The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

30 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Manager cone has only one OC position. is is puzzling in light of the responsibilities and resources of the Facility Man- ager overseas.” At a typical embassy, he adds, the FM manages the largest sta and budget. Yata nds promotion within GSO specialist ranks “com- plicated by the fact that there are GSO generalists, GSO specialists and, now, ever more people from random cones doing GSO work, much as they were previously required to do consular work. is makes it di cult for specialists to get the ‘good’ posts as they tend to go to generalists.” And, of course, there’s the omnipresent State Department bureaucracy. Although no one wants to think of himself or herself as a bureaucrat, both specialists and generalists roll out It is unusual for a specialist to become chief of mission, a fact that engenders some resentment. Another IMS, speaking on background, says he’s been “surprised by how little focus there is on [teaching] good man- agement skills.” An anonymous Diplomatic Courier’s manage- ment concerns have more to do with security practices: “I’m not able to name one person in management who has received training in logistics management, transportation safety or industrial security.” ese promotion issues are not limited to a few specialties. A Facility Manager told us on background: “Unfortunately, the Facility Manager career path is severely constrained when compared to the rest of the Foreign Service. While other spe- cialist and generalist career paths have numerous counselor and minister counselor positions for advancement, the Facility Diplomatic Courier Ed Bent, at right, manages pouches in Frankfurt, July 2009. Inside a U.S. Embassy (2011)