The Foreign Service Journal, May 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2020 49 guards, Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents—have their own memorial walls. Indeed, within sight of the AFSA Memorial Plaques in the C Street lobby are nearly a dozen other memorials (see sidebar, opposite page). So the Governing Board reversed the 1982 criteria and limited inscription to “members of the Foreign Service and to U.S. citizen direct-hire employees of the five foreign affairs agencies serving the government abroad.” Exceptions could be made only in “compelling circumstances.” But world events soon prompted yet another revision. In 2007, civilians in a variety of employment categories from the foreign affairs agencies surged into Iraq, with staffing peak- ing in 2010. And between 2009 and 2012, civilian employees surged into Afghanistan, many of them temporary hires on non–Foreign Service appointments. The Governing Board became concerned such individuals might come to domi- nate plaque inscriptions; and, in fact, five of the seven names added to the plaques from Iraq in this period were not Foreign Service members. In 2011 the Governing Board limited inscription to members of the Foreign Service, with other employees considered only in “exceptional or heroic circum- stances.” In 2014, the Governing Board eliminated all excep- tions. Today and Tomorrow As of this writing, the AFSA Memorial Plaques contain 250 names. Forty-eight additional “historical” names have been approved for inscription. The two original plaques and three side panels are full, and space remains on the fourth side panel for just eight names. While we can hope that no new names will need to be inscribed for many years, history suggests otherwise. AFSA is currently coordinating with the Department of State’s Bureau of Administration with the goal of adding additional plaque space in time for the annual AFSA Memorial Plaque ceremony in May 2021. n