■

The author is an intern in the Bureau of Educationaland Cultural Affairs.

FLEX exchange students visit the FDR Memorial in Washington.

29MAY 2004

EDUCATION TRAININGGEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER

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

The Department’s Mandatory Leadershipand Management Training RequirementsThe Secretary has mandated leadership training from mid-through senior-grade levels for Foreign Service and Civil Serviceemployees to ensure that they are prepared for increasing levelsof responsibility. FSI’s Leadership and Management School offersthe required courses to meet these mandatory training require-ments and other courses.

Mandatory CoursesFS 3/GS 13: Basic Leadership Skills (PK245)FS 2/GS 14: Intermediate Leadership Skills (PT207)FS 1/GS 15: Advanced Leadership Skills (PT210)Newly promoted FS-OC/SES: Senior Executive Threshold

Seminar (PT133)EEO Diversity Awareness for Managers andSupervisors (PT107)

Some Non-Mandatory Recommendationsfor All FS and GS employees:PK246 Employee Relations SeminarPT121 Managing People ProblemsPT129 TeambuildingPT214 Managing Conflict ProductivelyPT251 Productively Managing StressPT252 Managing Up

Senior Policy Seminars:FSI’s Leadership and Management School offers the followingprofessional development and policy seminars for senior-levelexecutives of the Department and the foreign affairs/nationalsecurity community:PT 301 Appearing Effective in the MediaPT 302 Testifying before CongressPT 303 Crisis LeadershipPT 305 Executive as Coach and MentorPT 300 Leader as FacilitatorPT 304 Deputy Assistant Secretary as Leader

For more information, contact FSI’s Leadership and ManagementSchool at (703) 302-6743, FSILMS@state.gov or on the web athttp://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov/fsi/lms/.

FasTrac Distance Learning Program: Learn at YourOwn Pace, When and Where You Want! All State Department employees, LEs and EFMs are eligible.FasTrac offers more than 3,000 courses covering numerous topics.Training is conducted online through the Internet and theDepartment’s OpenNet. Students may complete courses toinclude on their official FSI transcript or take a course module theyneed to “get the job done.” Course lengths vary from two to

Security JUNE JULY LengthMQ911 SOS: Security Overseas Seminar 7,21 12,26 2 D

MQ912 ASOS: Advanced Security 1,14 6,20 1 DOverseas Seminar

MQ914 Security Overseas Seminar, Youth 8,22 6,13, 1 D20,27

Foreign Service Life Skills JUNE JULY LengthMQ104 Regulations, Allowances and Finances 23 14 3 D

MQ110 Deputy Chief of Mission Spouse 14 19 3 D

MQ115 Explaining America 10 1 D

MQ116 Protocol and U.S. Representation Abroad 19 17 1 D

MQ250 Young Diplomats Day 21 12,26 1 D

MQ703 Post Options for Employment and Training 3 1 D

MQ704 Targeting the Job Market 8 1 D

MQ801 Long Distance Relationships 12 .5 D

MQ803 Realities in the Foreign Service Life 5 31 1 D

MQ856 Promoting U.S. Wines 28 2.5 H

MQ915 Emergency Medical Care 26 1 Dand Trauma Workshop

Career Transition Center JUNE JULY LengthRV101 Retirement Planning Seminar 15 27 4 D

RV103 Financial and Estate Planning 17 29 1 D

RV104 Annuities & Benefits and Social Security 16 28 1 D

School of Language StudiesIncreased language enrollments from the Diplomatic ReadinessInitiative have required FSI’s School of Language Studies tochange class schedules. Classes are being run in double sessions.The morning session may begin as early as 7:30 a.m. and theafternoon session may end as late as 5:30 p.m.

eight hours and knowledge preassessments may shorten learningplans. To view the complete FasTrac catalog, visit the FasTracweb site at http://fsi.state.gov/fastrac. For additional informa-tion, please contact the Distance Learning Coordinator at theOffice of the Registrar, (703) 302-7497.

For additional information, please contact the Office of theRegistrar at (703) 302-7144.

Dates for FSI Transition Center courses are shown below. Forinformation on all the courses available at FSI, visit the FSISchedule of Courses on the Department of State’s OpenNet athttp://fsi.state.gov. FY 2004/2005 dates are now available in theonline catalog. See Department Notices for announcements ofnew courses and new course dates and periodic announcementsof external training opportunities sponsored by FSI.

&

S A F E T Y S C E N E

30 STATE MAGAZINE

A Primer on Bottled WaterBy Rudy Marrazzo

Have you noticed how many people are drinking bot-tled water these days? A lot, that’s for sure. In fact, bot-tled water is the fastest-growing beverage in the UnitedStates. It may also be one of the least understood.

Per capita consumption of bottled water in theUnited States has steadily increased over the past 10years, from 9.8 to 21.5 gallons per year, according to theInternational Bottled Water Association. That means agallon of some bottled water brands costs more than agallon of gasoline. In 2002, Americans drank an averageof 1.7 eight-ounce servings of bottled water per day.Only tap water (3.6 servings) and coffee (1.8 servings)ranked higher. Consumers say they like bottled water’staste, convenience and purity.

Is bottled water regulated? Yes. The bottled waterindustry is regulated by federal, state and industry (atleast members of the water association) standards. TheFood and Drug Administration requires that bottledwater meet requirements for food safety, labeling andinspection. By law, FDA standards for bottled water mustbe as stringent as EPA standards for public water systems.Bottled water is delivered to consumers in sanitary, sealedfood-grade containers. Soda, seltzer and tonic water areconsidered soft drinks and are regulated differently.

What types of bottled water are there? First, there’sspring water, derived from an underground formationfrom which water flows naturally to the earth’s surface.Purified water is produced by distillation, deionizationand reverse osmosis, or similar processes. Mineral watercontains no less than 250 parts per million total dis-solved solids such as sodium, calcium and magnesium.No minerals may be added to this product. Sparklingbottled water contains the same amount of carbondioxide it had as it emerged from the source. Artesianwater is bottled from a well that taps a confined aquifer(a water-bearing underground layer of rock or sand)where the water level stands at some height above thetop of the aquifer. Well water is bottled water from ahole, drilled or otherwise constructed in the ground totap the water aquifer.

What about imported bottled waters? They mustmeet the same federal and state regulations that apply todomestically produced bottled water brands.

How long can bottled water be stored? The FDA hasnot established a shelf life for bottled water, but the

international water association advises that bottledwater can be used indefinitely if stored properly at roomtemperature or cooler, out of direct sunlight and awayfrom solvents and chemicals.

What’s not in bottled water? For one thing, chlorine,often used to disinfect tap water, is not present. Nor isfluoride, which is added to prevent tooth decay.

While bottled water in the United States is consideredsafe, the same may not be true at some overseas loca-tions. You could easily be buying tap water in a bottle.It’s advisable to look for an international brand or oneused by a major airline or, preferably, one certified by

the National Sanitation Foundation International. TheNSF has added a number of international products toits list of certified-safe bottled water. Look for the NSFlogo and visit their web site at www.nsf.org for certifiedbottled water in your part of the world. For more infor-mation on bottled water, visit the IBWA web site atwww.bottledwater.org. ■

The author is a consultant in the Safety, Health andEnvironmental Management Division. PH

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STATE OF THE ARTS

31MAY 2004

By John Bentel

The Foreign Affairs Recreation Association and theState of the Arts Cultural Series recently hosted a vari-ety of performers—from a marimba player, pianist,dancer and jazz artist to a full orchestra.

The opening series, “From Stravinsky to Piazzolla”,embodied the rich Latin music of pianist Polly Fermanand the captivating dancing of Valeria Solomonoff.

Guitarist Frank Gaskin Jr. and percussionist VictorChase and their World Jazz Ensemble rendered anupbeat celebration of original jazz.

The Moscow Chamber Orchestra, under the direc-tion of Constantine Orbelian, celebrated 70 years ofdiplomatic relations between Washington and Moscowwith a concert of classical music, opening withBoccherini’s Symphony in D minor. Solo artists includ-ed pianist Carol Rosenberger, cellist Nina Kotova andviolinist Mikhail Simonyan. The orchestra surprised theaudience with Libertango by Argentine composer AstorPiazzolla. The lively selection, led by Mr. Simonyan onviolin, brought the audience to their feet.

John Tarcza concluded the series with his classicalmarimba, a large instrument complete with resonators,which evoked an almost spiritual sound. The highschool teacher from Northern Virginia has performedin many orchestral concerts. ■

The author is a computer specialist in the ExecutiveSecretariat.

Series Mixes Jazzwith Classical Music

Pianist Polly Ferman and dancer Valeria Solomonoff after their performance.

WIRED

May 5 State Department and GeorgetownUniversity piano student recital

May 19 Sujin Hong performing classicalpiano works

June 9 Wendy Elizabeth Paeth, soprano

June 23 WIRED: Music of the 50s and 60s,pop & rock, blues, country, funkand classic rock

July 21 Bedlam: Early American Music

Performances are on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m.in the Dean Acheson Auditorium.

“It was a dream come true,” he said.An intrepid spirit, Mr. Littlewood spent his

early career at sea on Navy research ships. Hejoined the State Department in 1961 andretired in 1981 as chief of the office of scienceand technology. His last post was Indonesia.

“I was chief scientist on some of the largestoceanographic ships during the 1950s,” herecalls. Much of that time was spent onthree-month voyages researching ocean den-sity and depths—data necessary for charts.Because water density distorts sonar, Mr.Littlewood explained, submarine command-ers used this information to avoid detection.

He also spent lots of time at the bottom ofthe world.

“Antarctica is as large as the United Statesand Mexico together.”

Mr. Littlewood’s return to Antarcticaoccurred when he met a government touristofficial from Argentina at an Explorers Clubmeeting. After explaining his work in theWeddell Sea, his close scientific tie withArgentina and a longing to visit the outcrop,or nunataks, that bears his name, the agentarranged for him to travel there on anArgentine icebreaker. Nunataks is an Inuitword for promontory. Mr. Littlewood’s out-cropping, about the size of a city block, jutsthrough glacial ice.

He displayed a rust-color rock taken fromhis ledge and noted that similar rock is found

32 STATE MAGAZINE

P E O P L E L I K E Y O U

a cold warriorStory by Paul Koscak

Bill Littlewood proudly displays the flag he brought toAntarctica and returned to The Explorers Club in NewYork in March.

Bill Littlewood never came in from the cold. The formeroceanographer, Foreign Service officer and Antarctic explorerrecently returned from that frozen continent, where he visitedan outcropping named in his honor.

in the Southwest because “the North American conti-nent and Antarctica were attached about one billionyears ago.”

The scientist received the honor for his research dur-ing Operation Deep Freeze, a four-year project involv-ing several trips to the Antarctic during the late 1950s.

Mr. Littlewood’s name, submitted by the project’s geol-ogists, was approved by the U.S. Board of GeographicNames.

“It was the best weather of all the trips I’ve taken toAntarctica,” said Mr. Littlewood, who first visited thebarren land in 1956, about his 46-day trip. “There wereonly a few whitecaps in the usually unruly DrakePassage below South America, and we could easily pushthrough the belts of pack ice and navigate around ice-bergs.”

Always the adventurer, Mr. Littlewood traveled fromthe icebreaker to the rock formation by helicopter andleft behind a container holding a proclamation docu-menting his visit and why the formation was named inhis honor.

Approaching 80, the soft-spoken scientist andBethesda, Md., resident now fills his time volunteeringwith the Associates of the American Foreign ServiceWorldwide, managing the organization’s stamp andvaluables collection and assisting with its annual bookfair. He’s also a member of the Explorers ClubWashington, D.C. chapter. ■

The author is a writer/editor for State Magazine.

33MAY 2004

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Above: The Argentine icebreaker Almirante Irizar before departing to Antarctica. Below: Along the way to Antarctica, Bill Littlewood, left,visits Lino Gutierrez, U.S. Ambassador to Argentina.

34 STATE MAGAZINE

O B I T U A R I E S

A. Dwight Anderson, 79, a retiredForeign Service courier, diedNov. 17, 2003, in Wahoo, Neb., ofcomplications from heart diseaseand diabetes. He joined theDepartment in 1955 and servedin Frankfurt, Panama City,Manila, Bangkok and Washing-ton, D.C. He continued his

courier work part-time for five years after retiring in1983. Mr. Anderson served in the U.S. Navy in the SouthPacific during World War II.

James Haruso Ashida, 83, a retired Foreign Service offi-cer, died Aug. 23, 2003, in Manhattan Beach, Calif. AnArmy intelligence officer in the Pacific Theater duringand immediately following World War II, Mr. Ashidajoined the Department in 1952. He served in Greece,Iran, Lebanon, Sudan, Japan, Vietnam and Liberia,retiring in 1979. He was serving in Saigon in April 1975and was among the last American employees evacuatedby helicopter from the embassy compound.

Eve Baker, 47, a Foreign Serviceofficer, died Feb. 2 of cancer inPasadena, Calif. A practicingentertainment and civil rightsattorney before joining theDepartment in the spring of2002, Ms. Baker was training foran assignment in Yaoundé whenshe was diagnosed with cancer.

Her lifelong interest in human rights inspired her toproduce the short film “Massacres: New Poetry forRemembering,” featured at the 1992 Havana FilmFestival. In 1997 and again in 1998, Ms. Baker moni-tored elections in El Salvador in delegations led by for-mer President Jimmy Carter.

George F. Bogardus, 86, a retired Foreign Service officer,died Nov. 27, 2003, in Bethesda, Md., of pneumonia andsevere complications after a long illness. Before joiningthe Department, he served during World War II in theOffice of Strategic Services. His overseas assignmentsincluded Montreal, Mombasa, Prague, Algiers, Toronto,Hamburg, Saigon and Stuttgart.

Anne L. “Nancy” Carroll, 84, aretired Foreign Service specialist,died Dec. 23, 2003, of heart dis-ease in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.She served in the U.S. Navy dur-ing World War II and joined theDepartment in 1947. Ms. Carrollheld assignments in 13 postsabroad, including London, Santo

Domingo, Santiago, Jakarta, Tokyo and Phnom Penh.In 1977, she retired to Idaho, where she enjoyed playinggolf and bridge.

Vivian A. Ferrin, 77, a retiredCivil Service employee, died Jan.5 from a stroke in Royal PalmBeach, Fla. Born in Jamaica, Mr.Ferrin immigrated to the UnitedStates in 1946 and became a U.S.citizen in 1952. An attorney, heserved in the U.S. Army duringthe Korean War and then joined

the Bureau of Consular Affairs. After directing thePhiladelphia Passport Agency for 12 years, he returnedto Washington as the first black employee to head thebureau’s Passport Division, with its 14 regional offices.He entered the Senior Executive Service in 1984 andretired three years later. He remained a consultant to theDepartment until 1989. He was appointed to the RoyalPalm Beach Council in 1998 and was elected to twoterms before retiring from office in 2003. A volunteer onmany community boards, Mr. Ferrin was the founderand chairman of the board of Caribbean Americans forCommunity Involvement.

John F. Ford, 77, a retired Diplomatic Security agent,died Nov. 9, 2003, at Massachusetts General Hospital inBoston. He joined the Department in 1951. His last postwas as special agent in charge of the Boston Field Office.He continued to work as a contractor for 12 years afterhis retirement. Mr. Ford served in the U.S. Navy duringWorld War II.

Matthew James Looram Jr., 82, a retired Foreign Serviceofficer, died March 16 in Langau, Austria. He joined theDepartment in 1948 after serving as an officer in theU.S. Army with the 13th Airborne Division duringWorld War II. Mr. Looram’s Foreign Service assign-

35MAY 2004

O B I T U A R I E S

ments included Rome, Paris, Asmara and Washington,D.C. He was U.S. Ambassador to Dahomey (now Benin)from 1969 to 1972 and to Somalia from 1972 to 1974. In1974, he retired with his wife to her hometown ofLangau in the state of Lower Austria, near the Czechborder, where his favorite pastimes were drawing andfly fishing.

Howard Meyers, 86, a retiredForeign Service officer, diedFeb. 6 of complications followingcoronary artery bypass surgery atthe Washington Hospital Centerin Washington, D.C. An attorneyand Army counterintelligenceofficer in the Asian Theater dur-ing World War II, he served in

Japan in the post-war period revising the basic Japaneselegal codes. He joined the Department in 1949 as a spe-cialist in security issues, developing policies on armscontrol and international atomic energy problems. Hewas a member of the U.S. delegations to conferences inParis, New York and London from 1951 to 1957 andheld embassy positions in London, Brussels and Tokyo.In Washington, Mr. Meyers directed operations in theOffice of Political-Military Affairs from 1962 to 1966and the Office of Strategic and General Research from1973 to 1974. He was staff director of the PresidentialGeneral Advisory Committee on Arms Control andDisarmament and later special assistant to the directorof the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agencyfrom 1974 to 1977. Before retiring in 1977, Mr. Meyersheaded two U.S. delegations to international arms con-trol conferences in Geneva and co-chaired theCommittee on Disarmament with the Soviet represen-tative. He continued to work at the Department follow-ing his retirement, declassifying documents in accor-dance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Paul M. Miller, 86, a retired Foreign Service officer, diedJan. 25 in Springfield, Vt. He served with the FirstMarine Battalion in the Asian and Pacific Theaters dur-ing World War II and joined the Foreign Service short-ly afterward. He served in London, Geneva and Belfast;two tours in Hong Kong, Manila, Tokyo, Taichun,Taipei, Santo Domingo, Mexico City and Washington,D.C.; and briefly in La Paz. Mr. Miller retired in 1978

but was called back for a temporary assignment toTehran soon afterward. He left the country shortlybefore revolutionaries seized the embassy and tookhostages in 1979. After retiring, he taught English as asecond language in San Francisco and Chinese historyat Dartmouth College’s Institute for Lifelong Education.

Robert J. Nemeth, 60, a retiredForeign Service officer, died Dec.13, 2003, of a liver ailment atInova Fairfax Hospital inNorthern Virginia. He joined theForeign Service in 1975 afterserving in the Army during theVietnam War. He was a politicalofficer in Mexico, Spain,

Bahrain, Jamaica, Egypt and Washington, D.C. Mr.Nemeth volunteered with the Boy Scouts.

C.J. “Patrick” Quinlan, 81, a retired Foreign Service offi-cer, died Oct. 27, 2003, in Edina, Minn. He served in theU.S. Army Air Force during World War II and joined theDepartment in 1950. A Near East specialist, Mr.Quinlan served in Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, Turkey,Oman, Libya and Washington, D.C. From 1978 to 1979he was a diplomat in residence at Oakland University inRochester, Mich. After retiring in 1980, Mr. Quinlantaught classes on the Middle East with Elderhostel andthe University of Minnesota’s extension system. He wasa freelance columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribuneand a frequent guest commentator on Middle Easternaffairs for radio and television stations in the TwinCities area.

William Smith, 83, a retiredForeign Service officer, died ofcongestive heart failure July 10,2003, in Swansea, Mass. Hejoined the Foreign Service in1946 after serving as aboatswain’s mate in the U.S.Navy during World War II. Hisoverseas posts included Tokyo,

Manila, Tehran, Dhaka, Paris and Montevideo. Afterretiring in 1975, Mr. Smith summered in Maine andwintered in Montevideo, Uruguay.

36 STATE MAGAZINE

O B I T U A R I E S

Helen S. Steele, 92, a retiredForeign Service specialist, diedJan. 18 of congestive heart failureat Huntington MemorialHospital in Pasadena, Calif. Bornin Valparaiso, Chile, of mission-ary parents, Mrs. Steele movedwith her family to Eagle Rock,Calif., upon the death of her

father in 1924. She joined the Department in 1935 andwas the secretary for the U.S. Ambassador to Chile dur-ing World War II. During her 30-year career she servedin a number of posts abroad and, briefly, as secretary toEleanor Roosevelt. She retired from the Department in1965 and embarked on a second career as secretary forthe Washington School of Ballet and, later, as executivesecretary for the National Architectural AccreditationBoard.

Janet Sorg Stoltzfus, 73, wife ofretired Ambassador William A.Stoltzfus Jr., died March 5 inPrinceton, N.J., after an extend-ed illness. In 1954 she taughtEnglish at the Beirut College forWomen in Lebanon, where shemet her husband, a ForeignService officer at the U.S.

Embassy. Married later that year, the couple moved onto their first posting together in Kuwait. Over the next28 years, Mrs. Stoltzfus was a headmistress and teacherat the English School of Kuwait and the AmericanSchool in Damascus. She founded the Taiz CooperativeSchool in Taiz, Yemen, and developed a Head Start-styleprogram for low-income children in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia. In 1976, she moved to Princeton, N.J., whereshe served for 12 years as a faculty member at PrincetonDay School until she retired in 1994.

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

Ballow, Barry E.Greco, Charles SaverioHazelett, Barbara W.Inamasu, Carol S.Love, Joyce C.

Munger, Lillian N.Renchard, Randolph W.Shifflett, Alice M.Watts, Judy Kay

Adams, Mary LouAndrusyszyn, Walter E.Benyik, JuliusEscobedo Jr., LouisGleeson, James Dennis

Howd, Jo AnnKane, Hedy V.Larocque, Stephen JamesLeather, Edmund R.Noon, Joseph F.

Smith, Glenn A.Sparks, Charles E.Stallings, Alden P.

FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENTS CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENTS

IN THE EVENT OF DEATHQuestions concerning deaths in service should be

directed to the Employee Services Center, theDepartment’s contact office for all deaths in service:Harry S Truman Building, Room 1252, Departmentof State, Washington, DC 20520-1252; (202) 647-3432; fax: (202) 647-1429; e-mail: EmployeeServicesCenter@state.gov.

Questions concerning the deaths of retired ForeignService empl