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Considering the craziness of the world these days, AF is looking better and better every day. Stay safe, goons.
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Dec 6, 2017 16:25
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Merry Christmas Goons!
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Dec 24, 2017 20:15
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Happy holidays, y'all. Hope you're well fed and enjoying the day off, if Jesus ain't your thing.
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Dec 25, 2017 09:25
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the_chavi posted:Happy holidays, y'all. Hope you're well fed and enjoying the day off, if Jesus ain't your thing. Day off LOL At least I get Holiday pay
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Dec 25, 2017 09:42
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Is there any reliable source on when A-100s or Specialist classes are going to be held? I've heard a few rumors about there being one in April, but as far as I can tell that stems from a single Reddit post where some random person says "I heard there's one in April" with no source on it.
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Jan 3, 2018 22:28
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It's a strange feeling when you're not even halfway finished with the tour you're on now, you already have your assignment locked down for your next tour, and you're already thinking about the tour after that.
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Jan 5, 2018 06:38
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zzonkmiles posted:It's a strange feeling when you're not even halfway finished with the tour you're on now, you already have your assignment locked down for your next tour, and you're already thinking about the tour after that. Bidding starts now...
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Jan 6, 2018 03:10
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TCD posted:Bidding starts now...
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Jan 7, 2018 09:27
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zzonkmiles posted:Yeah, no joke. I've already started contacting people who work or used to work at my desired third post and now my name is on their radar. "Bidding" is about a lot more than just submitting a list of preferences to a CDO. Which is a good thing, because most CDOs are garbage. Though I'm thinking about bidding CDO when I go back to DC next... try to buck the trend by not sucking?
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Jan 7, 2018 10:54
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zzonkmiles posted:Yeah, no joke. I've already started contacting people who work or used to work at my desired third post and now my name is on their radar. "Bidding" is about a lot more than just submitting a list of preferences to a CDO. I'm not taking this route, at least not as a primary strategy. I'll wait till bidding season and work the corridor then. There's a risk they'll pick someone before I get my hat in the ring, but there's just a much of a chance that they'll lean towards the freshest applicant. There's only so much control in this process and I can't bring myself to ramp up this early.
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Jan 7, 2018 12:02
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the_chavi posted:Which is a good thing, because most CDOs are garbage. Though I'm thinking about bidding CDO when I go back to DC next... try to buck the trend by not sucking? It also seems like a super thankless job as well. You've got to pay attention to everybody making linked tours to their PSPs, you have to keep track of school terms for officers with children, fill places immediately due to curtailments. But yeah, I don't disagree... most take a thankless task and do it thankslessly.
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Jan 7, 2018 15:57
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qwertyman posted:It also seems like a super thankless job as well. You've got to pay attention to everybody making linked tours to their PSPs, you have to keep track of school terms for officers with children, fill places immediately due to curtailments. But yeah, I don't disagree... most take a thankless task and do it thankslessly. There was a legendary CDO for 03 POL officers in the latter half of the alphabet a few years back who I had been in language training with previously. He gracefully added me to his mailing list of advice, and it still stands as some of the best FS wisdom I've gotten. If I go the CDO route, I would hope to be like him. I think by the end of his two-year tour, every poloff from 04-02 was on his mailing list.
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Jan 9, 2018 13:14
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Hoping you all could provide some insight on maintaining home of record. My parents are moving out of my home state where I maintain my home of record and have been a resident since I was 15. I would like to maintain my residency there. We are both military brats, our families are still on the move, so we don't really have a connection to anywhere else or another house we can claim as our own. What does one use for a home of record in a situation like this? Will a PO Box work? Just keeping my most recent address in there? Curious what you all do or if you know anyone else that dealt with a similar situation.
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Jan 10, 2018 17:06
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Bruxism posted:Hoping you all could provide some insight on maintaining home of record. My parents are moving out of my home state where I maintain my home of record and have been a resident since I was 15. I would like to maintain my residency there. We are both military brats, our families are still on the move, so we don't really have a connection to anywhere else or another house we can claim as our own. What does one use for a home of record in a situation like this? Will a PO Box work? Just keeping my most recent address in there? Curious what you all do or if you know anyone else that dealt with a similar situation. If this is the state in which you are registered to vote and the state that issued your driver's license, I think that's enough. Might be worth asking the ACS section at post.
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Jan 11, 2018 06:55
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the_chavi posted:There was a legendary CDO for 03 POL officers in the latter half of the alphabet a few years back who I had been in language training with previously. He gracefully added me to his mailing list of advice, and it still stands as some of the best FS wisdom I've gotten. If I go the CDO route, I would hope to be like him. I think by the end of his two-year tour, every poloff from 04-02 was on his mailing list. I have had good CDO and a close friend of mine was a CDO earlier in her career and I'm positive she was great. They aren't all bad, and I think that many A-100 students unfairly attribute incompetence to outcomes that are primarily constrained by the nature of the job. I also think that some of the bad customer service stories might be due, at least in part, to bad customers.
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Jan 14, 2018 13:07
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Nutrimentia posted:I have had good CDO and a close friend of mine was a CDO earlier in her career and I'm positive she was great. They aren't all bad, and I think that many A-100 students unfairly attribute incompetence to outcomes that are primarily constrained by the nature of the job. I also think that some of the bad customer service stories might be due, at least in part, to bad customers.
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Jan 15, 2018 17:14
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Nutrimentia posted:I have had good CDO and a close friend of mine was a CDO earlier in her career and I'm positive she was great. They aren't all bad, and I think that many A-100 students unfairly attribute incompetence to outcomes that are primarily constrained by the nature of the job. I also think that some of the bad customer service stories might be due, at least in part, to bad customers. Oh no question about it. But I have also had CDOs since I've been midlevel who gave out information that was flat-out wrong and easy to disprove with information from the internet, not even Open Net. I also had the infamous grasshopper CDO for a while, and he'd been my boss previously, so I know well how he operates.
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Jan 16, 2018 17:22
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the_chavi posted:I also had the infamous grasshopper CDO for a while, and he'd been my boss previously, so I know well how he operates. I think I missed this story...
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Jan 17, 2018 03:34
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The more I’ve eliminated CDOs from my career, the better my career has developed. the_chavi posted:Oh no question about it. But I have also had CDOs since I've been midlevel who gave out information that was flat-out wrong and easy to disprove with information from the internet, not even Open Net. I also had the infamous grasshopper CDO for a while, and he'd been my boss previously, so I know well how he operates. I guess due to our names we’ve had most of the same folks. I remember the weird grasshopper stuff.
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Jan 17, 2018 13:58
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Business of Ferrets posted:The more I’ve eliminated CDOs from my career, the better my career has developed.
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Jan 18, 2018 00:46
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TCD posted:Sound advice I hope bidding with CA means things will be better...
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Jan 18, 2018 08:29
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zzonkmiles posted:I hope bidding with CA means things will be better... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
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Jan 18, 2018 15:41
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After a particularly long and difficult bidding process my next post is finally official. I managed to claw my way into the RSO seat of a small high-diff Post. I'll be leaving AF, though moving to a higher differential. Definitely bitter-sweet to be saying goodbye to AF.
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Jan 18, 2018 15:47
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I'm gonna have to drop you a line, congrats on getting a RSO spot!
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Jan 18, 2018 16:02
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Tyro posted:I'm gonna have to drop you a line, congrats on getting a RSO spot! Thanks man. Locking it down was grueling. I didn't want to count it as a sure thing until I received my TMOne. Also, I'll definitely be heading back to DC after this tour.
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Jan 18, 2018 16:12
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Yeah I just finally got my HR orders cut and got a congratulations email from the Assistant Secretary for the bureau, so I feel like it's official now. For those I don't communicate with in real life, I got my onward and am going to my first choice city in WHA next year. Super pumped. Maybe we'll cross paths in DC.
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Jan 18, 2018 16:32
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I found out that I crashed the Chrysanthemum Club for my next tour. Life could be worse.
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Jan 18, 2018 18:01
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Welcome to the club!
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Jan 19, 2018 15:00
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Anyone know if they continue to issue dip books during government shutdown? Sia considered essential?
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Jan 20, 2018 06:11
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Bruxism posted:After a particularly long and difficult bidding process my next post is finally official. I managed to claw my way into the RSO seat of a small high-diff Post. I'll be leaving AF, though moving to a higher differential. Definitely bitter-sweet to be saying goodbye to AF. I am so proud of you!! And well deserved. I can't say I want to serve there, but I hope you're my RSO in future iterations!!
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Jan 20, 2018 06:52
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Bruxism posted:Anyone know if they continue to issue dip books during government shutdown? Sia considered essential? Good question. I have an appointment to get a blue book for my kid next week, I am assuming that's no longer going to happen, but I don't know about SIA.
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Jan 20, 2018 10:44
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Bruxism posted:Anyone know if they continue to issue dip books during government shutdown? Sia considered essential? All the guidance I’ve seen says that’s CONS is 100% essential Dunno if that’s also true domestic tho
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Jan 20, 2018 11:39
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Bruxism posted:Anyone know if they continue to issue dip books during government shutdown? Sia considered essential? 90% of passport services stayed open the last couple shutdowns, so I think SIA would still be open. They say it's because we are fully fee funded. But then again, no fees for those 
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Jan 20, 2018 13:33
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I have a few questions about applying to join the Foreign Service: I bought a study guide and am reading as many of the books on the reading list as I possibly can, and am also trying to keep up with as much of the New York Review of Books and the Economist as I can. I've been studying for about three months and plan to take the exam in June for the political affairs track. For my first question: I used to take German in high school and was nearly fluent, but I've really fallen behind and now am not nearly as proficient as I used to be. I think I'd have a hard time scoring a 1 at this rate. Would it be a good use of my time to try to take a German class between now and the exam to refresh my skills, or should I focus on reading books on the reading list? (and is my current regimen of a book every two okay? Are there any MUST READ books on the list besides Road to Globalism or should I just read what interests me most from each category?) 2: Does the government shutdown also stop test administration, or since that's handled by Pearson, will it just keep on happening? I suppose I'd just keep on studying regardless and take the exam whenever it happens, but it'd be good to know. 3: I know the State department isn't really getting the attention and funding it needs and deserves, but would that really be a huge setback for joining now? I know my first tour would be consular anyway, and there's still a demand for passport services, so could joining now actually be helpful for some point in the future if and when we get an administration that cares more about diplomacy and my consular tour ends? From what I can tell, it seems like there are fewer applicants now than there have been in years, so it might be a good time to try to join.
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Jan 20, 2018 18:01
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Spoderman posted:I have a few questions about applying to join the Foreign Service: 1. Focus on the test now. If you make it to the next stages, that's when you should worry about trying for the language test bump. IIRC you don't even schedule the test for that until after you've passed the orals, so you have a lot of time. 2. No clue... 3. While this may be an exceptional administration, if you want a career in this line of work, there will be ebbs and flows in our funding, hiring, and level of rhetorical support from our leadership in DC. You should not base your decision to apply, including timing, on who's in office - and if you do, it's probably a sign that this isn't the right job for you. The entrance exams are the types of tests in which you generally do better if you're familiar with the format, so even if hiring numbers are abysmal or nonexistent right now, there's no downside to taking the test now.
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Jan 21, 2018 15:01
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Slaan posted:90% of passport services stayed open the last couple shutdowns, so I think SIA would still be open. They say it's because we are fully fee funded. But then again, no fees for those It looks like language training will be furloughed. Monday was supposed to be my first progress assessment. If we're out for a week, will I have a progress assessment on the first day back, with a week without any classes? Guess I'll find out tomorrow!
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Jan 22, 2018 05:19
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Ah that time of year when you daily and repeatedly head desk while working with your A/T to get your TMFour issued.
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Feb 3, 2018 21:44
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Started looking at mid-level positions today. I don't think I've done any actual work this afternoon.
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Feb 7, 2018 16:52
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Not counting the US, I've worked in 6 countries so far this month. And got danger pay for half of them! I'm looking forward to training for my onward assignment and FSI language training, I need a break.
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Feb 17, 2018 03:40
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drat. Got to the OA last year but didn't pass the FSOT this year, because the new situational judgment part destroyed me. I increased my English and job knowledge scores by 6 and 9 respectively but bombed the situations badly enough I was a single point below cutoff. I have no idea how I can study for this. It seems fairly subjective as to which answer is right
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Feb 22, 2018 21:13
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