The Foreign Service Journal, January 2006

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 he potential role of “When Actually Employed” rehired Foreign Service annuitants is expanding because of “transformational diplomacy,” but the actual use of WAEs will continue to be limited by the emergency needs of each bureau and the budget available to it. Under a new system now being imple- mented on the State Department’s Retiree Network (www.RNet.state.gov ), both retirees and FS personnel preparing to retire can express interest in WAE employ- ment via a central registry. That registry, in turn, is being incorporated into a central Readiness Reserve database of all employees, both active and retired, who are avail- able to serve overseas, as well as a special Standby Reserve Corps for work with the Office of the Coordinator for Crisis Reconstruction and Stabilization. This initiative also reflects the State Department’s commitment to building an integrated work-force com- munity that encompasses all employees at every career stage, from entry on duty through post-retirement, according to Director General W. Robert Pearson. The current authorization for WAE employment has been around for a quarter-century: Section 837 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 allows the department to re- employ annuitants to fill temporary staffing gaps or per- form emergency requirements for no more than 1,040 hours per year (half-time). There are about 1,400 WAE names on decentralized rosters maintained by 26 differ- ent State Department regional and functional bureaus. However, in terms of Full-Time Equivalent positions, the actual use of WAEs is believed to constitute only a small fraction of State’s total work force. A few years ago, State officials estimated there was a structural staffing gap of almost 1,200 FTE created by under-hiring and the lack of a float for training and rota- tional requirements. With the accelerated hiring under the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative of the past few years, much of this gap has been eliminated, but new tempo- rary staffing requirements are emerging, creating addi- tional opportunities for WAE employment. For example, I have been working about half-time for the past 3 1 / 2 years as a member and director of the Political-Military Action Team, an office created within the Political-Military Affairs Bureau after the 9/11 ter- rorist attacks to handle operational liaison requirements with the Department of Defense on a 24/7 basis. There are 15 WAEs on this team, plus military analysts con- tracted from a private defense firm. There are no career personnel, reflecting the bureau’s determination that WAEs constitute the most efficient method of cre- ating such a team on a timely basis. Also, if needs F O C U S O N F S R E T I R E M E N T R ETIREES F IND A “WAE” B ACK TO THE D EPARTMENT T A S S TATE PURSUES TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY , WAE EMPLOYMENT REPRESENTS A WIN - WIN , BOTH FOR THE F OREIGN S ERVICE AND FOR INDIVIDUAL RETIREES . B Y R OGER D ANKERT