The Foreign Service Journal, April 2007

B y the time this article appears, AFSA/FCS will have tabled its spring 2007midterms andupdated ourWeb site. Hopefully, management will have signed off on two of our three fall 2005 midterms, especially since the 30-daymanagement reviewperiod expired in January! While I always hesitate to write too specifically about items under negotiation, in this article I wanted to throw a spotlight on an important area with which I have significant, though dated, personal experience — FCS officers serving in domestic (ODO, Office of Domestic Operations) positions outside Washington, D.C., head- quarters. The Feb. 20 e-mail sent byDeputyAssistant Secretary for theOffice of International Operations Dan Harris pointed to the shortage of FCS officers for overseas posts, especially at higher-grade levels. Comparing the number of newhires with the retire- ment of many from the original wave of officers who joined in the early 1980s when FCS was created, plus other attrition, this promises to get worse before it gets bet- ter. The Harris e-mail also said management was working with ODO to create a few more FS-1 or FS-2 positions to accommodate higher-grade officers who may need domestic assignments (all such positions today are FS-3, with the exception of one FS-1 position in Las Vegas). In 2004, AFSA signed anMOU(see theAFSAWeb site for details) on “Assignments and Tours of Duty,” including the so-called “seven-year rule” that career candidates (new entrants into FCS) generally have to serve a two-year domestic tour in a U.S. Export Assistance Center within their first seven years of service. Therefore, we have an interest in ensuring that domestic assignments “work.” The experience of the first wave of mid- and senior-level officers inODOassignments from1994-1998 was less than positive, as none were promoted and most ranked at the bottom of their class due to negative perceptions of the promotion boards on domestic versus overseas assignments. The promotion record for domestic service is not easy to assess or count given that promotions may be based on the five most recent years of service. According to the records of the last 10 boards (1997-2006), no FS-1 serving in a domestic posi- tion was promoted; five FS-2s were promoted, but three of these had mixed service in the most recent year; five FS-3s were promoted, but one of them had mixed ser- vice; and only two FS-4s were promoted—hardly a stellar endorsement of domes- tic service aiding a career of promotions! Some lower-graded officers (especially new entrants once tenured)may have been promoted out of domestic service positions, and the seven-year rulemay havemade sense until now. But it is time for management and AFSA to review the entire “inte- gration” effort with a view to enhancing domestic service or eliminating it—or some- thing in-between. AFSA probably needs to design a “Zoomerang” survey of mem- bers on this topic to get your views, but in the meantime please e-mail me ( Donald.Businger@mail.doc.gov ) with your personal ODO experiences and com- ments — or, if you have not served in an ODO position, you may simply provide your views on the “golden mean” of reform. V.P. VOICE: FCS BY DON BUSINGER Promotions and Domestic Assignments A P R I L 2 0 0 7 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 65 icy issues; a panel discussion, “Maritime Security inOur Ports—The Facts,” about how the public and private sectors work together to improve the security of U.S. ports; and the elegant traditional luncheon in theBenFranklinRoom. Therewill also be plenty of opportunities to catchupwith old friends and colleagues. The AFSA Memorial Plaque ceremo- ny takes place during Foreign Affairs Day to honor Foreign Service personnel who have lost their liveswhile serving their coun- try abroad. The solemn ceremony, which includes the presence of anArmed Forces Color Guard, will be held at the site of AFSA’s Memorial Plaques in the C Street lobby of the State Department. Secretary of State Rice will once again preside over the ceremony and help us honor our fall- en colleagues. There are currently 221 names on the two plaques, located on the east and west walls of the lobby. AFSAwill unveil three new names at the ceremony: Margaret Alexander, a USAID Foreign Service offi- cer anddeputydirector of theUSAIDmis- sion inNepal, who was killed on Sept. 23, 2006, in a helicopter crash inNepal; Doris Knittle, a Foreign Service nurse, who was killed in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 1970; and Henry Antheil Jr., a State Department employee who died in a plane crash in June 1940while perform- ing official duties as a courier. Relatives of those honored will attend the ceremony. Foreign Service personnel continue to serve in very dangerous conditions and undertake enormous risks in the service of their country, and this ceremony offers us an opportunity to remember and honor these brave and dedicated men and women. All ForeignAffairsDay participants are invited to attend AFSA’s reception, from 3 to5p.m., atAFSAheadquarters for com- plimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. During the reception, AFSAwill present its annual merit scholarships to children of ForeignService employees. Formore infor- mationabout theAFSAevents for that day, contact Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger at berger@afsa.org . A F S A N E W S FAD • Continued from page 59