Feature Story:
Mustangs |
By Donna Miles
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ichard Snelsire had all the makings of a great Foreign Service officer. With a master's degree in international affairs and both French and German language skills, he'd spent two years in State's Press Office and had a strong understanding of key foreign affairs issues. In addition, he'd served as a diplomatic courier based in Frankfurt for six years, traveling to and befriending FSOs in more than 80 countries.
During his travels, Mr. Snelsire longed for the diversity of assignments and training opportunities offered to them--more, he said, than was available to him as a Foreign Service specialist or Civil Service employee. Today, Mr. Snelsire is a political officer serving a two-year consular tour with the Office of American Citizen Services in Manila. The road from being a Foreign Service specialist to an FSO was the Mustang Program, a little-known program at State that offers Department employees who are tenured in the Foreign Service or have career status in the Civil Service the opportunity to compete for appointments as junior officers. The Mustang Program began in 1970 to provide top-caliber Foreign Service specialists and Civil Service employees entrée into the Foreign Service officer ranks without taking the Foreign Service Written Exam. But, in fact, many Mustangs have taken and passed the written exam. Some apply for the Mustang Program simply because it offers expedited entry into the Foreign Service officer corps. Getting into the Mustang Program is anything but easy. It's so competitive that only one of about 15 employees who apply each year usually makes the cut, according to Julie Moyes, who oversaw the program in the Office of Career Development and Assignments until moving on to a consular position this summer. This year, however, has been a banner year, with four Mustang Program candidates being offered Foreign Service officer appointments. "We quadrupled the program in one year!" announced Ms. Moyes, herself a product of the Mustang Program. Among them were Robert Farquhar, an information management specialist with the Department since 1994, and Jeff Lodinsky, a diplomatic courier for six years.
Robert Farquhar, a former information management specialist, graduated from the Mustang Program to become a consular officer. For these Mustangs, the program offered an opportunity to launch a whole new career. Mr. Farquhar said an assignment with the consular section in Sanaa fueled his long-time interest in becoming a consular officer. And although Mr. Lodinsky said he loved his job as a courier, he was also fascinated with what he calls the "nuts and bolts of diplomacy"--reporting on events, exploring host government policies and keeping informed on topical issues. Thanks to the Mustang Program, both Mr. Farquhar and Mr. Lodinsky are pursuing their new interests while still serving the Department. Unlike most FSO applicants, Mustangs select their functional career cone when they apply to the program. If they are accepted into the program, they attend training in that cone following their Foreign Service orientation class. Mr. Farquhar selected the consular cone, and Mr. Lodinsky, the political cone. But with that privilege comes the requirement that Mustangs join at the rank of other new FSOs. It can mean a pay cut for some and a temporary loss of status for others. Mr. Lodinsky was an FS-03 when he entered the program, but, like other Mustangs, could not be hired above the FS-05 level. "In effect, I had to demote myself two grades in order to take part in the upward mobility offered by the Mustang Program," he said. But it's a sacrifice he said he recognized and accepted as he applied for the program. Mustang candidates submit a thick application packet that details their past work experience and includes an autobiography and statement of their interest in the Foreign Service. The packets also include transcripts of their post-high school education, which must include at least one semester of college course work relevant to the Foreign Service. The application packet and the applicant's performance evaluation file are reviewed by a three-member panel from the Office of Recruitment, Examination and Employment, which looks for evidence of the applicant's potential, motivation and ability to work well with others. According to Richard "Steve" Taylor, an assessor who appoints the panels, they evaluate the packets for:
The application process, particularly the oral exam, can be intimidating to even the best-qualified candidates. But Mr. Snelsire advises interested employees to "take the plunge and apply" anyway. "I'm glad I did," he said, "though I do miss the traveling life of a courier sometimes after a hard day on the visa line." Mr. Taylor said there is no "prototype" of a successful Mustang candidate, "except for the obvious shared quality--ambition." Teresa Stewart, administrative officer and consul in Maseru, credits the experience she gained in the banking industry before joining the Foreign Service, plus the educational work she had done toward a master's degree in business administration, with getting her into the program.
Teresa Stewart, third from left, administrative officer/consul in Maseru, has high praises for the Mustang Program. With her, from left, are Carol Chappell, Michelle Hecker, Ambassador Katherine Peterson and Linda de Sola. She admits that she initially joined the Foreign Service in 1979 as an office management specialist because she wasn't sure she'd "make it" living overseas, but she quickly "got hooked" on the Foreign Service. She applied for the Mustang Program and was sworn in as an officer in 1985. "I'm in the administrative cone and I love it!" she said. Mr. Lodinsky, a recent graduate of the Mustang Program, believes his experience as a Fascell Fellow in Budapest helped get him into the program. Fresh out of graduate school, which he admits "didn't prepare me for the level of expertise I needed to keep up with the professionals at the embassy," he was assigned to the economics section and tasked to do reporting cables. After what he calls "a baptism under extreme fire," Mr. Lodinsky said he found himself developing as a reporting officer through the support and encouragement of his colleagues. He has little doubt that that experience, plus the years he spent as a diplomatic courier, expedited his entrance into the program. "I'm sure that having a solid resume of cable writing and reporting was important," he said. "Also, while in the courier service I was promoted rather quickly, and I was serving in managerial positions when I applied. Having that helped as well." Despite the rigorous requirements they must meet to become Mustangs, some say they're hesitant to admit the source of their entry into the FSO corps to their colleagues. A Foreign Service officer in the Mediterranean who asked to remain unidentified said his experience has shown that some FSOs still look down on Mustangs as second-class officers. "While I do not hide the fact that I received my commission via the Mustang Program, neither do I advertise it," he said. "My perception--based on experience--is that there still exists an elitist bias within the Service against anyone who does not, or did not, become an officer via the standard exam process." But Ms. Stewart said she's proud to call herself a Mustang and to encourage other qualified employees to apply. "The advantage to the employee is personal satisfaction with a career track that works," she said. "The advantage to the Department is a satisfied employee in a career track that works." Edward W. "Skip" Gnehm Jr., director general of the Foreign Service and director of Personnel, agreed that Mustangs also enrich the Foreign Service generalist talent pool with officers offering a wide diversity of skills. In addition, Ms. Moyes said they bring the Foreign Service officer corps a level of commitment not always shared by other new officers. "These people know the Foreign Service, and they've already proven their worth to the Department," she said. "They have maturity, dedication and experience and they've worked hard to get where they are. You're not going to see them bailing out." Mr. Snelsire said that Mustangs also bring the Department experienced officers who more clearly understand and appreciate the integral roles that Civil Service employees and Foreign Service specialists play in the foreign affairs mission. Mr. Lodinsky said he's thrilled by the new opportunities that have opened up to him since joining the Mustang Program--and encourages other specialists and Civil Service employees to consider the program. "Couriers feel that they and ambassadors have the two best jobs in the State Department," he said. "Well, I've had one. Now I'm working on the other." For more information about the Mustang Program, contact Antoinette Corbin-Taylor in the Office of Career Development and Assignments at (202) 736-7439 or via email.
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