The Foreign Service Journal, May 2005

MAY 2005 • AFSA NEWS 5 A FSA was closely involved in discus- sions and consultations during the development of new generalist requirements for crossing the threshold into the Senior Foreign Service. AFSA agrees that these new rules are a necessary step in ensuring the future of the Foreign Service andnowlooks forward to thedepartment’s proposals for specialist careerdevelopment. We offer here a summary of the requirements, basedoninformationdistrib- utedbyStatemanagement (see Jan. 19State cable 11747): Inorder tobe eligible for consideration for promotion into the Senior Foreign Service, a generalistmust demonstrateover the course of his/her career from entry through tenure andup toconsideration for promotion at the Senior threshold: 1) Operational effectiveness, including a breadth of experience over several regions and functions; 2) Leadership andmanagement effective- ness; 3) Sustained professional language profi- ciency; and 4) Responsiveness to Service needs. Examples follow of service that would lead to Service readiness and demonstrat- edcompetence inaccordancewith the four principles. The following are fourmanda- tory requirements: 1) OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: Amajor andminor in regional (or IO) assignments (from entry into service). 2) LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS: Leadershipandmanagement trainingat each grade. 3) LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: One language at 3/3, testedwithinseven years before opening the window for con- sideration for promotion into the Senior Foreign Service. 4) SERVICE NEEDS: Service at a 15-percent or greater hard- ship/differential/dangerpaypost (one tour, after tenure). Inaddition, dependingon the employ- ee’s grade and/or tenure status as of Jan. 1, 2005, he/she will be asked to com- plete either 3, 4, or 5 of the 7 electives list- ed below: Operational Effectiveness: 1) Professional development (one tour or academicyear,cumulatively,aftertenure). 2) Cross-functional experience or out-of- cone assignment (oneyear, after tenure). 3) Operational/CrisisResponse(sixmonths, cumulatively, from entry). Leadership Effectiveness: 4) Significant, substantial supervisory responsibility (one tour, after tenure). Language Proficiency: 5) One additional language at 3/3 (tested after tenure) OR One FSI-designated “superhard” language at 3/3 (testedafter tenure) OR One language at 4/4. Service Needs: 6) Service inanofficiallydesignatedcritical needs position (one tour, after tenure). 7) Service at an unaccompanied post (one tour, from entry). IMPLEMENTATION Effective Jan.1, 2005, the program for generalists will be phased in as follows: • All who are recommended for tenure after Jan. 1, 2005, will be required to fulfill all fourof themandatory requirements and five of the seven electives, i.e., the full pro- gram. • Allwhoare tenuredFS-4sorFS-3swill be required to fulfill three of themandato- ry requirements and four of the sevenelec- tive requirements. • All who are FS-2s will be required to fulfill two of the four mandatory require- mentsandthreeofthesevenelectiverequire- ments. • All who are FS-1s will continue to be governed by previous requirements. ▫ CROSSING THE THRESHOLD New Career Development Requirements for Generalists Keep Envoys in the Loop On March 4, the Washington Post published a letter to the editor from AFSA President John Limbert, respond- ing to a Feb. 24 story in the paper. Here’s what he said: “In their Feb. 24 front-page story, ‘Pentagon Seeking Leeway Overseas,’ Ann Scott Tyson and Dana Priest high- lighted a Pentagon counterterrorism plan that would allow Special Operations forces to conduct military operations abroad without concur- rence of the U.S. ambassador to what- ever country was involved. “This thoroughly bad idea is a sure way to destroy the credibility of the president’s personal representa- tive. What would an ambassador say when the local president asked why U.S. forces were operating on the president’s territory? “‘I don’t know about it’ is a one-way ticket to irrelevancy. “The American Foreign Service Association agrees with the officials cited in the story who said that con- ducting such operations would be per- ilous without the oversight of the U.S. ambassador and would set a dangerous precedent that other U.S. agencies might follow.” Briefs • Continued on page 6 AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Briefs • Continued from page 3