Woof. In one months time I will be in Mauritania, settling into our new home, and starting my first assignment. I’m so excited to get there, but it feels like between now and then I have a million things to do, and not enough time.
Let me try and explain what a PCS (permanent change of station) move entails:
First and most obvious, you get an assignment and learn which country you will be heading off to. Great! That’s the easy part.
From there, you have to create a travel itinerary on your own, submit it up the chain, and if everything checks out, you will get an official set of travel orders! Hurrah all done!
Actually not. Heading abroad, you need a Diplomatic Passport, which in of itself is no simple task to obtain, especially when you have multiple family members also needing one, and they might still be halfway across the country.
Then, you’ll need to arrange for a Visa to the host country, and it will need to last the entirety of the time you are there. Each country has their own set of requirements so you better be on top of it. In my case, Mauritania required a set of vaccines needed like Yellow Fever, which required arranging a vaccine appointment at State Department HQ (which in a bureaucracy isn’t an easy task either).
What about all our stuff? Cars, consumables, furniture? Well…you have to work with a PCS transport expert assigned to you, and figure out exactly when a third party shipper will move your stuff. Good luck having them pick a day that’s convenient to you, especially in the summer when thousands of other people are moving in and out of the country.
Are we done yet? Nope, don’t forget you also have to get plane tickets. The State Department, a worldwide organization that has people travelling all over the place, doesn’t have some sophisticated travel system. It’s the opposite, you pick up the phone, and in my case, wait 3 hours on hold to speak to a contracted travel agency like it’s 1999. Pray to sweet Baby Jesus they spell your name correctly on your ticket so you don’t have to call back. Then you email your travel orders to this empty void of an email address, and pray that 3 days before your flight, the government funds your tickets so you don’t have to do it all over again.
Exhausted yet? Just remember that during all of this, you are still working a fulltime job, and this being the government, all these entities are only open during really fun government business hours. Just thinking about the whole process wears me out. Moving is difficult in any circumstance, whether across the street or across the country, but the added elements to a PCS, especially to a newbie like myself make it all the more difficult.
Breathe Nick…..breathe. Whew….
All that said, the folks on the other end of the computer, passport line, or phone continue to be some of the nicest people I have ever dealt with, and they will get it done for you. I’ve thankfully got all my ducks in a row, and the ship is sailing pretty smoothly so far.
Moving on, I’m really loving MED orientation. The Bureau has a real family feel to it, everyone knows everyone, and folks couldn’t be friendler. The next few weeks are crunch time. Making sure the ducks all stay in a row, cramming my head with MED morsels, and just enjoying the moment. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that I am getting paid to travel the world and still be a healthcare provider. Even though it can be difficult to navigate, it seems wholly worthwhile.
Until next time! –Nick
P.S.- The fine folks over at MED have a much more active social media presence and are using the medium to recruit. You can find their Facebook page here, and I believe they are also active on LinkedIn. Well worth a follow if you ever find yourself interested in a career with MED (and if you’re reading this far down the page, you likely are).
