The Bid List

Last night I turned in The Bid List: a master spreadsheet of every post, position, language, differential pay, and start date available to first-tour officers of the 168th A-100 class. As you can imagine, it's been a steady subject of conversation for the last two weeks.

If one is an optimist, then ranking your preferences (High, Medium, Low) is really exciting - each post is a potential future with intriguing possibilities. Although East Asia/Pacific is the long-term interest, Africa and South/Central Asia have been moving up in my mind. Included in the 98 positions are:

26 for which I have at least a foundation in the language 

16 of low preference

16 of high preference

16 designated Danger (no correlation with preference)

7 at headquarters in DC

2 with split locations

2 island countries

1 absolute dream post and position

But in the end, it probably doesn't matter much. I entered the job with an advantage in hiring priority through the Recruitment Language Program (RLP), which aims to attract speakers of "critical need" languages. In exchange for an advantage on the registry, you commit to going to the country of said language in the first or second tour. There's certainly nothing to complain about in this....it's just that that post in a nearby country is SO very attractive, and despite my best pitch, it's not the most likely outcome.

18 days until our Flag Day. Until then, a collection of Flag Day stories.