Foreign Service life

Foreign Service employees are expected to serve most of their career abroad, working at embassies and consulates around the world. The requirement currently in place calls for a maximum stretch of domestic assignments of six years before resigning or taking a foreign posting. In practice, most Foreign Service personnel prefer overseas work. The difficulties and the benefits associated with working abroad are many, especially in relation to family life. Dependent family members often accompany Foreign Service employees overseas.[7] The incidence of divorce among Foreign Service employees is said to be higher than the national average, but reliable statistics regarding this are difficult to find. The children of Foreign Service members (sometimes called Foreign Service Brats), grow up in a unique world, one that separates them, willingly or unwillingly, from their counterparts living continuously in the states. For both employees and their families, the opportunity to see the world, experience foreign cultures firsthand for a prolonged period, and the camaraderie amongst the Foreign Service and expatriate communities in general are considered some of the benefits of Foreign Service life. Some of the downsides of Foreign Service work include exposure to tropical diseases and the assignment to countries with inadequate health care systems, unaccompanied tours of duty, and potential exposure to violence, civil unrest and warfare. Attacks on US embassies around the world -- Beirut, Islamabad, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Baghdad, among others -- underscore the considerable danger these public servants face.

Members of the Foreign Service must agree to worldwide availability. In practice, they generally have significant input as to where they will work, although issues such as rank, language ability, and previous assignments will affect one's possible onward assignments. All assignments are based on the needs of the Service, and historically it has occasionally been necessary for the Department to make directed assignments to a particular post in order to fulfill the Government's diplomatic requirements. This is not the norm, however, as many Foreign Service employees have volunteered to serve even at extreme hardship posts, including, most recently, Iraq.

The State Department has a Family Liaison Office to assist Foreign Service employees and their families deal the unique issues of Foreign Service life, including the extended family separations that are usually required when an employee is sent to a danger post