No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("A Slightly Off-Kilter Take on the Profound, the Profane, the Sacred, and the Absurd") shares the feeling.
Money quote(s):
"I've told you before that the reason I enjoy consular work is because it offers me on a daily basis the opportunity to make a profound difference in someone's life.
I've also probably mentioned that managing an office doesn't offer quite the same level of gratification.
But this week, I was a part of something extraordinary.
You see, I was working on the Libya Task Force when the ferry from Tripoli arrived in Malta, and when the charter flight from Mitiga Air Base in Libya took off with the last of our American staff on board.
It was a long shift, let me tell you."
There's a saying in consular work, that we touch people's lives. Let me tell you, moments like this are why we're in this business.
"I will never forget the feeling of utter relief at hearing Polaschik tell us that the plane was wheels up. There were tears in that Operations Center at that moment. I saw others wiping their eyes, even as I was wiping my own.
As many shitty days as there are in this career -- and let's not bullshit here; there are too many -- every once in awhile you have one day that makes it all worthwhile."
The very first "task force" I was involved with was an evacuation.
As I told my supervisor at the time, this was exactly why I chose consular work. It makes all the days of grinding through visa interviews worthwhile.
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