The Foreign Service Journal, April 2008

ciencies and to properly equip the department for the future. Such mea- sures should include: 1. Fiscal Year 2009 Budget. AFSA should do all it can to mobilize congressional and public support for the full budget request, and should continue to be active in the new effort by the American Academy of Diplo- macy to formulate an alternative bud- get based on demonstrable and opti- mal needs. 2. Meeting Priority Needs. An overstretched U.S. military increas- ingly has had to resort to stop-loss policies to meet priority needs. While the Foreign Service may not be able to extend tours involuntarily, there are other steps it can take to address the growing need for a larger Senior Foreign Service: • End the premature retirements of SFS officers, including recent chiefs of mission, who — if not need- ed in crisis areas — could free up other officers for critical assignments; • Postpone time-in-class retire- ments for officers with needed skills in order to close the people-to-posi- tions gap; • Recruit retirees and other offi- cers who have left the Service to fill high-priority positions — and not just by calling for volunteers, but by scour- ing databases to identify candidates and entice them back with attractive financial and benefits packages; • Remove pay caps and other restrictions on hiring annuitants as AFSA, to its credit, has already advo- cated; • Expedite contract hiring of ex- perts with civilian skills not readily found in other U.S. agencies; and • Raise the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 through legislation in order to increase the “bench strength” in the FS-1, -0 and senior ranks. (Otherwise, critical positions will be filled by military officers.) 3. Family Support. AFSA, AAFSW, AFSPA and the Cox Found- ation, along with other organizations, should formulate concrete proposals for the department to assist “left behind” families. Volunteers could organize support groups to provide legal assistance, financial advice and counseling for families under stress. Banks and credit unions could be urged to work with separated fami- lies in financial difficulty or that have special needs like college tuition assistance. Assistance should also be enlisted from the Red Cross, gov- ernment labor unions and AARP. The department must institutional- ize these efforts, as the military does, by providing funds and support to family relief initiatives. 4. Training. Many suggestions have been made for re-establishing the Vietnam-era integrated training center. The Foreign Service Institute has responded piecemeal to the recent challenges, and only when pressed. AFSA and allied organiza- tions should redouble efforts to con- solidate and upgrade professional, language and conflict-area training across the board. As contemplated in State’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, the “training float” must be restored and enlarged. 5. Active Public Relations. AFSA should step up efforts to use its “silver bullets” — former department officials and others whose names remain well known— to write op-eds, letters and other commentaries. A few have done so, but more top-draw- er friends of the Foreign Service should participate. AFSA should also vigorously promote the recommenda- tions of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Embassy of the Future project and the “Smart Pow- er” Commission as a means of pro- moting responsible discussion and solutions. Although costly, a public relations firm should be engaged (not unlike those used by defense contractors and other labor unions) to publicize facts about the Foreign Service, its person- nel and financial resource predica- ment, and to highlight the dedicated service of our officers in high-risk areas. Members of Congress should be lobbied in their home states, in addition to Washington, by retirees, businesses and other organizations friendly to the Foreign Service. A last but important word: Rhetoric is often as important as sub- stance in convincing the Congress and the American people that the Foreign Service and AFSA are loyal support- ers of the nation’s interests. We must combine substance and rhetoric, turning away from complaining and defensiveness, to again make the Foreign Service a respected national security partner. Alphonse F. La Porta retired from the Foreign Service in 2003 after 38 years of service. Among many other post- ings, he served as ambassador to Mongolia from 1997 to 2000 and as political adviser to the commander of NATO forces in Southern Europe from 2001 to 2003. He was AFSA’s State vice president and, then, presi- dent from 1995 to 1997. 14 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 8 S P E A K I N G O U T The Foreign Service has a duty to provide the right people, as well as sufficient numbers of them, to perform the mission.