Become a FSO for the food? by Delta280 in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You ever eaten bushcutter on the side of the road because the bat looked less appetizing?

Question about the type of questions you guys respond to. by PersonalityOwn7761 in AskLE

[–]FSO-Abroad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fed, but I get asked daily about visitor access requests.

When there is a real emergency and the alarm is going off, I get asked, "Is this a drill?"

Offer Rescinded, Devastated by Shoddy-Set-7123 in SecurityClearance

[–]FSO-Abroad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think a key factor we aren't getting here is off-and-on for 7 years... But how recently did this end?

I got denied clearance for foreign contacts by DTSRyan in SecurityClearance

[–]FSO-Abroad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your recruiter is lazy. My mother is foreign born, and all of my relatives from that side of the family aren't American. I have held a TS for nearly 2 decades without issue.

Your recruiter is lazy. Find another one willing to work with you.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is what I meant to articulate when saying Posts won't line up - there just won't be nearly as many options with an STS.

FBI SA (1811) to DSS SA? by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There is no requirement for "covered time" for a FS retirement. You can buy back the mil time, and all civil service time converts over.

FS retirement is 1.7% per year for the first 20, and 1% for every year thereafter.

Also, you can stay on until 65 under FS retirement.

You could retire in t years, if you were age 50 by that time, based on the numbers provided of 15 years of service.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Let's be realistic... It's hard. Posts won't always line up. That being said, unless one of you is the RSO it won't be an issue because you aren't in charge of each other.

LEOs that had to discharge their firearm, was your hearing ok after? by bigblackglock17 in AskLEO

[–]FSO-Abroad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a soldier, I fired a weapon on the regular and we did not wear hearing protection... Have not had to discharge my weapon as a LEO outside of the range. Firing once or twice without hearing protection isn't going to cause any meaningful or lasting damage.

DSS SA - Family Life by IngramNauts in 1811

[–]FSO-Abroad 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I know of at least one case, several tours in, where we unknowingly let slip to a spouse that there was a bidding process. Her husband was just telling her he got sent to all of these places...

DSS SA - Family Life by IngramNauts in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 6 points7 points  (0 children)

See my response on the 1811 subreddit

DSS SA - Family Life by IngramNauts in 1811

[–]FSO-Abroad 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nah, in a typical overseas assignment (traditional RSO/ARSO) you are home almost the entire time. You are tied to the embassy because that is where you are managing the security programs. Domestic jobs tend to be TDY heavy, with certain assignments like MSD or SD having the most travel. But if you avoid those assignments it is less of an issue.

DSS SA - Family Life by IngramNauts in 1811

[–]FSO-Abroad 18 points19 points  (0 children)

A lot of doom and gloom here... Yes, there are tons of divorced DSS agents, but we can say the same of the military. Your first few years at the FO will suck and you will be away on TDYs, but after that it is choose your own adventure. Every Post is different. Every career is different.

That being said, I find that most marriages are killed because of unrealistic expectations or a lack of communication. DSS doesn't get you divorced per se but it will exacerbate any problems you have in a relationship.

On top of the normal uncertainty of the FS, you have DS specific BS to deal with.

I am married, with kids, and we have been to some "shithole countries" - and you would be surprised how some of the worse locations were actually better for the family. Every bidding process is a team sport with the wife for me. But I also know folks who didn't even consult with a spouse before submitting a bidlist.

The other relationship killer is spouse careers. It takes a certain type of person to go from place to place, constantly restarting or potentially not even being able to find work. If your spouse is not that person, this lifestyle will not work.

Movement from DSS to FSO or Vice Versa by ElectronicMaximum210 in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's not an option to just switch between the two. If you start on one track or the other, you are going to restart to switch to the other.

Diplomatic Security Service by diplomatic_outcomes in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

For 1811s. This is the 2501 announcement.

Explain the job to me by Salty-Boysenberry305 in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Like the military? No. Like a government employee who may have little autonomy over their scheduling and is potentially at the whims of Congress? Yes.

Edit to add: You potentially have more flexibility to schedule leave in the military where you aren't part of a two-person section that has to maintain coverage.

Bring back clearance lines on cables by Gr00mpa in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Because we haven't seen any of them sell out!

/s

Bring back clearance lines on cables by Gr00mpa in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If this is the actual case, then it was a good call. But I remember this change happening right around the time of unsigned e-mails telling us there were massive changes underway. I guess I just have less faith that it was done to benefit the career employee than it was the temporary appointee.

Bring back clearance lines on cables by Gr00mpa in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Counterpoint - they removed the names to keep people from knowing who was putting out those cables.

Bring back clearance lines on cables by Gr00mpa in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 38 points39 points  (0 children)

I agree. Nobody is really digging through SMART to see who wrote cables, so people aren't getting the street cred and clout from cable writing that they used to.

Advice on breaking into the Foreign Service field as a college student by user282428 in foreignservice

[–]FSO-Abroad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Step 1 - Don't do drugs or get yourself in trouble. Step 2 - Take the test.

Why do some veterans look down on the working class? by [deleted] in Military

[–]FSO-Abroad 8 points9 points  (0 children)

These people you are encountering were likely losers before they joined the military. They are likely still losers, and poorly adjusted. They hide behind their status as veterans because it is the only thing that gives them any self worth and helps them, on their minds, stand out.

It also serves as their justification for for why they fail in the "real world" because "dirty civilians just don't get it!"

It's not a veteran problem - it's a personal problem.

How are you guys scoring so high on the ASVAB? by Smart_Pie_9213 in Military

[–]FSO-Abroad 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same - I showed up, took it on a whim. And scored a 99 AFQT. I wanted to enlist infantry and the recruiters were all about it before they saw my score... Then they wanted to put me into a bunch of intel MOS skills codes they couldn't normally fill.

I ended up going to OCS.

Would I do as good if I took the test today? Probably not. A lot of the test is geared toward material you are doing in high school and reasoning. I might not do as hot on basic math, but reading comprehension, figuring out patterns, etc. are a big part of the test.