I'd do it if I had no wife or kids who complain if I do so much as an overnight trip!
The main issue for me would be boredom, staying sober and not getting beaten up by a squaddie for being a smartarse!
Hora, it makes no difference what side of the wire you are. In the US Army support (behind the wire) out numbers tooth (outside the wire) 10 to 1. Not sure of the UK ratio (I've been out for a few years), but I would imagine it's not dissimilar. Contracting tends to mirror military setup and doctrine.
Oh, and not all contractors work inside the wire. In fact, in my area of work the ratio is reversed, 10 tooth to 1 support.
I friend of mine has the opportunity to go to Afghanistan for 6 months and earn £90k tax free, its for the same company he works for Fuji Systems, but his girlfriend doesn't want him to go, also she is pregnant, he sort of knows what to expect as he was in the army and he has mates out there.
If you have no ties then I would probably go, you could get knocked down by a bus here in blighty.
hora - they don't want your sort. You have made that perfectly clear.
hora - they don't want your sort. You have made that perfectly clear
Sniff, the McDonalds in the camps need staffing somehow? I could get a job there...
Surely the fact they are paying £100k means they are paying you an element of danger money..
Personally if I was single with no commitments I would consider it. But I couldnt do with being stuck between 4 walls in the middle of a hot dessert with a load of Americans for company, and knowing there is no way I could get away from it. No thanks
Oh and then theres the fact we shouldnt really be there anyhow!
I work with people who've been embedded as contractors out in Iraq, and have enjoyed it, but it comes down to the individual if they can hack the different way of life out there.
Some of them worked out there for DERA so weren't on very much, were they to go back now they'd be on the proper money you'd want/need to justify it to yourself...
It's your call mate ...I'd ignore most of these posts... 99% of the replies saying 'go for it' having got a clue about what any job in countries like afghan entails.
And remember it's not just about the risk out there... I'd say the biggest consideration is your mental state and your potential colleagues out there. It's a long old stint if you are not getting on with your work mates! Trust me there are some nutters on the circuit!
My brother-in-law just started a job in Kandahar 2 weeks ago. He was really struggling to find a job in this country so it was either take it or loose the house, etc. He's left his wife and two your kids back here. So far he's coping OK, using skype, facebook, etc to keep in touch. If you've any specific questions then email me and I'll ask him.
Cheers
Keith.
Depends on what you could spend your time doing whilst not working. I was once told about an opportunity in the Far East somewhere but I'd have been pretty much unable to leave the base so not for me whatever the cash involved.
My opinion, go for it. If its somewhere like Bastion you'll be posted to, its as safe as it gets in Afghanistan, with a ruck of facilities. Even if you hate it after a month or two, you'll still be getting free flights home with nearly 10 or 20k banked. Just dont tell any of the troops there what you are earning. I returned from most my 6 month tours with barely enough for a decent second hand car...
...you will have to venture outside the base - even to get back & from the airport.
Cant say i would want to risk losing limbs for any type of money. Its not as if you could buy spare arms,legs eyes etc...
Its going to be horrendous for these youngsters who have been maimed there. In a few yrs time they will be the fogotten heroes left to struggle in life .....but thats going off-topic eh.
No. I would not go. Your health is the more important than money.
...you will have to venture outside the base - even to get back & from the airport.
Not necessarily.
Maybe not the thread for such a question but what exactly are we rebuilding in Afghanistan? 😐
The high salary can be for 'inconvenience' as well as danger money. Eg we pay that sort of figure for people to work in West Africa, which is safe (bar Malaria), but unpleasant. If you don't pay a high salary you can't get anyone half decent to go out there and work.
NB I have tried to get out to Afghanistan (for no extra money) but haven't managed it yet - but it would only be for a week or two to set up some kit, then come back. Talking to people working out there in Telecoms, it seems a lot better than you'd think reading about it in the press.
To be honest if you are basing your decision on what could be a life changing experience (good or bad) on the collective wisdom (sic) of a mountain biking forum, then you really need to question your motivation for doing this.
Stuff I would be thinking about in a similar position:
The amount of time you spend on base are presumably going to be pretty much work / eat / sleep, so is it really such a great deal money-wise?
I'm guessing you're probably going to experience a pretty high degree of resentment from the people in operational roles whose job it is to go outside the wire for substantially less money... particularly if they're just back from a particularly difficult op.
You're in Afghanistan. Even with three weeks leave, it's going to take you a long time to get anywhere, and I'm guessing is going to be subject to short term delays / cancellations subject to conditions on the ground at the time.
From speaking to people I know who've done similar stuff, the reality of the situation is likely to be interminable crushing boredom punctuated with occasional moments of absolute terror.
Oh, and if you think the trolling is bad on here, check this out:
http://www.arrse.co.uk/intelligence-cell/63808-camp-bastion-conditions-civvy-contractors.html
Most non military people working in Afghanistan commute out for WEs to Dubai and blow their cash there. I think there are daily flights.
Most non military people working in Afghanistan commute out for WEs to Dubai and blow their cash there
EDIT You're in Afghanistan. Even with three weeks leave, it's going to take you a long time to get anywhere [i]worthwhile[/i] /EDIT
Hi Scrappy, where in Afghanistan would your job be based? and who for?
Although there is a chance of something happening anywhere....some places are quieter than others!
I have worked in Kabul now for just over 2 years working 10 weeks on 3 off.
I said when i started that I would only do this for a year but once I got use to the job and then use to the money I found it really difficult to look elsewhere!
I enjoy the job but hate being away from my wife, but at the same time it offers a stable income for the next 5 years if I want to stay here.
depending on your location the social side of things can be pretty good as there are many nationalities out here.
My one bit of advice is to check as to what your company pay for! my company pay for everything......insurance, medical and dental, food, accomadation, laundry, calls home, internet etc....i know some guys who have left our project for better money yet they have to pay for general living costs which can be quiet expensive.
Also, some guys on our project without a military background have found it very difficult out here!
I know of some prison service staff who have gone out there to show the Afghans how to run a nick & not come back!
I think theyr'e still alive & well though.
if its just to accumulate the money 'cos you like money then perhaps not.
There speaks a true leftie!!
I'd go to see what its like, if I didn't like it I'd save a wedge and leave. But I have no kids and a girlfriend who would do her nut but would understand why I wanted to go.
...you will have to venture outside the base - even to get back & from the airport.
Cant say i would want to risk losing limbs for any type of money. Its not as if you could buy spare arms,legs eyes etc...
Its going to be horrendous for these youngsters who have been maimed there. In a few yrs time they will be the fogotten heroes left to struggle in life .....but thats going off-topic eh.
No. I would not go. Your health is the more important than money.
...you will have to venture outside the base - even to get back & from the airport.
Cant say i would want to risk losing limbs for any type of money. Its not as if you could buy spare arms,legs eyes etc...
Its going to be horrendous for these youngsters who have been maimed there. In a few yrs time they will be the fogotten heroes left to struggle in life .....but thats going off-topic eh.
No. I would not go. Your health is the more important than money.
In ?1969, my dad travelled across Afghanistan as a medic, prior to joining the Army.
Pretty different place back then...
I'd say speak to those people on here who clearly are there and know exactly what it is like. Most people on this forum will be making their opinions on what we see on the news and we all know it isn't all like that. If I was single and I had the offer I would definately go. Sounds an awesome opportunity if I'm honest. Yes you'll miss your bike but most camps have fitness facilities knowing there isn't much else to do!
Also not everyone gets PTSD, you may be fine with seeing some things who knows. Good luck and let us all know what you decide ......but DO IT! 😉
Have a read up on what the Taliban did to captured Russians when they were there
Multiply that 100k figure by ten and you wouldn't get me out there
Better off blagging a bank here and doing a bit of time if you are that desperate for the cash
If anyone knows of companies / recruiters looking for geologist / geotechnical engineers i've got nothing to lose. Well save for limbs etc.
If anyone knows of companies / recruiters looking for geologist / geotechnical engineers i've got nothing to lose. Well save for limbs etc
It was the etc that the captured Russians tended to lose and that ain't worth no amount of cash thanks
Cant say i would want to risk losing limbs for any type of money...Your health is the more important than money.
But this kind of blanket statement is totally unhelpful. It says "I wouldn't take ANY risk for ANY money" - but it's absurd because every day you trade off risk against reward. If you buy a 4* rated new car instead of a 5* rated one (because it's cheaper, or more fuel efficient, or looks better) - or if you live in Britain instead of Norway (less crime in Norway) - or if you live in a terraced house instead of a bungalow (stairs! very dangerous!), you're trading off risk against a basket of other things.
You're in Afghanistan. Even with three weeks leave, it's going to take you a long time to get anywhere [b]worthwhile[/b]
I love the way that people on here are so snotty about Dubai when most of them live in Basingstoke or Otley or East Kilbride. It's 3 hours flight to Dubai and then you can be practically anywhere in Europe, Asia or Africa within another 12 hours - so, a day's travelling. There's people that spend that long commuting between some dump in Benelux and some dump in Yorkshire ffs.
And it's 1, 2, 3, what are we contracting for? 😆
I do apologise for being nasty about Dubai.
Fly-blown technology park / shoddy building site in the middle of nowhere populated by money / image-obsessed chavs on the make and chippy ex-military personnel all held together by a poorly treated migrant workforce. What's not to like? ...You're right, it is just like Basingstoke.
Depending on your qualifications there are lots of jobs out there that pay good money on rotation not in a war zone.
You might have to work up the ladder for two or three years and work out in the desert but it's doable.
Years back I applied for a job in Iraq working at one of the universities in the green zone, didn't get it, never noticed that it said Americans only on the application form., steal the oil and take all the choice jobs.
If you can get into the oil industry a couple of years back there were big money jobs in Nigeria paying silly day rates for working there with decent rotations as well.
Fly-blown technology park / shoddy building site in the middle of nowhere populated by money / image-obsessed chavs on the make and chippy ex-military personnel all held together by a poorly treated migrant workforce.
If that's what you've seen of Dubai, you just haven't been hanging out with the right people (with the exception of the last bit, which is unquestionably true at the bottom end of the market).
Sorry - it just gets on my moobs that whenever the subject of Dubai pops up the self-appointed experts that live in Ramsgate and watch Trisha start sneering at Dubai for its lack of culture as if they're Brian Bleeding Bloody Bleeding Sewell or something.
</hair trigger rant>
If you do go, make sure you see some of the country while you're there, rather than just getting to know army camps:
[url] http://www.mountainunity.org/TheWakhanCorridor.html [/url]