After 6 months and 7 days of waiting, I finally received my security clearance!

It was granted on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The next step is the Final Suitability Review Panel, where a panel of judges looks at my entire case file & background and decided whether I'll make a good Foreign Service Officer. This usually takes about a week to 10 days after all clearances (security and medical) have been granted.

Once I pass the Review panel, candidates get placed on the FS Register, where everyone gets ranked based on their score from the Oral Assessment. Then I just have to sit back and WAIT AGAIN until a seat opens for me to attend the Foreign Service Orientation Course (aka "A-100"), which is based in Arlington, Virginia.

I was in adjudication (3 months), longer than my actual background investigation (two months, 21 days).  Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) wouldn't/couldn't tell me why my case took so long, but I'm guessing it's related to my extensive overseas travel, work and life experience. I've lived in the UK since 2005 and have traveled to nearly 60 countries for business & pleasure, including some not-so-friendly countries like Iraq & Afghanistan. Most of my travel was related to my long journalism career, so this travel was all well-documented. My eQip (SF-86) was about 90 pages long with a dozen foreign contacts listed. Also my parents are naturalized US citizens.

Those three months in adjudication where, without a doubt, the longest three months of my entire life. To those of you who receive your clearance in just 2 or 3 months or never go into adjudication, you don't know how lucky you are. And to those with waits even longer than mine, I truly feel your pain and best of
luck. Hang in there, it WILL happen when you're least expecting!

My stats
11/4/08: FSOT
2/12: QEP
4/14: Passed FSOA. Score 5.40, Consular Track.
4/17: Security background investigation launched
5/1: Veterans preference bonus points added. New score = 5.575
5/5 & 5/7: Medical appointments at STATE MED. Class 1 clearance issued in-person on 5/7.
5/10: DSS in-person interview (three hours long)
5/16: Medical Clearance hardcopy arrives in mail
6/18: Security case manager requests a final piece of information.
7/17: Took Spanish phone test. Flunked (I know, can you believe that?).
7/17: Background security investigation completed
7/21: Adjudication process initiated
10/21: SECURITY CLEARANCE GRANTED

I hereby revoke my membership in the Limbo & Purgatory Club!

 There's been a lot of debate in the news lately about President Obama's plan to overhaul the American health care system. Democrats say the system is a mess and must be redesigned. Millions of Americans can't afford or aren't eligible for basic health care. Republicans say Obama's plan for universal health care is "socialized medicine" and would destroy the system.

Quite frankly, I don't understand the Republican arguments. The Republican argument is that somehow "universal health care" translates to socialism, or that universal health care somehow means Americans will lose their current insurance company/doctor/health care provider. Hey GOP, get this through your head: You CHOOSE! (We all know 'choice' is a hard word fro GOP to muster). But here's how it works:  If you're happy with your current insurance company, you can keep it. If you want to switch to the government plan, then that's good too. Besides, Republicans conveniently forget that we already have a form of universal health care...it's called Medicare/Medicaid or Veterans Health Administration.

Whether you're Republican or Democrat, I think we can ALL agree that something needs to be done. Americans should NOT be going bankrupt because they need health care, or forced to chose between buying medicine or buying food.

The Two Crabs are American expats who have lived in the UK since 2005. I've written a few posts defending Britain's National Health Service (NHS). Sure it has its problems. It's not perfect. But in the UK, we have a CHOICE. You can either be on NHS, or you can pay out-of-pocket for private health insurance just like Americans do. Contrary to public opinion, NHS is not completely free. The cost comes out of your taxes and National Insurance contributions, but it's still much cheaper than American health insurance.  As a self-employed person, I pay about £150 pounds a year in National Insurance contributions...less than $250 for a full year of unlimited coverage.

Let me give you a basic, black & white example of UK vs. US health care systems:

Mr. Crab takes cholesterol-lowering statins (Zocor, aka Simvastatin). Today, I went to the doctor to get a check-up and results of a recent blood test. I got a same-day appointment, waited 5 minutes in the waiting room before I saw the doctor. I was in and out of the office in 15 minutes. When I left the office, I walked straight out the front door, bypassing the receptionist. That's because in the UK, if you have NHS health care, you DO NOT PAY anything to see a doctor. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

Next, I walked down the street to the Boots pharmacy to fill a 90-day supply of 10mg Simvastatin. I waited 15 minutes for the refill, then paid £7.20, or about $11.97 (low-income NHS patients pay nothing).  When I got home, I went online to Drugstore.com to compare US prices. If I had no insurance, the same supply of Zocor would cost $249.99!  The generic version of the drug is much cheaper at $49.97, but that's still about $38 more than we pay in the UK for the exact same drug. 

Quite frankly, I'm gobsmacked. There is NO excuse or argument for why Americans should have to pay 3x or 20x more than Brits for life-saving drugs.

Sure NHS isn't perfect. It's great for everyday stuff like physicals, prescription drugs, and minor ailments like cold or swine flu. But as some of my friends can attest, NHS has much to be desired if you need a specialist doctor or non-emergency surgery; the wait-time for surgery can be months, a year or longer. 

NHS is not perfect. But choosing NO health care over universal health care, I'll take the universal health care any day. 

Mr. Crab is back in London after a 10-day visit back home to Washington DC, where I spent way too much money on American candy and decorations for Halloween in London. And where the US media is WAY to obsessed with this whole Balloon Boy hoax. I love this "I Want to Believe" parody poster!

Mr. Crab is going to Costa Rica for his next Lonely Planet assignment!

And yes, I'm STILL in adjudications (aka the Limbo & Purgatory Club). At this rate, I won't get my security clearance until 2011. Due to accepting this Lonely Planet gig, the earliest Foreign Service A-100 class I can accept will likely be February or March. Wish me luck.

Borough Market is, hands down, the best market in London. It's a foodie's paradise, with hundreds of vendors selling everything from fresh organic fruit & veg to ostrich burgers and rabbit kebabs.