And introduction to Astra Kat G

Day 940, 00:14 • Published in USA USA • by Candor


There’s an article published today that offers a negative opinion of a seriously unsung eAmerican hero, Astra Kat G. I was going to comment a lot of this there, but decided she’s most definitely worthy of more than a comment.

(Good article on Astra here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/confessions-in-the-eyes-of-astra-kat-g-1120564/1/20)

Astra Kat G (everyone just calls her Astra) is a level 21 Field Marshal, born about a year ago. She has 9, count ‘em 9, medals for perfect attendance. She’s thrice been a member of Congress, and long ago earned her media mogul medal.



Astra works in our immigration outfit (known commonly as IES), along with a small handful of volunteers from Congress each month. I don’t know if she has a fancy title, she probably does, but I’m too lazy to bother finding it, and Astra’s not pretentious enough to use it anyway.



Astra is, essentially, the most permanent and professional bureaucrat in our federal government.

What Astra does, basically, is “investigate”, primarily, new citizen applicants. I believe she works pretty tightly with Rod Damon and the CIA, who has an even wider list of job responsibilities, leaving Astra as, really, our primary first line of defense dedicated soley to denying foreign agents entry to the eUnited States. If they make it in, or are home grown (accounts started here by a foreign national with less than honorable motives, or even domestic terrorists, actual eAmericans with less than honorable motives) she works side by side with the CIA to uncover them, and track their behavior.



A lot of what Astra does overlaps with our other security agencies. If Rod Damon is eAmerica’s top spy, Astra is eAmerica’s top ICE agent, using the real life equivalent. They both mesh/cross over on anti-espionage matters.

As a member of Congress, I have been pleased that not only are all of Astra’s activities open and available for oversight and participation by any member of Congress, but she frequently consults with Congress on particular files and applicants for opinion.

Astra has to make a lot of judgment calls each day, and each month. Spies and harmful characters don’t wear badges or name tags announcing their bad intentions. But I can say with full confidence that there is no one in the eUS that I would trust more to make the right call the greatest percentage of the time.



Does she make every call right? I doubt it. But I’d rather have someone there who weighs in on the side of prudence and caution than an overly trusting person who let in a lot of bad apples.



Astra works tirelessly, and usually thanklessly, day in, and day out. She answers and sends hundreds of PM’s each day. She keeps hundreds of files and records, available each month to any Congressman to review, comment and make recommendations. Few ever do, its thankless work.



Does Astra in all likelihood have 100’s of disgruntled customers out there across the eWorld? I’d bet she does, what she does effects people. And her opinions carry a lot of weight here internally with our own government, as it should. And certainly, Astra is a real person, whom I’ve found quite pleasant. She has little use or patience for people who can’t find it in themselves to show some basic manors and courtesy. She just doesn’t have the time.

But three things to remember about Astra (for those tl;dr folks)

1) She works her ass off keeping us all safe, usually thanklessly.
2) She’s damn good at her job.
3) She runs an open agency, with any Congressman welcome to look through her files, her work, and even join her agency. She’s not some rogue secret outfit.



So if you come across Astra one day, wouldn’t hurt to tell her “Thank you Astra!” And if you run across a disgruntled customer occasionally, cut her the benefit of the doubt. The ass she’s covering is yours, and mine.