The Foreign Service Journal, April 2012

T he federalwork force isunder attack. For thepast twoyears, certain elements in Congress have waged a deliberate war against federal employees — freezing our salaries, attack- ing our pensions, calling us names and seeking tomake govern- ment service less attractive. At first, they claimed it was about including us in the shared sacrifices askedof allAmericans tobalance thebudget. Nowmany of them admit they want to shrink the government, reduce our ranks andeliminate certaingovernment functions altogether. We arepawns in twopolitical battles: one aboutmoney and theother about the very nature of government. It is a pretty unpleasant place to be. Defending ourselves, we are forced to justify our very exis- tence. We do this from both a personal and professional per- spective. Professionally, we try to explain (shocked that it is even necessary to do so) what the Foreign Service is, what it does for theAmericanpeople andwhy it is needed. Personally, we express our love of country, desire to make a difference, interest in the worldaroundus and, increasingly, describe the sacrificeswehave made as individuals and family members to serve our country. It is very easy, in this environment, to feel defensive, and to react to any attempt toquestionour purpose, or change our sta- tus quo, as a threat. This natural reaction could put us in a very difficult place with regard to the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. TheQDDR is not a threat. Were it not unfortunately timed to coincidewith theworst attacks onour livelihood in recent his- tory, most of us would see it, conceptually, as a very good thing. It is an effort to improve efficiency and coordinate, across var- ious lines, our efforts to achieve our mission. But it is also an effort to reachdeep intoour organization, questionevery assump- tion, seek justification for why things are the way they are, and change things in some verydramatic and, to some degree, exper- imental ways. Wemust make the effort to separate genuine attacks on our Service from those which are simply artifacts of an ever-chang- ing, ever-evolvingworld. It is extremely important for us tohelp shape, rather than oppose, State’s efforts—or run the risk that they will be shaped primarily by others. As part of theQDDR, over the past fewmonths, the depart- ment has undertaken a number of initiatives, including a small pilot programenabling a small number of Civil Service employ- ees to serve one tour in overseas positions selected to enhance their knowledgebase—witha reciprocal aspect allowingForeign Servicemembers to serve a tour in theCivil Servicepositions tem- porarily vacated. There is a dramatic increase in demand for certain “niche” skills inspecific countries andat specificgrade levels that thedepart- ment cannot address by simply hiring more FS members. In response, there will be a significant increase in the number and typeof LimitedNon-CareerAppointments, colleagueswho serve at specificgrade levels innarrowlydefinedpositionsonnon-career, time-limited appointments. Nearly all LNAswill be in just a few countries, and some will actually free up career entry level offi- cers for longer-term language training. Such initiatives challenge our assumptions about our insti- tution, and could play into the hands of thosewho question the requirement for a dedicatedForeignService. But properlyman- aged, they are essential to enable the State Department to meet its mission more effectively. AFSA’s role in such casesmust therefore be to collaborate in shaping the terms of such initiatives, defining numbers and lim- itations, and building in safeguards to ensure that they do not harm our career paths or legitimacy. We also have an impor- tant role to play as a reality check, sharing field-tested expertise to keep abstract ideas focused on realities. Recognizing the purpose and value of the QDDR, our role must be to ensure a strong FS voice is at the table as ideas are transformed intoprograms andprocedures. Ideally, we canuse this process to achieve, as well, things we ourselves have want- ed—such as better career paths for specialists, and greater and more promotable opportunities formid-level generalists to serve in developmental tours. To do this, we need your help. We need to hear frommore of you, andwe needmore of you toweigh inwithmanagement through your own chains of command. We need to do this to make sure our voice is heard—not to defend ourselves against implementation of the QDDR, but to help shape its outcome, by sharing our skills and expertise tohelpour agency better per- form its mission. Defining, Not Defending, Our Future V.P. VOICE: STATE BY DANIEL HIRSCH A P R I L 2 0 1 2 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 51 A F S A N E W S Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA State VP. It is very easy, in this environment, to feel defensive, and to react to any attempt to question our purpose, or change our status quo, as a threat.