As the principal advocate for the long-term health of the Foreign Service,
AFSA is immersed in conversations with management at the foreign
affairs agencies, Congress, our members and other stakeholders on a
range of policy issues affecting the integrity and attractiveness of the
Foreign Service career path.
Federal-Postal Coalition
Members of the 183rd A-100
orientation class for State
Foreign Service officers visit
AFSA for the first time and
learn how the association
is working to ensure their
Foreign Service career path
is strong. (AFSA/Maria C.
Livingston)
19
AFSA’S VIEW ON STATE’S REPORT TO
CONGRESS ON WORKFORCE PLANNING
In 2015, the Department of State submitted its Section
326 report—a document mandated every four years by
22 U.S.C. Section 4173—to Congress on the state of its
Foreign Service workforce.
AFSA’s responseto the report
was included as an addendum and addressed Foreign
Service career path analysis, elimination of the mid-level
position deficit, peer-constituted Selection Boards,
assignment process reform and challenges to retention
and diversity within the ranks of the Foreign Service.
The response reflected AFSA’s focus on the mid-level
“pig in the python” personnel bulge and on ensuring that
the department is able to provide a “regular, predictable
flow of talent through the ranks into the Senior Foreign
Service” as mandated in Section 601 of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980, as amended. It also emphasized the
need for a more transparent, efficient and user-friendly
assignments process.