I would have put this up in the job seekers room, but hose threads expire after 60 days, so I figured this old haunt was as good as any.

I am not there just yet, but my twilight tour in the military is coming, and I am thinking on my interest in FSO work that took me through two successful written exams in the past, and a offer to take the oral board which i turned down because I had just accepted an opportunity to return to the Marine Corps.

Do we have any members here who might be willing to share insight on life in the FS as it stands today?

I am particularly interested in any insight on the following:

-The impact of age on new FSOs. I took the oral board in 1991 alongside a wife of a recently-retired Air Force officer, so she was up in yeas. What is the average age of a recently-minted FSO these days? Is the process the same as it was the times I previously took the test?...written exam, followed by oral board? If successful at the oral board, what next, and how much time mght I be looking at before receiving a hire offer and assignment for training or duty station?

-Duty station assignment policies? Is it a matter of choosing the top five and hoping for the best, or are there standard practices where you have to take a hardship tour at the outset, since you are junior? (Not that it would matter to me, but the wifey wonders ).

-What constraints and restraints are there regarding accompanied tours? I have two daughters who will definitely be in high school by the time this career change might be realized, so my wife and I are especially curious about overseas education issues. My oldest will be on her way to college.

-Would my wife's nationality have any bearing on assignment? She is a Filipino national still, but has finally decided to get around to petioning for naturalization, and speaks Tagalog as his first language.

-I will have spent twenty years previous to any FS work in the infantry. Does that have any bearing on the type of work I might be assigned as a junior FSO, or do career tracks come later, with FSOs starting out as sort of a jack-of-all trades.

I'll think of more, but most importantly, can anyone recommend a blog out there from a FSO where I might be able to gain further insight.