The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

dle of the night in order to make a connection. If we had an actu- al time clock to punch, I am sure we would accrue a week off for every three weeks traveled. A related issue is Sunday differential. In Cairo, we work Sunday through Thursday, while Frankfurt and the department work the standard Monday through Friday schedule. We also have posts in our region that work Saturday through Wednesday. So there are literally times when a person could work a month straight going from one post to another without a weekend off. For all these reasons, it can be very difficult to apply the regulations to figure out whether one is entitled to overtime, differential, or per diem for all those extra hours in the air and on the job. Making matters worse, recent regulatory changes eliminating “protracted” travel compensation — analogous to the sea duty pay, family separation pay, danger pay and combat pay that members of the military receive dur- ing deployments — have also made it harder to obtain any compensation at all for extended travel. On the Same Team One thing I suspect specialists and generalists alike agree on is the fact that State needs to do a better job of handling personnel issues. There is nothing more frustrating and aggravating for employees than to see the agency that is supposed to improve their working conditions and make their careers more satisfying instead mess with their money, their travel, and their transportation. Even after problems are brought to managers’ attention, they typically take many months and even years to resolve. But to be fair, I do see signs that State is slowly starting to address these issues. It already requires management training courses at various pay grades. In addition, I understand that staff members are developing plans to improve the department’s internal processes, exemplifying the “islands of excellence” theory often cited as an example of a healthy organization. Already the department has initiated controls to improve tracking processes and customer satisfaction (I’ve recently been asked to fill out several questionnaires assessing the services I’ve received). Here’s hoping the department will take the feedback from those sur- veys seriously and use it to improve operations. Otherwise, it will become more and more difficult to recruit and retain skilled employees. I would also recommend the creation of a Chaplain Corps to assist the regional psychiatrists in providing counseling services. If resource constraints prevent State from hiring such individuals, perhaps military chaplains could be detailed to selected posts with Marine detachments for the benefit of the entire embassy community. These chaplains could have regional responsibilities, as do Foreign Service psy- chiatrists. By improving employee morale through spiritual and family counseling, the chaplains would enhance the efficiency of the missions they serve. As a bonus, they could also cultivate local religious contacts and provide the department with insights into issues relat- ed to religion. Especially since 9/11, these issues are more vital than ever to safeguarding the well-being of our people overseas. Let me close by emphasizing how much I enjoy my work and by urging Foreign Service generalists to view specialists as skilled professional colleagues, not invisible support staff. After all, we may play differ- ent positions, but we all are on the same team, serving our country while experiencing the adventure and allure of different cultures. ■ F O C U S S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 45 I suspect most specialists and generalists would agree that State needs to do a better job of handling personnel issues.