The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2006

May Speaking Out, “What Are We Training IMSers to Do?” He con- demns the attitude of “certification fever” during new-hire training, say- ing that racking up IT certifications (A+, Network+, Server 2003) takes precedence over all other objectives. The training program that Stefan describes is not the one in which I participated. Yes, my class of IMSers all became A+ and Network+ certified, and some of us also passed the Microsoft Server 2003 test. But these courses lasted for just six weeks, out of a total of five months of training. Furthermore, when you consider that all IRM staff are required to be A+ and Network+ certified these days, running new hires through these two courses makes obvious sense. We took some other in-house IT training, but none of that was geared toward certifica- tion. In all, the portion of training devoted to certifications came to less than a third of the total, and I’ve found much of it applicable to my job. Stefan recommends mock-ups of what a new IMS will see at post. But these already exist, and are what we used during our eight weeks in Warrenton. With minor exceptions, all of the hardware and software that I encountered in the Information Programs Center at my first post was the same as what we used during training, down to the combination locks on the doors and the escape hatch in the ceiling. So when I arrived at post, I was already familiar with what I would encounter there. The idea that IMS is an IT-only job is quickly dispelled during new-hire training, contrary to another of Stefan’s criticisms. We took classes in COMSEC accounting, radios, tele- phones and the diplomatic pouch (including a simulated pouch run at the loading dock behind the building). In fact, we spent more time on these decidedly non-IT subjects than on the J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 L E T T E R S