The Foreign Service Journal, May 2008

A long-awaited increase in the Involuntary SeparateMaintenance Allowance—whichAFSAhas been fighting for over the past three years—was announced March 14. AFSA appreciates the efforts ofUnder Secretary forManage- ment Patrick Kennedy to get an increase through the system. Unfortunately, the boostwasmuch less substantial thanAFSA hadurged, amounting toabout 10percent. Involuntary SMA at the posts in ques- tion (which differs from the Voluntary SeparateMaintenance Allowance in that these assignments aremandatorily unac- companied, no families allowed) should cover most of the costs of maintaining a family at a separate location when the employee is assigned to an unaccompa- nied post. In fact, ISMA has long been woefully inadequate, failing to cover the cost of a D.C.-area rental home, not to mention food, household needs and transportation. AFSA’s contention was that a dramat- ic increase —perhaps even a doubling of the ISMA—was needed and would send anunmistakable signal to the Foreign Ser- vice community that State was now going to start taking proper care of families sep- arated by unaccompanied postings. Thenewrates tookeffectMarch16, and can be found on the Internet at: http://aoprals.state.gov , andon the intranet at http://aoprals.a.state.gov/. o A FSA State Vice President Steve Kashkett traveled to Egypt to par- ticipate in the March 10-12 Near Eastern Affairs Bureau’s regional entry- level conference. Entry-level Foreign Service members at Embassy Cairo did a superb job organizing this annual event, which brought together more than 60 first- and second-tour FS generalists and specialists from every NEA post. Like most entry-level conferences over the past two years, this onewas divid- ed between presentations on regional pol- icy issues and sessions devoted to career- development concerns. VP Kashkett’s role was to address the latter subjects, including career planning and family management in the era of Iraq/Af- ghanistan and the proliferation of unac- companied posts; strategies for securing assignments and promotions; family- member employment overseas; and Member of Household policies. The attendees displayed keen interest inAFSA’s views on the future of an “expe- ditionary” Foreign Service that is more focused on transformational diplomacy and dealing with active war zones and areas of conflict than ever before. Not sur- American Foreign Service Association • May 2008 SMALL INCREASE IN SEPARATE MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE Involuntary SMA Gets a Boost REPORT FROM CAIRO AFSA VP Attends Entry-Level Conference In This Issue: Briefs: PIT Buyback ..........................50 VP State: Overseas Pay Disparity....51 VP USAID: Time for a Trade-in ........52 Reinventing Resources at the Overseas Briefing Center ......54 FLO: 30 Years of Support for FS Family Members....................55 Tragen Award for Family Member Advocate ...........................56 Thanks, Now Here’s Your Pay Cut ..57 Field Notes from Belgrade...............58 Classifieds ........................................59 AFSA NEWS MA Y 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 49 AFSA HQ Renovation Project Update T heAFSAheadquartersrenovation is progressing. The current ex- pected move-in date will be late this year. We’ll keep you posted. In themeantime, please continue to reachAFSAstaff andofficers at their reg- ular phone numbers and e-mail addresses, or stopby theLaborManage- ment office in Room 1251 of the Truman Building or the temporary headquarters in Suite 1250 of State Annex 15, located at 1800North Kent St., Arlington VA 22209. Continued on page 53 JOSH