The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

32 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Many specialists don’t notice any tension at all. “I nd it interesting that this question continues to surface,” remarks HR Course Chair Perry. “I have not experienced any issues in the 12 years I’ve been with State.” In fact, there are a number of other divisions, both real and imaginary, at overseas missions that don’t involve specialists and generalists. Military vs. civilian, employee vs. spouse, senior sta vs. junior sta , FS vs. FSN/ LES: all are potential mine elds. And yet, most people in the Foreign Service community do, in fact, move past these labels and act as a team, especially when the post atmosphere is imbued with inclusiveness and a sense of mission. The Good News It is much easier now to nd information about specialists and what they do, starting with State’s careers.state.gov site (complete with appealing but not overly informative videos of FS personnel in the eld) and, for a bigger and more complex picture, through uno cial Internet sites and blogs. More transparency leads to increased knowledge and understand- ing of di erent o cers’ skill sets—and how they contribute to the team. Says GSO Crowder: “My personal experience has been that people treat me with the same respect and professional cour- tesy as they do generalists. Actually, unless the subject comes up in relation to bidding or promotion, it is not something that people generally talk about one way or the other. e focus seems to be on the quality of the work—which I think is a good sign.” Despite promotion and morale problems, Foreign Service life still o ers perks that can’t be found elsewhere, for both generalists and specialists. “I really do enjoy my job and count it as a privilege to be a support to the embassy where I am assigned,” says GSO Crowder. e new specialists know their worth and have largely lost the old, stereotypical roles of the past century. Says OM Graeme, “I won’t make you co ee because I don’t drink it. Maybe tea?” n not have the same diplomatic privileges as generalists. Without accreditation, specialists are not entitled to the same protection as diplomats. ey are also not entitled to certain administrative privileges such as tax advantages, car registration bene ts, etc.” Specialists who are managers of sections can some- times, at the discretion of post manage- ment, get on the diplomatic list by being listed as vice consuls. In 2004 then-IMS David Jesser won the AFSA Representative of the Year award for his work to attain duty-free status for specialists in Pretoria, using reciprocity as justi cation for the change in that post’s policy. “ e one thing that really concerned me was that at many posts there were nancial inequities between those on the Diplomatic List and those who were listed as Administration and Technical Sta personnel,” explains Jesser. “For example, as an FS-2 in Pretoria, I had no access to the duty-free stores, while a rst-tour generalist automatically had that privilege.” e Vienna Convention issue was the only one cited by Jesser as fostering a divide between generalists and specialists. He attests that shared activities, such as the scuba diving he has done with other mission personnel, eliminate any feeling of “us vs. them.” OBO’s Eric Rumpf agrees. “At the end of the day, if one can catch a softball, barbecue a burger, help at an orphanage, or in some way contribute positively to the small communities we nd ourselves in, those perceptions and labels fade imme- diately.” However, Rumpf does see “a lack of understanding between the two, and the expertise and services each pro- vides. at chasm underscores the need for the department to continue investing in our newer Foreign Service cadre through mentorships, training and improved communications.” Humor helps. An anonymous Security Engineer, who blogs at opsecblog.wordpress.com, writes in his comic essay, “Nine ings You Need to Accept About Being a FS Specialist”: “In the rst couple weeks of my rst tour, I knew the RMO made sure I didn’t keel over, the GSO assigned me my housing, and the FMO could make my job immeasurably easier or harder as they controlled the cash. Oh, and I gured out pretty quickly that the OMS was a godsend. e SEO stereotype is ‘the tech guy,’ and gets approached as such. No, I cannot x your micro- wave right now.” Facility Manager Gary Hein stands in front of the chief-of-mission residence and embassy o ce building in Cairo. Inside a U.S. Embassy (2011)