A friend asked me how many days she was entitled to take off for her pack-out to post. Post was itching to get her there, and apparently couldn’t spare the two days she wanted to make sure the movers didn’t put the kitchen sink in HHE. Sadly, the answer is zero. Pack-out days are not/not an entitlement. They are taken as administrative (paid) leave approved by your supervisor. According to 3 FAH-1 H-3465, your supervisor can approve up to two days for pack-out and one day for unpacking (with extensions available). The silver lining for her? While at FSI, your supervisor is unlikely to be your supervisor at post. If you’re in long-term language, your Language Training Supervisor or CDO is usually your supervisor of record, and they’ll tend to give you the time. Your milage may vary–and it’s probably best not to piss off your boss before you even get to post–but I find it hard to believe that two days is a deal breaker in the vast majority of cases. We’ve all been through packouts and having that day can be the difference between keeping your sanity and finding your minor child crated and shipped to post.

John said there was no reason I should know this, and he was right, but I was curious enough to look it up. We know that there are funds you can get for moving to a foreign post, but what about transferring back to the US? Well, it’s not so easy. The Home Service Transfer Advance (HSTA) works pretty much like the FTA discussed previously. Instead of that DS-240 for the FTA, you’ll use the DS-250 and its magic to figure your allowances on the SF-1190. While there’s no advance of pay loan, the HSTA can provide you with a lot more money if you need it. Here’s how: Read more on this Article!

This spring brought moans to the halls of FSI…no more business class on PCS flights over 14 hours. Yes, a great gnashing of teeth…but frankly it makes sense: business class from LAX to New Delhi costs $4800/ticket and the contract fare is ~$900. Throw in a rest stop and they’re still saving over $3800 per ticket. But spread along with the moaning was a falsehood: no upgrades are possible. That’s wrong. There are several ways to upgrade part or all of your trip, and I’ll get into them below. Hang on…this is going to be a long post. Read more on this Article!