The Foreign Service Journal, October 2003

two meetings. Near the end of the first session I stated, “All these issues are pertinent, but everyone needs to remember that there are women in the Foreign Service who are not officers.” The statement was accepted with a smile but pret- ty much ignored. That’s why I only went to two meetings. I find this attitude is pretty prominent throughout the Foreign Service. Nearly everything one reads is about the needs of officers. All too often the plight of the spe- cialist is overlooked. Judy Chidester Retired Information Management Officer Las Cruces, N.M. Separate and Unequal The Foreign Service is separated by a perceived class difference between specialists and officers. If you look at the average education level of most specialists, it is on par with our FSO colleagues. “Officers” do not come from blue-blooded families. They have not attended a special academy like West Point. So where does this distinction have its origins? It comes from two places: 52 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3 If you look at the average education level of most specialists, it is on par with our FSO colleagues. “Officers” do not come from blue-blooded families.