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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 response

to 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.