Diplomats Warned of Possible Mandatory Service in Iraq!

The State Department has warned U.S. diplomats that they may be required to serve in Iraq next year if there are insufficient volunteers to fill job openings there, U.S. officials said.

The possibility of "directed assignments" was first raised last fall, when State projected a shortfall of about 50 volunteers for positions at the Baghdad embassy and other locations in Iraq in 2008. Although those jobs eventually were filled without compulsory postings, the possibility of being forced to serve in a war zone caused deep unease at State.

Diplomats will be invited next month to bid on about 300 positions that will open up next year in Iraq, according to a cable sent to State employees and diplomats last week. With more than 700 State Department personnel, the Baghdad embassy is the largest U.S. mission in the world.

Although the next bidding cycle for worldwide diplomatic jobs does not officially begin until summer, State decided to move early on the Iraq jobs, said one official who was not authorized to speak on the record. The cable, first reported yesterday by the Associated Press, said, "We face a growing challenge of supply and demand in the 2009 staffing cycle."

As in the previous cycle, officials said that directed assignments -- which every officer agrees to upon entry into the Foreign Service -- would be necessary only if the number of volunteers falls short.

Click to read more...