Well, I'll take it anyway

I raised the issue of the step increase to the deputy G4, who replied that it was denied due to the position not being "Hard to Fill." So it's GS-12 Step 1 or nothing.

Disappointing, but I accepted anyway.

It means a starting annual salary of $64 490. That may seem low, but there's still post allowance of about $8000 a year, plus housing money that's about $41000 a year. Overall, not too shabby.

At this point, I submit a "request for orders." Once I get orders, I can take them to the Transportation Office to arrange for household goods pick-up dates.

I'm not sure if they'll be able to make it happen, what with all the holidays in the coming month. If we can't travel by January 6th, my starting pay date will get pushed back two weeks.