Making a run for it!

[Byte Stryke]

I, as one of those poor souls sweating in the IBA all day, appreciate the fact you all kept the internet going so I could keep in contact with my family while deployed and kept the air conditioners working in our tents! The $65 a month was harsh for the low band width, but a little was better than nothing and the guys I went with in '08 who also deployed in '03 told me to shut up as they didn't even have that the first time.

Now, I wish I got paid the money the civilian contractors were making...!

I'm Sorry, but you have Confused the Civilian Networks with what we did.
Or, what I know I Did.
I worked on the SIPR/NIPR/CITRIX/VoIP/'other' Networks. when you guys had the Swans(Marines) CPN/JNN Trucks(Army) out there with the big Honking sat Dishes, That's what I did.


Pay....
Lets see, we had to pay for our own Travel (air), Health, Dental, Vehicles, housing, Clothing and food...
at $28/hr

which is only comparable to what the same position pays here in the states.
The Mortars, IEDS, 2k/month rent, Kidnappings and long hours were extra.



Not saying one is better than the other here.
Just saying that one isn't better than the other. I lost too many friends over there in Suits and in Civies.

[OneGuy67]

I'm Sorry, but you have Confused the Civilian Networks with what we did.
Or, what I know I Did.
I worked on the SIPR/NIPR/CITRIX/VoIP/'other' Networks. when you guys had the Swans(Marines) CPN/JNN Trucks(Army) out there with the big Honking sat Dishes, That's what I did.


Pay....
Lets see, we had to pay for our own Travel (air), Health, Dental, Vehicles, housing, Clothing and food...
at $28/hr

which is only comparable to what the same position pays here in the states.
The Mortars, IEDS, 2k/month rent, Kidnappings and long hours were extra.



Not saying one is better than the other here.
Just saying that one isn't better than the other. I lost too many friends over there in Suits and in Civies.

Interesting...I did deal with the individuals who kept our SIPR/NIPR lines going at Camp Victory, Camp Cropper and Camp Stryker. No doubt the hours were long, but they didn't mention the issues you have...in fact, they stated they were provided a flight to/from but not for R&R, did have to provide their own clothing, but the rest was provided by the company(s). They did mention their pay was a LOT higher than what you mentioned.

So...sorry Byte. I didn't mean to insult you. My experiences with the civilians were not as you mention you experienced...

[Hoser]

I enjoyed my time at Balad.

Our planes were close and we flew daily. No sitting around waiting for mortars to go fly.

In fact I enjoyed Balad, Mosul and Tikrit the most. Or pretty much anywhere other than Kuwait, Bahrain or Qatar is nice.

[Byte Stryke]

Interesting...I did deal with the individuals who kept our SIPR/NIPR lines going at Camp Victory, Camp Cropper and Camp Stryker. No doubt the hours were long, but they didn't mention the issues you have...in fact, they stated they were provided a flight to/from but not for R&R, did have to provide their own clothing, but the rest was provided by the company(s). They did mention their pay was a LOT higher than what you mentioned.

So...sorry Byte. I didn't mean to insult you. My experiences with the civilians were not as you mention you experienced...

No Insult taken.
just a tad jaded I guess from people thinking that the Civilians over there were making cash hand over fist.

Some where, most weren't.
The Civilians I felt sorry for the most were the TCNs
you think YOU get paid squat?
the guy that used to come clean our site was making $80 a month working 7-12s cleaning up shitty toilets and offices and he was ecstatic about that.
Most of the western Guards were making 50K/Year for 6-12s, the Easterners were making 1/3 of that.

As a rear support in Kuwait we didn't get to stay on Base, thus we had to provide our own housing food and vehicles. All R&R Flights were on us

Of course Living off post that did mean we had "other amenities"
Such as access to Civilian Markets, REAL Food, and well... My Son was born in Kuwait.

Then again walking past a headless corpse on your way to your car or finding a Dead TCN in the trash is no way to start your day either. There was always the possibility of you getting snatched at any time, and it DID happen from time to time. It was a direct violation of orders as well as State Dept Regs. for us to carry arms of any sort.

Kuwait tends to be a longer tour though, I was there from 06-09

No Worries, I Have a better feel for where you are coming from now

**We used to joke about going to Balad or Tikrit during the summer months to "Vacation" until they sent someone...

[OneGuy67]

I would agree the TCN's were working 3 times as hard as anyone else there and for squat. There were 4 Pakistani or Indonesian guys who ran the 24-hour Green Bean shack and I swear they never slept and I know they never took a day off. I know this as I was there every day buying my 4-shot carmel macchiato and occasionally, two or more times a day!

[Byte Stryke]

GAWDAMNITALLTAHELL...
Greenbean...


Now I need my MOAC

[275RLTW]

You might pass one of us on the way back, should be heading out to Dubai on Sunday to work in Kabul for a few weeks. All this talk of coffee and such at the base, I remember being under fire by Anti Aircraft on the assault into BIAP, scraping brid shit off the floor of the hangar to sleep for a few days, stealing tires and parts of abandoned cars to piece together some transportation, and tents? coffee? those were still to be loaded on aircraft back CONUS. I remember laughing at some of the support officers when they said we had to unload our weapons to go in the newly opened PX. (anytime an enlisted can tell an officer to STFU, tactfully of course,is a memorable experience)

[Troublco]

Al Udeid seems to have changed almost as much as Balad has. I remember when I was at Balad in '06 watching them run the cables for the internet access and they had the BK and Taco Bell and that stuff open. Big change from '04 when we thought the big luxury was not sleeping in tents. Heck, in '07 we weren't even being mortared very much. The one thing I never quite figured out in '04 was how those @&%#*%!@& insurgents knew when I was about to go take a leak and started dropping rounds on the part of the base where I was. Really couldn't complain about the accomodations, or the DFACs. The strangest thing I ever saw there was near Christmas '07 when it snowed. Temps in the upper 20's. I would have never believed it ever went under 80 there, never mind snow, after roasting through June, July, and August.
But Al Udeid at least improved their transient quarters, and had a way better pax terminal last time even if you did have to go across the street to the snack shack. I doubt if I'll ever see Balad again now, though.

[trlcavscout]

So when do we leave? I am ready.

[theGinsue]

the new snack shack: Usually an AAFES run comparison of a popular stateside fast food chain.

transient tents Temporary living quarters, Usually a hellhole for most REMFs, Doorkickers seem to like them.

USO tent: A place to relax usually providing satellite Television via AFN and a few modest computers for purposes of email and catching up with the world.

Fobbit: more accurately is a person that is deployed to a combat area, however they rarely if ever leave the FOB. The rest of it was pretty accurate.

"Man, That guy is such a Fobbit, you'd think he was tied to that snack-shack."

Okay folks, you're making the first mistake a kid straight out of Basic/AIT/Tech School makes when he goes back home and that is spouting out all of these military abbreviations to a mixed background crowd.

So, for those who are totally lost with the acronyms being thrown about, I'll try to define some.

AAFES = Army & Air Force Exchange Service. This is the org that runs the Base/Post Exchanges (in the U.S., or "CONUS" (continental US), these are like a WalMart). They also run the snack shacks like generic places to Starbucks & Burger King's - even in deployed locations, clothing sales, barber shops, etc. to laundramats. Often times, these establishments can be the oasis in the "desert" for something American or something that reminds you of "normal".

REMF's: Rear Echelon Mother F#cker$. These are the folks who always stay back away from any of the places that have increased danger. They will often brag about all of their "combat" experience - which, in reality, is usually just ducking into a shelter when the mortars are incoming.

USO: If you don't know this one, look it up and donate big time money to them! I can't say enough good about the USO.

AFN: Armed Forces Network. This is often the closest thing we have to an actual American telivision (and radio) network. It's always got plenty of military based content to remind you of who you are and where you are, but that is easily tempered by all of the democratic propaganda they provide.

FOB / Fobbit: Already explained.

SIPR/NIPR/CITRIX/VoIP: Various communication (data &/or voice) networks. One of my primary jobs now (and a lot of my background is working with) is working with/administering SIPRnet/NIPnet systems/networks.

AOR: Area of Responsibility. This is usually in a deployed location such as Iraq or Afghanistan, Quatar, Saudi, etc.

PAX: Passenger Terminal. Usually for Air Mobility Command (USAF / AMC) flights into or out of the AOR.

TCN: Third Country Nationals. These are civilian folks who work their tails off for next to nothing. They come from a "third country" which means that they aren't American, not are they from the nation you're currently stationed in. In Saudi, most of the TCN's are Filipino's who do just about everything to keep the infrastructure of the Saudi nation up and running. For USAF folks, we'd often get TCN escort duties to escort the TCN's driving the fuel trucks for aircraft fuel, etc.

I'm Sorry, but you have Confused the Civilian Networks with what we did.
Or, what I know I Did.
I worked on the SIPR/NIPR/CITRIX/VoIP/'other' Networks. when you guys had the Swans(Marines) CPN/JNN Trucks(Army) out there with the big Honking sat Dishes, That's what I did.

Pay....
Lets see, we had to pay for our own Travel (air), Health, Dental, Vehicles, housing, Clothing and food...
at $28/hr

which is only comparable to what the same position pays here in the states.
The Mortars, IEDS, 2k/month rent, Kidnappings and long hours were extra.



Not saying one is better than the other here.
Just saying that one isn't better than the other. I lost too many friends over there in Suits and in Civies.

So, how much extra a month do you have to pay for the mortars, IEDs, kidnappings and long hours?

To anyone who has ever served here in the States, Overseas, Oveseas/Remote, or Overseas/Deployed, whether you wore the uniform, were a govt civvie or a contractor, I salute you and thank you for your service.

Like Byte Stryke said, no experiences are any better or any worse than the next guys and they all add to the support of the mission.

For those of you who are currently serving and are deployed, I would be honored to sit down and have a beer with you upon your return. First round is on me!