The Foreign Service Journal, June 2008

T he futureof theForeignServicewill onedaybe in thehands of those nowdoing their first and second tours overseas in the entry-level ranks. One of the best things about serving as AFSA State VP is having the opportunity to get to know quite a few of these new colleagues. Not only does the AFSA leader- ship meet with each and every entering generalist and specialist class, but I’vehad the good fortuneover thepast twoyears topar- ticipate in five regional conferences that havebrought together FS entry-level professionals—no, we don’t call themJOs anymore — fromposts all over the world. I write this column fresh from the experience of attending the Near Eastern Affairs and South andCentralAsianAffairsBureaus’ entry-level conferences inCairo and Chennai, respectively, both of which took place this spring. These gatherings give us the opportunity to rub elbows with our more junior members and talk to them candidly about the battles that AFSA is fighting on their behalf on the home front. But more importantly, we get a chance to hear what is on their minds as they embark on their careers and are beginning to dis- cover for themselves the challenges confronting theForeignService today. Not surprisingly, theyhave a lot to say—anda lot of ques- tions and concerns. I have found these exchanges tobe extreme- ly revealing. First of all, our ELPs today are a remarkably impressive group. Theyarebright,competitiveandknowledgeableaboutawiderange of foreign affairs issues. Most seem extraordinarily enthusiastic and ready to take on the daunting tasks associated with “trans- formational”diplomacy inunstable, conflict-riddenareas. Many of them have brought extensive real-world experience into the Service with them, ranging from obscure foreign languages to unique substantive job skills topractical know-how inmanaging people and running organizations efficiently. Quite a few have come to the Foreign Service fromprevious careers in the private sector. As a result, they have high expectations for fairness in pro- motions andassignments, bureaucratic efficiency, job satisfaction and equitable compensation for their work. They have begun to live in our system and, frankly, many of them are not impressed withwhat they see—compared towhat they have observed and experienced outside of government. They are frustrated by what they perceive as petty and arbi- trary regulations that unnecessarily complicate life for FS mem- bers. They are shockedby the chronic underfunding andunder- staffing of the Foreign Service, arguably worse today than ever. They are appalledby the ever-wideningpaydisparity for FSmem- bers who serve overseas. They are struggling with what they are coming to believe is a lack of family-friendliness in our careers, with an increasing number of separated families, spousesunable topursuemean- ingful work overseas, and domestic partners with no official status. I fear that a continued failure to address these problems in a serious way may eventuallydrivemanyof these talentedELPs away fromour profession. Oneof themostdisturbing statistics that emerged from AFSA’sworldwidemembership survey last fallwas that nearlyhalf of ELPs — more than 1,000ofwhomrespond- ed — stated that recent developmentshavemade it less likely they would remain in the Foreign Service for a full career. Perhapsmore so than in previousgenerations,our ELPs feel theyhaveother options that will give them fulfilling interna- tional careers with less rigid bureaucracy and with better pay. I have heard a similar refrain over and over again in private discussions with ELPs. It is invariably some version of the fol- lowing: “The Foreign Service was always my dream career, and I’mhappy to serve in difficult and dangerous posts, so I’ll try this out for a few years. But I’m not going to stay if I have to fight withmanagement for every singlebenefit andallowancewe’re sup- posed to be authorized in the Foreign Service, ifmy spouse/part- ner ismiserable, if I constantlyhave to ignore theneedsofmy fam- ily, if I will soon have to take a 30- or 40-percent base-pay cut to serveoverseas, and if the senior leadershipof theStateDepartment doesn’t aggressively stand up for us.” Itissignificantthatthismessagehasmostrecentlycomethrough loudandclear fromtheELPs serving inthe twogeographicbureaus most closelyassociatedwiththewaronterrorism, transformational diplomacy and post-conflict stabilization — NEA and SCA — whereamajorityof these junior colleagues arenowservingat some of the most difficult and dangerous posts we have. All of uswhoareno longer in the entry-level ranks have a vest- ed interest in heeding this wake-up call and doing what we can to fix the problems affecting morale in the entry-level ranks — before they lead to an exodus of the kinds of people we desper- ately need to keep. o V.P. VOICE: STATE n BY STEVE KASHKETT The Next Generation of the Foreign Service J UN E 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 59 A F S A N E W S ELPs have high expectations for fairness in promotions and assignments, bureaucratic efficiency, job satisfaction and equitable compensation for their work.