U.S. Department of State

Benefits

Sick Leave

Sick leave is accrued at a rate of 4 hours per pay period or 13 days per leave year.

Administrative Leave

Twenty (20) hours of administrative leave per annum will be given to every employee. This leave does not roll over, it must be used or you will lose it.

Annual Leave

• 4 hours per pay period or 13 days per leave year for less than 3 years of federal service
• 6 hours per pay period or 20 days per leave year after 3 years of federal service but less than 15 years
• 8 hours per pay period or 26 days per leave year after 15 years of federal service

Paid U.S.G. Holiday Schedule

• New Year's Day (January 1)
• Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January)
• Washington's Birthday (Third Monday in February)
• Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
• Independence Day (July 4)
• Labor Day (First Monday in September)
• Columbus Day (Second Monday in October)
• Veterans Day (November 11)
• Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)
• Christmas Day (December 25)

Travel Benefits

• Rest and Recuperation Break (R & R)

  You will be provided transportation back to your home of record for this break. Each break is 22 days long, including travel time. Individuals may be required to visit Washington, D.C. during these breaks to address certain administrative issues.

• Regional Rest Breaks (RRBs)

  Regional Rest Breaks (RRB) Employees will be authorized to Regional Rest Breaks, wherein each employee is allowed air transportation to a country within the region for a quick break, and will receive five days paid administrative leave. You can take up to seven (7) days, including travel time. The State Department will provide round-trip air travel to Amman or Kuwait.

There are two options for taking leave during your appointment
A) Three (3) Rest and Recuperation Breaks
OR
B) Two (2) Rest and Recuperation and three (3) Regional Rest Breaks

Other Benefits

• Unaccompanied Air Baggage (UAB)

  Employees are authorized 300 pounds unaccompanied air baggage (UAB). Assigned personnel going to Kabul are entitled to two checked bags. Travelers will not be reimbursed for excess weight fees for baggage. Travelers need to ensure all bags are under the posted weight limits for each individual airline.

Compensation

Under this appointment, you will receive post differentials and allowances in accordance with State Department regulations. You will receive danger and foreign post differential, currently each at 35% on top of your base salary. After 42 days, the post differential will be payable back to the first day.

Example: If your base salary is $100,000, you take $100,000 x 0.70 (danger and post differential) = $70,000. Add $70,000 the base of $100,000 and your total salary is $170,000.

The 2011 Premium Pay Cap is $227,300. This is the total of your base pay and your premium pay items (overtime, night differential, holiday premium pay and Sunday differential).

The positions are categorized as follows and salary information represents pay year 2011 data:

• Family Employment Health Benefits Plans

  Under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, employees are eligible to enroll in a wide variety of health insurance plans, with costs shared by the Government. Prior to deployment, employees must elect medical insurance coverage provided by a PPO (Preferred Provider), not an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). HMO plans will not cover any medical expenses incurred overseas.

  More information may be obtained at www.opm.gov/insure/.

• Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA)

  The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) provides compensation benefits to Federal Employees for work-related injuries or illnesses and to their surviving dependents if a work-related injury or illness results in the employee's death. More information may be obtained at http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/owcp/ca_feca.htm.

• Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI)

  The Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program is available to eligible federal employees. FEGLI provides group term life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. More information available at https://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp .

• Thrift Savings Plan

  Eligible employees may participate in the Thrift Savings Plan; a long-term savings and investment program for federal employees designed to provide retirement income. More information available at www.tsp.gov.

Training

If the traveler has completed OT610, FT610 or AR420 within 5 years prior to departure for his or her Iraq assignment, he/she does not need to repeat the course.

• FT610 - Iraq Area Studies

  This course is designed to provide an orientation to Iraq for all personnel assigned under Chief of Mission authority. It includes an overview of Iraq’s history and culture. It also addresses modern Iraqi political development including brief descriptions of the principal political actors in Iraq today. It provides familiarity with basic Arabic phrases and describes and demonstrates useful behaviors which will assist in developing positive, productive relationships with Iraqis. Scenarios considered range from interactions with office colleagues and employees to training relationships to advisory relationships and the conduct of negotiations on political and/or reconstruction-related issues with Iraqi officials. The course also includes an overview of living and working conditions within the U.S. mission and the diplomatic security support provided by the Regional Security Office in Iraq. Personal and family support training includes advice on stress management from Mental Health Service, family support service available from the Family Liaison Office and personal affairs advocacy and support available from the Office of Casualty Assistance.

• OT610 - Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT)

  FACT, OT-610, replaced the Diplomatic Security Anti-terrorism Course (DSAC) and Diplomatic Security Anti-terrorism Course for Iraq (DSAC/IRAQ). This course provides participants with the knowledge and skills to better prepare them for living and working in critical and high threat environments overseas. The course instructs participants in the practical skills necessary to recognize, avoid, and respond to potential terrorist threat situations. Participants will demonstrate the practical application of techniques taught in the course. Participants will learn how to conduct surveillance detection, aspects of Personnel Recovery, provide emergency medical care, demonstrate improvised explosive device (IED) awareness, participate in firearms familiarization, and perform defensive/counterterrorist driving maneuvers.

• AR420 - Iraq PRT Orientation

  This course will provide members of Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams and future provincial platforms with the basic professional skills and knowledge to function successfully in this unique organizational structure. Students will learn about counterinsurgency strategy, negotiations in a complex operation, civilian-military relationships, the transition from military to civilian control in Iraq and the evolution of the Iraq PRT program, mechanisms and methods for creating a work plan and assessing progress, Iraqi government structure, sources for funding for PRT projects, and guidelines for living in military bases and other future settings in a high threat environment. The course consists of presentations, panel discussions and student working groups, and includes practical exercises where students apply knowledge gained during the classroom sessions and supplemental readings. Through panel discussions, lectures and practical exercises, the course provides direct interaction with former PRT members and other experts from USG agencies.