The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

OCTOBER 2004 • AFSA NEWS 3 L ately, there has been a lot of chatter about rewards. The ForeignServiceshould“reward”serviceinKabulorTripoli orwhereverthenextbigtroublespotis. TheForeignService should “reward” those who exhibit good leadership. Et cetera. The ideabehindthismethodofForeignService-rearing(I call it thatbecause it remindsmeof thosebooksonhowtoraiseyour children) seems to be that inorder to get the children, oops, Imeanour colleagues, to do what management wants—volunteer for Baghdad, not shout at subordinates, etc.— it needs to reward them. IntheForeignService,rewardsboildown to two things, assignments andpromotions. Well, color me a target for my colleagues’ wrath, but I think that’s a pretty stupid way to manage the FS. First, we’re adults and shouldn’t need tobebribed toexhibit prop- erbehavior. Secondly,we’remembersof the Foreign Service, and danger and hardship comewiththe territory. Whenyou join, you know the risks. Everyone should already know that half of all of our 254 posts are desig- nated hardship at the 15-percent and higher rates. Hardship and danger do not stop a third of all the recent entry-level classes fromwaving their hands saying, “Pick me, pick me!” when the call for Baghdad service is issued. There is something inherently exciting about being “present at the creation,” to use Acheson’s elegant phrase. Of course, promotionpanelswill take serviceathardshipposts intoconsideration. But automaticpromotionsforthoseathardshippostsandindangerouscountriesasa“reward” for service there? I don’t think so. Apromotion is what you get when your performance merits it. If AFSA ever agrees to automatic promotions as a reward for hardship service, then I will eatmyAFSAmembership card at high noon in the department cafeteria. For that wouldmean that the performance of those doing substantivework innon-hardship posts like Buenos Aires and Seoul would never be recognized. Rewards in the form of promises of promotions or cushy onward assignments are a bad idea, andAFSAdoesn’t endorse them. However, wemust staff the difficult anddan- gerous posts. Sowhat doesAFSAendorse? We endorse incentives andexpectations. We think you should expect comfortable housing, reasonable allowances and benefits, good and fair supervision, and that your onwardassignment be handled transparently andnot decidedby some inside cabal. You should expect to receive solid training so that you can do your job well. You should expect that your bureaucratic needs (payroll, HHE ship- ping, travel arrangements, etc.) will be handled expertly and with despatch. If you are at an unaccompanied post, you should expect a reasonable separate maintenance allowanceforyourfamily. Thedepartmentshouldseekmoreopportunitiesforyourspouse to work and earn Social Security and retirement credits. The department is right to expect members of the Foreign Service to be good super- visors, mentors andmanagers. The department is also right to expect them to serve not just where they desire, but where they are most needed. One thing is so important it deserves the last word. As the world gets more danger- ous, the department does not lower its expectations of service wherever there is a diplo- matic need. In return formore dangerous service, the departmentmust commit itself to securing for every member of the Foreign Service overseas… locality pay. ▫ V.P. VOICE: STATE BY LOUISE CRANE No Reward If AFSA ever agrees to automatic promotions as a reward for hardship service, then I will eat my AFSA membership card. have never experienced life at one of our posts overseas still understand the impor- tance of our Foreign Service.” Armitage filled in for Secretary of StateColinPowell, who was traveling in the Middle East. AFSA President John Limbert presented certificates to the first- and second-place winners of the contest. The contest pro- vides a creative way for high school stu- dents across the country to learn about the implications of U.S. diplomacy and the workof the ForeignService. Over the past six yearsmore than 3,500 high school stu- dents have submitted essays for the annual contest. The 2004 first-place winner, Andrew Rohrbach, wrote on “ControllingRussian Weapons ofMassDestruction.” He cred- ited his Russian-language teacher with inspiring him to write about Russia, and explained that he learned a lot about the ForeignServicewhile researchinghis topic. Rohrbach, a native of McLean, Va., received a check for $2,500 for his essay. He is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School, which will receive a gift of $500 inhonor of his success. Hiswinning essay can be read on the AFSA Web site (www.afsa.org/essaycontest/winning essay04.cfm). The second-place award went to AshleyMathis of Carnation, Wash., who wrote about theU.S. security situation she encounteredwhile living inNepal withher parents, who are veterinarians. She is now a freshman at Simpson University in California where she is studying interna- tional relations. For her essay, Mathis Essay Contest • Continued from page 1 AFSA President John Limbert with essay contest first-place winner AndrewRohrbach and second- place winner Ashley Mathis. Austin Tracy Continued on page 5