WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- State Department officials should serve where they are needed -- even in war-torn Iraq , U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday . U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that `` people need to serve where they are needed . '' Rice was responding to foreign service officers ' objections to the possibility of `` directed assignments '' in Iraq . The issue has caused an uproar in the State Department , resulting in a contentious town hall-style meeting Wednesday . The new directives would be needed if enough qualified foreign service officers do n't step forward to fill open positions at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad . If the State Department enforces directed assignments , it will be the first time since the Vietnam War era . One official called the order to serve in Iraq `` a potential death sentence '' during the town meeting . The State Department already has begun notifying about 200 people considered prime candidates . Those chosen will be given 10 days to respond , according to last week 's announcement . Unless they have a valid medical reason to refuse , those who decline could face dismissal , it said . Wednesday 's heated meeting was replayed on an internal State Department television channel in Washington several times and talked about widely . Some at the hourlong meeting questioned why they were not told of the policy change directly , learning about it instead from news organizations last week . Watch the diplomats exchange angry words » . `` I just have no respect for the whole process because you 've demonstrated a lack of respect for your own colleagues , '' said foreign service officer Jack Croddy . `` Thank you for that comment . It 's full of inaccuracies , but that 's OK , '' Harry Thomas Jr. , director general of the foreign service , shot back . Others pointed out the risks of such assignments , considering the dangers of a war zone , lack of security and regular rocket attacks on U.S. personnel . Rice , who did not attend the meeting , tried to calm things down Friday by underscoring the State Department 's attempts to do `` everything that we can to try and protect our diplomats . '' However , she said , `` This is one of the highest priority tasks of the United States , and we 're going to meet our obligations . '' Speaking to reporters en route to Turkey and the Mideast , she said , `` I do n't know if we will have direct assignments or not , but we are one foreign service , and people need to serve where they are needed . '' The secretary sent out a cable to State Department employees worldwide encouraging them to serve in Iraq . `` This year [ U.S . Ambassador Ryan Crocker ] has identified the need for additional positions to more effectively accomplish our mission in Iraq , '' Rice said in the cable . Rice said she has decided to go forward with the identification of officers to serve , `` should it prove necessary to direct assignments . '' `` Should others step forward , as some already have , we will fill these new jobs as we have before -- with volunteers . However , regardless of how the jobs may be filled , they must be filled , '' she said . Rice earlier said reports that the State Department was finding it hard to coax foreign service employees into Iraq `` could n't be further from the truth . '' The assignments are new positions . Fifteen people have stepped forward to volunteer for Iraq service since the new policy was announced October 26 , department spokesman Sean McCormack said . McCormack rejected comments by Rep. Duncan Hunter , R-California , that State Department employees are `` nervous Nellies '' and that wounded U.S. military veterans should be asked to fill the Iraq vacancies . McCormack said until now the State Department has been successful in filling jobs in Iraq with volunteers . Since 2003 , more than 1,500 personnel have volunteered to go to Iraq , he said . But with the expansion of the staff in Iraq this year , 58 spots were left open . `` They are serving in dangerous and challenging places , '' he said . `` We have a lot of brave people who are stepping up to the plate in Anbar and Basra and Baghdad and Kabul and a lot of other places that are not necessarily in the headlines . '' State Department employees have been killed in Iraq , but McCormack could not say how many . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Zain Verjee and Charley Keyes contributed to this report .
Condoleezza Rice responds to foreign service officers ' objections on Iraq duty . `` Directed assignments '' will be enforced if enough officers do n't volunteer in Iraq . Rice : Department doing `` everything that we can to try and protect our diplomats '' One official calls order to serve in Iraq `` a potential death sentence ''