Not so civil service

The Michael Guest coverage was very informative ["Severing Diplomatic Ties," January 29]. I recall seeing a picture of him and his partner with Condoleezza Rice several years ago in some sort of ceremony and thought, Wow! The State Department must be decades ahead of the rest of the federal government in their employment practices. Wrong! They're just the same as the rest of us who have spent our careers working for this country. I've been working in civil service for over 35 years and am eligible to retire, but it rankles me that I do not get benefits equal to the married people I work next to. I cannot cover my partner under my health benefits plan, unlike my married co-workers, and he cannot realistically accompany me on an overseas tour, which can be educational and exciting.

A lot of rewarding jobs in the federal government can be very enticing to young idealists--environment, space exploration, medical research. But the reds are making a big mistake by not offering domestic-partner benefits equivalent to those of many of the Fortune 500. We are entering a job-seekers' market as the baby bust generation comes of age, and every smart employer is working to entice the brightest and best--except the reds. They are totally ignoring a big chunk of the population, and they will pay for this by not being able to fill jobs. I could never in good conscience encourage a young gay person to seek a federal job, because the reds do not treat you fairly. How very sad.

Mr. Guest has my respect for leaving and making his statement. Thank you.

GREG WERT, Aberdeen, Md.

The State Department is not the only homophobic agency; I retired from the Immigration and Naturalization Service after 26 years of homophobia.

Readers of The Advocate are savvy enough to realize that a full pension is essentially based on the final years of service. So anyone who retires before 30 years lives on a reduced pension. Also, any savvy federal officer can choose not to out him/herself; it's not a requirement after all. But living a lie is also not a requirement.

Here are some of the consequences: (1) when you file for early retirement, you are harassed by the clerk who has your case; (2) when you attempt to show up at a duty station, you suddenly learn (as I did) that your pass to the parking area is invalid, because the day before a major change was made in parking location without your knowledge; (3) when you are on approved leave (which is a right, not a privilege), you are called in for an assignment; (4) when you apply for a justified promotion, you quickly see that your supervisor has influenced the panel to find any way possible to deny your case.

These are just a few examples of the homophobia in the Department of Justice during my tenure (1974-1998). Previously, I had served honorably as a soldier. Is this the federal government we want?

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BOB GEARY, Portland, Ore.

I was totally rooting for Michael Guest, former ambassador to Romania, for taking a stand and quitting his job because he and his partner were treated like second-class citizens by the State Department; that is, until I got to the part where I read his partner didn't want to be identified in the article for his own work-related reasons. If you want a place at the table, you have to show up for dinner. I'm surprised The Advocate ran the story and the interview.

TODD LANE, Philadelphia, Pa.

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