|
Yes, that's correct. The gaining agency basically asks for a 'reference' (eligibility), and after receiving, actually determines whether or not you qualify for their clearance. In theory, TS should all be the same, but each agency looks at things differently. So while you can be eligible for one, it does not necessarily mean you'll get it. (The only exception I've heard is with USMC)
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2012 18:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:31 |
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:sorry if it wasn't clear.. DOS and DOD look for different criteria in issuing clearances. In theory if you have one, you shouldn't have a problem with the other as long as they're equal or below. In practice, it depends on your investigator. To clarify there is no such thing as a "TS/SSBI". An SSBI is a single scope background investigation that is conducted when someone receives a TS, TS/SCI, DOE "Q" clearance, or above. It's simply a type of investigation. OPM may, and usually does, conduct the SSBI investigation for most agencies. Certain places in the IC community, FBI and perhaps State (not sure) perform their own investigations. Each agency performs it's own adjudications which is step 2 of the process - this authority is given to a Central Adjudication Facility (CAF). Some of the big ones include DISCO for DOD contractors, Washington Headquarters Services Consolidated Adjudication Facility (for DOD civilians, DOD field activities), IC has their own, State, ect. Clearance is a clearance but at the end of the day there is a need to know which means I can have an active TS clearance and literally have access to zero TS information. problematique fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jan 4, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2012 21:14
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:People with pulled security clearances are such a small minority it shouldn't be representative. Anyway, my best friend here at post is DS. People joke that we're married, which is doubly funny in that my wife and his wife are friends as well. No friction, but maybe it's also because I'm relatively laid back and thus get along. I've also never heard of jealousy over LEAP -- it all balances out in the end when the FSOs aren't struggling looking for jobs as an FS-02, and also due to the fact that we don't have to fight to get non-AIP overseas assignments. Everything has its benefits and drawbacks. I think any friction you're hearing is being greatly exaggerated. As for generalists with superiority attitudes -- well, it happens. It's far from the majority, but it's just something that you have to live with. Incidentally I have seen more problems with specialists who think they can be tyrants of their own little fiefdoms and run afoul of post management, but maybe we just have relatively few problems here so those stand out. Just to weigh in from the DS side. I agree with everything my colleagues above have said. It comes down to personalities. I have had few conflicts with people and not met a single person I simply couldn't work with. For those conflicts I have had, just as many have been with other DS agents as with generalists and individuals from other specialist fields. I feel like there is a lot of talk about some great impasse between the generalists and specialists, but I feel that, when it comes down to it, this is largely an imagined division occasionally trotted out to explain the inevitable disagreements that come up at post.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2012 23:37
|
|
|
problematique posted:Clearance is a clearance but at the end of the day there is a need to know which means I can have an active TS clearance and literally have access to zero TS information. This has been me the entire time I have held a TS, and I was SCI indoctrinated for most of that time as well. Your tax dollars at work!
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2012 01:49
|
|
|
The GF and I got invited to a FSO networking event in Phoenix. I can't go but the GF has already RSVPed. Everything seemed well and good until we saw that it's being hosted by the Minority Professional Network. Anybody know anything about this group or event? It looks like it could be on the up and up but then again, who knows. The site for the event is here: http://www.mpnsite.com/rsvp/phoenix.asp Any input would be appreciated.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2012 17:53
|
|
|
TouchyMcFeely posted:The GF and I got invited to a FSO networking event in Phoenix. I can't go but the GF has already RSVPed. Looks like it's an official event, and these guys are just co-sponsoring it and co-organizing. If that's the case cool, and don't worry about being a minority. I went to all sorts of minority-related events in A-100 and never felt out of place (I am a white Jewish guy.)
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2012 18:24
|
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:I was thinking of starting up a (state-only) VPN unit with a box / point of origin in oregon, so we could all effectively have home-bound VPN. would have to double check the protocols too. but the main issue i'm going to have to look at is bandwidth. Probably your best bet will be to lease a server from a provier and use that as your vpn server (probably using OpenVPN or something of the like). You "could" look at setting something up in someones house but the rub is going to be will their provider allow it. Running a server in your house on a residential connection could get you/your friend shut down so "if" you are going to go that route I would seriously look at a business class connection. If you wanted a simple solution (this won't be "true" VPN) is you could roll an SSH server at your friends house in the States and then just use HTTP over SSH to "possibly" get around filters. There are tutorials on this on the interwebz. Truth be told it probably would be easier to go with a VPN provider and pay X per month/per year and let them worry about all the infrastructure. /endgeekrant *edit* read you are talking about hosting in a datacenter so you can scratch pretty much everything I said. SCRwM fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Dec 29, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2012 21:00
|
|
|
psydude posted:The biggest issue with residential fiber is that its upload speed is usually substantially slower than its download speed. In VPN implementations, the upload speed from the server is more important than the download speed. They might be running 100/100, but it's pretty rare. But if it's available in the area, then hey, problem solved! I've got res. fiber and it's 5/5. I could get higher speeds but #Iamcheap SCRwM fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Dec 29, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2012 21:03
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:
I have a somewhat related question but also want to check the thread to see experience levels in this: I'm looking into getting a Slingbox to hook up to an extra DirectTV set top box my parents have to start using. All of us are still in the US. Assuming all is well on the OCONUS side regarding bandwidth/connection speed, are these usable overseas? I sort of already planned to use a VPN when I punch out to post, but should I be looking into VPN capability to pipe the slingbox stuff as well? I don't have a lot of experience with either, but the local store is having a sale on a slingbox this weekend and I'm a bit curious; I've heard of FSOs using similar setups in the past. Can anyone share their experiences or have some other way they get their TV fix?
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2012 04:49
|
|
|
where are you going? yes it's entirely doable to have a slingbox overseas. a few people here have it up and running, i'll send a message tomorrow morning. My understanding is it can be resource/bandwidth extensive so you'd likely want to square away time schedules with folks stateside. (to relate, i've heard that on a FIOS 36/16 connection, it'll slow down the domestic side bad enough that you couldn't simultaneously load youtube on a connected tablet) Some people use home remote desktop... it can be a little expensive (i.e. you need a high end PC & good bandwidth); but if you set it up right it'll stream better.
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2012 10:49
|
|
|
So, uh, happy fuckin New Years to all the Foreign Service types here on SA. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2013 06:33
|
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:where are you going? yes it's entirely doable to have a slingbox overseas. a few people here have it up and running, i'll send a message tomorrow morning. My understanding is it can be resource/bandwidth extensive so you'd likely want to square away time schedules with folks stateside. (to relate, i've heard that on a FIOS 36/16 connection, it'll slow down the domestic side bad enough that you couldn't simultaneously load youtube on a connected tablet) AF/Djibouti. I'm trying to research how decent the connectivity is there (for the moment I assume not very decent at all), but for now just trying to think about how I'd make it work on the CONUS side. Quick google searches doesn't really help me with much. This is extremely preliminary as I don't head to post for like another year  EDIT: I'm also most likely going to ditch this desktop in favor of a laptop + display sorta setup when I head out as well, as that probably makes more sense. It's hard to not start buying up all this stuff now though since I worked crazy amounts of overtime this year. Homie S fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Jan 1, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2013 17:21
|
|
|
Homie S posted:AF/Djibouti. I'm trying to research how decent the connectivity is there (for the moment I assume not very decent at all), but for now just trying to think about how I'd make it work on the CONUS side. Quick google searches doesn't really help me with much. This is extremely preliminary as I don't head to post for like another year Out of curiosity, what do most of the FS Goons roll with? Laptop or desktop? Apple or Windows?
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2013 21:20
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:Out of curiosity, what do most of the FS Goons roll with? Laptop or desktop? Apple or Windows? I'd be shocked if Apple laptops didn't have at least 50% of the market share.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2013 22:20
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:Out of curiosity, what do most of the FS Goons roll with? Laptop or desktop? Apple or Windows?
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2013 22:45
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:I'd be shocked if Apple laptops didn't have at least 50% of the market share. I can only think of about two FS people who don't have a Mac laptop - that's across the board. I have a Macbook Pro, and my husband has one too.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2013 22:48
|
|
|
chavi now you know 3! (i do have a lot of apple products, though, and need to get a new laptop.) I have a custom-built PC.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 01:05
|
|
|
I have a Alienware and wife has a Mac Book Pro. I'd say Apple has over 50% based on all my friends.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 01:52
|
|
|
I have a PC laptop. We were going to buy a MacBook Pro until we found out we were coming to China & decided to wait until after we leave here. The only caveat I have about getting a Mac is that while they are popular overall, they are proportionally much less so amongst IMS. I wouldn't plan on asking your local IMS for help with it. To me a laptop makes more sense since you can pack it in your luggage (unless you have a need for a more powerful desktop PC). I'm also going to get a projector before my next post. Much more bang for your buck now than a TV & more portable so you don't have to wait on UAB or HHE or anything.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 03:44
|
|
|
1of7 posted:I have a PC laptop. We were going to buy a MacBook Pro until we found out we were coming to China & decided to wait until after we leave here. Agreed, and that's why I also went with an Alienware and will probably continue to do so for the future.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 06:06
|
|
|
I've got a PC desktop at home, plus my MacBook Pro, and my wife's MacBook Air.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 06:13
|
|
|
Rocking an Apple setup as well -- white Macbook and an iPad. I tend to go with the tablet for the TDYs since Italy has decent 3g service even in the boonies while Wifi is kind of hit or miss. Plus, an Apple setup in the living room makes renting movies/streaming iTunes content from my external HD hella easy. Were I more of a gamer I might have a Windows box too, but I gravitate more toward my PS3 for that kind of diversion.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 07:55
|
|
|
1of7 posted:I have a PC laptop. We were going to buy a MacBook Pro until we found out we were coming to China & decided to wait until after we leave here. I am waiting on the date for my OA (I applied for IMS). Currently I have a MBP while my wife has a Dell laptop. If we get the call she will probably get a Mac too (possibly iMac). Any Windows work I need to do I have a Win7 vm I can fire up. I thought a tv was provided in the housing? Bear in mind with projectors those bulbs can cost a couple of hundred $$. SCRwM fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Jan 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 14:13
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:I am waiting on the date for my OA (I applied for IMS). Currently I have a MBP while my wife has a Dell laptop. If we get the call she will probably get a Mac too (possibly iMac). Any Windows work I need to do I have a Win7 vm I can fire up. Keep in mind too that some posts are LQA, meaning you find your own place, and would have to negotiate with the landlord if you want them to include a TV; then again those places tend to be nice enough that you could just get one locally. My house came with a 18 inch CRT TV, probably 30 years old. I've never turned it on other than to test it. I have a 40 inch flatscreen that's about 6 years old that I shipped with HHE to handle all my TV needs.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 14:38
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:Keep in mind too that some posts are LQA, meaning you find your own place, and would have to negotiate with the landlord if you want them to include a TV; then again those places tend to be nice enough that you could just get one locally. How many locations are LQA (rough estimate)? I thought I read somewhere those tended to be in "pricier" locations ie Paris. Going back to computers - what option do you guys use for data backup? USB drive, roll your own NAS?
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:02
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:Going back to computers - what option do you guys use for data backup? USB drive, roll your own NAS? I use USB drives but ideally want to move to some cloud based service. Offsite backups would be especially important if you are likely to be suddenly evacuated.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:17
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:I thought a tv was provided in the housing? Bear in mind with projectors those bulbs can cost a couple of hundred $$. I believe a TV is usually included in a welcome kit but is typically expected to be returned once your shipments arrive. I am aware of the cost of replacement bulbs & still think they are the best deal. For $800 (less on sale) I can get a 1080p projector & project a 100"+ image the night I move in. I talked to the guy I'm replacing at my next post to see if there was a good wall space for a screen (I will likely be taking his house) & he actually has one & sanded down & repainted a wall to give him about 125" screen. Given the projected lifespan of the bulbs they should last at least a tour & by then I will probably be ready to upgrade anyway.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:29
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:How many locations are LQA (rough estimate)? I thought I read somewhere those tended to be in "pricier" locations ie Paris. I think LQA is limited to Switzerland, Canada, Luxembourg, and one of the Central American posts (Quito I think) But just because a post isn't LQA doesn't always mean it's furnished*, and just because it's furnished doesn't mean it comes with a TV. I knew somebody at my first post who had their TV taken away when GSO realized it was a part of their Welcome Kit that had never been retrieved. *While it's technically possible for a post to have a housing pool but no furniture and such posts have existed in the past I'm not sure if there are any anymore, I just thought I'd mention the possibility
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:36
|
|
|
1of7 posted:I believe a TV is usually included in a welcome kit but is typically expected to be returned once your shipments arrive. Very cool!
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:41
|
|
|
AKA Pseudonym posted:I think LQA is limited to Switzerland, Canada, Luxembourg, and one of the Central American posts (Quito I think) I guess I always thought a tv would be included, because (in my mind) who would want to carry their own tv? I would think constant packing/moving would limit the lifespan of those devices (I had a Play Station and a stereo received that were moved across the country and they didn't survive the move).
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:44
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:How many locations are LQA (rough estimate)? I thought I read somewhere those tended to be in "pricier" locations ie Paris. I kinda roll my own NAS, except the sites are very geographically diverse. Locally, I just store & swap the ~18TB of drives I use in my array. For cloud, I reccommend A3/AWS as I use it. Amazon basically has the market cornered and they're worth the investment. Catch is, you pay per GB so you have to decide what's important and what's not... but your data has crazy-good retention and I believe you can even limit where you want to pull the data from. SCRwM posted:I guess I always thought a tv would be included, because (in my mind) who would want to carry their own tv? I would think constant packing/moving would limit the lifespan of those devices (I had a Play Station and a stereo received that were moved across the country and they didn't survive the move). If it's a furnished post then yes it would be. Most posts aren't exactly furnished and have temporary welcome kits which your HHE are shipped; TV's are included until yours arrives. If yours breaks in-transit you can probably work soemthing out with the GSO. the lifespan is about the same regardless; I read most people replace their TVs every five years or so and it seems to be true. You can monitor the guys packing your stuff out and to their credit in DC, they can pack out stuff really well. For some stuff, like receivers, I kept all my original packaging (unrelated but I bought it a few months prior to joining); that probably helps tremendously. Also, if you tell them to pick it up straight from the store where you buy it (say, Best Buy or wherever), you can get sweet tax-exempt goods. You have to do that pretty close to packout and not months before, though. (edit: speaking from experience, it also applies to major purchases like Cars. That can be more than several thousand dollars worth of savings, post negotiation.) Skandiaavity fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Jan 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 15:54
|
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:I kinda roll my own NAS, except the sites are very geographically diverse. Locally, I just store & swap the ~18TB of drives I use in my array. I have my own NAS (WHS) at the house now running on an old Dell desktop. We keep all of our stuff on it (audio, pictures, lots of personal/financial data). I think I have less than 1TB of data but I'm not sure. Music I know I can re-download from iTunes store (except for the cd's I've ripped - though I should look at iTunes match to see if that would resolve that issue). I think it's all of the personal/financial data I would want protected in the cloud. Possibly pictures too. I just wouldn't want to take the old server with me, if something happened I may not be in a position/location to get replacement parts (plus the OS has been EOL'd). Skandiaavity posted:If it's a furnished post then yes it would be. Most posts aren't exactly furnished and have temporary welcome kits which your HHE are shipped; TV's are included until yours arrives. If yours breaks in-transit you can probably work soemthing out with the GSO. Thanks for the info. I didn't realize you could purchase items and have the movers pick them up directly. No concern that the item (s) would have problems but you didn't realize it until you got to post? I hope I'm not annoying you guys with all of these questions (or going against the original spirit of this thread). SCRwM fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Jan 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 16:01
|
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:(edit: speaking from experience, it also applies to major purchases like Cars. That can be more than several thousand dollars worth of savings, post negotiation.) Assuming you get posted to a place that has adequate public transportation, how common is it for FSOs to own a car? I know that each post is different, but is housing usually located near public transit and/or the embassy/consulate? Or do they kind of put you outside the city? Are there ever security reasons (other than places like Iraq or Afghanistan) where you wouldn't be allowed to take the subway/bus?
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 16:57
|
|
|
There are many places in AF, and I imagine in all of the other geographic bureaus, where you'll be restricted from taking some form of public transit. Usually it's a matatu/minibus/minivan, tuk-tuks/auto-rickshaws/motor-trikes, or in some cases livery taxis, because the driving or maintenance conditions are too unsafe (25 year old toyotas with no seatbelts, no mirrors, bad tires, etc.) I don't think you're going to get much of an answer about security questions, though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 17:52
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:There are many places in AF, and I imagine in all of the other geographic bureaus, where you'll be restricted from taking some form of public transit. Usually it's a matatu/minibus/minivan, tuk-tuks/auto-rickshaws/motor-trikes, or in some cases livery taxis, because the driving or maintenance conditions are too unsafe (25 year old toyotas with no seatbelts, no mirrors, bad tires, etc.) First, TVs. In my first two posts that have been furnished there were no TVs provided. Bring your own. It's packed by movers and the amount of stuff that I've had break has been very small. Edit: You can also get a supplemental shipment. Meaning that I shipped stuff from AF->Brazil and then sent a second shipment from D.C. to Brazil. This is how you replenish stuff that breaks or is sold at your first post. Now - Public transit varies from post to post, but there are restrictions on public transit and this venue really isn't a good place to go into the why part. Most will either bring a car, or buy one at post. In Africa I had a 4Runner. In Brazil I have a Mini Cooper S. Most FSOs seem to have mid to nice range cars in the ~$15 - $45,000 mark. Edit: There's a few posts in Europe that I know of that are housing pool but unfurnished. It was a reason that I didn't pursue a bid at a post because I'd have to buy a lot of furniture that would probably only get a tour worth of use. TCD fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jan 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 19:29
|
|
|
Has anyone who took the FSOT in October gotten notification about whether they've made it to the OAs? I know we're supposed to find out this month and I'm getting really anxious!
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 20:14
|
|
|
CherryCola posted:Has anyone who took the FSOT in October gotten notification about whether they've made it to the OAs? I know we're supposed to find out this month and I'm getting really anxious! FYI, my results for the QEP -> OAs from the Oct 2011 test came in 1/23/12.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 20:37
|
|
|
TCD posted:FYI, my results for the QEP -> OAs from the Oct 2011 test came in 1/23/12. Ditto.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 20:51
|
|
|
TCD posted:FYI, my results for the QEP -> OAs from the Oct 2011 test came in 1/23/12. Ughhhhhhhh, okay I guess I'll go back to trying to pretend the Foreign Service doesn't exist until I hear something!
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 20:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:31 |
|
|
The waiting game doesn't get any better once you're on the Register
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2013 21:10
|
|