State VP Voice

BY ROHIT NEPAL

I keep hearing the phrase “unprecedented times” these days. I’ve been reflecting on what it means, both in terms of where we are as a Foreign Service and where we’re going. The things we’ve experienced in the past eight months are clearly without precedent. We’ve witnessed the wholesale dismantling of USAID, with serious consequences for our ability to advance U.S. interests globally, and the enormous human toll on our USAID colleagues, both American and locally employed (LE) staff around the world.

July saw the State Department conduct RIFs in an arbitrary and inhumane fashion, weakening our diplomatic capabilities to the benefit of our adversaries. The department has stopped recognizing AFSA as your union, made unilateral changes to the FAM, canceled assignments and details, and made leadership assignments without any pretense of an equitable process. In my 23 years of service, I’ve never experienced anything like this. We’re all, understandably, on edge and worried about the future of the Foreign Service, the department’s ability to serve American people effectively around the world, and the trajectory of our own careers.

The speed and breadth of the changes are disorienting, and seem partially intended to make us feel helpless. We’re not. First off, we can remember the department isn’t a faceless institution—the department is all of us. As a starting point, we can take care of each other in ways big and small. Take time to lend a sympathetic ear to a struggling colleague. Work to explain the practical implications of a policy decision to your leadership.

When I unexpectedly became the long-term chargé d’affaires in Amman, I had the grim task of implementing the elimination of one of the largest USAID missions in the world. Together with Amman’s leadership team, we advocated fiercely to retain programs and positions and tried to be as transparent as possible. Of course, we did not get everything we pushed for, but the simple act of clearly making the case for USAID meant a lot to our colleagues.

Far more important than any action that I took as chargé, however, were the daily expressions of gratitude and kindness from members of the mission community toward our USAID team. The community association offered free pizza to USAID staff. Signs thanking USAID popped up around the embassy. Officers from other agencies wore USAID T-shirts and lapel pins. It all mattered at a time when many felt that Washington didn’t care.

Coming on board as State vice president in the wake of the RIFs, I’ve been impressed by the tireless efforts of the AFSA staff in defense of our members over these months of unrelenting attacks on the Foreign Service. In the coming months, we’ll work to refine our strategies in light of our new reality, aiming to have as much impact as possible.

With the department’s refusal to deal with us as your union—which we’ll continue to contest in the courts—we’ll look to redouble our congressional and media engagement. AFSA’s members are what makes us strong, and we’ll need your help and your ideas in the coming months. Tell us what you’re seeing, how we can support you, and what else you think we can be doing to make a difference in these unprecedented times.

You can reach me at nepal@afsa.org, and I’m always available to meet either in person or virtually.