The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

62 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / J A NU A R Y 2 0 0 7 A F S A N E W S attracted 100 million respondents. Beyond themagnitude of the overall response, it is worth tak- ing note of some of the categories of respondents. Nearly 100 FS members currently assigned to Iraq took the survey, along with another 35 or so posted in Afghanistan. In fact, the respondents includedpeople at virtually everyU.S. embassy and consulateworld- wide, including more than 40 respondents each in London, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Paris,Moscow,MexicoCity andBeijing. Among those assigned to domestic positions, the survey attracted some 116DS members, 94 employees of theHRBureau, 83 inEUR, 60 inWHA, 42 inEB, 41 inEAP, 38 inAF, 35 inNEAand 33 in IRM. It includ- ed dozens of seventh-floor staffers and over 100 people in train- ing at FSI. This opinion poll drew a wide range of Foreign Service general- ists (2,170/63 percent) as well as specialists (1,233/37 percent) from all grades. Three out of fourwere currently serving overseas. Some 550 entry-level generalists took the survey, as did 325 members of the Senior Foreign Service. The remainder were fairly evenly dis- persed amongmid-level employees, who constitute the bulk of our service. Themain statistical results of the survey are shown in the charts and graphs on the following pages, but we can also learn quite a bit about the thinking of our members from the extensive comments submitted bymore than 1,500 respondents. Some of themost sig- nificant conclusions: • Securing overseas comparability pay remains a top goal for the vast majority (83 percent). • State ForeignServicemembers have largely accepted the neces- sity of most of the changes that the director general implemented in this year’s assignment system to address the problem of unac- companiedpostings, butmost (80percent) are still “very concerned or somewhat concerned” about unfairness in assignments —and a significantmajority (60 percent) firmly oppose the banon exten- sions at posts with differentials below 15 percent. • By awidemargin (66percent),members of the ForeignService would oppose directed assignments to Iraq or Afghanistan. Some 38 percent said theywouldbe “strongly” opposed. These numbers Survey • Continued from page 57 What is your current grade? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% FS-05 or below FS-04 FS-03 FS-02 FS-01 Senior FS 12 21 20 22 15 10 If you have served in Iraq or would be willing to volunteer to serve there, what factors would motivate you to do so? (Check all that apply) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Patriotism 48 52 50 71 29 Career enhancement Adventure/ challenge Extra pay and benefits Other, please specify If you would NOT consider volunteering for an assignment in Iraq, what factors would prevent you from doing so? (Check all that apply) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Security concerns 60 64 39 48 24 Separation from family Obstacles to performing assigned duties Disagreement with policy Other, please specify How would you rate the department’s efforts to facilitate employment opportunities for Eligible Family Members overseas? 90% 6 Excellent Good Fair Poor Abysmal 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 100% 31 38 17 8 AFSA plays a role in the assignment process by approving or refusing to concur on proposed changes in rules/ procedures. Which aspects of director general’s new and proposed changes do you agree or disagree with? Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 13 53 9 25 Attaching a higher priority to filling unaccompanied positions Creating an early season for filling unaccompanied positions Giving CDOs a more activist role Requiring Fair Share bids on 15% or higher differential posts Limiting FS members normally to two consecutive full domestic assignments Banning extensions at below-15% hardship posts 9 17 49 24 6 20 55 19 4 42 43 10 16 26 34 24 22 16 23 38 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% NO YES If the department fails to get volunteers for all the positions at our posts in Iraq and Afghanistan, how would you react to a decision to begin identifying employees for “directed” assignments? Strongly support Support Oppose Strongly oppose 8 26 38 28