It’s that time of year in Washington when people are moving to new jobs. Within the past week alone, three friends/acquaintances have sent messages announcing new opportunities. I respect and admire all three and look forward to working with them in their new roles.

• Claude Chafin: After handling blogger outreach for the White House on national security issues, Claude takes over as communications director for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Blackburn represents the bulk of Fort Campbell, and with the 101st deployed, Claude expects to be working on War on Terror issues quiet frequently in the new job. After the departure of David Almacy earlier in the year, the White House is losing another important member of its new-media team.

‚Ä¢ Amos Snead: I was very sad to hear Amos will be leaving House Minority Whip Roy Blunt’s office at the close of the year. He’s been a wonderful resource for bloggers and will be deeply missed. Just this past week, Amos brought Blunt to Heritage for our Conservative Bloggers’ Briefing — a fitting end to his congressional stint. He’ll be working for FD Dittus Communications in his new job. Whoever takes his place will have big shoes to fill.

‚Ä¢ Quin Hillyer: My colleague Mark Tapscott made an outstanding move when he hired Quin to work on the editorial page of the Washington Examiner as associate editor. Quin leaves his job at Citizens United, where he recently exposed CNN’s bias for a documentary on negative ads. I’m looking forward to watching Quin closely in his new capacity — and hope he’s able to start a blog on Examiner.com to showcase his excellent work.