The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

and tours are reduced to one year. Significantly, one of the recent additions to the Family Liaison Office list of evacua- tion resources is titled, “Long Distance Relationships and Separated Tours: When Couples Live Apart.” Vive la Différence? According to one recent evacuee, the authorized departure category should be abolished outright because it just adds more chaos and contention to what is already an inherently stressful situation. In this FSO’s view, leav- ing it up to posts to identify how many, and which, people will leave “voluntarily” not only puts pressure on “non- essential” employees who do not want to leave their col- leagues, it also leaves some staff feeling that their jobs are seen as less important, which can hurt morale — a prob- lem that a change of usage from “essential” to “emer- gency” has not alleviated. This officer also points out that the department sometimes applies pressure to get posts to send as many people home as possible, so that what is sup- posed to be an authorized, voluntary departure is actu- ally an ordered one. As a result, the process can end up being a numbers game, in which Washington may force the embassy to cut all sections by the same proportion to achieve an arbitrary staffing ceiling even if that leaves them too weak to do their jobs. Based on the chief of mission’s recommendation, non-essential employees and eligible family members can be evacuated anywhere, either back to the U.S. or to a regional “safe haven.” Each employee identifies his or her safe haven — an alternate place of residence in the event of an evacuation — in advance, based on personal and family considerations. Problems may arise, however, with safe havens other than the conti- nental U.S., because in that case the evacuee has no diplomatic accreditation and sometimes must arrive without a visa. Evacuees returning to Washington are greeted by staff from the Family Liaison Office at the airport, where they receive the information “Welcome” packet, with advice and crucial contact information. FLO also holds town meetings and maintains regular e-mail contact with evacuated employees for the dura- tion of the evacuation. “Children Home from the War” The State Department may be quite efficient at evac- uating Foreign Service personnel, but what happens to them upon their return to Washington is often much less organized. Of course, the very fact that evacuees are theoretically only going to be away from post for 30 days complicates the task of what to do with them. All evacuees are encour- aged to consult their career development counselors to explore their options. However, it is the regional bureau that decides whether the returnees work for the task force, are given temporary jobs somewhere in the bureau (or occasionally in another part of the building), or are sent out to another post to cover staffing gaps. (Support staff are particularly likely to be sent back overseas.) Other options are for them to enroll in training courses or to take annual or sick leave. They may also take R&R or home leave, though that can cause additional administra- tive headaches. Each bureau is basically free to “recycle” evacuees as it sees fit, though there is a general recognition that the employees are, as one personnel officer described it, “children home from the war” and therefore need special handling to minimize the disruption and stress they are already experiencing. However, it seems clear that some bureaus make more of an effort than others to match temporary duties to what the employees were doing in the field, or at least to find them substantive responsibil- ities rather than “make-work.” The degree to which evacuees’ preferences are taken into account in the process also varies. For example, Consular Affairs (appropriately enough) enjoys a reputation for “taking care of their own.” And the assignments officer for one geographic bureau (who asked not to be identified) finds jobs for the returned evacuees by e-mailing every office and post to find out what type of skills and experience they need and then matching offi- cers to those specs. The timing of the evacuation also plays a role in deter- mining what happens to returnees. If they are near the end of their tour (the transfer cycle begins in May) then they may be given a bridge assignment or go early to their next post. Or if employees have special skills, such as hard languages, they can be reassigned to fill a gap. Wherever the employees work, the bureau post man- agement officer will generally take care of their time-and- attendance cards and other administrative support; how- ever, some posts insist on retaining responsibility for those functions even though the employee is physically in Washington. F O C U S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23