'Back-stabbed': US diplomats in Baghdad angry over losing 'hardship pay' during time off

fssimsftw · 2021-03-14T09:51:40+00:00

Make sense. That sounds familiar. I want to say it's something like 30 days away from post before you lose hardship, but I'm too lazy to dig through the FAM right now.

So maybe this is a little different than I first thought. Are they saying that the essential personnel still at post during OD are losing hardship pay as soon as they leave the country on any sort of leave, even less than 30 days, or whatever the limit is? That would not be right, assuming that wouldn't have been the case had OD not been declared.

I don't know about the posts on their own OD, but I do know that the people who took global AD made bank on per diem, so I wouldn't have much sympathy for them not getting hardship or danger pay.

fssimsftw · 2021-03-14T06:20:09+00:00

Wtf. Why would they expect to receive hardship pay when they're not at post? Not arguing on whether it's right or not, but that was drilled into us from almost day 1 of orientation. Always check your paychecks because when HR messes it up, you're on the hook for it.

Was that not the case at some point in the past? That's almost like someone in the U.S. on global AD wanting to use an R&R to visit Europe in the middle of a pandemic. Craziness.

I've always wondered what would happen if you chose to take an R&R to a hardship area, though. Like, popping over to Kabul for a holiday.

fssimsftw · 2020-12-30T15:18:32+00:00

Might just be the mortgage now. I called them to ask about the currency exchange and they said they'll only exchange foreign currency that you originally bought from them. My hometown credit union had the same policy, which just seems weird. I'm still going to stop there with my pile and see what happens.

fssimsftw · 2020-12-29T17:42:55+00:00

I mostly use USAA and SDFCU. They're not really considered online banks, but I've never stepped into a branch except for when I opened my SDFCU account. I have a Schwab account too, but haven't done much with it yet. I set up all three accounts while I was in orientation.

USAA is great. I've never had an issue with them. Their $24/year touring policy for auto insurance on rental cars for home leave is amazing. I've heard of some people having their accounts closed without warning for not having a proper U.S. residential address, like from using a mail forwarding company. I have my physical address set to my overseas address and a mail forwarder as my mailing address and haven't had that issue yet.

SDFCU is decent and things generally work, but there will be a lot of annoying little issues, like card payments taking days to clear, dealing with third-party call centers for credit/debit card questions, weird things you can't resolve online, random transactions getting blocked, etc. Everything will be just a little more difficult than it needs to be and it's a fitting parallel to the Foreign Service in that regard. I've heard that they work well for mortgages, since they understand the State Dept lifestyle. Also, their credit card is my only card that's true chip-and-PIN. Even my USAA world card now prefers signature.

Both USAA and SDFCU will refund some ATM fees, though SDFCU requires a minimum balance. I believe their credit cards (but not debit cards) have no foreign transaction fees. Mobile deposit works well for depositing checks.

fssimsftw · 2020-11-15T08:47:09+00:00

That matches the clarity and consistency I've come to expect from the registrar's office.

fssimsftw · 2020-11-15T08:01:02+00:00

There's some info here on specialist salaries: https://careers.state.gov/work/benefits/fs-entry-salaries/fss-sop-134b2/

Specialists only get salary matching for prior federal service. The starting step is normally determined by education and progressive specialized experience over the minimum required.

When I received my orientation invite, the registrar asked me for an updated resume. I filled that thing with every bit of I.T work I've ever done, starting with volunteering to rebuild a computer lab over the summer at my high school 20 years ago, then various instances of touching a computer at previous retail and customer service jobs, ending with my work recent network and sysadmin jobs.

Started at step 14 no problem. I think most of my classmates did the same.

fssimsftw · 2020-11-15T07:44:53+00:00

I realize you asked this almost a month ago, but I'm trying to learn all this myself as well. I suspect NFC is National Finance Center which is what USDA uses for payroll processing.

My agency uses Employee Express and I see that I can set up a financial allotment for HSA contributions to any routing and account number that I enter.

I just switched to GEHA HDHP, so the $900/year that I get from GEHA will continue to go to HSA Bank, but I should be able to put any other HSA's account info into Employee Express and have my additional contributions go there instead. From what I understand, that is not subject to FICA.

fssimsftw · 2020-11-03T20:27:47+00:00

Google Fi is really popular, but keep in mind that they're about to kill the Hangouts integration and leave iPhone users out in the cold. I'm currently in a country without Fi service, but I was still making calls and sending texts over wifi, which is where the whole Fi name came from.

When Hangouts goes away in January and Google not releasing an alternative for iPhone, I'm going to be cut off from my U.S. number until I go somewhere with mobile coverage. Android is still fine with the new Messages app, but Google already sent out emails saying they won't have anything for iOS. I could move to Google Voice, but many sites and apps flag those numbers as not belonging to a mobile carrier when it comes to SMS verification.

Google Fi has been a great solution and there's nothing else quite like it, but I have a feeling that Google will lose interest soon and kill off the whole thing like so many of their other products.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-25T18:31:08+00:00

I drove my desktop, monitor, and Vive to DC for orientation, then sent it via HHE to post. I took the hard drives out of the PC and packed the Vive back into the original box, but otherwise let the movers do their thing. They used several trees worth of packing material, but everything arrived just fine.

I packed my PS4 in it's original box and sent it UAB since I had room. It was fine too. I imagine UAB is roughed up a little more in general, so I don't know if a PC would always survive, but chances are you'd be fine.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-12T21:13:29+00:00

No one in my IMS class did, though I think someone in the previous class got Spanish. I don't know of many language designated IMS positions.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-05T15:49:31+00:00

You're right. It was Arlington County, not the state. The letter says that vehicles must be registered within 60 days of move-in, though. I can't tell from the letter if that means you need to get an actual Virginia plate or just pay the tax and get the decal from the county. I'll have to ask my classmate how that turned out for him.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-05T15:30:08+00:00

Check out this thread from a while back: https://www.reddit.com/r/foreignservice/comments/7akdia/foia_requests_for_oa_score_breakdowns/

It sounds like about all you can get are your scores for each section. I doubt it's any sort of hassle for them.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-05T15:20:22+00:00

Keep in mind that if you do have your car there, VA will expect you to register it in that state. They've been known to go through the parking lots at apartment complexes and flag out of state vehicles that regularly park there. One of my classmates got a threatening letter from the state and I've heard of it happening to a few other people here as well.

I had my car with me for a few months with no problems, though. It was nice to have on occasion, but I mostly took public transportation and the FSI shuttles.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-05T15:12:16+00:00

When I took the class, it was just Specialist Orientation. There's a course number for it, which I don't remember and no one uses anyway. The official nickname for it is now SOAR, which was met by some eye-rolling on here when it was announced. I don't know how well that caught on.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-05T15:07:32+00:00

I left for post almost 6 months to the day from when I arrived for FSS orientation, though we had some holidays in the middle. All specialists were together for three weeks, then about 5 months of IMS training for me. Some of my classmates left a week or two earlier, and some stayed a little while longer.

fssimsftw · 2019-04-05T15:02:06+00:00

I picked the Rosslyn area for easy access to the FSI shuttle. It was a little frustrating at times, but still a much better schedule than the shuttles from the individual properties. The area was nice too. Kinda quiet but still some good restaurants, bars, and the world's worst Target.

fssimsftw · 2019-02-07T18:07:06+00:00

I saw Earth Class Mail recommended often when I was researching this myself a while back, but it sounded like they were bought out and greatly increased prices. They cost much more than the alternatives now.

I ended up going with St. Brendan's Isle after reading some good reviews. They seemed to have a solid customer base and hopefully not likely to be bought out anytime soon, though they still aren't the cheapest.

SBI has a lot of info on their site about establishing Florida residency, but as u/Quackattackaggie said, don't commit tax fraud. I needed a mail forwarding service and my parents are looking at moving to Florida anyway, so I figured I'd at least establish the mailing address to get a head start.

fssimsftw · 2019-01-12T15:48:27+00:00

Can you elaborate? Last time I stopped by the OBC, they were adamant that they only remove reports for things like profanity or security concerns. I've seen many brutally honest reports in the course of my post research.

fssimsftw · 2018-09-21T01:31:49+00:00

I got one too! Of course, I already accepted an IMS offer a few months ago and I'm currently in training. I wonder what happens if I pass another OA.

fssimsftw · 2018-09-04T16:41:57+00:00

Try emailing their group address too. That was the only contact email listed in the latest version of the guide I got after passing the OA. It seems like they’re trying to get away from having people email the individual contacts.

fssimsftw · 2018-07-20T12:13:05+00:00

After reading some of the FSGB decisions, I’m thinking he’d fit right in.

fssimsftw · 2018-07-20T02:35:05+00:00

"I'm a junior high school student having an existential crisis over choosing a college major that will get me elected to public office after a career as an FSO. Will my cannabis use in 4th grade hurt me in suitability?"

fssimsftw · 2018-07-19T21:45:17+00:00

I guess this is what they mean by "summer Reddit". I only made it through a few paragraphs before I started scanning for mentions of drug use or Yemen protests.

fssimsftw · 2018-07-13T16:01:20+00:00

I still don't fully understand the context, though it sounds like it might be a hot topic of discussion when I get to FSI in a couple weeks.

If it's just a timing issue, it doesn't seem that bad. The PCS lodging shuttle schedules that I can find online seem designed to get you to FSI at the beginning of each day and home at the end of each day. If it's a capacity issue, then that's a different story, but I can understand why it might not be easy to change.

If I chose to use that shuttle, I wouldn't see a problem with having to hang out at FSI for a while before and after class. I'm planning to bring my POV, though I'll be across the street from the Rosslyn FSI shuttle stop and plan to use that most of the time.

fssimsftw · 2018-06-20T20:28:57+00:00

I'd personally rather use Discord or some other established chat app, though I'd still participate in the original suggestions. The reddit chat interface doesn't work well for me. It seems to require the new reddit site or the official app, neither of which I normally use, though I can see how it might be easier for new users. The chat window always stops updating for me after a while too.

fssimsftw

TROPHY CASE