Solitary Confinement

Michael Sestak was just sentenced to 64 months in prison. 

Most people haven't heard of him, but he's notorious in the consular world. During his time as the non-immigrant visa chief in Ho Chi Minh City, Sestak sold hundreds of U.S. visas to Vietnamese nationals who didn't qualify for them.

In his defense, Sestak's lawyer sought to drum up sympathy by depicting him as someone who just wanted to be loved:

Most significantly, when Michael arrived in Vietnam, his personal life was totally unfulfilling. Within his first year assigned to Vietnam, Michael turned 40. Michael was unmarried, had no children, and no serious prospects for finding someone to share life together... In both Spain and Poland, Michael had a girlfriend that he met towards the end of his tour. Unable to further develop these relationships in such a short amount of time, Michael arrived at his next assignment unaccompanied. It was during these transitions that Michael began to question the meaning of life and finding true happiness.

People react to loneliness in different ways. Some eat too much ice cream. Some binge-watch Netflix. Some adopt cats. And some...sell $3.3 million worth of fraudulent visas.

Also, I know it's not PC but...if Mike felt alone in Vietnam, as a not-too-old white guy with a decent salary and a dip passport, he must've been completely hopeless as an individual. Because, come on.

I can only hope State doesn't take this too much to heart, otherwise I'd better get married in the next 5 years if I don't want to lose that security clearance.

Out of the Language Maze

My language training has ended and I have been judged a '3' level in both speaking and reading.

A 3/3 is not an 'average' score - it denotes professional ability. A 4/4 or a 5/5 would be equivalent to a well-educated native speaker.

There is a certain amount of suspicion surrounding the language testing  at FSI - many people feel the scoring is arbitrary or only tests the 'formality' of one's language skills and not one's ability to communicate.

Others say that the whole thing is a scheme to create work for the language teachers. Very few students are allowed to pass on the first try, while almost everyone who has gone through FSI training is waved through (supposedly) regardless of their ability.

Rumors aside, I'm done with it for the moment. I have also liberated myself from 'language probation', meaning I am eligible for tenure after three years.

On to Consular training!

Some Foreign Service Blogs of Note

Diplopundit

The flagship anonymous Foreign Service blog.

Foreign Service Problems

Entertaining Tumblr describing common annoyances of the Foreign Service life.

Diplo Denizen

By former FSO James Bruno.

Travel Orders

FSO in Guadalajara.

A Form For Everything

FSOs (and other government officials) who travel have to fill out voucher forms to cover/reimburse their expenses.

When I say 'travel', I really mean it. No trip is too unusual to fall outside this rule. If I have to fill out forms to visit Mexico, I certainly have to fill out forms to visit the moon:

 

That's right. This is Buzz Aldrin's official travel form documenting his start and end pints as well as his mode of transportation:

• Cape Kennedy, Florida to Moon: Government Spacecraft
• Moon to Cape Kennedy, Florida: Government Spacecraft

Now, technically Aldrin never stayed on the moon, but that's a minor quibble.  The form also notes that all of Aldrin's meals and lodging are covered during the travel period.  

I wonder what the moon's per diem rate is?

The Foreign Service on Screen: The Brink

Ladies and gentleman, The Brink. Starring Jack Black as buffoonish USAID official Alex Talbot, Assif Mandvi as his Pakistani friend/driver Rafiq Massoud and Tim Robbins as the skirt-chasing Secretary of State.

The first season is set in Pakistan, where a major political crisis is underway following a coup. So far the show seems to be aiming for a cross between Madame Secretary, Doctor Strangelove and Animal House. 

Now, to be clear...USAID officials don't work for the State Department. USAID is an independent agency with a foreign policy directive that serves under the Secretary of State. Confusing?

The American ambassador to Pakistan (John Larquette) frequently mentions how much he'd like to fire Talbot - something ambassadors don't have the authority to do. Hiring and dismissal are both strictly controlled processes.

So far it's a bit uneven. The mix of low comedy (sex jokes, pee jokes etc.) and high political drama don't always jibe convincingly.

El Regreso de Cuba

 So now we have a full Embassy in Cuba again.

Of course, we've had an 'interests section' for quite some time. The shift, however, is important as it signals a return to normal state of relations. It will be some time, however, before things can be truly normal again.

There s the usual huffing and puffing from people who think that we're doing the Cubans any good by maintaining a Cold War mentality into the 21st century.  Some Congresspeople have threatened to block funding for the 'new embassy', completely ignorant that we already have one.

This is obviously very good news for people who believe in diplomacy, and a defeat for those who want to give an obviously failed policy another 50 years to work.

The Ambassadors