The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2019 31 DETO status must return to any training on permanent change of station (PCS) status, even if such training lasts less than six months. This contradicts the Foreign Service Act, which states that tours less than six months should be considered temporary rather than full assignments. In addition to the significant financial burden placed on tandem employees, the department must also incur the full costs of a PCS, including shipment and unpacking of all effects. Coordinate bidding across bureaus and agencies. Multiple respondents to the 2018 WiT member survey reported that the 2019 bidding cycle was harder than ever, with entry-level/mid- level, interagency and specialist/generalist couples noting that a lack of harmony between systems led to increased stress (at best) or a desire to leave the Foreign Service (at worst). As one interagency tandem put it, bidding has become “a sloppy dance of trying to keep our family together.” Specialist/generalist couples have noted that career development officers (CDOs) across cones would coordinate when prodded by their clients themselves, while entry-level/ mid-level tandems note that finding mid-level jobs for their spouses—even at high-hardship, high-danger posts—is a daunting process. Differing bid cycle timing for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, USAID and other offices only adds to the difficulty. Asking CDOs or their equivalents in other agencies to coordinate actions related to tandems could lend a wel- come element of transparency to what is already a challenging process. Reconsider authorized and ordered departure policies for tandems and single parents . The department should institu- tionalize policies and procedures that permit tandem and single- parent employees to escort minor or other dependent EFMs to safety during an evacuation whenever possible. USDH tandems and single parents with minor dependents or other dependents needing assistance currently are unable to evacuate with their EFMs when departures are authorized or ordered for EFMs only. The current policy states that officers must identify an official American employee or American family member to accompany minor children. USDH employees do not always have a trusted colleague or family member able or willing to assume this responsibility. There are also circumstances, such as in the case of nursing mothers, where there is no suitable alternate care- giver. This practice causes undue hardship for tandems, single parents and their families. BRIANAGGELER The Tandem Tussle.