The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2006

“The Other Side of the Unaccompanied Tour”: FLO Responds We were pleased to see the article by FSODeborah Sisbarro (May AFSA News ), who served two years in Mos- cow as a public diplomacy officer and extended for one year while her hus- band served in Iraq. Ms. Sisbarro noted that being able to remain in Moscow during this period provided continuity and stability for her family; allowed her son to stay in the same school and maintain the same friends and nanny; and enabled her to contin- ue working with supportive supervi- sors. In addition, it was easier for the family to meet at a halfway point in Europe when her husband was able to take R&R. However, Ms. Sisbarro expressed disappointment that, as the spouse of an employee serving in Iraq, she was not contacted by the State Depart- ment. She and others may still not be aware that the Family Liaison Office has been actively supporting the fami- lies of employees on unaccompanied tours since October 2005. That was when FLO hired Nan Leininger as the first “Program Specialist for Unac- companied Tours,” and began design- ing a program to support families dur- ing the preparation, separation and reunion phases of an unaccompanied tour. FLO sent out an ALDAC mes- sage (05 State 196382, sent Oct. 10, 2005) and a Department Notice an- nouncing the program and asking employees to provide us with contact information for their spouses, chil- dren, siblings, parents and Members of Household who are interested in participating. Once FLO receives the contact information, Nan, a trained social worker, maintains regular communi- cation with family members, providing information, referrals and guidance, developing programs to serve both adults and children, and advocating for services as needed. The goal is to create an interactive “virtual commu- nity” of mutually supportive families who share the same situation. FLO has reached out by developing the HomeFrontUS listserv, establishing a 24/7 hotline for referrals and making various relevant publications available online. Nan also presents information on FLO’s support services to the DS Iraq course each week. She recently visited Baghdad and Riyadh to see the physical environments and speak with employees to better appreciate what they are experiencing and to be able to improve the support provided to the employees and family members. The theme of this year’s Foreign Affairs Day in May was the Foreign Service family. FLO chaired a panel focused on issues and support services available to those separated by an unaccompanied tour. In conjunction with this event, FLO developed and distributed medals and certificates of recognition for Foreign Service chil- dren separated from their parents by an unaccompanied tour to recognize their contribution and acknowledge their sacrifice. Over time and through various means, FLO hopes the word will spread of the department’s efforts to help those experiencing this new type of challenge in their Foreign Service careers. For more informa- tion on FLO’s programs in support of unaccompanied tours, please visit our Web site at www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo , or contact Nan Leininger directly at leiningernw@state.gov or (202) 647- 1076. Ann DeLong Greenberg Director Family Liaison Office Washington, D.C. Support Career Development As a Foreign Service office man- agement specialist who has been in the Service since 1986, I think the OMS career development plans sound great. However, they don’t help us much if we do not have support from post management and, most of all, from our supervisors. They should be briefed on our precepts and need to understand that when we request training, it is not to go on vacation; it is actually to go to much-needed instruc- tion that is now a requirement for pro- motion. Also, with regard to leadership training for entry-level, mid-level and senior officers, they, too, should be taking the “7 Habits” course. This should be mandatory. Paula P. Guimond OMS Beijing Certification Fever? As a recently hired information management specialist (May 2005), I was confused by Carl Stefan’s criti- cisms of the training program in the L ETTERS 6 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 6