The Foreign Service Journal, May 2007

If the Foreign Service adopts this expeditionary model, what does it mean for families? As Kashkett observes, “Diplomats are not sol- diers who sign up with the expecta- tion that they will spend a lot of their career without their families, but professional civil servants with special qualifications and expertise who happen to serve at overseas locations.” Staples admits that the current strain on families is likely to contin- ue, but insists that he’s doing everything he can to min- imize the necessity for unaccompanied assignments. He points to several concrete steps that the department has already taken, among them creation of a separate maintenance allowance for families involuntarily sepa- rated. Worth between $10,000 and $17,000 per year, depending on family size, the allowance is 18 percent more generous than that traditionally provided to fam- ilies who, of their own accord, decide to separate dur- ing an overseas tour. The SMA supplements the increase in differentials for hardship and danger that was implemented last year. Nonetheless, the AFSA survey found that only 8 percent of officers believe the involuntary separation allowance is adequate; 40 percent said it was not, while 52 percent did not have an opinion. For those serving on PRTs in Iraq, the department is now guaranteeing that employees will receive one of their top five choices for onward assignments. And for those serving anywhere in Iraq, the department is allowing families the possibility of staying at the losing post. To do so, however, they must forgo the involun- tary SMA. Families staying at a foreign location may receive the at-post education allowance; if there are no adequate schools at post, the away-from-post allowance covers boarding school costs anywhere in the world. Easing the Stress of Unaccompanied Tours The State Department’s Family Liaison Office has hired Nancy Leininger, who has a master’s degree in social work, to assist families losing someone to an unac- companied tour. (See “Coping with Unaccompanied Tours,” p. 27.) Beecroft says those efforts continue to be impeded by a lack of funding, but credits Leininger with making made the best of what resources she does have, focusing on outreach to fami- lies. To begin with, the department is making a concerted effort to let Foreign Service employees know during their training about all the benefits available to their families while separated. Leininger teamed up with the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide and the Foreign Service Youth Foundation to hold a first-of-its-kind information fair in Washington last year. A similar event was held earlier this year in Houston, where many affected families reside. In fact, about half of all Foreign Service families with someone serving over- seas at an unaccompanied post actually live outside the Washington area. Leininger is also coordinating with the department’s Allowances Working Group to ensure that glitches in benefit packages are straightened out. On the front burner at the moment, the working group is seeking to grant home transfer and foreign transfer allowances to officers coming or going to unaccompanied posts, to help cover the travel and relocation costs for their fam- ilies. Those benefits alone can be worth several thou- sand dollars. Another change supported by the working group is a new regulation allowing FS personnel on the now- standard one-year tour in Iraq to take 10 days of rest and recuperation at home before heading to their next assignment. In the past, an employee had to serve 18 months before becoming eligible for that leave. The Family Liaison Office has created a listserv in an effort to help families left behind during an overseas tour to connect and share advice. The office has also teamed with the Una Chapman Cox Foundation to sign a con- tract with Managed Health Network to create a Web site and a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week phone line, to help families experiencing grief or other mental health prob- lems related to their separation. And beginning last October, a monthly electronic newsletter created by FLO and MHN has been sent to approximately 550 employees and family members experiencing unaccom- panied tours. F O C U S 24 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 7 Balancing a family with a Foreign Service career has never been easy. But if anything, it seems to be getting harder.