Well, I have a little bit of egg on my face. Nearly 2 months after I was assigned to Peshawar, Pakistan, my career development officer called and gave me an option to serve in a different Special Incentive Post, and I am happy to announce I will now be moving to Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) next summer.
This is honestly quite surprising and something that DOES NOT happen very often in the entry level. Due to some logistic and visa issues with the individual originally assigned to the post, I was offered an opportunity to switch assignments with them.
It wasn’t an easy decision and I had to decide fairly quickly. Full disclosure, I bid Yangon as my #1 assignment back in May/June, but Pesh was my #2 pick. So on my second flag day I was still pleased with my assignment. Since then I have only had time to look into the work and job a bit more in Pakistan, and honestly get myself psyched up for the tour. I had talked to all the stakeholders, regional bosses, and current incumbents, and gotten a real grasp of the post.
Ultimately, I decided to take the assignment switch. I did this for few main reasons:
1) It helped my colleague get an assignment they wouldn’t have any administrative hurdles to deal with and it would let them see their family way more. I am a big believer in karma and didn’t want to generate any bad juju by negatively impacting the career of anyone else.
2) It still is a 1 year SIP assignment, meaning great pay and exit from entry level an entire year early.
3) Burma is a country that has long fascinated me both historically and in current events. While going to Pakistan would have been a great assignment and I was excited for the opportunity. I AM REALLY EXCITED about a tour in Burma. This is an assignment that would excite me in any part of my career. SE Asia as a whole is probably my favorite region in the world to explore, as each country seems to offer an ancient and entirely unique culture that largely feels untapped compared to Europe or parts of Latin America. Plus Burmese food is world class.
Although Rangoon is considered a high risk danger post, the circumstances on the ground are much different to what I was going to be facing in Peshawar. The assignment in Peshawar basically involves living in a 100 square foot armored trailer and you aren’t allowed to leave the 0.9 acre compound unless you are on official business (which usually means travel). While some might think that sounds horrible, for me it was an opportunity to get caught up on a backlog of video games and paint a ton of Warhammer models. I likely will still have time for all those things in Burma, but the option to do other things is also nice.
Rangoon offers full freedom of movement through the majority of the city and I will be living in a very nice serviced 3 bedroom apartment, likely with a view of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Not to mention the ability to go to high quality restaurants, breweries, pubs, and malls. You name it, Rangoon probably has it on offer.
Having said all that, there is definitely an element of danger that overhangs the assignment. After the military overthrew the democratically elected government in 2021, the U.S. government has not had exceptionally friendly relations with the current military junta. Since the coup, Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war that has killed over 30,000 people and displaced over a million. Rangoon is largely out of the eye of the storm, but if world events in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Sahel have taught us anything, things can change on a moments notice. There is definitely a reason the assignment affords numerous special incentive and danger differentials.
Overall, I am pumped for this new opportunity. The ability to check off some major career goals while getting to serve in a place that genuinely peaks my curiosity is really exciting. The year away from my family will still be difficult, but I will still get several trips home to see them, and I had already been mentally prepared for that aspect of the assignment in Peshawar, so nothing really different there. I think this will be a good thing, and the fact that the switch ultimately helped a colleague stay closer to their family made it all the easier to decide. Something tells me Pakistan will be in my future at some point, but for now I must move on and focus on my last 9 months in Mauritania, looking forward to my time in Burma. –Nick
