Interagency Exchanges at Military Universities: Do Concerns About Finances, Career Progression and Assignments Affect Foreign Service Officers and Specialists' Willingness to Participate?

摘要

This thesis posits that some members of the Foreign Service (FS) are opting out of interagency exchanges at military universities due to concerns over finances, career progression and assignments. To determine the validity of this assumption, a survey was sent to all 89 FS alumni of interagency exchanges at military universities from the 2011 through 2014 year groups. 39 responses were received and analyzed via mixed methodology. The results show that financial concerns had very little impact on FS personnel's willingness to participate in the program but that there is some dissatisfaction among the alumni in regards to the program's effect on the career progression and assignments.