THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 65 AFSA NEWS AFSA Raises Alarm over EER Process Integrity This year the State Department unilaterally implemented significant changes to the Employee Evaluation Report (EER) format, and AFSA is hearing growing concern from members about how those changes are being applied. In an up-or-out system where promotions and careers hinge on accurate, well-documented performance records, the integrity of this year’s EER process has been called into serious question. AFSA has received reports that department communications are encouraging rating and reviewing officers to reduce numerical scores to meet arbitrary baselines, with supervisors directed to retroactively modify scores, sometimes without raters’ knowledge, to stay within newly prescribed averages. Some offices appear to be gaming the system to meet bureau requirements by lowering the scores of those not competing for promotion or nearing retirement so that others may benefit. Compounding the problem, guidance arrived only a couple of weeks before EERs were due, and without the mandated counseling statements for poor performance, raters are unable to give 1s and 2s, leaving poor performance unrecorded and above-average performance downgraded. In a May 5 press release, AFSA called on the department to eliminate the numerical rankings in this year’s EERs and encouraged members whose scores have been unfairly changed to consider filing a grievance. Under the Foreign Service Act (Section 1101) and 3 FAM 4412, Foreign Service members have the right to grieve any “inaccuracy, omission, error, or falsely prejudicial” information in their personnel record. AFSA regularly assists members with EER grievances; email ogc@afsa.org with questions or to request assistance. n AFSA continues its ongoing series listing recent retirements and other departures from the U.S. Foreign Service as a way to acknowledge and thank colleagues for their work. If your last day of service was on January 1, 2025, or later, and you would like to be included, please share your information by completing the form at https://bit.ly/AFSAdepartures. We will include your name and agency under the month that you completed your service. Please wait until you are “departure official” before reporting your separation. Please report only your own departure; encourage your friends and colleagues to also send in the form. n FOREIGN SERVICE DEPARTURES FOR 2025–2026 May 2025 Kirby Campbell-Rierson— State Kristy Coom—USAID July 2025 Alistair Baskey—State Cullen Hughes—USAID Nora Pinzon—USAID September 2025 Pamela Fessenden—USAID Paul Gormley—State Marc Griego—APHIS Chad Peterson—State Dan Rochman—State Bryce Smedley—USAID V. Kate Somvongsiri—USAID November 2025 Janelle Luna—State December 2025 Bryan Burke—State Chase Cavanaugh—State Mary Frangakis—State Stephanie Sullivan—State Lucy Tamlyn—State Eric Watnik—State January 2026 Susan Stevenson—State March 2026 Margaret Benavente— USAID Joe Trimble—State April 2026 Lee Belland—State Shannon Farrell—State Chapman Godbey—State Kelly Lauritzen—State Fatuma Sanneh—State Wendy Stancer—State
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