The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 19 I then proceeded back to 21st Street in the interior corridor, went downstairs, consulted the printed-out renewal instructions, as directed, and headed in the general direction of the Diplo- matic Security ID Services Office (Room B-237). There I found a small printed sign in the receptionist’s window clearly stating “Retiree” among the various badges handled there. Alas, the sign was out of date. I was redirected to Room B-266 (the badging office), where the receptionist looked at my still-valid retiree ID and asked if I had been fingerprinted recently. He handed me a blank form DS-1838 and instructed me to go to Human Resources/Office of Retirement over at SA-1. Fortunately, the weather was nice and the walk to SA-1 pleasant, offer- ing lots of extra steps. There I was once again screened and instructed to wait for an escort. This gave me time to fill in the DS-1838 Request for Personal Iden- tification Card. Lots of Steps Safely escorted to HR/RET, I offered up the DS-1838 and was thanked for preparing it in advance. An HR staffer entered the information into a com- puter, printed out a document, signed and dated it and informed me that the form was now valid for five days. (If you do not finish the process within five days, you have to start all over again.) The escort pointed me in the general direction of the Office of Identification Services at Columbia Plaza, where I would be digitally fingerprinted. Accord- ing to a 2012 Department Notice posted in the receptionist’s window there, digital fingerprints are required of all applicants for State badges. I was duly fingerprinted by a cheerful staff mem- ber, who then stamped the DS-1838 and instructed me to return to the badge office back at Main State. Knowing there could be a wait and fearing an expired parking meter, I decided to call it a day. And so the next morning, armed with the signed and stamped DS-1838, my driver’s license and my still-valid retiree ID, I once again presented myself at the Jogger’s Entrance for access to the badge office. The different, but equally polite, uniformed DS officer on duty had never before seen a State retiree ID badge. Once again, I was welcomed back and pointed toward the C Street entrance. Once again screened and armed with a VIP desk-issued limited-access une- scorted visitor’s badge, I walked back along the C Street corridor, down the stairs to the badge office, handed over the paperwork and, after a brief wait, received a new State retiree badge valid for five years. Minutes Spent Renewing Retiree Badge: 155 Steps Walked : 8,464 (combined total over two days) Polite (and helpful) DS officers and State staff: dozens Some Obvious Questions I don’t know if my experience in renewing my retiree badge was unique. Though I chose to treat it as an adven- ture rather than a frustration, the pro- cess points to the inadequacy of State’s policies regarding retiree access. Here are some obvious questions: If the retiree badge only allows a retiree, after walking through a mag- netometer and having coat and bags x-rayed, to wait for an escort at SA-1 or to stand in line at a desk in the C Street lobby for a badge that gives access to Foggy Bottom, the Bunche Library and points in between (and does not offer access to FSI), why does State even bother issuing it? If the Department of State [Retired] ID badge is just for show, another token of service issued to retirees (after completion of the appropriate form), like a flag that was flown over HST or the Secretary’s Career Achievement Award, then why not bring back the old badge with the printed gold braid edging? If, on the other hand, the Department of State [Retired] ID badge has meaning, why is there no information about renew- ing it that can be found easily on the pub- lic websites RNet.state.gov and state.gov? (Form DS-1838 is available on RNet.) Why aren’t the DS uniformed offi- cers, the first people all visitors to State encounter, properly briefed on the types of badges and what the holders can and cannot expect? And, finally, why not activate the “chip” allowing turnstile access rather than the cumbersome check-in at the visitors’ desk? n Armed with the signed and stamped DS-1838, my driver’s license and my still- valid retiree ID, I once again presented myself at the Jogger’s Entrance.