Talk:United States Foreign Service

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I think this article should contain some information about the foreign services exam. user:titaniumdreads

I concur. Either that or link to a good site that has info on the test. --24.59.12.203 22:08, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Just added some info on joining the Foreign Service and the exams. A link to the official State Department Careers site is also there. Need anything else?

Contrary to the statement on US Foreign Service Agencies, the US Department of Commerce's Foreign Commercial Service; the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service and the USAID are not just "using the Foreign Service's personnel system" - these three agencies are part of the US Foreign Service, like the State Department. USAID is now part of the State Department.

The Foreign Service Act states unambiguously that these agencies are "authorized to use the FS personnel system" Please see the US Congress web site for the original text.

USAID is not part of the state department. Check http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/dos/54734.htm for an organizational chart.

Can't put too much about the Foreign Service exam out in the public domain as it is an exam! You can't give away the answers!

This article needs some work. Calling the Foreign Service a "personnel system" is like calling the U.S. military and naval establishments "personnel systems". The Foreign Service is a commissioned service of the United States Government.

It is indeed a personnel system, one of several under which US Diplomats are assigned overseas. It is important to clarify this so as not to confuse the term "foreign service", with Diplomatic Service.

Only certain categories are promoted under the so-called "up or out" system. Medical personnel, technical staff, and others are not subject to those requirements.

This page does seem to read like an advertisement or brochure for the USFS. There could certainly be more done with history and the foreign service exam. As for not giving much away about the exam, for much of it there are no "right answers." Especially in the oral exam you are given questions such as "do you support American Foreign policy in Europe? Support your answer." and questions to that effect. It is certainly an article with plenty of information available to make it informative without sounding like a recruiting tool.

I improved and updated this page which had devolved into a poorly-written article. I added a section on the history of the Foreign Service as well us reverted back to using sub-sections as had been done previously. As far as the complaints about article "reading like an advertisement", well, the Foreign Service is not engaged in "selling" anything, other than the foreign policy of the United States itself. Presently a well written, verifiable article from a neutral point of view does not preclude the article from having the same reader appeal of an advertisement. SONORAMA 14:07, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Don't worry about the article trying to "sell" the Foreign Service; anyone using wikipedia as a prinipal means of information about the FS is quite unlikely to ever pass the written exam, much less the oral!

[edit] FS as a "personnel system"

I recently edited the language to tone down the claim that the FS is a "personnel system". To use that terminology, outside of FS agencies, would unnescesarily confuse the reader as to the nature of the Foreign service.Rockford1963 22:13, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

The FS is indeed a personnel system. To not include that fact is misleading because many US diplomats are not appointed or assigned under that (personnel) system. We should not lead the general public to believe that the term "foreign service" is equivalent to Diplomatic Service. Today's complex world needs diplomats from many fields and specialities. The FS personnel system cannot meet all of these needs and due to labor disputes within the Dept of State, more and more diplomats are being assigned abroad under systems other the the Foreign Service, as defined in the US Foreign Service Act

.Statesman