The Foreign Service Journal, May 2007

M A Y 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 27 ince 2001, the number of unaccompanied positions for Foreign Service employees has increased from about 200 to nearly 800, with addi- tional increases likely in the future. Most of these slots are in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Most of the employees serving at unaccompanied posts have either families or Members of Household who are also affected by the long separation in a variety of ways. Of the 800 employees currently in these positions, approximately 185 receive an involuntary separate main- tenance allowance for their spouse and/or minor chil- dren. Most of the other employees have loved ones who do not qualify for ISMA; e.g. tandem spouses, MOHs, children of divorced parents, or worried parents, siblings or adult children. Only one-third of these families are in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The majority are scattered across the United States, with a growing number remaining in foreign locations. Since May 2006, it has been possible on a case-by-case basis for employees at overseas posts to go on 12-month temporary-duty tours to Iraq or Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghan- istan, while their families remain at the previous post. In response to this significant change in the character of overseas service, the Family Liaison Office created a new position in October 2005: the Program Specialist for Unaccompanied Tours has a mandate to develop a new program to offer information, guidance and emotional support to employees and family members separated by assignments to unaccompanied posts. One of the first things FLO’s new program specialist did was seek more information. What are conditions like at unaccompanied posts? What do employees and their family members need to know before beginning an unaccompanied tour? Who are the family members? Where are they? How can we reach out to them? What are the regulations, allowances and services pertinent to affected employees and families? Are these adequate? Does everyone know what support services are already in place? What do people really need or want from this program, and from the department? A Broad Response With generous support from the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, last fall the Family Liaison Office conduct- ed an electronic survey of employees and family mem- bers assigned to an unaccompanied tour — past, present or future — to uncover the answers. The resulting por- trait of the challenges faced by both employees and their families has guided the development of new programs and initiatives to help overcome them. The anonymous electronic survey, announced via a telegram and a department notice, was open from Sept. F O C U S O N T H E F S A S A C A R E E R C OPING WITH U NACCOMPANIED T OURS T HE UNACCOMPANIED TOUR , A NEW AND RAPIDLY GROWING CATEGORY OF OVERSEAS SERVICE , PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE F OREIGN S ERVICE . B Y N ANCY W. L EININGER S