The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2016 65 Making the Best of Premature Retirement BY D. THOMAS LONGO J R . I t’s one thing to retire after a full career in the Foreign Service. It’s quite another to be retired prematurely, and involun- tarily, for reasons unrelated to job performance. That’s what happened to me in 1993, when my time in class expired before I could be promoted into the Senior Foreign Service. The demise of my career resulted from shifting mul- tifunctionality standards for promotion, as well as budgetary constraints and legal limits on the State Department’s ability to confer promotions. To be booted out that way was a searing experience, since I had planned to continue devoting my life to the Foreign Ser- vice. It was a psychological stunner that contributed, in part, to my divorce two years later. It also dissuaded me from ever again wanting to be hostage to an employer’s whims. Fortunately, I qualified for an immediate earned annuity, for which I am eternally grateful. Thanks to cost-of-living adjust- ments and careful budgeting, I lead an agreeable existence. I continue to engage in various volunteer activities, such as serving on the board of a regional symphony orchestra, head- ing an alumni association of former U.S. Navy crew members since 1999 and participating in AFSA’s Speakers Bureau. I am also president of eNARFE, the virtual electronic chapter (with more than 30,000 members) of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. For me, these pursuits are a way to give back to fellow veter- ans and my country, from someone grateful to have served his country, to receive a decent federal annuity and, at age 73, to enjoy pretty good health. I wish I had known before entering the Foreign Service that despite whatever dedication you bring to the “needs of the Service” and whatever accomplishments you achieve, it’s not enough to think, as I perhaps naively did, that doing a good job will bring its own reward. Promotions are in good measure a matter of luck and whom you’ve met along the way to men- tor you and give you a boost. The pernicious up-or-out system obliges the Service to cast out perfectly good people. What a waste for the country to squander experienced, good FSOs. Speaking to various groups ranging from high schoolers to senior citizens, I do encourage others most sincerely frommy own experience that the Foreign Service is extremely interest- ing, important and worthwhile work. You will be challenged, you will not be bored, and you will have fun. But keep your eyes open about what you’re getting into: a full career and promotion to senior ranks are susceptible to ever-varying considerations beyond the fact that you stood up, saluted, went where the Ser- vice sent you and consistently did a great job. D. Thomas Longo Jr. was an FSO from 1969 to 1993. He served in Ankara, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Palermo, Ottawa and Washington, D.C. Before joining the Foreign Service, he served in the Navy from 1963 to 1967. D.T. Longo Jr. “in jail” at the USS Capricornus Association’s 2015 reunion in Kansas City, Mo. Longo has headed the naval ship association since 1999. The “cell” was a mockup in the restored Leavenworth, Kansas, train station, which is home to large U.S. military and federal civilian penitentiaries. COURTESYOFD.THOMASLONGOJR.