"Civilian contractors" Topic

A pox on the head of anyone who drags this into "politics" or Blyue Fezzy Territory!

I am merely looking for information on the "civilian contractors" in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Their numbers, where they are recruited from, accountability, responsibilities, etc.

Watch it, Buster…

Oh, you caught the "battle of Ramadi" then…

bleeeeaaahhh!

There should be some nuggets here:

link

"bleeeeaaahhh!"

No, that's not *quite* the sound you make when the Predator makes contact with your eyeball.

Do A-Team re-runs count as research?

CNN or the BBC had a story about Ugandan contractors in Iraq, they get something like $300 USD USD a month to be there. Supposedly they are happy with that pay according to the story.

Problem with any numbers you get is it does not say which are security, operations, or other support, and general contactors such as slinging hash in the mess tent.

FWIW as long as no one start a BluFez thread here is a current posting I am doing some recruiting for.

link

The number are dropping generally across the board. In Iraq the largest single employer is SANDI GP. Which has both security and public works contracts. FWIW they are moving into the D.C. Security market.

Be careful of some of the site both on the left and right as they tend to have an "agenda"

VR
James Mattes

CNN or the BBC had a story about Ugandan contractors in Iraq, they get something like $300 USD USD USD a month to be there. Supposedly they are happy with that pay according to the story.

had a really chatty NCO in my office when I was over there who talked up all the Ugandans all the time. They did say they made about that and it was good work for them.

I did also know that there was a problem a year agoish with the DFAC workers they hired from India and elsewhere where they brought too many of them over and the were living in filth in a hanger, or warehouse or something. Once the news got ahold of the story they then upgraded the place and paid them something and sent them home.

Licensed to Kill by Robert Pelton is a pretty even handed book on the subject.

link

… of course that is assumes that by Civilian Contractors you mean PMCs.

I second Pelton's book.

Well just a few comments. Robert Pelton's book does have a few good stories in there. But again he has a very biased opinion of Contractors and puts his own spin on the details. He commented in an interview that most contractors couldn't hold down a job at walmart. Well I bet if he couldn't write I doubt if he could either? The only thing good I can say about this book is he covers armed contractors and support contractors. Most of the media claim there are 120,000+ contractors and we're all armed and under no control whats so ever. About 10% or less of the contractors in Iraq & afgan are armed. Plus you go cowboying it up. The military will come in and disarm you, arrest you and shut down the company. Most of the armed contractors I've met all have a military background or police w/ swat experience. There are levels to this also. Tier 1 are your people with special forces experience. Tier 2 are your Marines, Airborne, SWAT folks. Then Tier 3 are your regular infantry, cops and such. Well of course the higher up the Tier you are the bigger your pay check is. The comment about the Kenyans & Ugandan's salary. That might be true but all the ones I've talked to make great money compared to what they make back home. I've never asked them what they make cause thats rude. but they have told me they make more a year here than they would in five back home. but the basics of contracting are. You research a company and see how well they take care of their employees and how much they pay and do they pay on time. Its even better if you know some people that work for the company or have worked for them in the past. I know two guys that worked for Armor Group. I wouldn't submit my resume for that gig above unless they doubled whats listed! Then you wait for the recruiter for the company to contact you. After a brief interview and background check. Most reputable companies will send u off to get a few weeks training in. During this the company decides if they will keep u or not. Cause they don't teach you, its to get your skills up to standards. So if you show up and are totally clueless, they give u a plane ticket home. I've seen it done many times. Well after your refresher training you get processed just like the military. Shots, Will, power of attorney's should all be taken care of before you leave. And here is where the media just out right lies to the public. For US contractors and the UK has a very similar law. If you go to a foreign country and break the law. You can be charged in Federal court for it. The contractors use to have immunity from Iraqi law here. But thats now changed in the past year or so. But if you broke the law, the company can only fire you. Its up to the Federal Governement to procuste you. So if they don't, its not the companies fault. The media doesn't say that, they want to blame the contractors and the companies. Also contractors are not mercs because thats illegal for armed civilians to take offensive action here. We can only defend ourselves, our clients and any and all coalition forces. So again if your in a convoy or compound and insurgents attack it and you shoot back. thats not illegal. If you load up and go on an offensive operation into Kabul looking for insurgents. More than likely thats illegal. But under the Defence act we have insurance and whats similar to workman comp back home. But like any job you run across a 10%'er, a loser. Most days you work your hours and your off. Every so many days you'll get a down day. Sometimes you might work 10 or 14 hours days for a week or so. Then you'll have 3 or 4 days of weapons cleaning and eating. Most of the time it evens out in the end. Also another thing thats changed in the past year or so. The Iraqi's are their own country now. So you go rolling into an iraqi town with out their permission in advance. Their check points on the edge of the city will either jack you up or turn you around. Also we have to register our vehicles and such with the MOI. So we have placards on the sides of our vehicles with numbers on them. You run someone over and keep going, they report you and guess who comes beating on your door. but we have supervisors who report up the companies chain of command just like any large company does. You get sick, they have clinics here for you to go to. If you get wounded the military hauls you to one of their medical units. Then the military bills the companies insurance for our care. If you die your family gets life insurance and your remains are shipped home. Reputable companies have people that go and notify the family and help them deal with the insurance and arrangements. Some companies are not so reputable and are always playing on the edge. But a lot of people that work for them are also on the edge. Wow this is getting long, hahaha I just wanted to give you a brief run down. Hope that helps. I'm heading home on vacation and gonna try to get some gaming in. So if I don't reply for a few days thats why. take care.

As of January 1, 2009 (when the Status of Forces Agreement with the effects that Ironwolf describes above went into effect), you'd have to be crazy to serve as an armed contractor in Iraq.

If you get shot at, shoot back, and survive, you're very likely to serve a long term in an Iraqi jail, just because it's good publicity for the government to slam it to "mercenaries". And if you get shot at and don't survive, that's bad too.

Wow, Ironwolf did you pause for breath when you typed that?

Paragraph man, paragraph!!

Gee whiz when i see civilian contractors ,i read cobra ,no Geneva convention for them ,just a bullet to back of the neck.Slang ,hey man were not a gang ,were a club,same snake ,kill them with impartiality.

Hey guys I can't sleep cause I gotta catch my flight in 5 hours and getting excited to go home for a vist. Sorry about the no paragraph and such. I hadn't realized I'd typed so much until to late. lol
but to add about the SOFA agreement. I'm not in jail and no iraqi's have come pounding on my door for justified shooting. We've had some military S2's come and ask us questions about the incidents. But most insurgents or criminals don't go filing complaints with the Iraqi police or MOI. Or none we've shot at have yet? but I'm sure if they thought it would work, they'd try it. To be honest I have no idea if they were insurgents, criminals, or people ticked off cause we were there. We didn't stop to ask and they weren't waving flags or patches. lol
On warpspeeds comment about Cobra. I think your refering to the insurance? No we have insurance through Cigna International. Covers my daughters back home and me any where in the world and the USA. Its monthly tab is half the price of what I paid for working in the USA for insurance. On the Geneva convention. only thing I can say is "Dude." how many military POW's have you seen or known about when it involves insurgents?? Not many and not for long. Everyone carries a bug out bag. so if you have to hoof it and lay low for awhile. then you got whats important and what you need. If it comes down to being taken alive then you better convert to Islam quick and hope for the best.
I've met guys that have been doing this for 7 years and love it. I've ran into a few that after a couple months they miss their family and go home. I haven't met anyone (so far) that is kill joy or looking to put a notch on their rifle. I hope I don't either, the team I'm with are great guys and would give you the shirt off their back. they have their family send them packages of candy to give to the kids here. They stop at Iraqi Police check points and give them a bottle of water or soda out of our cooler. Cause them guys are working in the heat and the sun.
When people talk about how this generation of kids are greedy, only play x-box and no respect for anything. Well they never seen the kids in the military over here. I'd stack them up against any vet from any previous war the US has been in. Now the Officer Corp for the military, not so much. They do an alright job and some do a good job but alot of times thats not enough.
Well I'm rambling again… lol. Hope to see you across a gaming table.

Apparantly there's a company down on Bay Street (Toronto) that hires for security work at the oil fields. Don't know the name, just heard it mentioned by some of the guys at work.

Now that was an impressive wall of text Ironwolf, and yet it still contained valuable info. Thanks. : )

What's the matter, John? COMCAST not selling too well back there in Penn Dutch country?
Actually, the embassy security job noted by Vojvoda sounds good, but at 64 [almost] I'm probably older than they want.
Count Natokina.