An OLD Post

Ok, this should have been put up 6 weeks ago, but I finally just checked it for spelling and sensitive info. I'll be posting an update between now and Sunday, but this will give you guys an idea of how things were going.

So, I’m in GSO Training-not doing a Con tour first time out, surprisingly. But I’m being thrown to the wolves a bit. The GSO position has been slated for upgrade to a “Supervisory” GSO (read: higher level, more money) but there’s no funding, so it keeps getting assigned to first-tour officers. Plus, since I’m a 1+ in French (somehow came out with a 1+ speaking and a 2+ reading…not sure how that happened) they’re sending me to post without any more language training. I understand a little better now why so many people seem to complain so much. I’ll do some self-study in the three weeks I’ve got free in late May and early June; then I’ll pick up the rest when I get to post.

I’ll have 7 direct report FSNs-kind of a lot for a first tour. I’ve come to the conclusion they read my resume and slated me for this post out of the gate. There are probably only two or three other people in the class who could have handled it. Hmm, that wasn’t supposed to sound arrogant; it’s just that I’ve been thrown to the wolves before and survived, so I guess they figured I could handle it. The FSNs who I’ll work with daily supposedly speak English well. The other 50 people in the GSO shop (their staff) are another story. A few of them don’t even speak French, the national language. There are three major tribes in Guinea (and 20+ minor ones) and some of the older drivers who work in the motor pool only speak their tribal language. I’m really lucky that one of my FSNs, in fact, one of my Senior FSNs is actually taking one part of the GSO course with me. We’ve gotten to know each other and I like him, and I think he likes me, and I think we’ll work well together.

I’ll be in charge of Housing, Motor Pool, the Warehouse, Contracts, Services (janitorial, local guard), Purchasing, Shipping (customs, and packouts) and the Travel office. There are 53 Americans at post, and over 300 FSNs. It’s the 9th largest post in Africa. The 53 includes AID, Peace Corps, Treasury, and our Marine Detachment. There are about 23 DoS positions, I think; and something like 70% of them are swapping out this summer. And, my entire chain of command is in the middle of it. My predecessor leaves this week, leaving a 3-month gap between us. (The Facility Manager will be covering in the meantime; another duty—we’re each other’s backups.) My supervisor, the Management Counselor, leaves in September. The DCM is retiring in August, and the Ambassador is also leaving in September. There are two positions in Consular, one of them is the Section “chief” and the other is a Con-Econ rotating position (1 year in each.) I’ve met and gotten to know a little the two single men who will be sharing that/those positions. I don’t know which of them will be doing which first, but they’re both leaving for post in early June. Plus we’re getting a new Medical Officer, a new Director of AID, a new Facility Manager, and I’m not sure who else. It’s certainly going to be interesting.

We’ve done very little of The City. (I will never get over that being San Francisco…but I’m not sure how else to reference it!) Last weekend we went to a tiny, little Slavic Festival that some friends happened to find out about. It was wonderful. Then we walked over to the Mall and through the Kite Festival which was colorful and fun. It was a perfect day for flying thousands of kites. Not too warm, just the right amount of breeze. Then, we just hung out. This weekend, we’re going to Monticello with Heather and her family. Then, Sunday, we’re meeting the Community Liaison Officer from Conakry, who is here on evacuation status, for brunch. Her husband is one of the IT guys at post (I’m not sure which one) and they have a 3-year old.

Oh, yes. Evacuation. Things got a bit scary in Conakry in February, and the Ambassador evacuated the families. I’m optimistic that the evac will be lifted at the end of April, and everyone will get to go “home.” If not, then I’ll be heading out by myself in July, and Fred will probably stay in DC and keep learning French. Or he’ll take ConGen (general consular training) or something else. I’m not making those contingency plans yet, just being determinedly optimistic.

I can’t believe how tired I am. I get home from work, and I just want to take my clothes off and veg until I fall asleep. I have a critical test on Thursday. If I don’t get an 80% I’ll be in trouble. But, it’s open book, and I’m working on the low-stress approach. No need to finish first, just finish. 