Dear Friends and Family,
It's been a few weeks since I last wrote an update, and I know that many of you have questions based on what you've heard on the news or in conversation.
The biggest piece of news in my life is that I have decided to resign from the Foreign Service. This won't be effective until June (I'll explain why below), but the process has already begun. This has been a very difficult decision for me to make, and one that I have had to make during the most difficult period of my life that I can remember. I gave up everything to give this job--this career--a try. Jen gave up far more than I did, including her job (and put her entire career on hold) and, for most of the last year, all control over her own life.
By way of explaining my decision as well as giving you the background on the news here, let me start with a recap of the events of the last couple weeks.
Security Threats Abound
About two weeks ago the Embassy issued a warden message warning of
attacks on Westerners in Yemen and advising us to stay away from
popular grocery stores and restaurants. As if it wasn't bad enough
assuming that people would attack us on the streets once the Embassy
was too hard of a target, now we had it waved in our faces. That was
actually the latest of a series of increasingly worrisome warden
messages. Of course, as Political Officer, I was also privy to more
of the specifics than we can put in the warden message. What I
learned did not give me reason for optimism.
Then last Friday, a man, apparently acting alone and possibly mentally disturbed, threw two grenades at the Embassy. He did this on a weekend evening, and only got one of the grenades over the wall. No one was injured, and he was arrested. Clearly he hadn't thought this out too well in advance. Nonetheless, this incident does not inspire confidence when you're already feeling uneasy about the security situation in Yemen.
Just two days later, the Undersecretary for Management agreed to lift authorized departure for adult family members. Children still can't return. That means that Jen could now return to Yemen if she wanted to. However, I am here on the ground where I can assess the situation for myself and I do not believe that it is safe for dependents to return to post. Obviously those with more authority disagree with me, but I have a responsibility for the safety of my own family, and I have to use my own judgement. In addition, I know that Jen would not feel comfortable here in the current security environment, regardless of whether she would "actually" be safe or not. (I don't feel safe here, and I spend the majority of my time in Fortress America, also known as the Embassy.)
No Choices
In the meantime, Jen for the last two and a half months has been in
DC, still in temporary quarters and feeling tossed about by forces
beyond her control. The very timing of the lifting of authorized
departure is a perfect example. Each extension of authorized
departure is for 30 days. But in late February it was announced that
it would end March 4th, two weeks early. Then, because of the threats
here, the lifting was cancelled on March 3, if I remember right.
Finally, no decision was made about what would happen at the end of
180 days until on the 180th day. That meant that no evacuee could
plan ahead for what would happen when their per diem ran out.
I predicted that would happen and Jen and I started planning
for ourselves weeks ago, on the assumption that State would handle it
badly (as they did). First, I tried desperately to get my assignment
changed. Despite the risk that I would ruin my long term career by
requesting a new assignment, the only way to salvage my Foreign
Service career at all was to get out of Yemen. For Jen's sake, I felt
that I had to be assigned to Washington, so that she could start
looking for a job and a place to live and could settle down into some
kind of normalcy after spending seven of the last eight months in
total limbo. If the State Department would not reassign me to
Washington, I was willing to consider what the other possibilities
might be so long as we could establish a plan reasonably quickly, for
Jen's sake.
Unfortunately, Human Resources was totally unhelpful and post
management was not willing to let me change my assignment. So my
choices were:
1. Jen could return to post if authorized departure was lifted.
2. I could serve out the rest of my tour (18 months) unaccompanied
if authorized departure was not lifted.
3. I could resign.
I have already explained why choice one is not viable. Choice two is obviously unacceptable. Which leaves only choice three. So the question became how to implement choice three.
A Quick Primer on the Regs
I don't want to bore all of you with discussion of the State
Department regulations, but I have to give a quick summary in order
to explain what is going on with Jen and I at this point.
As a first tour Junior Officer, State won't ship my household
effects (HHE) home when I resign unless I finish the whole tour.
(Other officers are only on the hook for one year.) Shipping our HHE
myself would cost as much as $24,000. Clearly, that is not a good
option.
Being an Admin officer, I found a way to use the regulations to my advantage. I can put Jen on Separate Maintenance Allowance (SMA), which is the payment one gets if a dependent does not accompany an officer to post, either because the post is unaccompanied or because the spouse chooses not to go to post for whatever reason. If you go on SMA in the middle of a tour, you are entitled to a full HHE shipment. The catch is that you cannot go on SMA within the last 90 days of the officer's tour. Thus, I can't quit until 90 days after Jen goes on SMA. March to April to May to June. That's how I end up not quitting until June.
Back to Normal?
What Next?
What will I do now, you may ask? I have to start looking for a job,
but it's very tough from here. Besides the fact that I work almost
all the time, I can't even get on the Internet most nights.
I would like to continue in public service a little longer,
if possible, either at the State Department as a civil servant or
elsewhere. Naturally, I'm also going to look in the private sector,
if I'm ever able to get online for more than five minutes. If any of
you know of vacancies or have connections, I'm open to suggestions.
Thank You
I owe many of you a debt of gratitude for your support throughout
this process, from taking the Foreign Service Exam straight through
to the point at which I find myself now.
Many people who get these emails have helped me in my career, with advice, contacts, or the chance to share ideas. Others of you helped to facilitate the major change in our lives that Jen and I undertook, by your excitement about our coming adventure, your willingness to consider visiting us in a country you had never even heard of (except on Friends), and by encouraging us to try something new.
Thank you to everyone for everything that you have done for Jen and me in the last year or two. I wish this whole experience had turned out differently and I regret that none of you were able to visit us in Yemen. Despite the security threats, this is truly a unique, beautiful, and fascinating place. It's just not a good place to visit right now.
Love,
- Michael Kolodner