The Foreign Service Journal, September 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2013 7 y first weeks at AFSA, and I am still learning the new computer system! My sincere apologies to any of you who wrote to me and did not receive a response. At first no messages from state.gov addresses were arriving in my inbox. They were all caught by AFSA’s spam filter. While appreciating a moment of clarity—AFSA is not the government—I asked our IT person to loosen the set- tings. Since then, I am enjoying many messages from the field, so keep them coming. Turning to a more serious issue, I would like to discuss our relation- ships with Civil Service colleagues. The metaphor that works for me is a family with two siblings. They grow up together, understand each other’s differences, and share in common much more than what distinguishes one from the other. Still, occasional instances of rivalry over position are to be expected and, in fact, lead both institutions to work harder and achieve more. That is how I see the Foreign Service–Civil Service dynamic in each of the foreign affairs agencies. I mention this because an April Washington Post opinion piece, “Presidents Are Breaking the U.S. Foreign Service,” co-authored by former AFSA President Susan Johnson with Ambassadors Thomas Pickering and Ron Neumann, raised concerns about trends in senior political appointments at the State Department. The op-ed also touched on a separate concern with the growth of Civil Service appointments, seen as com- ing at the expense of the Foreign Service. The debate on these issues contin- ues, as seen in an article in this month’s Journal : “The Case for a Professional Foreign Service” (p. 56). Susan and her co-authors have performed a useful ser- vice by raising core concerns, and I thank them for being outspoken on these and other issues. During the AFSA election campaign I received a lot of informal feedback about the op-ed, and I discussed it further with Foreign and Civil Service colleagues after the election. After reflecting on those conversations, here are my general thoughts. The Foreign Service should welcome all talented individuals who wish to become involved in U.S. foreign policy, whether Civil Service, Foreign Service or political appointees. We must also closely moni- tor the intake and assignment systems to ensure they always followmeritocratic principles. As long as job qualifications and diversity of representation are the standards, the Foreign Service will continue to flourish. Of course, we can’t be complacent or naive. The constantly growing influ- ence of money in our political system increases the pressure to expand patron- age at all levels, regardless of the admin- istration. On this and many other issues, we can count the career Civil Service as among our best allies. AFSA plays a useful role when we lobby publicly and privately against the expansion of patronage, and we will continue to do so. But AFSA’s mission is much broader than this defensive role. We must also focus inward, and improve the career development path and our midcareer education to ensure that the Foreign Service continues to attract and develop the nation’s top talent. The next Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which is just starting, will be a vehicle for AFSA to work closely with management at State and USAID to achieve these goals. I hope many of you in Washington and overseas will volunteer to join upcoming AFSA working groups that will be producing papers on various subjects for the next QDDR. By the way, our Civil Service col- leagues will also have a lot to contribute to this review. Siblings should stick together. Be well, stay safe and keep in touch. Bob Silverman@afsa.org n Our Civil Service Colleagues BY ROBERT J . S I LVERMAN PRESIDENT’S VIEWS M Robert J. Silverman is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.