AAFSW: Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide

Professional Associates Program expanded

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:25:13 GMT

The Under Secretary for Management at the Department of State has announced an expansion of the Professional Associates (PA) Program a program that provides additional professional-level, full-time employment opportunities overseas for appointment-eligible family members.

Could expatriate voters influence America's presidential election?

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:18:32 GMT

American expatriates may have had only a small impact on the past few elections but they are keenly following this one. So far they have contributed much more money than in previous campaigns. And there are signs that by polling day in November, they may also turn that interest into power at the ballot box. The Economist.

US says about 170 Americans evacuated from Georgia

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:01:13 GMT

The U.S. State Department said on Monday it had helped to evacuate at least 170 American citizens from Georgia as well as dependents of embassy staff in the capital Tbilisi because of fighting with Russia. Reuters.

Department of State expands Professional Associates program

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:57:42 GMT

In July 2008, the Under Secretary for Management announced the expansion of the Professional Associates (PA) Program, which provides additional professional-level, full-time employment opportunities overseas for appointment-eligible family members (AEFMs) and fills critical positions with well-qualified personnel.

State department employee wins recognition for international diplomacy

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:52:58 GMT

Thirty-four-year-old Crystal Kaplan works for the Department of State as a Regional Refugee Coordinator. A finalist in the National Security and International Affairs category of the awards, Kaplan helped to resettle more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees from the camps they have been living in for nearly two decades. OhMyGov!

Op-Ed: Make Diplomacy, Not War

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:50:27 GMT

The United States is hugely overinvesting in military tools and underinvesting in diplomatic tools. The result is a lopsided foreign policy that antagonizes the rest of the world and is ineffective in tackling many modern problems. The New York Times.

Terrorist Bombings in Kenya, Tanzania Remembered

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:34:58 GMT

Ten years ago today, hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured by simultaneous terrorist bombings at the United States embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The attacks were linked to al Qaeda. Edith Bartley lost her husband and son in the attacks. Bartley discusses her grief, moving forward, and her thoughts about the government's response to the bombings. NPR's Tell Me More.

SOSA Nominations Requested

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:33:36 GMT

The deadline is approaching for nominations from overseas posts for the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad (SOSA) - September 12, 2008. Find out how you can nominate a volunteer in your community!

New mega-embassies underscore close U.S., China ties

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:01:55 GMT

The new U.S. Embassy in the Chinese capital is a sprawling maze of glass and concrete that's the second biggest construction project in the history of the State Department. President Bush himself will inaugurate the complex Friday. McClatchy Washington Bureau.

Credit for unused sick leave may be on the way

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:52:32 GMT

Some call it the “FERS flu” — the increase in the number of sick leave days taken by employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System as they near retirement.

But Rep. James Moran, D-Va., thinks he’s found the cure. Moran successfully added a provision to a major tobacco bill the House passed late last week that would pay FERS employees for their unused sick leave — by giving them the same annuity credit for that time received by their colleagues in the more generous and older Civil Service Retirement System. The Federal Times.