For Immediate Release
October 22, 2026
Press Contact: Communications & Outreach Director Nikki Gamer | gamer@afsa.org
Washington, D.C. – As the security situation deteriorates across the Middle East, AFSA is closely following the State Department’s decision to evacuate staff and families from selected overseas locations. When announcing this action, department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that safety and security “remain our highest priority” and pledged to “take all necessary steps to protect and support them.”
Such assurances come after a difficult year. The chaotic evacuations that followed U.S. military strikes on Iran in March left many employees and their families facing poor communication, prolonged uncertainty, and financial hardship. Many spent months in limbo, unsure when or whether they could return to their posts, and whether their families could accompany them.
AFSA is already hearing accounts of bureaucratic ping-pong. Families that had barely returned to their posts and re-enrolled their children in school are being told to prepare to evacuate again without being advised as to what level of financial support they can count on.
The department has publicly promised to protect and support its people. That commitment must extend to clear communication, timely assistance, and certainty about the support available to them.
AFSA will continue monitoring to ensure that the department follows through on its promise to “protect and support” those affected by the mounting hostilities in the Middle East. After a year of repeated upheaval, diplomatic families deserve more than another round of uncertainty.
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is the professional association and labor union of the men and women of the United States Foreign Service.