(That is all.)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The "Northern Virginiastan" web log returns
After a more-than-two-year interregnum, the Northern Virginiastan web log ("Monitoring how Islam is subverting public institutions in Northern Virginia and the greater DC Metro Area") has resumed posting.
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8 comments:
Consul, how about some more recent content, such as your thoughts about the Mexican police shooting up a US diplo vehicle?
JSM
(wv: 18 matezoa - street address of the incident?)
I really can't add anything useful, substantive, or interpretive to what TSB had to say here: http://skepticalbureaucrat.blogspot.com/2012/08/mexican-standoff-over-august-24.html
And I don't know what to make of this: http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/americans-shot-in-mexico-were-cia-operatives-aiding-in-drug-war
I know this is like the worst question ever but I can't find info on this. Housing allowance can you pay a mortgage with it at your post? say you are posted in Bulgaria can't you just buy an apartment and pay for it with the housing allowance you get?
{I sound like the greediest basterd ever don't I.)
At most posts, FSOs don't receive a housing allowance.
Some do, but the majority of posts these days have a "housing pool" from which they assign quarters based upon a combination of rank and family size.
To see if what you propose is feasible/legal, you'll have to do your own homework since I don't happen to know the answer.
The place to start would be the regulations themselves: everything to do with the administration of the State Department can be found in either the Foreign Affairs Manuals (FAM) or Foreign Affairs Handbooks (FAH).
See here: http://www.state.gov/m/a/dir/regs/index.htm
Thanks Consul, I did flip through the pdf and various sections but hard to figure it out. Going to try to take the test again[took it about 5yrs+ ago no idea how I did obviously not well I assume] in the upcoming sep 29-oct windows once i get the invite.
Was wondering if they try to put me in Africa (if I pass and I am wildly optimistic [which is unusual for me])
Is there any way I can turn it down? Like going to a warzone would not be fun.
Sweden on the other hand seems doable, even Bulgaria, Russia would be ok but rather not go, I speak/write Russian but kinda want something warmer or safer.
A couple points:
First, don't psych yourself out regarding how well/badly you think you may have done on any particular administration of the written examination. (Despite appearances, it's not a pass/fail like you encountered during school/college/graduate school.)
They skim off the very top scorers of the written and oral exams. That means someone can actually have answered a lot of questions correctly and written a superior essay, BUT not advance to the next step because they didn't surpass the very high bar that is set in terms of "passing" scores.
Second, FSOs have to be worldwide available. And your first two tours will be "directed." That means that although you'll have some input in terms of preferences, the decisions of where you're going to go aren't really in your hands, they're in the hands of your Career Development Officer (CDO).
Once you're a tenured and/or mid-grade FSO, you'll have much more autonomy in terms of which jobs you'll bid on; the assignments system opens up considerably at that point.
Best of luck!
Well I took it this passing saturday.3-5 weeks. Anyways my point of view on the whole FSO thing is basically where I would like to and it would be sort of fun. I could see most Asian countries fun to go, except China, Japan, Korea, due to pollution/expensiveness.
the -stans would be fun to go to. except Tajikistan/Turkmenistan.
All of Africa is crappy including SA which I would like to go to but too violent.
Don't wanna go to England/Ireland for some reason. Kosovo and Albania either.
Iceland, Sweden, Bulgaria would be sort of interesting.
Where have you been so far btw and worst/best things about those places that would be a good blogpost.
lushfun.wordpress.com
or twitter @lushfun
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