Following his retirement, the United States Department of State tapped Mr. Ordway to serve as interim Chargé d'Affaires at five United States embassies: Kathmandu, Nepal (December 2009 – January 2010), Sofia, Bulgaria (August 2009 – November 2009), Vienna, Austria (May 2009 – July 2009), Prague, Czech Republic (May 2010 – August 2010), and Astana, Kazakhstan (January 2011 – July 2011, and again from October 2013 - December 2014).

Prior becoming a Senior Foreign Service officer, Ordway served abroad at the U.S. Embassies in Prague (1978–1981), Moscow (1985–87), and in Brussels at the U.S. Mission to NATO (1993–1995).

While in Moscow, he also was chairman of Anglo-American School Board during the successful construction of a new 1200-student facility.

During this period, he was a member of the U.S. negotiating team that achieved and then helped implement the agreement that led to Cuban withdrawal from Angola and the independence of Namibia.

At the NSC, he was deeply involved in the decision-making process in 1992–1993 that led to American military participation in efforts to overcome starvation in Somalia.