Tokyo-dave said:
Not to hijack your thread or to chance the subject, but I've been wondering what you do in Iraq? Are you military? Working with a private contractor? The reason I ask, is that I remember a thread where some were bashing you about what you're doing in Iraq, and I have a hard time believing that anybody would be questioning your work if you were military. If you are with a private operation, then there are probably lot's of opinions concerning the motives of private companies/contractors in Iraq. Truthfully, I don't have an opinion. Was just curious as to what you do in Iraq.
Thank you,
dave
I am a civilian contractor, and I do Audio/Visual work in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. I basically make sure the generals can see and talk to each other, and the systems the warfighters use to monitor the war stay accessible.
Be assured, I doubt any of the people who have criticized me on here are ex military. Almost to a man, all the people who have identified themselves to me as military, or ex-military, have thanked me for being here.
I spent 9 years in the U.S. Army moving every few years, and spending half my time in another country (and away from my family) anyways. I feel that I have earned the opportunities I have gotten. A lot of people criticize that some contractors make a lot more than soldiers. Well, civilians working the same job make more than soldiers stateside too. The soldiers who take the opportunity to improve themselves, get college, get certifications, generally earn a lot more than their civilian counterparts once they get out and get a civilian job. That's the benefit of having a security clearance.
Is an economic thing. Soldiers have built in security clearances from their time in the service. They can be trusted to work around generals, sensitive information, and keep their mouth shut.
I get paid for my security clearance, I get paid for the technical knowledge I possess, I get paid for the fact I am willing to leave my family for a year, I get paid for shrugging off a rocket landing 100 feet from my sleeping quarters.
Is that so bad?
I mean, I was a soldier once too. Making very little money. But those soldiers who are in now have the same opportunities in front of them. They may not be in Iraq, but crap, ex-military IT workers in the D.C. area make in the 100's too.
I think most of the people criticizing me have never served in the military. It's easy to throw stones, you know? There are "some" companies that abuse the system and waster government money, that's true. And the leaders in those companies should go to jail.
I'm sorry if I am a little sensitive on this. I was in a technical job in the military. I happen to know only about 25% of the other technical types I worked with were competent enough to handle expensive, critical systems. Those are the ones who get promoted. As it is, not many people qualify score-wise to even get in those job titles.
So, that means the military does not have enough people to run it's critical systems using the military folks alone. So they hire contractors.
These systems are required to be up 24/7. There is no room for someone with mediocre technical skills. If the system fails for some reason, often times you have a general asking "How long is it going to take to get back up?", and you better have an answer.
Again, sorry for the semi-rant, but the military guys on here will tell you: Military organizations are zero-defect environments. The equipment is never supposed to go down, and IF it does, it better be back up in 5 minutes. Hardware failure or not.
So I know you were just asking an innocent question, but this post was mostly for those people who feel they have some right to criticize. They need to lay off, because they have no idea what they are talking about. The military likes us just fine where we are, nd very much appreciate us being here. If we are doing a good job for them, then noone else has any business sticking their two cents in.
Russ
