The Foreign Service Journal, December 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2014 51 AFSA NEWS (IROG Position Number 67700008). The Iran Watcher program was launched, in part, to develop a cadre of Farsi- speaking Foreign Service employees to sta our overseas missions and in anticipation of any potential re-establishment of diplo- matic relations with Iran. In AFSA’s view, this posi- tion should be available to all eligible Foreign Service bidders. It is not an appropri- ate position to include in the Overseas Development Pro- gram because of its unique- ness, its Farsi-language designation and the signifi- cant number of interested, qualified Foreign Service bidders for the position. The London slot is the only Iran Watcher position in an English-speaking country. Moreover, from a taxpayer’s perspective, it is a better return on investment for the U.S. government to provide the one year of language training to an employee who can take a three-year assignment and has the possibility of additional overseas language-desig- nated assignments in the future (i.e., a Foreign Service ocer), rather than choose an employee who is limited to a single two-year overseas assignment (i.e., through the Overseas Development Program). AFSA is working on an implementation dispute regarding a breach of con- tract on this matter. AFSA also reminds the department of its obligation to abide by the merit principles govern- ing the Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel sys- tems and the prohibition of any candidate pre-selection. Any Overseas Development Program position that is properly listed should be subject to free and fair com- petition. n ANNOUNCEMENT APPLY FOR AFSA YOUTH SCHOLARSH I PS The children of AFSAmembers (active duty or retired) can apply for college aid! Graduating high school seniors can apply for $2,500 academic and art merit awards, and current undergraduates can apply for need-based financial aid scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. The merit award program submission deadline is Feb. 6, 2015, and the need-based financial aid scholar- ship submission deadline is March 6, 2015. Not all who submit an application will receive an award. Visit www.afsa.org/scholar for details, or contact AFSAScholarship Director Lori Dec at (202) 944-5504 or dec@afsa.org .