The Foreign Service Journal, December 2007

60 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / DE C EMB E R 2 0 0 7 A F S A N E W S CLASSIFIEDS world angry about the way the news reached them and concerned about how the identification process would proceed. BeginningonMonday,Oct. 29, approx- imately230 individual StateForeignService officers receivednotifications by e-mail that they were “prime candidates” for one or more Iraqpositions. Prime candidateswere given14days to respond to the prime can- didate identification. They couldvolunteer for the positions indicated or submit an appeal statement to the DG through their careerdevelopment officers explaining their circumstances and any special considera- tions that should exempt themfrombeing directed to the particular assignment. These statementswere tobe read to the special assignment panel for directed assignments, which was scheduled to begin on or about Nov. 13. The panel would then select the employees to fill the openpositions forwhich therewas no vol- unteer. Employees selected by the identi- ficationpanel wouldhave 10workingdays to respond. As stated in theDG’smessage 149682, “Should an employee refuse to accept assignment upon conclusionof this process, appropriatedisciplinary actionwill be pursued, including possible separation for cause.” AFSA’s Position Immediately following the State announcement, AFSAsent out a cable and AFSAnet message on Oct. 27 (State 149686). That message offered further informationon the assignment process and spelled out the AFSA position. AFSA believes that directed assignments of unarmedForeignServicemembers into the war zone in Iraq would be detrimental to the individual, the post and the Foreign Service as a whole. Between 2003 and 2007, more than 2,000members of the ForeignService vol- unteered to serve in Iraq. Now, with the next rotationof personnel, 80newpositions havebeencreatedat EmbassyBaghdadand the Provincial Reconstruction Teams, increasing further the size of what was already the biggest U.S. mission in the world. As AFSA President John Naland pointedout inanOct. 30message tomem- bers, “With 68 percent of the Foreign Service already ‘forward deployed’ in 189 foreign countries (compared to21percent of theuniformedmilitary stationedabroad), the Foreign Service has no bench strength with which to surge more personnel into Iraq.” Significant additional resources and personnel have not accompanied the ris- ing number of FS positions in Iraq. AFSAhas been responding individual- ly to hundreds of inquiries since the Oct. 26 announcement, providing information andadvice, inconfidence, toForeignService members. Further inquiries can be sent to the AFSA Labor Management Office at AFSA-Staff-DL@state.gov . To speak to an AFSA representative by phone, call (202) 647-8160. 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