Luanda, Angola

Overview:

One of Africa's major oil producers, Angola is striving to tackle the physical, social and political legacy of a 27-year civil war that ravaged the country after independence.  Following the withdrawal of the Portuguese colonial masters in 1975, the rival former independence movements competed for power until 2002.  Much of Angola's oil wealth lies in Cabinda province, where a decades-long separatist conflict simmers.  The government has sent thousands of troops to subdue the rebellion in the enclave, which has no border with the rest of Angola. Human rights groups have alleged abuses against civilians. Joao Lourenco became the country's first new president in 38 years in September 2017. 

Source:  BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Luanda:

As mentioned in the Banjul blog our arrival in Luanda was delayed by three days because our connecting flight was delayed from Banjul to Lisbon through Madrid.  I had been to Luanda in 2002 for the previous OIG inspection.  At that time, we stayed in the nice hotel Tropico.  However, this time there were no rooms available in the Tropical because Texaco had reserved all the rooms for a conference.  The Hotel Mundial that the embassy arranged for us was barely a Three-Star. The Management Officer, Margaret Hartley, was very apologetic that they couldn’t find better accommodations.   My colleague, Rick Jones, the other management inspector was responsible for facilities and general services had a lot of findings.  There were not a lot of formal recommendations in my area Human Resources and Financial Management.  In fact, the Financial Management Officer (FMO), Heny Yang was on his first tour and he would ask me all kinds of questions, which I was happy to answer.  It turns out Henry ended up as the FSN Payroll Chief at the CGFS finance center in Bangkok. 

Findings:

Recommendations made for facilities and general services (GSO) in the OIG report included the need for space planning, a new emergency generator and funding for a new warehouse.  Also, funding for a fitness center and changing rooms.  GSO should solicit bids E-Travel service contract and implement use of blanket purchase agreements for its freight forwarding/packing and other frequently purchased items.  Conduct a residential lease survey and a management control review of its property management function.  Lastly, require the accountable property officer to document its 2008 annual inventory in accordance with Department regulations for nonexpendable property and the expendable supply system. 

Human resource findings included hiring a direct-hire office management specialist to work for the deputy chief of mission.  There was an ethical question raised with respect to an embassy staff accepting the gift of day care services from the Angolan state oil company.  The Local Compensation plan should be amended to include transportation and vacation allowance plus there should be a health insurance contract local staff.  The embassy local staff needed customer service training. 

Highlights:

There was not much to do in Luanda but seafood was plentiful and we did manage to get out to eat.   
We also visited the Benfica Market just outside Luanda and bargained for local handicrafts including paintings, jewelry, textiles and baskets. Bargaining was required. 

Luanda Corniche and Skyline

Horrendous traffic going to the embassy everyday

Angola is a prime spot for illegal ivory trade

Poorer section of Luanda

  

Just south of Luanda is the peninsula of Mussulo, which is known for its beach.  The peninsula is 18 miles long and a mile and a half wide, boasting a lovely beach that offers great views of the city beach huts and restaurants.  

Brian and me eating shellfish on the peninsula.

Madrid, Spain

Highlights:

• Nice to have a weekend in Madrid just to sightsee.

• Besides visiting all the popular tourist sites I ate a some good Spanish restaurants and tasted their cuisine.  One place near the Royal Palace was the La Mi Venta which featured the best Iberian ham in Madrid.  Besides the ham they had a good selection of Tapas and Pinchos, which was skewered meat, from Northern Spain Basque region.  

Prado Museum with classic paintings by famous artists like El Greco, Grancisco Goya 

and Diego Velazquez 

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch

Fuente de Cibeles and Gran Via

Plaza Mayor

Royal Palace and Gardens

Cathedral de la Almudena

La Mi Venta 

Banjul, The Gambia

Overview:

The Gambia is one of Africa's smallest countries and, unlike many of its west Africa neighbors, has enjoyed long spells of stability since independence.  President Yahya Jammeh ruled the country with an iron fist after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994. His 22-year rule came to an end in 2016, when he was defeated in a shock election result by the main opposition candidate, Adama Barrow.  Jammeh only left office after mediation by neighboring countries and the threat of armed intervention.  Stability has not translated into prosperity. Despite the presence of the Gambia River, which runs through the middle of the country, only one-sixth of the land is arable and poor soil quality has led to the predominance of one crop - peanuts.  Tourism is an important source of foreign exchange, as is the money sent home by Gambians living abroad. Most visitors are drawn to the resorts that occupy a stretch of the Atlantic coast.  

Source:  BBC Country Profiles

American Embassy Banjul:

Ambassador Mike Senko, who had served as Ambassador to the Marshall Islands and Kiribati, was our team leader.  He had been a Marine sergeant and didn't take any guff.  He was quite distinguished and wore a very formal Stetson hat.   He had succeeded Joan Plaisted, who was my DCM in Rabat, Morocco, as Ambassador.  Small world the Foreign Service.

This was my first overseas inspection after retiring.  Brian Mohler, POL/ECON, was deputy team leader, other team members were Kathryn Berck, Rick Jones, Christopher Mack, and Patrick Whalen.  Patrick was a Diplomatic Security inspector on his first inspection. He only stayed with the OIG for a couple of years and transferred to DS.  His wife had delivered their second child and he wanted spend more time with his family.  Chris Mack ended up leaving for personal reasons.  

Our SPANAir flight out of Banjul on Friday, October 17 was delayed 8 hours into Madrid, consequently we missed our connection to Lisbon and remaining flights were fully booked.  Instead of going to Lisbon we were put up in a hotel in Madrid by the airline for the weekend and didn't arrive in Luanda until Monday, three days later.  The inspection took place between between October 8 and 16, 2008. See separate blog on the stay in Madrid.   

In addition to covering financial management and human resources I had to review information technology as well without a lot of previous experience to training.  The DCM, Brian Bachman, was also responsible for management but was a political cone officer without any management previous experience or training.   We recommended that the DCM retake the "How to be a Certifying Officer" course and pass the exam to be designated as the principal certifying officer for Embassy Banjul.  We didn't normally make recommendations for new positions but, in any case, no embassy should be without a management officer.  Other recommendations made included:

Findings:

We recommended that the embassy:

·       Conduct an internal control review in conjunction with the chief of mission annual management controls assurance.  There were issues with charging ORE staff time and transportation while working on representation functions to official residence expenses and amend the official residence expense servants' contracts to exclude overtime.  Also, require U.S. dollar payments for reimbursement of representation, travel claims, and travel advances be made by electronic funds transfers to employees' bank accounts.

·      Ensure that the information services center's server room is equipped with a power-off switch and request that the regional computer security office conduct a site audit on its computer infrastructure. Also, install the Call-Bill system and automate the process of reconciling telephone bills with the local service and enforce a policy that prohibits making local and long- distance personal calls from government phones.

·       Establish a contract with a local medical doctor.

•  Review the life, safety, and liability issues associated with the use of the embassy evacuation   boat and issue embassy administrative notice.

Highlights:

There was not much to do in Banjul proper.  We did get out to the port and only briefly visited the city and local market.  Our hotel was on the beach and had a nice pool.  We also got out to Juffure which  is famous, from Alex Haley's 1976 bestselling book 'Roots' and Kunte Kinte’s entry into slavery.   

                                                                          

James Island

  

Local Market

Juffure on the banks of the Gambia is described alternately as an 'unremarkable fishing village' on the banks of the river.   It is now also home to a World Heritage building housing a slavery museum. According to local spoken history, the founder of Juffure was Samba Taal, who migrating there in the early part of the 1500s, discovered that the Portuguese, as was their wont, had already arrived.

Favorite Jul Brew and peel and eat shrimp

 

2007 Year In Review

Highlights:

Continued stream of visitors from CGFS/Charleston, the new Comptroller of the Department Brad Higgins and Jim Millett including courtesy calls with the new Ambassador .  Brad Higgins came to the Department after 20 years on Wall Street including working at Goldman-Sachs.  He last worked in Iraq on the $18 billion Reconstruction project.  Also,  a revolving door of CGFS/Charleston staff plus Management Counselors and FMOs on consultations in route to embassies in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region.  

 

                                        

• Bill Marjenhoff headed up the training effort.  I got more involved in financial management training classes at the center greeting new students and conducting some training in the vouchering, cashiering, travel policy and payroll courses.  Plus, handing out certificates of completion to participants.  Also gave me an opportunity to see former LE Staff that I worked with and in the future running into staff we trained in subsequent years while with the OIG.  One of the trainers from Charleston was Wagih Ibrahim.  Wagih came to CGFS from Embassy Cairo where he was the Senior Financial Specialist.  He became as U.S. citizen and followed that to become a FMO and is presently in Athens after serving his first tour in Brussels.             

• Started electronic document storage project (IDOX) for converting paper files.

• Established Post Support Unit (PSU) headed up by Wasan for processing travel vouchers and originally servicing "distressed posts" (DPSU) like Baghdad.  I was grateful for the support of retired FMO Morgan Byrnes during his TDY visits in setting up the PSU.  Morgan still works at CGFS/PSU/CHS and lives here on Daniel Island.  

• March 23rd attended reception honoring Peace Corps Thailand 45th Anniversary celebration.  Peace Corps Director Jody Olson attended as well as Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.  I knew Jody when she was PC Director in Togo and I was at the Africa Bureau of PC/Washington.  Over 100 PCVs were serving in Thailand at the time.

• April 24-28 hosted a Regionalization workshop at the Plaza Athenee and had a visit by the Comptroller Brad Higgins and Charlie Grover.  Charlie retired and now works with the Organization of America States and I heard subsequently back to State working with ICASS.

Ambassador Chip Boyce with Natananee, Mai and 

With my boss Charlie Grover who visited Bangkok a few times.

• May 14-25 travelled to Beijing with Bill Margenhoff to conduct training in a Basic and an Advanced Voucher Examiner courses.  Training was requested by FMO Mazar Hassan and included a dependent spouse Dave Hamel in the class who ended up becoming a FMO and who I coincidentally inspected in 2012 while with the OIG he was assigned to Nassau.  Dave is now working with CGFS in Washington D.C.

• Took an R&R and travelled through Paris June 7-11, then on to Washington D.C. to attend the Retirement Seminar and then annual leave and travel to to visit family in Portland, Maine, Boston and then Washington D.C. 

• From June 29 to July 14 I was back in Charleston on consultations.  Also, for an appointment for an Ultra Sound for my Urologist Dr. Fogle.

• I received my Class 2 medical clearance to return to Bangkok on October 11.  

• Ambassador Boyce departed Thailand November 29, 2007 and was replaced in the interim by Charge' Jim Entwistle who became Ambassador to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.   Jim Millett visited the last week as well and did farewell to Ambassador Boyce.  

• Attended the ICASS Budget Workshop held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Singapore December 3-6 and gave a CGFS presentation in the place of DAS Jim Millette who could not attend.   

Favorite Memories:

• Visit to Ankor Wat in Cambodia January 13-15.

Fred, Bill and Amika, Doris and other Embassy folks.

Also see: Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Angkor Wat, Cambodia

• January 20-21 fun Tennis Tournament in Pataya against the local Thai Police 

• Wine and Steak night at the Marine House.  The Detachment Commander lived in our apartment house and we would get together on occasion to socialize. 

• Weekend of March 17-18 with brother Chris visited Kanchanaburi site of the infamous "Death Railway" and Bridge on the River Kwai, Japanese prison camp and WWII cemetery.  

• Played softball with the embassy team on the weekends in March and April

• April 6-8 visited Hanoi with son David on a CLO trip including Halong Bay.

Kuhn Jeed with Marilyn, Steve and Fran, Bill and Amika and David

          For more photos see Doris and Bill (dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com)

• April 28 friends from Charleston Bob and Glo Novello visited us overnight from their Crystal  cruise ship while docked at the Port of Laem Chabang.

• April 29 had lunch at the Intercontinental with old Peace Corps friend Jim Robertson and his wife Claire.  They remained good friends and have visited us and see them when we go to Washington.  Jim recently retired for good after working with F (Foreign Assistance) bureau post retirement.  

• During our trip to Beijing in May we took advantage of visiting the wall at and Doris did a lot of shopping at various stores including the "dirt" market.  In fact, we picked up a few rugs for our new house, yet to be built. 

         See Doris and Bill (dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com)

• June 8 - 11 we visited Paris in June on R&R in route back to the States.  We stayed in the 6th Arrondissement (St. Germain) in a nice boutique hotel.  Remember the first day we arrived we slept until 9:00 p.m. just in time for dinner at a local bistro and caught some live jazz after.  Got caught in a victory celebration of the Stade Francais Rugby Team on the Champs Elysees.

• From June12-15 I attended the Retirement Seminar in the Department.

• While in the States on R&R we visited Dick and Raine in York, Maine and took a trip up to Boothbay and visited the White Mountains.  While in Boothbay there was a fleet of tall ships as well as a replica of the Bounty pirate ship that was used in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean".   Doris also visited with her friends from school.

• The end of June we also visited Doris' cousin Janet and Frank in Boston and had lunch in the North End.    

• Our return to Bangkok was delayed due to my having to undergo prostate surgery in Charleston followed by a period of recovery which included working at the CGFS Finance Center.  I was finally able to return to Bangkok September 27.

• On July 16 Patrick's son, my grandson, was born.

• Doris had the opportunity to work at the Mai La refugee camp on the Thai border with Burma in Mae Sot during November-December.  She worked with a small group of mostly American relief workers screening potential refugees for potential resettlement to the U.S..  The camp was sponsored by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).  I had the occasion to visit Doris over the weekend of November 9-11.      

See Mae Sot | Doris and Bill (dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com)

Top U.S. News Stories of the Year:

• The Senate confirms Mike McConnell as the director of National Intelligence (Feb. 6).
• President Bush vetoes the $124 billion spending bill passed by Congress for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill called on the Bush administration to establish benchmarks for the Iraqi government that, if met, set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. It was only the second time in Bush's presidency that he used the veto (May 1).
• President Bush vetoes legislation, passed by Congress, that eases restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (June 7).
• Karl Rove, highly influential and controversial advisor to President Bush, announces his resignation.
• The minimum wage increases to $5.85, up from $5.15. It's the first increase in 10 years. The wage will increase 70 cents each year through 2009, when it will be $7.25 an hour (July 24).
• California Democrat Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman speaker of the House and will preside over the 100th Congress. Democrats take control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994).
• Gen. David Petraeus tells members of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees that the U.S. military needs more time to meet its goals in Iraq. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker also testifies, saying that while Iraqi leaders and the people are capable of—and desire to—bridge the sectarian divide, "I frankly do not expect that we will see rapid progress" (Sep. 10).
• President Bush announces that a surge of an additional 20,000 troops will be deployed to Baghdad to try to stem the sectarian fighting (Jan. 10).
• President Bush signs law that legalizes government eavesdropping of telephone conversations and emails of American citizens and people overseas without a warrant as long as there is a "reasonable belief" that one party is not in the United States (Aug. 5).
• President Bush signs an energy bill that requires passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. to have fuel economy standards of 35 mpg by 2020, a 40% increase over the current standard. Measure also calls for an increase in the production of ethanol and other biofuels to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, up from the current 5 billion (Dec. 19).
• Supreme Court rules, 5-4, that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate automobile emissions of heat-trapping gases and that the agency cannot shirk its responsibility to do so unless it provides a scientific reason (April 2).

Top World Stories of the Year:

• Gordon Brown replaces Tony Blair as the prime minister of Great Britain (June 27).
• A National Intelligence Estimate says "with high confidence" that Iran froze its nuclear weapons program in 2003. The report contradicts one written in 2005 that stated Iran was determined to continue developing such weapons (Dec. 3).
• The African National Congress chooses Jacob Zuma as its leader, ousting South African president Thabo Mbeki (Dec. 18).
• Australian prime minister John Howard loses to the Labor Party's Kevin Rudd (Nov. 24).
• Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe abruptly announces his resignation. The move follows a string of scandals and his party's recent defeat in parliamentary elections, in which his Liberal Democratic Party lost control of the upper house to the opposition Democratic Party (Sep. 12). Yasuo Fukuda is elected prime minister of Japan (Sep. 23).
• Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner is elected Argentina's first woman president. She succeeds her husband, Nstor Kirchner (Oct. 28).
• Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is easily reelected to a third term by the country's national and provincial assemblies
• After a month of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations that include hundreds of monks, Burmese government forces shoot at crowds, raid pagodas, and arrest monks. Dozens of people are killed. The protests are the largest in Myanmar in 20 years (Sep. 26)
• Abdullah Gul, of the Justice and Development Party, is elected president of Turkey in the third round of voting by the country's parliament. He is the first Islamist president in the country's modern history (Aug. 28).
• President Ramos-Horta names independence activist Xanana Gusmo as prime minister of East Timor (Aug. 6).
• India and U.S. reach an accord on civilian nuclear power that allows India, which has not signed.
•  Russian president Vladimir Putin announces that the country will suspend its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, a cold-war era agreement that limits the deployment of heavy weaponry (July 14).
• Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, and Rev. Ian Paisley, the head of the Democratic Unionist Party, meet face-to-face for the first time and hash out an agreement for a power-sharing government (March 26).
• David Hicks, an Australian, pleads guilty to providing material support to al Qaeda. He's the first Guantnamo Bay detainee to be convicted by a military commission (March 26).
• Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko dissolves Parliament and accuses Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich of attempting to consolidate power (April 2).
• The International Court of Justice rules that the slaughter of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica in 1995 was genocide (Feb. 26).
• The U.S. begins its "surge" of some 30,000 troops to Iraq to stem increasingly deadly attacks by insurgents and militias (Feb. 7).
• President Vladimir Putin announces Russia will suspend the 1990 Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, which limits conventional weapons in Europe (April 26).
• Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union, bringing the number of member nations to 27 (Jan. 1).
• Leaders of Hamas and Fatah, two rival Palestinian factions, meet in Mecca and reach a deal to end hostilities and form a unity government (Feb. 7).
• In the second round of French presidential elections, Conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy defeats Socialist candidate Sgol?ne Royal, 53.1% to 46.9% (May 6).
• Two pairs of truck bombs explode about five miles apart in the remote, northwestern Iraqi towns of Qahtaniya and Jazeera, killing at least 500 members of the minority Yazidi community, making it the single deadliest insurgent attack of the war (Aug. 14).
• Seventeen Iraqi civilians are killed when employees of private security company Blackwater USA reportedly fire on a car that failed to stop at the request of a police officer (Sep. 16).
• In a landmark deal, North Korea agrees to disclose details about its nuclear facilities, including how much plutonium it has produced, and dismantle all of its nuclear facilities by the end of 2007. In exchange, the country will receive some 950,000 metric tons of fuel oil or financial aid. The
• Violence breaks out between rival tribes after preliminary results in Kenya's presidential elections show opposition candidate Raila Odinga, of the Orange Democratic Movement, defeating incumbent Mwai Kibaki, 57% to 39% (Dec. 27).

Movies

"The Departed" won the Oscar for best picture at the 79th Academy Awards.  Forest Whitaker won lead actor award for "The last king of Scotland”, and the lead actress Oscar went to Helen Mirren "The Queen".  Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls" and Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine" won for supporting actress and supporting actor.

Super Bowl

 Super Bowl XLI (41) was played between AFC champion   Indianapolis Colts and the NFC champion Chicago Bears to decide   the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2006 season.   The Colts defeated the Bears by the score of 29–17. The game was   played on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens,   Florida.  In the first Super Bowl played in rainy conditions, the Colts   overcame a 14–6 first-quarter deficit to outscore the Bears 23–3 in     the last three quarters. Chicago posted the then-earliest lead in Super   Bowl history when returner Devin Hester ran back the opening   kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown after 14 seconds had elapsed. The Colts forced five turnovers, including cornerback Kelvin Hayden's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown. Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri also scored three field goals. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP), completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, with one interception.

World Series

 The Red Sox won their second World Series in four seasons, edging      the Colorado Rockies, 4-3, in Game 4 at Coors Field. They are the      first team to win multiple championships since 2000.  Mike Lowell      doubled and homered and was named most valuable player in the        Series for hitting .400 with six runs scored and four runs batted in.        Jon Lester — who, like Lowell, is a cancer survivor — worked five     and two-thirds shutout innings for the victory.  Jonathan Papelbon
                                                         earned his third save of the series.
                                                    

Recap of 2007 Grand Slam Tennis Tournament Winners

·         Australian Open Men's Singles. Winner – Roger Federer defeated Fernando Gonzalez

·       French Open Men's Singles. Winner– Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer

·         Wimbledon Men's Singles. Winner – Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal

          US Open Men's Singles. Winner –  Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic

Australian Open Ladies Singles. Winner – Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova

French Open Ladies Singles. Winner– Justine Henin defeated Ana Ivanovic

Wimbledon Ladies Singles. Winner – Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli

US Open Ladies Singles. Winner – Justine Henin defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova

2006 Year in Review

Highlights

• TDY to the Financial Support and Training Office (FSTO)  in Paris to spell the Director from  January 9 - February 3.  The office had been moved from its previous location in the 8th arrondissement fairly close to the embassy to the Neo Building on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th.  Instead of staying in a hotel we stayed in an embassy apartment in the Neuilly compound.  Doris and I took a bus into central Paris every day an would usually meet for lunch.  Besides sightseeing and shopping Doris did manage to buy her wedding dress.         

• I had a couple of major projects to head up as chief of disbursing at CGFS/CHS.  The first was to continue the ongoing effort to convert embassies from check payments to Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).  When I took over we only had 60 embassies converted to EFT.  It required posts to deal banks that were members of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial  Telecommunication to facilitate electronic payments.  It was a continuing challenge for not only making vendor payments but also employee payroll processing.

• The second major challenge was to implement the Paper Check Conversion (PCC) Program.  This effort required processing accommodation exchange checks from FSOs at embassies electronically through PCC.  This program allowed our embassy cashiers to scan the checks immediately via PCC as opposed to having the send the checks to a financial service center for processing.  This was a much faster system and also meant processing the checks at the prevailing rate of exchange for local currency.       

• I was promoted to the Senior Foreign Service in March and attended the Senior Executive Seminar in April 12-28. 

Senior Seminar Certificate

Senior Foreign Service Certificate

Senior Class

      Signed by President Bush  

• March 13-14, DAS Offsite, followed by a Disbursing Conference March 15-17 at the Raddisson Hotel in North Charleston.

• Doris made a trip to visit her sister Raine and her husband Dick in York, Maine from April 6-10.  While there she was able to shop at the Polo outlet store for my underwear and at Stonewall Kitchen to stock up on jams and my favorite Roasted Garlic Peanut sauce.

• Every year during April-May was probably my most demanding and time consuming period preparing Employee Evaluation Reports (EERs) for my staff of eight FSOs for the past year and establishing Work Requirements for the new evaluation period.      

• Continued individual meetings with Management Officers and FMOs on consultations before going out to embassies on assignments.  

• June 3-8 attended a CGFS/CHS offsite with RFMS User Group workshop in Budapest, Hungary.  The timing coincided with Jim Millett's birthday and we celebrated on a cruise of the Danube.

• Before leaving to Bangkok I attended a three day offsite to discuss the deployment of the Global Financial Management System (GFMS).

• Pack Out July 10-12.  Since Bangkok was a furnished post we were authorized 9,000 lbs. for Household Effects and 250 lbs.  of Air Freight.  

• Farewell luncheon was held August 3rd.  

Farewell from the staff at CGFS/Charleston

• Arrived August 28 in Bangkok for an assignment as the Director of the Financial Services Center servicing our embassies in Asia, Pacific and post-Soviet republics in Eurasia.  

• I was blessed with an excellent American FMO and Locally Employed Staff heading up Disbursing, Accounting, FSN Payroll, Systems, Training and Customer Support servicing our embassies in Asia, Pacific and former Soviet Union.    CGFS/Bangkok was also the principal site for systems development particularly for the Automated Cashier System and successor Cashier Reconciliation programs.  Kanikar Daily was the supervisor of this effort and assisted by not only her staff but others from CGFS/Charleston like Randy Carrico as well as systems upgrades to the RFMS/Disbursing program.  Former Director, Howard Renman, also worked on American and FNS payroll systems programs.  Howard moved to Hua Hin, Thailand but was on contract and travelled a lot back and forth to Charleston.  For the longest time we had two legacy FSN Payroll systems one for Bangkok and other for Paris.  Overtime we were able to combine the systems into one.       

• I remember having to attend weekly country team meetings at the embassy and maintaining good relations with Ambassador Ralph "Skip" Boyce.   Ambassador Boyce was a career FSO well connected and the ultimate diplomat and even played drums with a jazz trio.  He was  on his third tour of Bangkok and upon retirement in December he became president of Boeing Southeast Asia. The Management Counselor Rosemary Hanson.  Rosie had a tour with the OIG as a Senior Inspector before retiring.  The FMO was Charlie Slater who was assigned to Nairobi during the 1998 bombings.  He ended up living in the apartment across from us.       

Ambassador Boyce with Nattanne, Som amd Staff

Favorite Memories:

• During the TDY in Paris Doris and I took advantage of the French cuisine and many of the tourist sights through "Paris Walks" like Monmartre and Bastille and took in shows like Jacques Brel and at the Moulin Rouge and Crazy Horse.  We had an apartment in the Neuilly district near the Bois de Boulogne and used to take the bus into work together each morning.  Doris would do more sightseeing and shopping and we would meet for lunch.  In fact, she found her wedding dress at a store in Paris. 

• Continued to attend cultural and music events in Charleston at the Symphony and North Charleston Performing arts center Broadway series.  Tristan & Isolde

• March 18 our wedding at St. Mary's of the Annunciation downtown followed by a reception at Magnolia's.  My cousin Father John Kelly from Biloxi, Mississippi said Mass and gave us our vows.  The Frank Duvall trio played.  We first met Frank at Charleston Place where he used to play on the weekends.  He still teaches at the College of Charleston and plays Bass for the Charleston Jazz Orchestra. Wedding was preceeded by receptions at the Darby's (March 16) and Groceclose's (February 12).  My cousins from California Bob and Rosemarie Porter and Tom and Sondra Meehan as well as my Peace Corps buddy Jack Colbourn and his wife Kathy also flew out for the wedding.  Brother Chris was my best man.

• March 25 - April 1 Honeymoon cruise on Norwegian to Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Key West.   Remember Jim and Mary Millette waving to us from the shore as we left. 

• April 10-16 - Volunteered at the annual WTA Family Circle Cup tournament working with court maintenance.  Nadia Petrova (Russsia) defeated Patty Schnyder (Swiss).  Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur defeated Virginia Pascual and Meghann Shaughnessy in doubles.   

• On Friday, April 21st in conjunction with a visit to D.C. Doris and I went to the famous Blues Alley to catch a performace by singer-songwriter Regina Belle.

• May 6 Doris and I rented kayaks and paddled Beresford Creek out to Clouder Creek and Cooper River.

• May 11-12 Visited Patrick in Fairfax.

• May 26-29 Visited Highlands, NC for long weekend of hiking and rafting down the Natahala river.

• While in Budapest in June the participants took a night dinner cruise on the Danube.  It happened to be Jim Millette's birthday as well so we celebrated.  We also found a neat English pub near our hotel to congregate after meetings each night.  Budapest was formed by the union of Buda on the right bank and Pest on the left bank of the Danube.    

• Out to San Francisco June 23-27 staying at the El Rancho Inn in Millbrae, remebering the BART trains passing in the night.  Visit the brothers and got to a Giants game. Meehan family reunion.

• We also managed to visit David in Atlanta on the weekend of July 8th and attend a Braves game at Turner field.

• I remember pack out and closing on the purchase of the lot for our eventual new home the week of July 10.

• Within a month of my arrival I had visitors from Charleston like my boss Jim Millette, Randy Carrico disbursing guru, and Richard Sizemore, Customer Support and Training.  Given the constant influx of visitors Doris and I often hosted guests at our apartment or at a restaurant for luncheons or dinners. One such dinner at a restaurant included Bill Estell and his wife Amika, Marilyn Ferdinand, Fred Mauren and visitors from FSTO/Paris Bernard Lefevre and Rachid Razuanne.  

• Doris and I made our first trip out of Bangkok to Hua Hin on the long weekend of          September 2-4. 

• It didn't take long to get introduced to Bobby Raja (Raja's Fashions) Soi 4 Sukumvit for tailoring my shirts, pants and suits.

• My son Patrick and his girlfriend Catie visited Charleston and stayed in our town house on Daniel Island May 4-6.

• October 7-9 we participated in our first CLO (Community Liaison Office) trip to Luang Prabang original capitol of Laos headed up by Kuhn Jeed.    

• Spent the weekend of October 21-23 in Phuket.  Our first visit to this popular resort town and beautiful beaches on the Andaman sea which had been hit with a terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, which killed 250 people (230,000 in Thailand total) captured in the movie "The Impossible"

• October 26-November 3 attended an ICASS conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney, Australia .  Doris accompanied me and we visited both Meehan and Booth relatives.  Alan and Kate Jones (Meehan) in E. Lindfield just outside Sydney.  We learned that last year 2020 Alan and Kate were killed in a head-on car accident.  We went out to Windsor, NSW by train to visit Muriel Gilmore (Booth) about 30 miles from Sydney.

For more photos see:  Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Sydney 2006  

November 4 attended the Marine Ball, which celebrates the birthday of the Marine Corps and celebrations are held annually at all the embassies worldwide.

FSC/Bangkok staff Steve Carignan, Jim Basso and spouse, Marilyn Ferdinand, Bill Estell, Amika and Fred Mauren.  I ran into Jim Basso "the old curmudgeon" when I was on an OIG inspection of embassy Moscow in 2013 while he was TDY deputy FMO.  Fred Mauren ended up marrying a Thai lady and going to Baghdad.  Presently in New Delhi.  Bill Estell recently passed away. We still stay in touch with Marilyn whos retired here in Charleston.  We lost contact with Fran and Steve. 

November 23rd, in route to Cairo for an ICASS Conference, we stopped over in Singapore and spent Thanksgiving and had dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel.  We also visited the famous Raffles hotel, Botanical Gardens and Little India.

In Egypt we visited Cairo and took a cruise down the Nile to Luxor returning to Bangkok December 2

For more photos see:  Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Egypt 11/12-2006

• Played tennis at the JUSMAG compound mostly with GSO Dave Rockey and his wife.  JUSMAG compound also included the offices of American dentist,  

• FSNs planned holiday parties especially at Christmas time where they would rent a ballroom at a local hotel and celebrate with a luncheon followed by singing and performances by staff.  We also had a lot of office parties with pot luck luncheons and especially remember the smoked salmon prepared by Bill Estell.

U.S. Events:

·       Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist with ties to several members of Congress, is sentenced to six years in prison by a Florida judge on fraud charges (Mar. 29).

·         Democrats gain control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections (Nov. 7).

·       House releases a report on the response to Hurricane Katrina, assigning blame on all levels of government (Feb. 15).

·        President Bush signs a law renewing the Patriot Act, including a signing statement stating that he does not consider himself bound by its requirement to tell Congress how the law is being used (Mar. 9).

·       George Bush and Tony Blair express regret for the abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison, for removing all Baathists from positions of power in Iraq, and for other missteps (May 25).

·       The Supreme Court rules that military tribunals cannot be set up to try prisoners in the absence of Congressional authorization and that prisoners are entitled to fair trials under the Geneva Conventions (June 29).

·       President Bush uses his veto power for the first time, striking down legislation that would have expanded the number of stem cell lines available for embryonic research using federal financing. (July 19).

·      John Bolton steps down as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations when it becomes clear that he does not have enough votes in the Senate to win confirmation (Dec. 4).

World Events:

·       After weeks of crippling student-led protests, French president Jacques Chirac repeals a new labor law that would have made it easier for employers to fire workers under the age of 26 (Apr. 10).

·       Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon suffers a massive stroke; he is replaced by acting prime minister Ehud Olmert (Jan. 5).

·       North Korea test fires missiles over the Sea of Japan (July 4) and explodes a nuclear device in the North Korean mountains (Oct. 9). The U.N. Security Council votes in favor of a resolution banning the sale of materials to North Korea that could be used to produce weapons (Oct. 14). North Korea agrees to resume disarmament talks with China, Russia, the U.S., and South Korea (Oct. 31).

·       Militant group Hamas wins 74 of 132 seats in Palestinian legislative elections (Jan. 25). Israeli leaders vote to withhold $50 million per month (Feb. 19).

·       A Danish newspaper challenges taboos against illustrations of Muhammad by printing several negative cartoons depicting him. Angry demonstrators throughout the Muslim world smash windows, set fires, and burn flags of Denmark and other nations whose newspapers reprint the cartoons (Feb. 4 onward).

·       India test-launches a missile with a range of 1,800 miles (July 9). More than 200 people die and hundreds more are wounded when a series of bombs explode on commuter trains in Mumbai, India during the evening rush hour (July 11).

·       Saddam Hussein is convicted of crimes against humanity by an Iraqi court (Nov. 5), and hanged in Baghdad. A witness videotapes the hanging using a cell phone and captures the chaos that unfolds as Shiite guards taunt Hussein (Dec. 30).

·       In defiance of the U.N. Security Council, Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces that Iran has successfully enriched uranium (Apr. 11). The International Atomic Energy Agency reports to the Security Council that it has found traces of highly enriched uranium at Iran's Natanz facility (July 31). U.N. Security Council resolution bans the Iranian import and export of materials and technology used to enrich uranium (Dec. 23).

·       In Iraq, a coalition of Shiites and Kurds dominates the new government. Sectarian violence wracks the country, killing tens of thousands, with fatality rates rising throughout the year; some observers describe the situation as a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites. Several internal reports characterize the U.S. military efforts as failing. See Iraq Timeline 2006.

·       Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, fires rockets into Israel. In response, Israel launches a major military attack, sending thousands of troops into Lebanon. (July 13–Aug. 15).

Movies:

" Crash" won the Oscar for best picture at the 78th Academy Awards.  Philip Seymour Hoffman won lead actor award for "Capote ”, and the lead actress Oscar went to Reese Witherspoon "Walk the Line", Rachel Weisz,  "The Constant Gardener" and George Clooney, "Syriana " won for supporting actress and supporting actor.

Super Bowl

 Super Bowl XL (40) was between Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh   Steelers.  The Steelers defeated the Seahawks by the score of 21–10.   The game was played on February 5, 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit,     Michigan.  With the win, the Steelers tied the San Francisco 49ers   and the Dallas Cowboys with the then-record five Super Bowls.   Pittsburgh capitalized on two big plays that were converted into   touchdowns. The Steelers jumped to a 14–3 lead early in the third quarter with running back Willie Parker's Super Bowl record 75-yard touchdown run. Seahawks defensive back Kelly Herndon's Super Bowl record 76-yard interception return set up a Seattle touchdown to cut the lead 14–10. But Pittsburgh responded with Antwaan Randle El's 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, the first time a wide receiver threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, to clinch the game in the fourth quarter. Ward, who caught 5 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP.

World Series

  St. Louis Cardinals defeated Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 1. Shortstop    David Eckstein was named MVP the after a 1–11 start in the first 2      games of the World Series, he went 8 for 22 with 4 RBI and scored      three runs in the series, including going 4-for-5 with three doubles      in game four. The World Series victory with the Cardinals made          Eckstein one of few starting shortstops who have won a World            Series  in both the American and National Leagues.  The Cardinals      finished the regular season 83–78. This is the second-worst record ever for a league champion (the 1973 New York Mets finished 82–79) and the worst record ever for a World Series champion. Previously the 1987 Minnesota Twins finished 85–77 and defeated the Cardinals in the 1987 World Series.

St. Louis also won their 10th Fall Classic, the most of any National League franchise, and second to only the Yankees' 27 (then 26) titles, and their first since 1982.  Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who won the 1989 World Series title with the Athletics, became the second manager in history to lead teams in both leagues to championships, joining Sparky Anderson. Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who won the 1997 World Series title with the Marlins, also could have become the second manager in history to lead teams in both leagues to championships, had the Tigers won the series.

Recap of 2007 Grand Slam Tennis Tournament Winners

·         Australian Open Men's Singles. Winner – Roger Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis

·     French Open Men's Singles. Winner– Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer

·     Wimbledon Men's Singles. Winner – Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal

US Open Men's Singles. Winner –  Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick

Australian Open Ladies Singles. Winner – Amelie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne

French Open Ladies Singles. Winner– Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 

Wimbledon Ladies Singles. Winner – Amelie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne

US Open Ladies Singles. Winner – Maria Sharapova defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne