Department of State and Related Foreign Affairs Agencies.
On March 24, 1908, the Rev. Dr. Wallace Radcliffe, representing a committee of like-minded people, sent a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt as a follow-up to a meeting the day before. Their concern - government agencies working on Sundays. They were complaining, specifically, about work at Giesboro Point in Washington, DC, but noted “that recent … Continue reading Designating a Day of Rest, 1908
In the early 1970s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) undertook a covert operation, code-named AZORIAN, to raise a sunken Soviet submarine 16,500 feet from the floor of the Pacific Ocean using a commercial vessel known as the Glomar Explorer. The effort was only partially successful. When word of the mission eventually leaked out, the CIA … Continue reading “Neither Confirm Nor Deny” Before the Glomar Explorer
This is the tenth, and final, in a series of blog posts. When we last left our pilots they had returned to North America at Icy Tickle in Labrador. From there, they flew to Hawkes Bay, Pictou Harbor, and returned to U.S. soil with an unscheduled stop at Mere Point, Maine, on September 5. Their … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part X: Congratulations and Thank You
All U.S. Government employees are, or should be, familiar with the provisions of the Hatch Act. Enacted in 1939, and amended several times since, the Hatch Act (formally titled “AN ACT To prevent pernicious political activities”) limits certain political activities of federal employees. The law was enacted to ensure that federal programs are administered in a … Continue reading Before the Hatch Act
This is the ninth in a series of occasional blog posts. Throughout the weeks and months of the Army’s flight around the world, it received a great deal of attention in the press, both domestic and foreign. Previous posts have provided a peak at the foreign attention. That notice was almost always positive. As the … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part IX: An Interlude: Conflict With the Press
The unclassified IT budget for civilian agencies in 2024 is about $74 billion dollars and, in some agencies, virtually every employee works at a computer - be it a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, or even a supercomputer. There are probably millions of computers of various types in use in the U.S. Government. In 1966, … Continue reading Computers in the U.S. Government
This is the eighth in a series of occasional blog posts. So far this series of posts has made stops in Tokyo, Shanghai, Amoy, Calcutta, and Baghdad. The Army Around the World Flight, flew out of Baghdad on July 9 and flew west to Aleppo. Over the next four days the flight passed through the following … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VIII: Confusion and Intrigue in the Balkans
This is the seventh in a series of occasional blog posts. So far this series of posts has made stops in Tokyo, Shanghai, Amoy, and Calcutta. The Army Around the World Flight, flew out of Calcutta on July 1 to continue the journey west. The planes stopped in Allahabad, Ambala, Multan, Karachi, Bander Abbas, and landed … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VII: Baghdad, Iraq
This is the sixth in a series of occasional blog posts. When we last left the Army Around the World Flight, the planes were departing Amoy, China on June 8 heading for Hong Kong. From Hong Kong they flew on, making official stops at Haiphong, Tourane, Saigon, Bangkok, Rangoon, Akyab, and Chittagong before arriving in … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VI: Calcutta, India
This is the fifth in a series of occasional blog posts. Departing Shanghai on June 7, the Army Around the World Flight planes flew along the Chinese coast and arrived in Amoy (now Xiamen) later the same day, after making an intermediate refueling stop at Tchinkoen Bay. The team remained in Amoy until June 8, … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part V: Amoy, China
