A fancy certificate, aka. Commission

Another milestone in the foreign service career is called commissioning. This a step in the career that is frequently misunderstood and confused with the other process of tenure. For most practical purposes, it really isn't that different. But there are some of the unique aspects to what commissioning means.

What is a commission?
Wikipedia has a pretty good answer for this stating that it is a document used to appoint individuals to a position or for providing rank and status to military officers. It then goes on to say that the process is required also for a wide range of civilian officials such as Supreme court judges, heads of departments, and members of the Foreign Service.

The documents are generally issued and signed in the name of the President or delegated official and include the seal of the United States or by the particular department issuing the appointment.
So for the FS, a commission certificate is a document and it is signed by the President.

Commissioning of Foreign Service Officers is authorized under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, and defined as a legal recognition granted by the President, with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, to Foreign Service Officers. Each member commissioned receives an appointment commission certificate signed by the President. Whereas tenure is an internal Agency administrative process, commissioning is both an internal and an external process requiring extensive clearances, Presidential nomination, Senate confirmation, and Presidential attestation.

What are the requirements?
The USAID Agency policy of "ADS 435 Commissions, Titles and Rank" provides the following two requirements for USAID Foreign Service Officers to be eligible for commissioning.  The officer 1) must be tenured and 2) must be at the class of FP-03 or above.

While I'm not so sure about why the requirement for being FP-03 or above, the other requirement to be tenured before beginning the long commission process (almost a year for myself) makes sense for the Agency to ensure the individual is at least tenured which indicates they have the demonstrated potential for a full career with the Agency.

What does the commission do?

1. Diplomatic titles
• When assigned abroad, the State Department has the Foreign Affairs Handbook policy (3 FAH-1 H-2430) which discusses the usage of diplomatic titles and what may or may not be used depending on if the individual is commissioned or not. For example, a title of a "Second Secretary" is considered a diplomatic title in which the individual must be commissioned.
• Technically, the commissioning enables FSOs to take on these diplomatic titles while assigned overseas and assume associated roles reserved for commissioned officers. 
• Do these titles make a difference at the end of the day? Not really so much. As to whether you are commissioned or not, or considered diplomatic or administrative/technical staff, you will still be performing the particular functions of your position for the post and that's mostly it. There are some very specific instances in terms of some privileges in a particular country granted to one type, but not the other, but it is all mostly the same.
2. Ineligibility of Overtime Pay
• Per ADS 472 "Premium Compensation", commissioned officers are no longer eligible for overtime compensation. May not make a big difference as the culture or provision of overtime generally comes down to Mission policy, culture, or supervisor expectations which tend to trend more to managing working hours to make sure everything is accomplished versus counting hours and seeking overtime.
• There are some specific cases, like being posted to Afghanistan, where commissioned officers are currently provided a 20% incentive differential to base salary which is unavailable to non-commissioned officers. Non-commissioned though instead have the ability to request and receive overtime compensation. But doing the math, I mostly calculate it as a near wash in terms of which would compensate higher, and this is an incentive that could go away at any time.

Reappointment Rights

When commissioned, I've heard some say it provides special reappointment rights into the Foreign Service if you leave (not retirement). Per policy however, only being tenured affords this possibility, being commissioned is not required. This is discussed in ADS 414 "Foreign Service Appointments". 

Unless my career takes me to the potential of entering the Senior Foreign Service (which provides another commission certificate), I anticipate being in the rat race of promotion up to the FS-01 for years to come. I look forward to the new adventures, experiences, and challenges along the way.

Understanding Foreign Assistance Part 1: Why does the US participate?

Foreign assistance from the US is part of the foreign policy strategy.  The foreign policy strategy is derived at a high-level from a document called the National Security Strategy.  And from this, we have 3 key documents on foreign assistance in US.  All of these are developed jointly with the Department of State. 

The State/USAID Strategic Plan is formulated every 5 years.

The QDDR is a 2010 review of State Department and USAID operations and review for priority improvements for the future.

The CBJ for Foreign Operations is the proposed budget for State and USAID.

USAID's Goals for foreign assistance are then:

1. Transformation Development
• USAID works to support far-reaching institutional changes of governance, health and human services, education, and economic growth.  All striving to build capacity to sustain progress.
2. Strengthening Fragile States
• Poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can weaken states.  Failed states can lead to the prevalence of terrorism or drug trafficking ultimately impacting the security of the United States.
3. Supporting US Geostrategic Goals
• Foreign Assistance is a leveraging instrument with US partners, but more than that, it's a method to help move partners to becoming more stable, prosperous, and democratic societies.  This can result in new allies and new trade partners as well.
4. Addressing Transnational Problems
• There are many global issues that can only be managed through collective efforts.  For these issues, no single country could bring the resources and clout necessary to adequately address them.  USAID thus seeks partnerships and cooperation on such issues like infectious diseases, international trade, criminal activities, and trafficking in persons.
5. Providing Humanitarian Relief
• Foreign assistance is a way to show the generosity and compassion of the American people.  It is a way for the US to assist in crises around the world such recent events such as the Japanese Earthquake, the Bangkok floods, or the drought in East Africa.

From the above, foreign assistance is a powerful tool in US foreign policy to fulfill numerous objectives of US strategic interest.  Working for USAID, it is important to understand the picture on the how/why the organization does what it does.  It is also good to know that by doing the job well, helping other people around the world achieve health, prosperity, and freedom, we are meeting the foreign policy objectives.

Teamwork?

This week introduced new concepts of America's Foreign Policy.  Particularly, the discussion of the interactions between the various foreign affairs agencies with a focus on the State Department Foreign Service Officers and USAID Foreign Service Officers.

USAID instruction has revolved around Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review and how Civilian efforts should take the lead in foreign affairs.  This leads to the USAID Forward strategy which is how USAID will adjust to take the lead in international development.

What was particularly interesting was the culture difference and attitudes between State FSO's and USAID FSO's.  At USAID, the main emphasis for strategy is how to incorporate the different strategies of the military, State (politics), and USAID (long-term relationships abroad and international development goals) into a focused strategy.

We had a panel discussion with a senior State FSO and senior USAID FSO on the 3 D's (Defense, Diplomacy, and Development).  During the Q&A session, a question was asked regarding best ways in the field to encourage the push for long-term relationships and stability (development) in partner countries.  From this the State FSO responded fine at first of the importance in country team meetings to clearly articulate the USAID point of view and how it can benefit the overall embassy strategy.  However, he then further went on to say that everything is very competitive out in the field you'll have to be aggressive and need to step on the backs of others to achieve your mission objectives and advance (get promoted) in the field.  After the panel, our USAID coaches clearly advised that this was not the culture of USAID and that programs or objectives in the field are only achieved through input and cooperation from all our teammates.

The corporate world is pretty competitive but from my experience, doing your job well and playing nice with others seemed to be the best recipe for success.  I'm tending to believe our coaches that the diplomacy world is similar with an even more emphasis on teamwork and relationships.