The Foreign Service Journal, December 2014

10 DECEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS More Diversity on FSJ Pages, Please I read with interest the September issue of e Foreign Service Journal , in particular AFSA State Vice President Mat- thew Asada’s article on diversity. e e orts of AFSA and the State Depart- ment to promote greater diversity both abroad and inside the depart- ment are commendable. One of the unique aspects of the United States, our culture and history, is that we value diversity for its own sake and believe that including people from all walks of life will make a team, an organization and a country stronger and better. Nevertheless, I noted that, ironically, the September issue itself exhibited very little demographic diversity. All four o cers featured on the cover—the winners of this year’s dissent awards—were from the same demographic group (white males). Nearly every author, some of whom receive cash honoraria for their contributions, was also from that same demographic. I congratulate the winners of the dissent awards for their e orts, and commend the authors of the articles, as well—because anyone who can squeeze the considerable time it takes to produce a publishable article out of our busy days deserves praise. But there is something not quite right when the bulk of awards, public recogni- tion and voice go to predominantly one demographic group, no matter which one it is. Fixing this is tricky. Maybe we could each recognize that we are going to be biased in favor of our own demographic, then make an e ort to mentor, guide and nominate for awards those who are not like us. Otherwise, we will probably continue to be an organization that pays lip service to diversity without making any concrete di erence. Rachel Schneller FSO Consulate Toulouse, France FMOs: More to the Story e October issue of the Journal contained a very good recap of life in the Foreign Service for specialists. However, as a nancial manage- ment o cer for 18 years, I found the job description for FMOs to be incomplete, and I suspect other job descriptions were, as well. e FMO description could have included participating in the sta - ing rotation as duty o cer and frequently serving as acting man- agement o cer. It also could have included routine coverage as either a human resources o cer or general services o cer. Most FMOs have to be at least minimally quali ed in these other duties, and will have to function in those jobs accordingly during their careers. JimMaher FMO, retired Royal Palm Beach, Florida About FS Lab Scientists Speaking as a regional medical labora- tory scientist, I would like to point out that your October article, “ e New Spe- cialists,” contains an outdated descrip- tion of the work regional medical labora- tory scientists perform. For starters, we no longer maintain X-ray equipment. While the article does mention that we perform routine visitations to regional area health units to evaluate performance of local laboratory sta and manage the laboratory at post of assign- ment, there is no mention of our other responsibilities. ose include assessments of local healthcare facilities and local blood prod- ucts, food sanitation inspections, training in food-handling and blood-borne pathogens, medical waste management and monitoring water testing for bacte- rial contamination. Perhaps in the future an article can feature our small group of 10. James R. Adams Regional Medical Laboratory Scientist Embassy Addis Ababa Correction: An astute reader points out an error in the article, “ e New Specialists,” regard- ing titles for o ce managers. e article states: “O ce management specialists become o ce managers, or OMs, when they reach FS-3 or FS-4 or are assigned to chiefs of mission.” However, the title change actu- ally occurs at the FS-5 grade level. As a Bureau of Human Resources docu- ment on bene ts and compensation, “Titling Practice,” posted on the HR/RMA intranet page, says: “ e o cial title for positions classi- ed in the 9017 skill code is o ce man- agement specialist (OMS). e approved title for OMS positions at the FP-06 grade level and below is O ce Management Specialist; for OMS positions at the FP-05 grade level and above the approved title is O ce Manager.” n