I have no words. Friday, July 11, was a bloodbath for the State Department. More than 1,100 Civil Service and 250 Foreign Service Officers were “RIF’d” – an acronym for “Reduction in Force” that is really a police way of saying fired, laid off, kicked to the curb. These cuts were not based on work performance but instead based solely on what office an employee was assigned to on May 29, 2025. I’m survived the RIFs, only because I happen to be currently stationed overseas. Whether or not they will come for us next remains to be seen.

This Substack blogger said it best:

“How Do You Fire a Calling? How the State Department Ends a Public Service Calling. Diplomacy doesn’t end with a press release. It ends in silence, in erasure, in inboxes that no longer open. Quietly, Violently, and Without Ceremony.”

Read the full post here: https://stillinoticeeverything.substack.com/p/how-do-you-fire-a-calling-how-the