"It's not exactly like other diplomatic jobs, so that's fair enough." A thoughtful pause followed before he began. "I assume as a military officer you have some idea how the Foreign Service works, so I'll cut to the chase." By that he meant skipping over graduating from university with a degree in international relations, passing one of the most difficult oral and written civil-service exams in the world, enduring a microscopic scrutiny resulting in security and medical clearances, and placement on the glorified waiting list that was the employment register.