The Foreign Service Journal, March 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2021 55 would be available to build relationships with foreign interlocu- tors and advance U.S. foreign policy objectives. Moreover, smart technology investments nowwill reduce staffing costs and improve margins for decades to come. FSO Daniel Walsh is a vice consul at U.S. Consulate General Auckland. Lead with FSOs There are several good reports on strengthening (saving) the Foreign Service. They should be studied carefully andmined for good ideas. This is a medium-term approach. But what the new administration can—andmust—do immedi- ately is appoint Foreign Service officers to leading positions in the State Department and abroad. Surely, there are more appropriate ways to reward large donors thanmaking them ambassadors. Barclay Ward, a retired FSO, lives in Brookline, Vermont. Fix the Special Immigrant Visa Program Devote the resources necessary to fix the Special Immigrant Visa program for the thousands of Afghan and Iraqi nationals who have supported the work of the United States. While many have already been granted visas and are now valued and productive residents and citizens of America, thousands more continue to live in constant and very real fear of violent retaliation for their work. Current events in both countries suggest that this danger will only increase over the next few years. Evidence in a class action lawsuit Afghan and Iraqi Allies v. Pompeo , filed in June 2018, showed that the average Afghan and Iraqi SIV applicant was likely to wait more than four years for a visa. A February ruling in U.S. District Court inWashington, D.C., noted that more than 7,700 applicants have been waiting longer than the congressionally mandated nine-month response time. The judge ruled that such delays are unlawful. A June 2020 Office of the Inspector General report on the SIV programnoted that “the department’s management of resources and strategic planning for the Afghan SIV program is decentralized and lacks the focus needed to continuously evaluate the program and seek improvements.” Thousands of State, Defense and other federal employees can personally attest to the bravery and dedication of our Afghan and Iraqi colleagues, and to the threats and intimidation they and their families continue to face. We should honor their service and honor the intent of Congress by faithfully and diligently implementing the Special Immigrant Visa program. FSO JohnWecker is senior adviser for anti-corruption in State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. Zero Tolerance for Jerks No jerks. No tolerating jerks. No promotions for jerks. Andmost of all, no leadership positions for jerks—or those who enable them. There is no excuse for Foreign Service generalists and special- ists—a smart and selectively chosen bunch—to be or to tolerate jerks. Jerks include those withmajor conduct, suitability and disci- pline issues, such as criminal behavior, sexual misconduct, equal employment opportunity issues, and physical or emotional abuse of American and locally employed staff. Jerks are also those who are lazy, incompetent, extreme micromanagers, socially inept and excessively self-promoting. They lack empathy and take a kiss-up, kick-down approach tomanagement and leadership. Jerk enablers and jerk ignorers are also jerks and should be treated as such. Why do jerks matter? Because they make the workplace (and overseas, the wider FS community) unhappy, unhealthy, unpro- ductive and unsafe, thus diminishing the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy. No amount of (supposed) policy, programmatic or management “brilliance” warrants a jerk’s behavior. Jerks need to be identified and counseled, and issues with jerks need to be processed as appropriate (and required) within the system. We needmore carrots and sticks to confront jerks. The Bureau of Global Talent Management needs to come up with visible ways to recognize and award staff (especially entry-level staff and over- seas local staff) who do the right thing. Today, staff who confront jerks see or hear little or nothing regarding resolution, at best. More often, they are ostracized andmade to feel as if they have done something wrong. More public naming and shaming of jerks would help. Jerks and those who enable them should be penalized with career demerits similar to security violations. If being a jerk or enabling one would severely limit assignments and promotions, stopping jerks would become the norm as opposed to the exception. We hope the new administration will take a zero-tolerance approach to jerks and help us create a jerk-free environment. FSOMatt Weiller is deputy executive director for the South and Central Asia Bureau for the combined Near East-South and Central Asia Executive Office.