A-100 Class
Encyclopedia
A-100 is the colloquial name given to the introductory/orientation training class for incoming Foreign Service Officer
s. These courses are taught in the Foreign Service Institute
at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center
in Arlington, Virginia. The purpose of the class is to provide orientation to the United States Department of State
, information on embassy operation and foreign affairs, intelligence collection and dissemination, State Department computer systems, and the roles different categories of personnel perform in the conduct of diplomacy
. It is the basic job-orientation course for the United States Foreign Service
before diplomats branch off into different career tracks or geographic specialties.
This class is currently six weeks long and typically has between 75 and 100 students. During the first day of the class, students learn about their fellow classmates and give presentations on them. The first week of the class is devoted to security briefings, the issuing of laptop
s and State Department identification cards, and indoctrination into the more classified aspects of the Foreign Service. The class is an opportunity to learn about the Foreign Service, not a discussion forum for foreign policy; as public servants, Foreign Service Officers, when acting in their official capacity, are obligated to defend publicly and to implement the foreign policy directives and objectives of the federal government of the United States
, notwithstanding any personal or political reservations.
Subsequent weeks examine State Department organizational structure, drafting and editing, the organizational structure of an Embassy, public speaking, and protocol. While the majority of the class takes place at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center
, there are some field trips to other U.S. Government foreign affairs agencies, as well as off site team-building training that lasts for two days and normally takes place at a resort in West Virginia.
Towards the end of the course, students are informed of their first assignments, usually overseas, during the 'Flag Day' ceremony, so named because they are presented with a small flag of the country to which the have been assigned. After A-100, additional training is personalized to the individual depending on his or her overseas posting and/or language ability and post requirements.
Members often maintain contact with each other throughout their entire careers, and regard A-100 classmates much like high school or college classmates. A-100 classes are numbered sequentially. The class numbers were restarted with the enactment of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, and several groups have shared numbers over the years.
According to tradition, the "100" in A-100 refers to the number of the room in which the course was first conducted. The State Department's 1926 Telephone Directory confirms that the Foreign Service School was located in Room 100 of the State, War, and Navy Building.
Additional details can be found in Ambassador Ellis O. Briggs' autobiography: "Proud Servant: The Memoirs of a Career Ambassador." Ambassador Briggs recounts his experiences in preparing for the 1925 Foreign Service examination—the written and oral tests that were instituted after the Rogers Act
of 1924 established the Foreign Service as "a competitive, nonpolitical, professional career." Ambassador Briggs says that "simultaneously there came into existence in the Department of State, in Room 100 on the ground floor of the old State War Navy Building, a modest enterprise called the Foreign Service School." He goes on to explain that, in order to provide new officers with an initial "home office indoctrination" and avoid the problems that might result if officers' initial training was entirely entrusted to overseas supervisors whose quality and interest level "varied from post to post," it was decided to organize "a course of several months in the State Department before a new officer was sent to his first foreign assignment." Ambassador Briggs concludes that "until after World War II, the Foreign Service School remained an unpretentious institution, concentrating on unraveling consular regulations and language instruction."
With the Foreign Service Act of 1946 a new Foreign Service training program, patterned after programs in the Army and Navy, came into existence. The newly established Foreign Service Institute
(FSI) included a "School of Basic Officer Training" (with classes distinguished by the letter "B" preceding a three-digit course number). An "A" prefix was used to identify courses administered by the separate "School of Advanced Officer Training." FSI's 1949 Course Catalog includes "B 100" -- a basic training course prescribed for all newly appointed Foreign Service officers. The separate "A 100" course involved three months of intensive training for Foreign Service officers following the successful conclusion of their probationary years in the field.
By 1955, however, these separate schools had been eliminated. In the 1955-56 FSI course catalog the training programs for junior, mid-level and senior level officers are all found under the heading of "General Career Training." The B-100 course had vanished, but A-100 survived as the 3-month "Junior Foreign Service Officers' Course" which was "required of all newly appointed Foreign Service officers of class 6 before assignment to their first post abroad."
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
s. These courses are taught in the Foreign Service Institute
Foreign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...
at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center
National Foreign Affairs Training Center
The George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center is one of several locations that house the Foreign Service Institute , the United States government's training school for members of the U.S. foreign affairs community. It is located at Arlington Hall in Arlington, Virginia.-External...
in Arlington, Virginia. The purpose of the class is to provide orientation to the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, information on embassy operation and foreign affairs, intelligence collection and dissemination, State Department computer systems, and the roles different categories of personnel perform in the conduct of diplomacy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
. It is the basic job-orientation course for the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
before diplomats branch off into different career tracks or geographic specialties.
This class is currently six weeks long and typically has between 75 and 100 students. During the first day of the class, students learn about their fellow classmates and give presentations on them. The first week of the class is devoted to security briefings, the issuing of laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s and State Department identification cards, and indoctrination into the more classified aspects of the Foreign Service. The class is an opportunity to learn about the Foreign Service, not a discussion forum for foreign policy; as public servants, Foreign Service Officers, when acting in their official capacity, are obligated to defend publicly and to implement the foreign policy directives and objectives of the federal government of the United States
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, notwithstanding any personal or political reservations.
Subsequent weeks examine State Department organizational structure, drafting and editing, the organizational structure of an Embassy, public speaking, and protocol. While the majority of the class takes place at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center
National Foreign Affairs Training Center
The George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center is one of several locations that house the Foreign Service Institute , the United States government's training school for members of the U.S. foreign affairs community. It is located at Arlington Hall in Arlington, Virginia.-External...
, there are some field trips to other U.S. Government foreign affairs agencies, as well as off site team-building training that lasts for two days and normally takes place at a resort in West Virginia.
Towards the end of the course, students are informed of their first assignments, usually overseas, during the 'Flag Day' ceremony, so named because they are presented with a small flag of the country to which the have been assigned. After A-100, additional training is personalized to the individual depending on his or her overseas posting and/or language ability and post requirements.
Members often maintain contact with each other throughout their entire careers, and regard A-100 classmates much like high school or college classmates. A-100 classes are numbered sequentially. The class numbers were restarted with the enactment of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, and several groups have shared numbers over the years.
History
In function, if not name, the A-100 Class dates back to June 7, 1924, when President Coolidge issued Executive Order 4022 establishing a Foreign Service School for the purpose of training newly-hired probationary Foreign Service Officers (FSOs). The Foreign Service School's first class was conducted from April 20 - September 1, 1925, and "graduated" a class of 17.According to tradition, the "100" in A-100 refers to the number of the room in which the course was first conducted. The State Department's 1926 Telephone Directory confirms that the Foreign Service School was located in Room 100 of the State, War, and Navy Building.
Additional details can be found in Ambassador Ellis O. Briggs' autobiography: "Proud Servant: The Memoirs of a Career Ambassador." Ambassador Briggs recounts his experiences in preparing for the 1925 Foreign Service examination—the written and oral tests that were instituted after the Rogers Act
Rogers Act
The Rogers Act of 1924, often referred to as the Foreign Service Act of 1924, is the legislation that merged the United States diplomatic and consular services into the United States Foreign Service. It defined a personnel system under which the United States Secretary of State is authorized to...
of 1924 established the Foreign Service as "a competitive, nonpolitical, professional career." Ambassador Briggs says that "simultaneously there came into existence in the Department of State, in Room 100 on the ground floor of the old State War Navy Building, a modest enterprise called the Foreign Service School." He goes on to explain that, in order to provide new officers with an initial "home office indoctrination" and avoid the problems that might result if officers' initial training was entirely entrusted to overseas supervisors whose quality and interest level "varied from post to post," it was decided to organize "a course of several months in the State Department before a new officer was sent to his first foreign assignment." Ambassador Briggs concludes that "until after World War II, the Foreign Service School remained an unpretentious institution, concentrating on unraveling consular regulations and language instruction."
With the Foreign Service Act of 1946 a new Foreign Service training program, patterned after programs in the Army and Navy, came into existence. The newly established Foreign Service Institute
Foreign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...
(FSI) included a "School of Basic Officer Training" (with classes distinguished by the letter "B" preceding a three-digit course number). An "A" prefix was used to identify courses administered by the separate "School of Advanced Officer Training." FSI's 1949 Course Catalog includes "B 100" -- a basic training course prescribed for all newly appointed Foreign Service officers. The separate "A 100" course involved three months of intensive training for Foreign Service officers following the successful conclusion of their probationary years in the field.
By 1955, however, these separate schools had been eliminated. In the 1955-56 FSI course catalog the training programs for junior, mid-level and senior level officers are all found under the heading of "General Career Training." The B-100 course had vanished, but A-100 survived as the 3-month "Junior Foreign Service Officers' Course" which was "required of all newly appointed Foreign Service officers of class 6 before assignment to their first post abroad."
See also
- United States Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign ServiceThe United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
- United States Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
- Foreign Service OfficerForeign Service OfficerA Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...