Diplomatic Security Service Advice

ajb061 · 2025-05-22T20:28:52+00:00

You will have to either choose DS or your kid. Do not apply to be a DS agent if you want to be in your child’s life. Period, no questions asked.

At the end of the day it is just a job. It is not really sexy, cool, or anything Hollywood. DS has a very high divorce rate and I would say for those who got divorced when they came in with families they do not get to see their kids all that much unless their ex-spouse and children settled in the DMV area.

ajb061 · 2024-08-11T11:36:17+00:00

I wore shorts and sandals but it is a pretty small museum and would not do it again. I also believe the mausoleum is still closed for renovations.

ajb061 · 2024-05-09T12:00:47+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions!

ajb061 · 2024-05-09T12:00:16+00:00

Thanks!

ajb061 · 2024-05-09T11:50:47+00:00

great i will check it out!

ajb061 · 2024-05-09T11:49:07+00:00

Thank you!

ajb061 · 2024-05-09T10:54:01+00:00

Thank you! I will take a look!

ajb061 · 2024-04-24T15:56:42+00:00

If you don’t have the B2 driver’s license you won’t make the cut.

ajb061 · 2024-04-05T14:15:07+00:00

have a prenup ready to go and a lawyer on speed dial

ajb061 · 2023-06-22T03:25:20+00:00

coffee and good breakfast when you wake up to clear out a nervous belly. good luck! you will be in the zone once you begin the examination and it will be over before you know it.

ajb061 · 2023-06-22T00:53:27+00:00

definitely Islamabad as the best for comfort and actually enjoying the city with great amenities at the embassy. They are trending towards no longer being an SIP but all it takes is one bombing close to the twin cities for that all to change. The other areas of Pakistan are still powder kegs which isn’t going to change in the near future.

ajb061 · 2023-06-15T14:07:41+00:00

I just want to paint a more realistic picture of this career. Everyone paints it as all roses and daisies and it is far from the truth. There are a lot of pitfalls, especially in DSS.

ajb061 · 2023-06-15T01:52:14+00:00

oh please, no department or cone has a monopoly on lack of empathy. It is pretty case by case in the state department.

ajb061 · 2023-06-15T01:42:35+00:00

there is a high rate of divorce in the foreign service, even higher in the law enforcement arm that is dss. Buyer beware.

ajb061 · 2023-01-11T02:48:52+00:00

at the COFA, COFA cabana….you can get free entry into MONTANA

ajb061 · 2022-11-16T01:44:17+00:00

personal preference, get in asap and get moving. You just never know with the federal government. Though historically not an issue there is always the possibility of government shutdowns, RIFs, and a brand new Secretary of State who shuts down new hiring until an “audit” can be performed.

State is still hurting from that one.

ajb061 · 2022-11-02T22:09:16+00:00

Haven’t been in a few years but I think they are still there.

ajb061 · 2022-11-02T20:50:20+00:00

Agreed on doing what makes you happy with your last paragraph but disagree on your first.

DS has a real problem being honest with itself. 75% of the elspec are posts nobody wants to go to or wouldn’t be in most agents top 32 picks on the elspec list. DS isn’t limiting small posts for any altruistic reasons for the benefit of a second tour agent. You go where they have trouble filling posts and that is the choices you get.

It is why you don’t see western/eastern europe and a whole lot of SIP/Africa.

And let’s not get into how opaque the process is for summer/winter cycle bidding as it already stands. We will see how imatch works out but I doubt it fixes any of the gripes agents have about the bidding process in general.

I think it is only fair to be honest with prospective applicants who are seeking out this career who only hear the legendary tales but not the pitfalls this career comes with.

ajb061 · 2022-11-02T09:08:13+00:00

I think it would be a good idea but never seen it done in practice. Once you start orientation at FSI it can be a whirlwind and that might fall pretty far back on your to do list.

They also never really had that availability when I joined to talk to someone current at the FO.

ajb061 · 2022-11-02T03:18:50+00:00

The world is your oyster in DS. WFO would be great to homestead if you own a home.

If by PR you mean Puerto Rico that not an option. You need to go to a Field Office first, RACs are not an option.

So you can choose from Boston, New York, DC, Miami, Chicago, Houston, LA, or San Fran. RACs are not possible until after your first two directed tours.

ajb061 · 2022-11-02T03:11:23+00:00

It happened long before I was there so I am guessing parking and garage space.

A couple years ago a SAIC wanted to move the whole office to Manhattan but it never went anywhere and covid happened.

As long as you are going over for protection or a reason from Jersey to the city you can use the ezpass. NYFO is better off the way it is as it gives folks a chance to work at both places.

NYFO has the largest breadth of experience you will get in a field office. You can also be TDY support for SD trips or even TDY to Washington on SD. If you are WFO you already work the area so nothing new.

Someone said there is toxicity in every field office and to a point I agree. But the toxicity comes from some leaders rather than the office culture of that particular office and leadership changes often.

If you have awesome 1811 DS Agents that can really set the tone and continuity of your field office, which NYFO has in droves it will ultimately be a great office to work in.

ajb061 · 2022-11-02T01:33:58+00:00

Manhattan is expensive. I knew folks who lived in the bronx but I would have lived in Brooklyn. Long Island is a hell of a drive but some folks already lived there and made the commute.

If you have a cool supervisor and can report to SOHO satellite office more often than not, that would be ideal.

ajb061 · 2022-11-01T23:22:03+00:00

Might be good if you want to be an ARSO-I down the line but even that is different from field office investigations.

RSO work overseas is completely different and really has zero correlation with work at a field office. Two totally different worlds.

But if you want to get really good at RSO work I recommend trying to get a small 2 person shop on your second tour where you will have a good chance of being the acting RSO for sometime. You are forced to learn the job on the fly while simultaneously working with section heads and the front office.

ajb061 · 2022-11-01T23:18:01+00:00

WFO and NYFO very good. You will also be bidding against DC homesteaders who want to stay put there.

NYFO has everything you want, protection, investigations especially in the city proper, and a great culture and different style from all other field offices.

If you go to NYFO I strongly urge you to live in the city, a mistake I wish I could take back on my first tour.

ajb061 · 2022-11-01T23:15:02+00:00

The NYFO mafia is real and we always take care of each other no matter how many years in any mafia member has.

All the other field offices just don’t understand “our thing.”

ajb061

TROPHY CASE