The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

than willing to take on some of our toughest tasks, and it’s okay if that is recognized and not just time and ser- vice.” That argument hasn’t gone over well with many offi- cers, who argue that Rice’s promotions of her former staff are more about rewarding personal allies than encouraging top performers. As for the Iraq promo- tions, many argue that it’s unfair to boost those serving in certain danger posts over others who are doing good work in less-heralded parts of the developing, or even developed world. “It’s a huge topic of discussion in our post,” says one disgruntled officer in South America. Fore says the issue has become overblown. Service in Iraq or Afghanistan may be used as a tiebreaker for selection boards in determining onward assignments, but service in those countries does not protect poorly performing employees. It is merely one of many fac- tors the boards consider, including mastery of foreign languages and demonstrated leadership and manage- ment skills. Battling Budget Cuts Rice may be able to make up some ground with disaf- fected employees if she can convince the Office of Management and Budget to allow State to pursue over- seas comparability pay (also known as locality pay) for its employees. The American Foreign Service Association points out that officers at the FS-1 level and below who leave Washington to go overseas in 2006 will lose 17.5 percent of their income due to the lack of locality pay, a figure that rises by about a percentage point every year. Rice has said repeatedly that she supports the effort to obtain OCP for overseas personnel, but no progress was made on the issue in 2005. (Of course, Powell was unable to win that victory, either.) But Under Secretary Fore insists that Rice feels very strongly about pay equal- ity, and advises skeptics to “stay tuned” for developments. According to Fore, Rice “really cares about manage- ment,” and realizes that transformational diplomacy can- not succeed unless employees receive the resources and support they need to carry it out. “She’s very engaged F O C U S F E B R 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 2000 N. 14th Street • Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Telephone (703) 797-3259 Fax (703) 524-7559 Tollfree (800) 424-9500