We Deserve Better

Nobody joins the Foreign Service to get rich.

We join for a miriad of reasons, but scratch most of us in the Foreign Service and you will find a deeply patriotic American.

We endure harsh conditions in war zones and other inhospitable places. We endure separations from our loved ones, sometimes for years. We endure diseases and environmental conditions most Americans would never consider subjecting their families to.

We earn, according to a recent study, 26% less than we could in comparable private sector jobs, and yet we endure the seemingly endless accusations that we are just overpaid bureaucrats who are the cause of our country's economic crisis. And to that end, lately we have endured pay freezes and pay cuts, and we live with the fear of job cuts and government shutdowns.

And still we serve.

We serve because we believe. We believe in this country. We believe in serving it. We believe that in order to be strong, this country needs both military and diplomatic strength.

So we deserve better than having a candidate for president of this great country question our intentions.

We deserve better than someone saying "I’m not sure our State Department serves us well...I’m talking about the career diplomats and the Secretary of State who, all too often, may not be making decisions, or giving advice to the administration that’s in this country’s best interest."

Trust me. Everything we do...EVERYTHING WE DO...we do because we believe it is in our country's best interest.

That is why we serve. FOR our country. PERIOD.