Anyone here been a contractor in Iraq?

[SPC LV]

I'm interested in going back as a mechanic. Can anyone recommend a good company to work for? Is anyone over there now?

[sprung]

what particular questions do you have?

I'm not a contractor, but I've worked with a few different companies over there.

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

Hey i'm down. . .
I know people that claim they were making like $30k a month

[addy85]

if you get caught by the iraqi's you won't have a head

[BaLLzZz]

ill jus carry a sidearm lol can anyone go out there?

[addy85]

Originally Posted by BaLLzZz

ill jus carry a sidearm lol can anyone go out there?

yep, go for it

[E36_325i]

I've worked in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghan as a contractor doing IT work. If you want to go in as a mechanic then ITTindustries might be your best option. They have the contract to repair all the HMMWV's and tanks and all that. But dont get your hopes up thinking you're going to make 30K a month. As a mechanic I bet you'll do 120K a year. Maybe even less.. There are a ton of americans out there working and they arent short handed on resume's. IT or Private security is where it's at.

You wont need a sidearm because your not going to leave the base..trust me. Please dont be "that guy" that leaves the base to go get booze at the local liquor store. Thats how you get dead. Just work and eat and sleep and play Xbox and you'll be fine.

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

^Interesting. . .

[darkphantom]

wow, heard about workers out there. They make a pretty penny, but you've got one hell of a tradeoff. Good luck!

[osteome]

Originally Posted by darkphantom

wow, heard about workers out there. They make a pretty penny, but you've got one hell of a tradeoff. Good luck!

It you're a contractor it's not too bad of a trade off actually, as the pay is a bit different for members of the military there and we do leave the wire, for the most part.

Not to say that there are not contractors that are often in harm's way and many are former military with more motivation than just the almighty dollar. Many folks are just there for the money, though.

If I was a "smarter man", perhaps I would be a contractor rather than be in the military or have at least chosen a branch that deploys for less than 12 to15 months at a time, but I am happy with my job, so will stick with what I am doing now.

[jhv]

Originally Posted by E36_325i

I've worked in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghan as a contractor doing IT work. If you want to go in as a mechanic then ITTindustries might be your best option. They have the contract to repair all the HMMWV's and tanks and all that. But dont get your hopes up thinking you're going to make 30K a month. As a mechanic I bet you'll do 120K a year. Maybe even less.. There are a ton of americans out there working and they arent short handed on resume's. IT or Private security is where it's at.

You wont need a sidearm because your not going to leave the base..trust me. Please dont be "that guy" that leaves the base to go get booze at the local liquor store. Thats how you get dead. Just work and eat and sleep and play Xbox and you'll be fine.

wow

[shift330]

I went over as a Marine in '05 and a contractor in '07 and left the base plenty of times on convoys. Not everyone stays behind the wire, it depends on what you do. For a mechanic, you're probably looking at right around 100k a year, maybe a little more.

[JDLM]

I am a contractor in Iraq

Not everyone stays "in the wire" anyway all that crap has changed now anyway, things are calming down and it isn't that BIG of a deal to go "out" people make things seem more dangerous than they are.

I work with the Marines as a Biometrics Automated Toolset Admin (IT in a way)

And now that SOFA has kicked in. (Status of Forces Agreement) meaning you are under Iraq law if anything were to happen.

So everyone is treading, and people have schedules on patrols, and times that they can be "outside the wire"

I would look into Afghanistan, I am down to 5X days

[SPC LV]

Originally Posted by E36_325i

I've worked in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghan as a contractor doing IT work. If you want to go in as a mechanic then ITTindustries might be your best option. They have the contract to repair all the HMMWV's and tanks and all that. But dont get your hopes up thinking you're going to make 30K a month. As a mechanic I bet you'll do 120K a year. Maybe even less.. There are a ton of americans out there working and they arent short handed on resume's. IT or Private security is where it's at.

You wont need a sidearm because your not going to leave the base..trust me. Please dont be "that guy" that leaves the base to go get booze at the local liquor store. Thats how you get dead. Just work and eat and sleep and play Xbox and you'll be fine.

Ok cool I'll check that out. The companies that I have put in resumes for pay mechanics $140,000-$200,000. The thing is, it is a lot tougher to get a job over there than it used to be. It looks like I'll be deploying with my NG unit before I get any job offer.