US Foreign Service & FSOT Megathread: Where Dreams Come True & Even Lawyers Get Jobs

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > US Foreign Service & FSOT Megathread: Where Dreams Come True & Even Lawyers Get Jobs

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JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

It's about 3 weeks since I took the FSOT (and many others here). Scores should be coming in soon hopefully.

# ? Mar 21, 2010 21:35

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# ? May 11, 2024 17:45

Omits-Bagels: Feb 13, 2001

What do you all know about Diplomatic Security people/careers? I was looking at the DoS website and it looked interesting. I'm sure you FSOs have had some contact with them.

# ? Mar 22, 2010 01:46

TCD: Nov 13, 2002; Every step, a fucking adventure.

Omits-Bagels posted:

What do you all know about Diplomatic Security people/careers? I was looking at the DoS website and it looked interesting. I'm sure you FSOs have had some contact with them.

What specific questions do you have?

# ? Mar 22, 2010 06:25

Omits-Bagels: Feb 13, 2001

TCD posted:

What specific questions do you have?

I'm most interested in the Diplomatic Security special agent position. I guess I just want general information about them.

Do they operate on the same 'two year term' type system. Do they get the same language training as FSO? What do they do on a typical day? Do they ride around in armored SUVs with machine guns or do they just bust you FSOs who are selling passports? Do you the the impression that DSS like their jobs?

# ? Mar 22, 2010 15:16

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

Omits-Bagels posted:

I'm most interested in the Diplomatic Security special agent position. I guess I just want general information about them.

Do they operate on the same 'two year term' type system. Do they get the same language training as FSO? What do they do on a typical day? Do they ride around in armored SUVs with machine guns or do they just bust you FSOs who are selling passports? Do you the the impression that DSS like their jobs?

Same foreign service rotation schedule (2-4 years per post, usually 3). Language training depends on the position though as you only get language training if you are going to a language designated position. Our RSO here had to get it so anecdotally I'm going to lean yes?

Your job depends on your post. At a normal post you are in charge of all security related things such as managing the emergency and evacuation radio network, you manage the local guards, you administratively manage the Marine security det at post (kinda), you're responsible for investigations and you do a shitload of paperwork.

Or you could be assigned as a protective detail safely moving principal officers around town (bodyguard). Others get assigned to stateside passport/visa fraud posts and do that kind of stuff.

# ? Mar 22, 2010 15:54

Homie S: Aug 6, 2001; This is what it means

I've done some research on the job cause I'm waiting on my medical and background to clear for DSS. If you have questions about the pre-employment process, feel free to PM me.

# ? Mar 22, 2010 17:05

JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

This is neat and tangentially related to the current discussion (MSGs).

quote:

Marine saves injured man after hippo attack

3/22/2010 By Lance Cpl. Benjamin Harris , Headquarters Marine Corps

�It all started with an early [canoe ride] up the Zambezi River,� said Cpl. Justin Trinidad, a Marine security guard with Detachment Harare, Zimbabwe, Marine Corps Embassy Security Group.

The day that began with a simple tour ended with Trinidad saving the life of another man on the safari after the group was attacked by a hippopotamus March 14.

Trinidad, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native, and his girlfriend, Kaylynn Hankey, were enjoying a guided trip up the Zambezi River when one of the guides began shouting that there was a hippo in the water and everyone needed to paddle to shore, said Trinidad. Three of the boats did just that, but Javier and Patricia Franco didn�t hear the warnings until the hippo approached them.

�All I saw was the couple being launched a few meters in the air,� said Trinidad.

The wife landed a safe distance from the animal, but the husband landed right on top of it, said Hankey. The hippo went back underwater, and no one wanted to move.

�We were still freaked out because we didn�t know where the hippo was,� said Trinidad.

Trinidad realized something had to be done when he noticed that Patricia was struggling inside her oversized life jacket and heard Javier complaining about his leg, both still in the water.

Trinidad said he thought to himself, �God, please watch over me, because I�m about to do something stupid.�

He instructed Hankey to help him get to the couple, rowing over where the hippo was last seen. Hankey said she wanted to turn back, but Trinidad encouraged her to keep going.

�He said to me �I need you to be strong, calm down, and help me out,�� said Hankey.

As they approached the couple in the water, Trinidad realized that Javier required immediate medical attention. They steered the canoe close enough for the couple to grab on to the side of the boat before it was swept away by the river�s strong current.

As they rode the current, Patricia managed to let go of the boat in shallower waters and wade to the riverbank as the rest of the group continued to be taken downriver by the current. Hankey, who remained in the boat, grabbed on to an overhanging tree in an attempt to stop the canoe, but fell out instead. She held on to the branch until one of the guides could help her to shore.

Trinidad managed to steer the canoe to a rock in a shallow part of the river as the injured man held on. After helping Javier into the boat and pulling it to shore, the Marine began to assess the situation.

�That�s when I noticed that his foot was hanging by a piece of skin,� said Trinidad.

One of the guides came out of the brush and was overwhelmed by the extent of Javier�s injury. Trinidad calmed him down and tried several options for a tourniquet, eventually using a neck strap from a pair of binoculars. With the bleeding under control, Trinidad and the guides tried to figure out how to get the man to a hospital.

A family on a fishing trip pulled up in an all-terrain vehicle an hour later. Trinidad helped load the injured man into the back of the car using a deflated canoe as a stretcher. More than four hours and a car and plane ride later, Javier was in stable condition at a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Although Trinidad could not save the man�s foot, he said he was pleased when he heard how happy the Franco�s children were to be reunited with their parents.

�My dad died when I was little, so I was glad I could save [their] dad,� said Trinidad.

He doesn�t acknowledge his actions as a big deal. Trinidad said he saw worse things during his three deployments to Iraq as a field radio operator. But for those who witnessed the ordeal, including the Franco children, his actions were nothing short of heroic.

�My first instinct was to jump out of the boat,� said Hankey. �I was emotional, but Justin [Trinidad] stayed strong and helped us all. Honestly, if Justin wasn�t there, Javier would have died.�

http://www.marines.mil/unit/hqmc/Pages/Marinesavesinjuredmanafterhippoattack.aspx

# ? Mar 22, 2010 20:44

Xandu: Feb 19, 2006; It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.

That's a pretty cool story, but I had no idea that there even was such a thing as a hippo attack.

edit: Thanks wikipedia

quote:

Hippos are very aggressive towards humans and are often considered one of the most dangerous large animals in Africa.[51][52] In fact, hippos are known to attack humans and boats.[53]
To mark territory, hippos spin their tails while defecating to distribute their excrement over the greatest possible area.

Xandu fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Mar 22, 2010

# ? Mar 22, 2010 21:01

shmoop: Feb 25, 2010

Xandu posted:

That's a pretty cool story, but I had no idea that there even was such a thing as a hippo attack.

edit: Thanks wikipedia

Hippos are death machines. I realize how strange that sounds, but if you have ever spent time on or around the water in southern Africa, some of that time has been spent fleeing from hippos. I wish I could onomatopoetically reproduce their stupid, stupid sounds that they make while they sit there, waiting, just barely poking out of the water, but I can't. Something like hrrrn hrrrn hrrrn hrrrn hrrrn.

# ? Mar 22, 2010 23:45

JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

Last stat I heard said that Hippos killed more humans every year than any other animal.

Hippos coincidentally are one of my favorite animals.

# ? Mar 23, 2010 00:27

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

I hate pouch so much right now. One person IT posts are awesome until you have to ship 10 monitors, 10 comptuers, 5 printers, and a bunch of servers/switches back to DC.

# ? Mar 23, 2010 15:28

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

Vilerat posted:

I hate pouch so much right now. One person IT posts are awesome until you have to ship 10 monitors, 10 comptuers, 5 printers, and a bunch of servers/switches back to DC.

If only they had hired me :negative:

# ? Mar 23, 2010 17:09

TCD: Nov 13, 2002; Every step, a fucking adventure.

Pompous Rhombus posted:

If only they had hired me

Singleton posts man...

# ? Mar 23, 2010 17:40

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

TCD posted:

Singleton posts man...

I was talking about the courier thing, unless I'm getting the meaning of "pouch" wrong (entirely likely).

# ? Mar 23, 2010 19:38

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

Pompous Rhombus posted:

I was talking about the courier thing, unless I'm getting the meaning of "pouch" wrong (entirely likely).

For the pouch to be sent by courier it must first be packed, sealed, entered in ILMS, and you need to take it to the airport to be met by courier. Pain in the rear end.

# ? Mar 23, 2010 21:48

TCD: Nov 13, 2002; Every step, a fucking adventure.

Vilerat posted:

For the pouch to be sent by courier it must first be packed, sealed, entered in ILMS, and you need to take it to the airport to be met by courier. Pain in the rear end.

Sup...

Edit: Also I feel your pain, but add an extra 300 kilos of outbound to that.

Weeeeee!

TCD fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Mar 24, 2010

# ? Mar 24, 2010 00:59

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

TCD posted:

Sup...

Edit: Also I feel your pain, but add an extra 300 kilos of outbound to that.

Weeeeee!

Imagine receiving a 50,000 kg shipment. We had to get an AN-124 to deliver it. Baghdad pouch was fun...

# ? Mar 24, 2010 01:33

TCD: Nov 13, 2002; Every step, a fucking adventure.

Vilerat posted:

Imagine receiving a 50,000 kg shipment. We had to get an AN-124 to deliver it. Baghdad pouch was fun...

Yeah, can't top that

# ? Mar 24, 2010 06:38

sah deuudes: Sep 14, 2005

Anybody else get their FSOT results this morning? I was so nervous to open the letter, and was assuming the worst (since I selected the political cone) but I passed!! Hoping other goons are getting similar results today!

# ? Mar 24, 2010 18:02

Cunninghizzizam: Oct 26, 2006

Came here to post about passing the first part of the exam. Hopefully I don't spend the morning of the deadline feverishly typing out my QEP responses again. Ugh.

# ? Mar 24, 2010 19:03

JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

I also came here to post that I passed. Did we all pass?

In my letter it gives a link to launch the PN submission form. I just wanted to check here:

This submission form isn't time sensitive right? I want to get the questions but I don't want to open it and have it say "You now have 24 hours to submit your answers." or something.

JerkyBunion fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Mar 24, 2010

# ? Mar 24, 2010 20:09

sah deuudes: Sep 14, 2005

Miss Fats posted:

I also came here to post that I passed. Did we all pass?

In my letter it gives a link to launch the PN submission form. I just wanted to check here:

This submission form isn't time sensitive right? I want to get the questions but I don't want to open it and have it say "You now have 24 hours to submit your answers." or something.

Submission form isn't time sensitive (we can print out or copy/paste the questions), we just have to have it in before 11:59 PM CST on April 13th

# ? Mar 24, 2010 20:57

JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

I was 99% sure but didn't want to risk that 1%. Thanks.

# ? Mar 24, 2010 23:02

Business of Ferrets: Mar 2, 2008; Good to see that everything is back to normal.

Congratulations to all the goon passers!

# ? Mar 24, 2010 23:37

Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Less than 2 weeks now till my OA. I haven't really had much time to start studying but now I'm in full on crisis "get ready" mode.

# ? Mar 25, 2010 03:06

Bizob: Dec 18, 2004; Tiger out of nowhere!

SWATJester posted:

Less than 2 weeks now till my OA. I haven't really had much time to start studying but now I'm in full on crisis "get ready" mode.

Good luck. Focus on the ol' 13 Ds and you should be in good shape.

# ? Mar 25, 2010 15:26

TCD: Nov 13, 2002; Every step, a fucking adventure.

Trying to figure out if starting an email with "Dear rear end in a top hat" would be appropriate and/or career limiting. (it would be to an IPO)

# ? Mar 25, 2010 17:45

JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

Anyone have any detailed post for advice on writing personal narratives?

# ? Mar 25, 2010 19:38

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

TCD posted:

Trying to figure out if starting an email with "Dear rear end in a top hat" would be appropriate and/or career limiting. (it would be to an IPO)

Having a good day?

# ? Mar 25, 2010 19:38

Business of Ferrets: Mar 2, 2008; Good to see that everything is back to normal.

TCD posted:

Trying to figure out if starting an email with "Dear rear end in a top hat" would be appropriate and/or career limiting. (it would be to an IPO)

Well, when my friend wrote a less-direct email with essentially the same message, they tried to fire him. If you aren't familiar with the "Tashkent email," ask around at work; someone is bound to have a copy.

At least you would become a part of Foreign Service Lore.

Business of Ferrets fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Mar 26, 2010

# ? Mar 26, 2010 00:00

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

Business of Ferrets posted:

Well, when my friend wrote a less-direct email with essentially the same message, they tried to fire him. If you aren't familiar with the "Tashkent email," ask around at work; someone is bound to have a copy.

At least you would become a part of Foreign Service Lore.

Like the Ambassador who killed their gay lover in the IPC or something along those lines? I love Foreign Service lore

# ? Mar 26, 2010 00:28

TCD: Nov 13, 2002; Every step, a fucking adventure.

Business of Ferrets posted:

Well, when my friend wrote a less-direct email with essentially the same message, they tried to fire him. If you aren't familiar with the "Tashkent email," ask around at work; someone is bound to have a copy.

At least you would become a part of Foreign Service Lore.

Hah, well, I didn't send it, but Vile saw what was leading up to me almost saying something.

# ? Mar 26, 2010 15:20

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

TCD posted:

Hah, well, I didn't send it, but Vile saw what was leading up to me almost saying something.

I would have sent it. Even his IMO kinda called him out for being a dick. Granted I could have probably gotten away with sending it, new hires likely can't so...

# ? Mar 26, 2010 19:04

Cardamommy Issues: Feb 16, 2005; I've waited around for more important things

I didn't pass the FSOT. Kind of a bummer, but I plan on sending away for the results. Maybe I undersold myself on the biographical section. No idea until I see it, though.

Congrats to all the passers and good luck.

# ? Mar 28, 2010 16:33

xanthig: Apr 23, 2005

Business of Ferrets posted:

Well, when my friend wrote a less-direct email with essentially the same message, they tried to fire him. If you aren't familiar with the "Tashkent email," ask around at work; someone is bound to have a copy.

At least you would become a part of Foreign Service Lore.

You want to elaborate on that? You can't drop a teaser like that and not explain anything.

# ? Mar 29, 2010 17:57

Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Would anyone object to updating the OP with some sort of roster of FS goons and what they're up to?

Sort of like

FS Employees:

BoF: FSO stationed in ....
Vilerat: FSO stationed in ....

Awaiting A-100

Person whoever - Cleared on March 10, waiting on A-100 opening.

On Register

JoeBlow (POL) - 5.5
JoeSchmoe (CON) - 5.47

Awaiting FSOA

Blah blah - Annex 1, whenever (POL)

QEP:

Ladida - (MGMT) October '09 cohort.

FSOT - whatevs.

# ? Mar 29, 2010 18:38

JerkyBunion: Jun 22, 2002

I had a quick question about the Foreign Service Officers in USAID if anyone is familiar.

What is the hiring process like for USAID? From what I've read it's like getting hired for a regular job - respond to a job posting. In your opinion, is it more competitive, less competitive, or about the same as getting hired for State's foreign service positions?

Once hired, what is the training/career path like?

In general, how are USAID FSOs perceived by the DoS FSOs?

Vice versa?

I'm reading Career Diplomacy by Kopp and Gillespie to get ideas for the PNs and prepare for the FSOA and while I knew other agencies had FSOs I didn't realize the management was so departmentalized.

# ? Mar 30, 2010 03:12

Business of Ferrets: Mar 2, 2008; Good to see that everything is back to normal.

SWATJester posted:

Would anyone object to updating the OP with some sort of roster of FS goons and what they're up to?

Sort of like

FS Employees:

BoF: FSO stationed in ....
Vilerat: FSO stationed in ....

Awaiting A-100

Person whoever - Cleared on March 10, waiting on A-100 opening.

On Register

JoeBlow (POL) - 5.5
JoeSchmoe (CON) - 5.47

Awaiting FSOA

Blah blah - Annex 1, whenever (POL)

QEP:

Ladida - (MGMT) October '09 cohort.

FSOT - whatevs.

Sure, sounds good. I'm currently in Asia, heading to Baghdad this summer.

# ? Mar 31, 2010 14:16

cernunnoswired: Jun 13, 2009

I took the FSOT in March as a result of reading this thread and I passed. I'm in the process of writing the QEP. I had a change of heart in the cone I want to apply for but I don't expect to be hired anyway; I just want the experience of the process.

This thread is great!

edit: was consular but would like to change to public diplomacy

cernunnoswired fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Mar 31, 2010

# ? Mar 31, 2010 14:45

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# ? May 11, 2024 17:45

Vilerat: May 11, 2002

Anybody who ever makes the claim to you that you need to go to bad places after good is full of poo poo :smug:

# ? Mar 31, 2010 15:22

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