lutely sure before we enter into any agreement that it is going to work. And they are entitled to believe that. Q. Mr. Secretary, further on the Middle East, January first had for a long time been considered a deadline or turning point in the area. Now it appears, hopefully, that the cease-fire is holding. But both parties have recently referred to May, the President's trip to Moscow, as another turning point. What do we expect, what kind of agreement do we hope to come out of that U.S.-Soviet discussion on the Middle East at the summit level? A. I give you the same answer I gave in connection with the Chinese visit. We, of course, are not sure what will be the result of that visit in this regard. I think I also should mention that Ambassador Jarring has indicated that he plans to return to the United Nations at least by January 15. So I think all of us, all nations, should do what we can to encourage the parties to begin negotiations under his auspices. And I think that is something we will want to work on very diligently between now and January 15. Q. Mr. Secretary, you mentioned in the beginning the Administration's desire to push for the replenishment of the Inter-American Development Fund, but you didn't mention anything about World Bank or either of the others. Are you equally concerned about those? A. Yes. I mentioned this because this primarily is of concern to the Latin Americans and because we have been slow in the replenishment process. But we are interested in these other organizations and appropriations for them. Q. Mr. Secretary, you've spoken about the world, could you talk a little about your own personal plans. Do you think you will be here through next year and after that as well? A. Well, I haven't talked to the President about whether he wants me for the whole eight years. But I appreciate very much your confidence in the re-election of the President. That, I am sure, is a confidence that we all share. Q. Mr. Secretary, what do you expect from the Presi dent's meeting with Chancellor Brandt next week in Florida? A. Well, I am sure that it will have some beneficial effects. I think that, in addition to the discussions which the President will have with Chancellor Brandt about his visits to Moscow and Peking, we will be particularly interested in the discussions about the Berlin settlement, and about how he sees the events developing in the future, and particularly about the conference on the European security. I would like to say in this connection that at the last NATO meeting, the positions that the Federal Republic took and the United States took were quite the same, quite supportive, and I think the relations between the two of us are very good. I think it comes at a good time. And I know that the President will be particularly interested in expressing his appreciation to the Chancellor for the offset agreement. Q. Mr. Secretary, would you follow that on the relationship and the meeting between the President and Mr. Sato which follows very shortly after? A. Yes. Well, I think that there again we have a lot of things to talk about with Mr. Sato. Our relations with Japan are of the utmost importance, and I think it will give the President an opportunity, on a personal_basis over an extended period of time, to state to the Prime Minister exactly what we have in mind in these visits, to give him reassurance that we will not take any action which will be damaging in any sense of the word to Japan or to our relations with Japan. Japan, as I say, is the cornerstone of our relations in the Pacific. It is essential to peace in the area. We have managed since World War II to develop a very close relationship with Japan, and it is essential that we maintain it and that the confidence between our two Governments continues, that we have mutual trust and confidence, and that some of the fears and concerns that have been expressed by some are put to rest. And I think this will give the President an opportunity to do that. For Secretary Rogers' concluding remarks about Foreign Service Officers, see boxed statement on page 3. SPECIAL AGENTS COURSE-New Agents and Security Officers met in the Department early last month to attend the Basic Special Agents Course. At the sessions were, left to right, Henri G. Grignon, Assistant Director for Personnel Security; Donald D. Daley, Deputy Chief, Division of Investigations; David A. Peterson; Charles E. Stephan; Raymond J. Russell; Wayne P. Kalas; Frank M. Porpotage; James J. Blystone; Walter F. Blyle; William F. Gibson; G. Marvin Gentile, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security; Melvin L. Harrison; Carl D. Harrison; Kenneth R. Maffia; David L. Roberts; Clyde May; Craig S. Craigo; and Robert L. Berry, Chief, Division of Investigations. SELECTION-OUT POSTPONED President Nixon Signs New Executive Order On Employee-Management Relations in the FS President Nixon on December 17 signed the Executive Order establishing the system of employee-management relations in the Foreign Service. The Executive Order became effective December 24 when it was published in the Federal Register. The Order-together with a section-by-section analysis-also was published as a special supplement to the January issue of the NEWSLETTER. The supplement was distributed to all Foreign Service employees at home and abroad. In a related action, the Department announced on December 21 that priority will be given to two matters: • Developing a definitive grievance procedure for the Department, USIA and AID. • Holding consultations regarding State's system of involuntary retirement ("selection out") established pursuant to Section 633 of the Foreign Service Act. Pending this re-examination the Department is postponing until June 30, 1972, the departure from the Foreign Service of those "relatively few of its officers who are or in the intervening period might otherwise become subject to involuntary retirement in accordance with Section 633 of the Foreign Service Act." "The Department continues to believe that a fair and effective system of involuntary retirement is an important ingredient of a strong Foreign Service," the December 21 Notice added. "However, the new employeemanagement relations system, which calls for both significant consultation with employees and a review by the Board of the Foreign Service, provides a particularly appropriate means through which to re-examine the procedures which have been used to implement involuntary retirement. 99 A Department Notice issued to Foreign Service personnel in State on December 27 pointed out that the President's Executive Order "contains the ground rules for an entirely new era of employee management relations." The Notice summarized three basic elements of the Order: • An election will be held under the supervision of an impartial em mendations to the Board. Agency management may not implement a management decision being appealed unless the head of the agency determines that immediate action is required in the national interest. Employees were urged to study the documents which will play an important part in the evolution of personnel programs and practices for the Foreign Service. "The foreign affairs agencies are committed to the conscientious im plementation of the President's new program," the Notice concluded. "We are confident that this commitment is shared by the members of the Foreign Service and that all concerned will contribute their utmost to the success of this endeavor." FS BOARD DIRECTS PROMPT ACTION The Board of the Foreign Service, with Under Secretary John N. Irwin, II, in the chair, met on January 5, to hear a preliminary report of the work of the Board's Employment Management Relations Commission established December 24, under Executive Order 11636. The Commission is to supervise employee elections, decide on complaints of alleged unfair practices, and deal with other employee relations matters. The Executive Order provides that employees of each foreign affairs agency be given an opportunity to decide if they wish to have an organization represent them, and if so which one, as their exclusive representative in dealing with agency officials on conditions of service. The Board requested that all employees of the Department of State, AID and USIA be informed that the Commission has already begun informal consultations with employee organizations and with management representatives of the agencies to elicit their views on how the Commission should proceed with its work. Speaking for the Board, Under Secretary Irwin directed that the process of implementing the President's Executive Order should proceed as quickly as possible, so that elections may be held at the earliest feasible date. He pointed out that early elections will make it possible to proceed more rapidly with the process by which the selected employee representative in each foreign affairs agency can participate in developing a permanent grievance procedure to substitute for the interim one now in force. The Board's Commission on Employee-Management Relations consists of: David P. Taylor, Assistant Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Chairman; Mrs. Jayne B. Spain, Vice Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission; and Edward B. Persons, Associate Deputy Under Secretary, Department of Labor. The Under Secretary announced the appointment of a new Executive Secretary of the Board of the Foreign Service, Morris Weisz, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Labor and most recently the Counselor for Labor Affairs in the Embassy at New Delhi. His major responsibility will be to work with the Commission in performing its duties under the Executive Order. NEW AUTHORITY Executive Order Widens Board's Scope The Board of the Foreign Service has been given new power and new scope under President Nixon's recent Executive Order on employeemanagement relations of the Foreign Service. Headed by Under Secretary John N. Irwin, II, the Board is empowered to consider major policy issues arising under the Executive Order. It will also consider appeals on substantive aspects of personnel policy; proposed amendments to the Executive Order; interpretation of the Order, and recommendations on regulations to implement the Order. In addition, the Board of the Foreign Service will continue to advise the Secretary on policies relating to the functions, selection, assignment, rating, and promotion of foreign affairs officers, and the general management of the foreign affairs establishment. A new Employee-Management Relations Commission also is established as a committee of the Board of the Foreign Service. The Commission is charged with deciding questions relating to the eligibility of organizations for recognition, to supervise elections, to decide complaints of alleged unfair practices and alleged violations of standards of conduct for organizations, and to decide questions of whether an obligation to consult exists. The Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Service has been directed under President Nixon's Executive Order to designate a five-member Disputes Panel to assist in resolving disputes arising out of consultation between agencies and organizations. The Disputes Panel is directed to make findings of fact and recommendations to the Board of the Foreign Service in cases where appeals are made under Section 9 of the Executive Order. President Nixon's recent Executive Order is the latest in a series of actions to broaden the powers of the Board of the Foreign Service. Its predecessor, the Foreign Service Personnel Board, was the center of much controversy from 1925 to 1931. The Moses-Linthicum Act of 1931 established a new Board of Foreign Service Personnel. The Board's structure and functions-its very Under the provisions of President The membership of the Board of the Foreign Service was enlarged to include representatives of Agriculture and Commerce, but they sat only when matters pertaining to the interests of their Departments were under consideration. During World War II the State Department's job of personnel management increased considerably, and the operation of the Foreign Service was left increasingly to experts. The Board of the Foreign Service served as an "overseer" of personnel affairs. Newsom Replaces Trezise As FS Board Member David D. Newsom, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, has replaced Philip H. Trezise on the Board of the Foreign Service. Mr. Trezise, who had served as Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, retired on November 27. Under Secretary John N. Irwin, II, is Chairman of the Board. William B. Macomber, Jr., Deputy Under Secretary for Management, is Vice Chair man. Other members of the Board of the Foreign Service, and their alternates, are: Robert E. Hampton, Chairman, Civil Service Commission; Raymond Jacobson, Director, Bureau of Policies and Standards, Civil Service Commission, Alternate. Henry Loomis, Deputy Director, USIA; Lionel S. Mosley, Assistant Director, Personnel and Training, USIA, Alternate. Barbara M. White, Deputy Direc- Martin J. Hillenbrand, Assistant The Deputy Under Secretary for The Foreign Service Act of 1946 empowered the Board of the Foreign empowered the Board of the Foreign Service to "make recommendations to the Secretary concerning the functions of the Service; the policies and procedures to govern the selection, assignment, rating and promotion of Foreign Service officers; and the poli- Deputy Under Secretary, Department cies and procedures to govern the administration and personnel management of the Service; and shall perform other such duties as are vested in it by other sections of this Act or by the terms of any other Act." The legislation again gave the On December 31, 1965, Executive The Board presently consists of five officials of the Department, of whom one is designated from the Agency for International Develop ment. In addition, there are representatives from the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor, and from the U.S. Information Agency. The Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission also sits on the Board. The Secretary may from time to time invite the participation of other agencies. of Labor, Alternate. Harold B. Scott, Acting Assistant Secretary for Domestic and International Business, Department of Commerce; Robert E. Simpson, Director, Office of International Commercial Relations, Alternate; Donald S. Gilpatric, Director, Office of Foreign Commercial Services, Department of Commerce, Alternate. Ambassador William O. Hall, Director General of the Foreign Service, serves as Executive Director of the Board of the Foreign Service. Robert C. Brewster, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Personnel, is Ambasador Hall's Alternate. Morris Weisz, former Counselor for Labor Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, is Executive Secretary. Frank C. Carlucci, Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget, is an Observer on the Board. His Alternate is James Frey, Director of the International Programs Division, Office of Management and Budget. PRESIDENT SIGNS ORDER Federal Employees Get 5.5% Pay Raise President Nixon on December 22 signed Public Law 92-210 and issued Executive Order 11637 granting a pay raise of 5.5 percent for most Federal civilian employees and military personnel. In the Department, approximately 12,000 General Schedule (Civil Service) and Foreign Service employees will receive the raise. The increase became effective the pay period beginning January 9. It will be reflected in checks delivered on February 3. Some employees stationed abroad, however, may receive their checks a few days later-depending on the normal distribution of pay checks to their posts. Among employees who will receive the increases are personnel whose salaries are fixed administratively at rates within the range of the General CATEGORY & GRADE 76 Schedule and the Foreign Service Several groups of employees did A few employees in the first step of FSO-1 and FSR-1, in the upper steps of GS-16 and GS-17, and in equivalent rates of pay, will receive 2 3 4 5 President Nixon's recent Executive Order was the second adjustment required by the Federal Pay Comparability Act of 1970. The President signed an Executive Order on January 8, 1971, approving the first adjustment, averaging 5.96 percent, for most Federal employees. Under the Federal Pay Comparability Law, white-collar and military pay is to be adjusted annually, based on a comparison with industry conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The amount of basic insurance carried by an employee under the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance program was increased automatically, effective January 9. Increased income tax withholdings will be applied to salaries paid on or after January 16. Some employeesespecially those claiming zero or fewer deductions than the number to which they are entitled-may desire to rereview their needs and file new Form W-4 to make such changes in withholding they consider necessary. 9 10 raises but the increase will be less $36,000 17 16 2 15 3 25,583 26,436 27,289 28,142 28,995 29,848 30,701 31,554 32,407 33,2 23,354 24,132 24,910 25,688 26,466 27,244 28,022 260 1 14 4 23,354 24,132 24,910 25,688 26,466 27,244 28,022 28,800 29,578 30,356 21,960 22,692 |23,424 24,156 24,888 25,620 26,352 27,084 27,816 28,548 18,737 19,362 19,987 20,612 21,237 21,862 22,487 18,737 19,362 19,987 20,612 21,237 21,862 22,487 23,112 23,737 24,362 15,866 16,395 16,924 17,453 17,982 18,511 19,040 19,569 20,098 20,627 15,224 15,732 16,240 16,748 17,256 17,764 18,272 15,224 15,732 16,240 16,748 17,256 17,764 18,272 18,780 19,288 19,796 13,309 13,753 14,197 14,641 15,085 15,529 15,973 16,417 16,861 17,305 12,573 12,992 13,411 13,830 14,249 14,668 15,087 12,573 12,992 13,411 13,830 14,249 14,668 15,087 15,506 15,925 16,344 12,151 12,556 12,961 13,366 13,771 14,176 14,581 14,986 15,391 15, 796 5 11,279 11,655 12,031 12,407 12,783 13,159 13,535 13,911 14,287 14,663 11,046 11,414|11,782 12,150 12,518 12,886|13,254 13,622 13,990 14,358 10,566 10,918 11,270 11,622 11,974 12,326 12,678 10,116 10,453 10,790 11,127 11,464 11,801 12,138 12,475 12,812 13,149 10,013 10,347 10,681 11,015 11,349 11,683 12,017 12,351 12,685 13,019 9,073 9,375 9,677 9,979 10,281 10,583 10,885 11,187 11,489 11,791 9,053 9,355 9,657 9,959 10,261 10,563 10,865 9,053 9,355 9,657 9,959 10,261 10,563 10,865 11,167 11,469 11,771 8,153 8,425 8,697 8,969 9,241 9,513 9,785 10,057 10,329 10,601 8,408 8,679 8,950 9,221 9,492 9,763 10,034 10,305 7,319 7, 563 7,807 7,540 7,783 6,544 6,762 6,980 7,1 ,198 416 7,634 7,852 8 3,070 8,288 8,506 5,828 6,022 6,216 6,410 6,604 380 7,574 *The salary for employees at these rates is limited by section 5308 of title 5 of the United States Code to the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule THE WATCH OFFICE "we draw up a detailed itinerary of his movements. It's damn seldom that he's going to be somewhere where we A Report on the Operations Center can't reach him. a The top-secret briefing book and the officer at the airport were routine service continually provided by the 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year State Department Operations Center. The Operations Center this year is celebrating its 10th anniversary. While it has not held a birthday party, it has proved its worth and is currently expanding its quarters on the State Department's 7th floor. The Operations Center was conceived by President John F. Kennedy, who suffered through the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Before, communicators and code clerks kept an eye out for incoming messages and distributed them around the machin ery of government. Today highly trained officers follow developments in the State Department office, trying to anticipate trouble and analyze possible options in good time. “One of the main efforts of the Operations Center is to get action started early, so that at the start of a working day we are not in the position of 'commencing to begin,'" said Karl D. Ackerman, the center's director. Ackerman, 44, is a solidly built administrative specialist who had had a variety of foreign assignmentsOslo, Taipei, and Bangkok. A graduate of Notre Dame, he talks confidently and with enthusiasm. Thus, on Dec. 3, as the IndiaPakistan war erupted, a special work ing group was established to follow events. The group is formally headed by Christopher Van Hollen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs. In the Operations Center about half a dozen experts watch the course of hostilities around the clock for as long as the crisis continues. The working group scans cables and Pakistan and compares them with from U. S. diplomatic posts in India the latest dispatches of United Press International, the Associated Press, Reuter and countless radio broadcasts monitored by the U. S. government's foreign broadcast information service. The working groups issue periodic reports on the situation and distribute them around the government, keeping particularly close touch with the Situation Room in the White House, and the National Military Command Center in the Defense Department. If an extraordinary event should occur, the working group would issue a special edition of its report. The working group may suggest possible options. But it is not a policymaking group. Action if needed would be recommended to the President by the Washington Special Action Group at the White House. WASAG is a crisis-oriented interagency committee established under President Nixon's revamped National Security Council and chaired by Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, presidential assistant for National Security Affairs. is a central desk located beside an The nub of the Operations Center array of charts and clocks that give Greenwich Mean Time and local time in New Delhi, Washington, Western Europe, Britain, Moscow, Saigon, Tokyo, and the Middle East. A formidable console of linking lights and immediate communications to almost any part of the world crowd the desk. A lieutenant colonel, assigned from the Pentagon, is part of the regular Operations Center watch team, just as a Foreign Service Officer is part of the watch at the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon to facilitate coordination. The Operations Center prides itself on keeping close touch with the Secretary of State, wherever he may be, and the department's top officials. "Whenever the Secretary of State goes on a trip," one official explained, "Through the facilities of Andrews Air Force Base, we can communicate with him instantaneously when his plane is in the air. In fact, it's pretty easy to reach his aircraft even when it's on the ground. "If the Secretary had a special request for information about the IndoPakistan war when he was flying homeward, we could easily have drawn up the material and dispatched it directly to his aircraft," the official said. The Operations Center has more to worry about than just the IndoPakistan war. It has to follow all tense situations, and foresee problems where they have not yet come to the surface. Once in a while, the center gets caught up in an extraordinary unforeseen problem. Several weeks ago, for example, an amateur radio operator in suburban Silver Spring, Md., telephoned the State Department after mid-night. He was connected with the Operations Center and told the officer on duty that he had intercepted an urgent radio message for medicine for an ailing child in Caracas, Venezuela. Because of the efforts of the Operations Center in the middle of the night (and the cooperation of the National Military Command Center and a num ber of ordinary citizens who got involved) the medicine was on the way to the child in Venezuela within 12 hours. Recreation Association Elects New Board Members Newly elected members of the Board of Directors were recently announced by the State-USIA Recreation Association. They are: State-Edward G. Boehm, Director of Financial Services, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Finance, and James Edgins, Special Projects Manager, OfDivision. fice of Operations, General Services AID Viessa Jackson, Chief Secretarial Recruiter, Office of Personnel and Manpower, and Grace Leonard, Assistant Chief, Welfare and Grievance Staff, Office of Personnel and Manpower. USIA Steve Barkanic, Assistant Project Officer, Exhibits Division, Information Center Service, and June Miller, Management Analyst in the Office of Administration. |