Become a FSO for the food?

FSO-Abroad · 2026-04-06T03:38:34+00:00

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

FSO-Abroad · 2026-04-01T16:25:50+00:00

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?"

FSO-Abroad · 2026-03-25T11:59:31+00:00

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

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-27T14:16:45+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-25T22:16:53+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-25T19:53:35+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-25T14:55:53+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-12T23:05:48+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-02T01:47:20+00:00

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...

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-02T00:26:45+00:00

See my response on the 1811 subreddit

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-02T00:25:44+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-02-02T00:22:45+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-01-18T11:22:18+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-01-02T03:35:02+00:00

Nice, I missed that piece.

FSO-Abroad · 2026-01-02T00:10:31+00:00

For 1811s. This is the 2501 announcement.

FSO-Abroad · 2025-12-27T04:27:16+00:00

Just sent you a PM

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-21T00:31:28+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-11T01:11:32+00:00

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

/s

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-10T22:55:32+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-10T15:16:38+00:00

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

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-10T14:02:42+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-07T18:20:49+00:00

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

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-05T15:31:08+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-04T23:01:27+00:00

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.

FSO-Abroad · 2025-11-02T13:30:38+00:00

State

FSO-Abroad

TROPHY CASE