The Foreign Service Journal, March 2006

Members of the Foreign Service are extremely well educated and trained and usually have a strong work background. Those who do not wish to be forced to go to Iraq will vote with their feet and leave the Service. Although I have served in the military and understand the reasoning behind directed assignments, I believe it would not work well in the Foreign Service and could lead to high rates of attrition. If the FS does go to a policy of directed assignments, it needs to be fair. … Any directed assignments should start with fair-share bidders! Mid-level FSO u Directed assignments are the only way to go: the mis- sion will not succeed without the professionals, especial- ly mid-level professionals. Shorten the time between fair-share tours and make exceptions only for severe physical disability of the employee. If a position needs certain qualifications, direct-assign to get them. Mid-level FSO who has served in Iraq u Four of my five overseas tours were hardship tours, and I’ll gladly serve at another hardship post — as long as I bid on it. I have the age and years of service to retire; if Human Resources turns to directed assign- ments on Iraq, I’ll retire immediately. I doubt I’m alone in that sentiment. Mid-level FSO u It’s really only fair. … The name of the game is gov- ernance and we need many more qualified State officers at all levels to salvage this experiment. We’re close, but failure in Iraq will lead to many more hardship tours and exposure to terrorism in our FSO futures. Mid-level FSO who has served in Iraq u When I arrived in Iraq, I thought that only volunteers should serve. After one year, I changed my mind — every FSO should have to serve in Iraq for at least six months so they understand what it is like. The only exception should be on medical grounds. Mid-level FSO who has served in Iraq u This would be a huge mistake. Aside from the effect on morale and productivity that forcing someone into a directed assignment always produces, Iraq is still an extremely dangerous place and it’s a fact of life that peo- ple die there every day. While we all agreed to worldwide availability and accept that diplomatic service has become inherently more dangerous, we didn’t anticipate being compelled into assignments in a war zone or to be forcibly separated from our families for extended peri- ods. … The Foreign Service isn’t the U.S. military. Mid-level FSO u Do it. Yes, the State Department is not the military, but when folks signed that initial pledge to go where directed, they should have realized it might be invoked one day. Those that refuse to go to a directed assignment without a valid justification should resign or retire. Mid-level FSO u Directed assignments must affect all levels. … If the “pain” were spread universally and without special excep- tions due to department connections or rank, I would accept a directed assignment and my husband would either have to put his career on hold to take care of our child or ask me to resign if it was his “red line.” However, if directed assignments are not imposed fairly, I would not be willing to go. Mid-level FSO u I would quit before going to Iraq involuntarily, and I suspect there are many others who feel the same way. I don’t even agree that we should have opened an embassy in Baghdad in the first place. If the kinds of dangers employees in Iraq face on a daily basis existed at any other post in the world, we would have evacuat- ed the embassy long ago. I think it is unconscionable that we are exposing so many people to very real dan- gers to their lives and safety simply to make a symbolic political statement. Instead of forcing unwilling offi- cers to serve in Iraq, the department should focus on ways to create a lean skeleton crew of necessary per- sonnel, instead of trying to pretend that this is a “real” embassy with a normal range of services. Mid-level FSO u I would not want someone on a directed assignment in a combat zone who is really unhappy about it. They could be a danger to themselves and to many around them. People could die because of this. Get a contrac- tor or leave the slot empty. Retired FSO who served in Iraq F O C U S 48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 6