The Foreign Service Journal, November 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2021 91 AFSA NEWS though. It’s a truly impressive group of people. Still, it’s a concern.” Part of the problem in both hiring officers and retaining existing ones is that FSOs play less of a role today than in the past in foreign policy decision-making and implementation. AFSA will continue to push for enlarg- ing the role of FSOs in foreign policy, he said. Amb. Rubin noted that China now has a larger dip- lomatic presence around the world than the United States, with more embassies and diplomats, and more spend- ing on overseas development. This is “disturbing and unacceptable,” he said, adding that the answer is to push for significantly more resources for American diplo- macy. That includes a need for additional funding for training diplomats, he said. The pandemic has had a major impact on the work of the Foreign Service, Rubin said. The processing of visas came to a standstill, for example, hurting the higher education, tourism and recreation sectors. American citizen services (ACS) around the globe have been severely degraded, with many prison visits stopped. Domestically, the State Department faces a backlog of 2 million passport applications to process. Amb. Rubin said that while the foreign affairs agencies should have more flexible telework policies going for- ward, much diplomatic work, particularly overseas, needs to be done in person. He expressed concern over the slow pace of confir- mations of ambassadors and other high-level positions in the foreign affairs agencies. AFSA has launched an outreach campaign with Foreign Service employee affinity groups and other interested organizations to push for speedier confirma- tions. While the Biden admin- istration “has said the right things” in terms of making improvements to the Foreign Service, high-level officials must be in place to help make these changes happen, he said. Promoting diversity in the Foreign Service is another area in urgent need of action, Rubin said. AFSA is making progress with the Biden administra- tion in fighting assignment restrictions, in which dip- lomats are sometimes told that because of their ethnic background they will not be assigned to certain countries. Rubin said he expects the administration to roll out a set of helpful changes to assignment restrictions. He praised the “truly remarkable work of our For- eign Service, Civil Service and military colleagues” in getting Americans and Afghan allies out of Afghanistan. He called the collapse of Afghanistan a “wrenching situation,” and noted that many AFSAmembers who worked in Afghanistan over the years are distraught by what is happening there. “We have literally hun- dreds of members who have volunteered” in Washing- ton and at service centers welcoming Afghan refugees across the country. “Our col- leagues have not only risen to the situation; they have gone far beyond,” he said. Retirees also had the chance to ask Amb. Rubin several questions during the session. One member asked about unexplained health inci- dents (UHI)—referred to as “Havana syndrome” in major media—and asked if “we are taking care of our people.” Rubin said AFSA has been “very engaged” on the issue for the past several years, assisting members who have experienced UHIs. AFSA is pushing to get access to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for its members, AFSAGoverning Board Meeting Sept. 15, 2021 The board met by videoconference on Sept. 15 due to concerns over the COVID-19 delta variant. Any decisions by the Governing Board made virtually must ultimately be passed when the board meets again in person, according to AFSA bylaws. Foreign Service Labor Relations Board: The Governing Board approved the reappointment of Ambassadors (ret.) Dennis K. Hays and Thomas J. Miller to the Foreign Service Labor Relations Board for three-year terms. n because they have some of the best evaluation facili- ties in the country for brain conditions, he said. AFSAmembers who have been affected by UHIs aren’t satisfied with the government’s efforts so far, he added. “Nothing is more important than the safety and health of our people, so we’ll continue pushing publicly and privately on the issue.” In answer to another question, Rubin said that AFSA is making some progress on promoting paid instead of unpaid intern- ships in the foreign affairs agencies, in an attempt to increase opportunities for people from more diverse backgrounds. AFSA hosts “View from Washington” sessions with Foreign Service retirees every quarter. n View fromWashington Continued from p. 83