Nov. 4 - Many people working in the Department of State are married to other Department of State employees. My wife Ann also works for the Department, so we too are one of these couples. I am the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy, and Ann is the Director of the Tokyo American Center (TAC). The Department refers to working couples like us as "tandem couples," and Ann and I have been extremely pleased that the Department's personnel policy has encouraged us to work together abroad.

We both joined the Department when we were single and met later at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Since our marriage in 1986, we have worked a total of 11 years in Washington, D.C. at the Department headquarters, nine years at the Embassy in Japan (on three separate assignments), and four years at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

For each new assignment, the Department has worked hard to assign us abroad together. This policy saves the Department money since for every tandem couple, they only need to transport one set of household belongings, assign one residence, and provide one family's health insurance. The Department also recognizes an even bigger benefit - that this policy leads to high job satisfaction. In this era when most American college graduates - both male and female - work, the State Department is promoting good morale by assigning tandem couples to work in the same place.

Ann and I are not alone as a tandem couple in Embassy Tokyo. In fact, there are seven other tandem couples - a total of 14 people - working alongside us here. We feel very fortunate to be able to pursue our professional careers as diplomats without having to sacrifice our good marriage by living apart.

Until next time,

Jim