The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

American Foreign Service Association • June 2006 AFSA NEWS n April 25, AFSA launched an online opinion poll seeking member input on Secretary Rice’s proposal to introduce new incentives for Foreign Service employees to volunteer for service in Iraqwith the Provincial Reconstruction Teams. AFSA sought feedback on two proposed incentives, the modalities of which would have to be negotiated with AFSA: 1) A commitment to a post-Iraq onward assignment to one of the volunteer’s top choices— i.e., early placement into one of the volunteer’s top five at-grade, in-cone bids, with no language waiver; 2) “Enhanced possibility for promotion,” which AFSA understands to include one of several proposals that would explicitly give special weight to Iraq PRT service for pro- motion purposes. By mid-May, more than 2,300 active-duty State FS employees had responded, and more were pouring in. AFSA will report the final results once the survey is closed. It is already clear that the membership worldwide draws a sharp distinction between onward assignment guarantees and promotion preferences for those willing to volun- teer to serve in a PRT. Driven by the imperative to avoid the threat of directed assign- ments to a war zone, a majority of the active-duty Foreign Service appears prepared to accept special guarantees for onward assignment as a one-time reward for PRT volun- teers, but by a wide margin, rejects the notion of luring people to go to Iraq by promis- ing special promotion advantages that bypass the normal performance evaluation sys- tem. Nearly 2,000 member comments on the survey revealed nuances in thinking about the proposed promotion benefit. People widely believe that the promotion system is sacred— that a level playing field is fundamental to the Foreign Service promotion sys- tem—and should not be tamperedwith to address the assignment crisis of themoment. They feel strongly that advancement to a higher grade should result from stellar per- formance, not willingness and availability to volunteer to serve in a dangerous place. Many respondents currently serving at Embassy Baghdad, at posts in Afghanistan and at many other extreme-hardship posts elsewhere expressed bitter resentment that this proposal would not apply to them. Many members nonetheless said they were willing to make painful choices to pre- vent the department from resorting to involuntary “directed” assignments to a war zone, and in that spirit might go so far as to countenance some qualified mention of Iraq ser- vice in the promotion precepts, as long as it remained tied to performance. The AFSA Governing Board will use the poll results to formulate an appropriate response to management. o AFSA NEWS : LAST BUT NOT LEAST We’re Moving ... B eginning in July, AFSA News will have a new home within the Foreign Service Journal . Moving AFSANews to the backof the Journal , and switching to the same paper used for the rest of the maga- zine (whileusinga solidborder for easy identification), will saveAFSAmoney and will also give us more flexibility with AFSA News production. Let us knowwhat you thinkof the new format. o Inside This Issue: STATE VP: OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE................3 FCS VP: WORKING CONDITIONS.......4 MEETING WITH OUTGOING DG ........5 RETIREE VP: OUR ROLE .....................5 FS PETS...............................................6 WHEN YOUR SPOUSE IS AWAY .......8 PEARSON FELLOWS MEET WITH AFSA .........................................9 O 2,300 WEIGH IN ON KEY ISSUES AFSA Polls Members on Proposed Iraq PRT Service Incentives