Comments on: Putting the “Foreign” in foreign service http://greatdiversions.com/2006/08/15/putting-the-foreign-in-foreign-service/ Interesting sights along the road of life. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:14:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Consul-At-Arms http://greatdiversions.com/2006/08/15/putting-the-foreign-in-foreign-service/#comment-40 Consul-At-Arms Sun, 20 Aug 2006 01:26:02 +0000 http://greatdiversions.com/2006/08/15/putting-the-foreign-in-foreign-service/#comment-40 It's not so much that as you're senior you deserve cushier jobs as much as a lot of the jobs that require senior FSOs are located at those fairly important (in terms of them being relatively friendly countries/allies) places AND those senior officers having already been to many less-than-nice places. The current DG is _not_ the same one as an earlier holder of that position who, corridor scuttlebutt has it, spent much of _his_ career transferring between posts in France and Belgium. Personally, I'm at a Western European post following service at a Third World post that wobbled between being 10 and 15 percent Hardship differential and nearly a year in Iraq. And I expect my next tour will _not_ be in either D.C. nor at a First (or even Second) World post. It'll certainly be interesting to see how Transformational Diplomacy unfolds, especially once the new administration is elected (whether Republican or Democrat). The turning-off of the DRI intake spigot will mean a lot of hard choices down the road in terms of which positions will have to go empty. The latest word is that the 800 or so unaccompanied tour positions will now be the first ones filled by HR in the current bidding cycle. This is going to have major ripple effects in the very near term. Cheers! It’s not so much that as you’re senior you deserve cushier jobs as much as a lot of the
jobs that require senior FSOs are located at those fairly important (in terms of them being
relatively friendly countries/allies) places AND those senior officers having already been
to many less-than-nice places.

The current DG is _not_ the same one as an earlier holder of
that position who, corridor scuttlebutt has it, spent much of _his_ career transferring
between posts in France and Belgium.

Personally, I’m at a Western European post following service at a Third World post that
wobbled between being 10 and 15 percent Hardship differential and nearly a year in Iraq.
And I expect my next tour will _not_ be in either D.C. nor at a First (or even Second) World
post.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Transformational Diplomacy unfolds, especially once
the new administration is elected (whether Republican or Democrat). The turning-off of the
DRI intake spigot will mean a lot of hard choices down the road in terms of which positions
will have to go empty. The latest word is that the 800 or so unaccompanied tour positions
will now be the first ones filled by HR in the current bidding cycle. This is going to have
major ripple effects in the very near term.

Cheers!

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