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Letters to the Editor

Reorganization is the subject of several articles in this issue and a topic of much discussion since Congress passed the long-awaited Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998. The act merges the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the U.S. Information Agency with State, with ACDA officially becoming part of the State family on April 1 and USIA on Oct. 1. But already, as Undersecretary for Management Bonnie Cohen tells us, "We are becoming one team and one family."

It takes a lot of teamwork to organize official functions of State, we learn in our feature on the 70-year-old Office of the Chief of Protocol. There's an interesting sidebar, too, on Blair House, the President's official guest house, operated by the Protocol folks. The amenities are nice, but you won't find it in a bed-and-breakfast directory.

Vientiane, considered one of Asia's hidden treasures, is our featured Post of the Month, and many old Asian hands will visit these pages with nostalgia--at least we hope so--and will write us about their own experience at this hardship post.

Also in this issue, we meet some "Third Culture Kids," children of Foreign Service families whose mobility and international environments shape their lives. Always the new kid on the block or in school, these global nomads have acquired characteristics that set them apart as pioneers of a new global culture.

Most of us wear many hats, but some folks among us wear two distinctive hats--military reservist and Department employee. Handling both is demanding, but most of those interviewed consider their military obligation "enriching."

Finally, in this issue, we introduce a new section, "People Like You," which we hope you will find interesting and support. We're confident that there are, indeed, many People Like You among our readers. Do let us hear from you.

The staff at State Magazine wishes all our readers a safe, happy and fulfilling new year.

Carl Goodman

We encourage your responses to particular articles featured in State Magazine Online. We do, however, reserve the right to edit parts of letters for space requirements. Only signed letters will be considered. Names may be withheld upon request.

Dear Editor:

Just a minor nitpick. Your article on Edinburgh in the October issue refers to "whiskey." This is the Irish version. The Scottish version is either Scotch or whisky. The name is derived from the Gaelic "uisge beatha," which translated literally means "water of life."

Allan MacLeod
Edinburgh

We'll drink to that!--The Editors

Cheers to the Web Site

Dear Editor:

I stumbled onto your home page and find it extraordinarily rich in content and easy to navigate. It will serve as a excellent way for me and my wife, also a retired Foreign Service officer, to stay in touch with the Foreign Service community.

C. Edward Bernier
Hilton Head Island, S.C.

For the Record

Dear Editor:

I read with interest and pleasure the articles in October's issue about disabled Foreign Service officers. There is an error, however, in the article "Extraordinary Achievers" that should be corrected. The article states that the first blind officer joined the Foreign Service in 1991. I joined the U.S. Information Agency in 1983 and am also blind, not to the extent that I need a guide dog, but within the legal definition of blindness. Mine is a visual field deficiency, the result of a head injury, that restricts my reading and prevents me from driving.

I look forward to the day when all hurdles to successful participation by disabled employees are gone.

Roy Glover
USIA Program Officer
Educational and Cultural Affairs

Part of the Team

Dear Editor:

In his October article about the bombing crisis in Tanzania, Deputy Chief of Mission John E. Lange praised an embassy husband who assisted at the airport, noting that he was "not even a U.S. government employee." As a Foreign Service spouse, I am proud, but not at all surprised, to hear of this husband's contribution. We spouses can be found not only pitching in during a crisis, but also assisting evacuees in Washington, helping to build a sense of community overseas, and simply taking on the jobs--paid or unpaid--that need to be done. We may not be part of the country team, but we are definitely part of the team in the country. You can continue to count on us.

Patricia Linderman
Leipzig

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