The Foreign Service Journal, May 2007

14 to Oct. 10, 2006. The survey elicited 416 responses. Of these, 257 were from employees: 208 with the Department of State and 49 from other federal entities, contrac- tors or “other.” The balance of the respondents (159) consisted of fam- ily members or Members of House- hold: 151 were spouses, including eight tandems; three were fiancées or partners; and five were parents, siblings or adult children. The various categories of re- spondents reflects the entire spec- trum of the population served by FLO. The responses from the 45 State employees cur- rently serving at unaccompanied posts were particularly helpful, as their experiences have been directly affected by the numerous changes in regulations, allowances and sup- port services enacted within the last two years. The responses from employees and family members had many elements in common. Communication was cited as one of the most important issues — whether between the employee and family members or between the employee and headquarters in Washington. Employees’ other top concerns were: inadequate technical support and orientation; frustration over securi- ty restrictions; lack of staff to enable them to do their jobs; and lack of communication equipment for work and/or personal use. Individuals serving on Provincial Reconstruction Teams felt especially cut off. The family members’ concerns centered around chil- dren’s issues. Newly single parents found juggling the children’s schedules and helping them cope to be the most difficult parenting tasks. But for all family mem- bers, the toughest thing was asking others for help — 41 percent found this hard to do. This is in keeping with the “self-reliant” and “super-resilient” ideals held equally by Foreign Service mem- bers and their families. Signifi- cantly, many who would have liked to ask for help (about one-fourth of the respondents had questions or problems with red tape, home or car maintenance) did not know where to turn. This was especially true for foreign-born spouses, whether living abroad or in the States. Communication Is Key Now that FLO has someone dedicated full-time to serving this population, a communications channel has been opened, and the questions are coming in: “How do I get our sidewalks cleared of snow?” “How can I get the Social Security Administration to clear up years of mis- takes in recording my parent’s earnings?” “Can you get the Department of Motor Vehicles off my back? My brother’s car is in storage, and not likely to get an emis- sions inspection any time soon!” These issues may not sound earth-shattering if you aren’t the employee coping with mortar rounds over- head, or the employee’s family or friend coping with the anxiety of wondering if the latest casualty reported on CNN is a loved one. But the time and effort need- ed to resolve such issues take away precious time to relax and connect with those loved ones. Furthermore, the specific situation or problem that triggers a phone call to the program specialist is usually just the last of a long list of challenges — the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. To gauge how people were reacting to the an- nouncement or commencement of an unaccompanied tour, both employees and family members were asked to check their experience against a list of behavioral changes previously reported to the program specialist. Multiple answers were allowed; the scores were aggre- gated to determine the rank order of prevalence of each behavior among the respondents. Apart from common- ly citing a lack of sleep and fatigue, the patterns are strik- ingly different for employees and family members (see Table 1, p. 30). F O C U S 28 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 Nancy W. Leininger has been the program specialist for unaccompanied tours at the Family Liaison Office of the State Department since October 2005. A Foreign Service spouse since 1971, she raised a “Third Culture Kid” while living in six countries and serving as CLO in three of them. She holds a master’s degree in social work, and has worked extensively in the nonprofit sector to strengthen families. Leininger loves the Foreign Service lifestyle and is pleased to report that her son, now 32, agrees it was a worthwhile way to grow up. Now that FLO has someone dedicated full-time to serving this population, a communications channel has been opened, and the questions are coming in.