State VP Voice

BY HUI JUN TINA WONG

Serving as your AFSA State vice president the past two years has opened my eyes to the people of the Foreign Service who joined forces as a community to advocate for our institution.

I am so proud of the talented and dedicated career professionals serving our country and building up the Foreign Service.

As we speak up about work-life balance issues such as emergency backup care, mental health, professional development, promotions and assignments, or security clearance–related issues, I have seen the triumphs of generalists, specialists, LNAs (limited non-career appointments), and EFMs (eligible family members) rolling up their sleeves, thinking outside the box, and building partnerships to get things done. Confronting the administration’s demands for budget cuts to both personnel and programs, we must continue to make strides to care for our institution and its people. Here are a few ways:

Review and Promote Our Own. If you have served on a previous promotion or tenure board or will serve on one in the near future, you already know reviewing and promoting our own ranks is a uniquely meaningful and vitally important function. Everyone serving on these boards supports colleagues by reviewing their files and making recommendations about their tenure or promotions, as well as helping to decide who will be mid-ranked and low-ranked. Those serving also learn about writing better evaluations for themselves and their teams.

The abrupt May dismissal of the 132 originally selected Foreign Service Selection Board members caused confusion and uncertainty. But I urge everyone to take part in this important process if the opportunity arises.

Please take this responsibility seriously and step up whenever you can and apply for exemptions for those who cannot. AFSA continues to call for a fair and transparent selection board process.

“Clear” Each Other’s Documents. Anyone serving at Main State or in a large overseas mission knows about the process of sending policy memos and cables for clearances.

Colleagues often complain about the sometimes onerous, bureaucratic processes to get upward of 15-20 offices to “clear” a paper before it can be sent to a bureau or mission front office. However, I have also learned over the past 15 years that relationships are built during these clearance processes, and policy formulations and implementation can be developed when controversial recommendations or positions are weighed across the various offices and stakeholders.

Let’s all work together to make communication across the department more efficient.

With the advent of shared documents and the use of StateChat AI to provide initial drafts, every office across State has likely experienced an increase in efficiency and a reduction in redundancy.

I am a fan of cutting down on clearances—both lateral and vertical. For example, a working-level officer in the Bureau of Global Talent Management processing reform ideas or information requests from AFSA should be able to reach the right office and generate a prompt response without layers of clearances.

State Department leadership should be consistent in their approach to simplify and cut down on the clearance processes, and ensure these cuts are happening at the working levels across the regional and functional bureaus, including the 6th and 7th floors.

Let’s all work together to make communication across the department more efficient.

Continue Using Internal Constructive Dissent. Whether it concerns U.S. policy on Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Gaza, or some lesser-known issue, our Foreign Service has a time-honored tradition of constructive dissent through the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff (S/P).

AFSA takes the department’s constructive dissent channel seriously, hosting panels about its history and offering guidance on protecting the identities of authors and their content.

I strongly believe this channel must continue to be protected and that our workforce be allowed to use it internally to voice their disagreements without fear of retribution.

We are a stronger and more resilient Foreign Service when we protect constructive dissent. AFSA gives annual constructive dissent awards at senior, mid-, and entry levels to both generalists and specialists. See extensive coverage of dissent in the FSJ Archive at https://afsa.org/fsj-special-collections#dissent.

As I pass the AFSA State VP baton to my successor, Ro Nepal, I want to thank you all for your dedication and service. You make the Foreign Service shine and give it meaning. I appreciate your efforts and struggles, and you can count on Ro to partner with you to continue the work of institution-building and workforce-strengthening in the Foreign Service.