I’m working with Exelis, Missions Systems (formerly ITT Systems) in southern Afghanistan at the moment. I will say this; as a person who’s been to Afghanistan once before with the military, it’s something to get used to, but despite this reality, the duration of your contract can prove to be rewarding, granted you adopt a professional networking and positive mindset . With that being said, those of you who will be working in Afghanistan for the first time have your work cut out for you as far as getting accustomed to the vast differences between your typical home/work life and living in such a fiscally and amenity inept country such as Afghanistan. For all others that are assigned to surrounding areas, this post will prove pertinent up to the endeavors directly preceding your final destination.
I think it’s best for me to break down my experiences thus far chronologically in order to effectively and impartially convey to readers the true essence of what lies ahead for Exelis contractors — deploying to SWACAA terrain.
I. EMPLOYMENT / RECRUITING CAVEATS: First thing’s first, make sure you’ve exhausted your possibilities of obtaining the most handsome monetary reward for devoting your efforts to sustaining this environment — even if that entails working with another company. If you HAVE decided to accept a position with Exelis, you will soon be the recipient of a plethora of electronically exchanged paperwork grazing over the pithy specifics from your recruiter. Objectively speaking, most of your questions from this point on can be answered from poring over ALL documents you’ve been provided, but still, things have an immanent way of remaining misunderstood especially when it’s the first time you’re encountering the situation. Despite this, READ ALL OF THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVE, as a wholesome understanding of all enclosures is paramount in reducing any incurred anxiety or confusion.
Within your packet of employee processing information is the mention of a $500.00 mobilization bonus. You are NOT eligible to receive this money unless you’re medically cleared by Occu-med (the company Exelis uses to handle new employee medical appointments and needs) and have flown out to CONUS Replacement Center (CRC) within 14 days of your offer of employment date. The Exelis group you fly out to Kuwait with will be further informed about other entitlements, terms on which you accumulate vacation time, etc. during the various briefings you receive from some of the Exelis Bigger-Wigs
II. TRAINING / TRANSITION EXPERIENCE (CRC): I won’t go over topics that are covered in your employment packet (unless I found them to be vague and/or inaccurate)…
- Packing >> Pack as light possible, as lugging around a bunch of really unnecessary items will prove to be a pain in the ass during the next couple of weeks. The documentation that Exelis has provided to address the topic of bringing personal baggage is pretty dead-on with the exception of them almost forbidding you from bringing luggage with wheels. Staff at CRC concisely state that bags with wheels are authorized for milair flights. I wouldn’t recommend you bring these types of bags because as you advance in your trip, you will find it increasingly challenging to move your bags around with ease especially in Kuwait (sandy terrain) and Afghanistan (uneven and large rocks are what you will walk amongst).
- When You Get Paid >> Your pay-period begins the day you report to CRC, but your bank account will not be credited until approximately two weeks out from your CRC report date. All depends on what day of the bi-weekly Exelis pay period payday falls on. With that being said, make sure you have a financial means and reserve in place to hold you over until you start collecting those nice checks of yours ;~) Also, your first check will include an educational re-imbursement (if you’ve acquired any new certifications to secure a certain job/position — post offer of employment letter receipt) and CRC per-diem (around $31.00 a day). Bear in mind that your first check will be a bit untraditional compared to your future checks due to your recorded work hours still being in cahoots, pending you touching boots on ground at your base and receiving your stabilized work schedule. No worries.
- Living Quarters >> While at CRC, you will be expected to stay in Army provided open bay barracks, but you may stay at a hotel out in town, granted you have a privately owned vehicle to make it to the briefings and various processing stations on time. If you elect to stay on the base, expect to rest your head on one half of a bunk-bed, wrapped up in a flimsy sheet set and a scratchy wool blanket, all proceeds of our good ol’ U.S. Army. For men, these sleeping conditions will be accompanied by space restrictions, due to there being a bunch of other dudes (some still awaiting medical release from previous weeks) living with you. Women have the consistent advantage in the world of contracting in regards to having more elbow room and privacy because of the totally off balance gender ratio. For those who are prior military or have been subject to CRC-like conditions, you have the privilege of knowing what to expect and preparing yourself for the endeavor. For those of you who have no prior experience with limited living amenities, welcome! You’ll be fine, it only lasts for 6 days or so as long as your ducks are in a straight enough row to get you medically cleared for departure.
- Food at CRC >> If you, like myself go through Camp Atterbury, Indiana, for processing, you can expect to eat at the Dining Facility (DFAC) for two square meals a day and plastic-bagged lunch. OR….you can mosey on over to the base bar where they have pretty good bowling alley type of food (try the pizza, wings, burgers, or steak). I’m an aspiring vegetarian and I STILL found fulfilling meal options like their steamed edamame and veggie burger to munch on. I believe the name of the place is The Outer Ranks or something to that effect — just ask around.
- Other amenities >> There’s a gym, a chapel, a couple of fast food joints, laundry facility and a shuttle that goes to Walmart every day except Sundays at 7:00 P.M (the group meets in front of the Chapel). The trip reveals itself to be a nice break from the monotonous scenery and experience of Camp Atterbury. Interesting to find out there’s a whole world outside of Camp Atterbury! The group leaves on a first-come-first-serve basis so get to the meeting point at a favorable time. Everything you’ll really need while at Atterbury is a matter of a walk away from your barracks or the main building (Whitaker Hall), as these buildings are in mostly centralized locations. Oh yeah, try not to be in Indiana during the colder months, like I was, as walking everywhere on base can be damn near unbearable without the proper attire — hell, even with the whole cold-weather get up, you’ll be freezing your ass off — in Indiana at least.
- Base Organization / Operations >> I don’t honestly think that I am the sole criticizing survivor of Camp Atterbury’s CRC facility. Camp Atterbury’s infrastructure could bear a few improvements starting with the state of their medical processing unit. My initial and lasting impression of how business is conducted at Camp Atterbury is greatly influenced by my unit’s holistic experience of frustration with gaining medical clearance for supposed issues they either didn’t have or had already addressed and rectified either via local medical facilities or previously with Occu-Med. All in all, most medical hindrances existed due to paperwork being neglected and improperly transferred to the appropriate parties. I behoove you to make copies of ALL paperwork and to ardently monitor the processing of such. It appeared as if the staff on site weren’t prepared for the significant demands of hundreds of people — as if they hadn’t yet come to terms with the inevitability of our arrival and incumbent needs. Oh yeah, if you have to go off-base to tend to any medical needs, I was told there’s a decent Mexican restaurant near the medical facility where they have a mean Margarita ;`p
- Your Departure >> So, now, a week has passed and you’ve checked the notorious list announcing the medical status of CRC’s attendees and lo and behold, your name is etched in green highlight (or whatever color represents getting the hell out of CRC) on that magic sheet of paper. The final steps involved in leaving CRC may vary greatly from time to time, but I can shed light on how my group departed. I attended CRC in January 2012 and at the time, Superbowl was going down, which inspired CRC staff to bus us 3 plus hours to Cincinnati to avoid 2012 Superbowl Indianapolis airport congestion. Chances are you won’t have to worry about this when you depart CRC. Get ready for your extensive flight to Kuwait with a refuel stop in Germany…
III. KUWAIT: Congratulations, you are another, monumental step closer to settling down in your soon-to-be home (unless Kuwait is your last stop)…
- Meet Your Site Representative(s) >> More than likely, you will arrive in Kuwait in the middle of the night; ready to eat, take a dump and finally crash to sleep. WAKE UP, you’ve got a plethora of information to process tonight / this morning!! When the group of you land in the big Kuwait, you will be herded together like livestock to receive your set of verbal orders for how and where to proceed from this point on. I won’t go into specifics as to the entrails of what’s shouted out to you, just know that you need to submit your newly issued CAC (Common Access Card) / ID to the friendly soldier blaring orders at you, then meet the site rep. The site rep may or may not be holding up a sign printed upon with letters announcing their affiliation, or may just yell out for Exelis group members. The site rep rounds you all up and meets and greets you, then advises you to collect your bags from the land-fill of freshly unloaded luggage before continuing with the introduction. Do yourself a favor ahead of time by uniquely labeling your bags so you’re not spending a ridiculous amount of time identifying your bags — only use the CRC provided bag tags if you have absolutely no other means of ostracizing your belongings!! You’ve re-discovered your bags and you’re now ready to be re-acquainted with the site rep. Your site representative will give you a few sheets of paper; a visa application, your tent assignment and reservation sheet and some useful base and Exelis transition information. For the next three days, newly minted Exelis employees will stay at a villa out in town for Exelis Employee Orientation. But for tonight, you will sleep in the tent before meeting around 6 or 7 A.M. to be bussed to the villa out in town. While you all are staying at the villa, all time after the briefings (7 a.m.-5p.m.) is yours to walk around, grab a bite to eat, visit Kuwaiti malls, etc., enjoy it! After the 3 or 4 day orientation, you all return to the tents you’ve been assigned to on the base until you get a flight out of Kuwait into Bagram or Kandahar Afghanistan for further disbursing to your Forward Operating Base (FOB) — or on to meet your fellow Exelis colleagues if either of these bases is your final destination.
Typical time it takes for you to get a flight out of Kuwait to Afghanistan falls right around 2-3 days. Welcome aboard and I wish you the very best on your journeys!!
tdmello.wordpress.com 
Nice right up. Everything you have mentioned has been consistent with what I have expereinced during the past 60 days.
Thanks for your feedback RV!
Very nice write up on your experience. I have a question for you. Looks like I have been selected for hire but I am waiting on a place. How long from the time you did your technical interview did you get your initial offer letter. Also what all did the medical entale. Here’s to hopefully being overseas soon.
Thanks.
Hello, I am interested in working over seas. I am a desktop analyst. I was curious as to the typical pay for this position? I have heard figures in the $150,000 and up and wanted to confirm this. Also I have heard that they pay for the flight there, and back as well as paying for flights to where ever you want to vacation over seas. Can you clarify on that?
LETS DO IT!!
Greetings !! Thanks for a very infomative post. I was hired as a VoiP technician with ITT for Afghanistan but waiting for my security clearance which should be very soon. The question is should I bring my own network tools? Will I be living in a tent or a villa ? Can I get promotion on the job ? Thanks
Ed
Hi Ed,
It is my pleasure to share my experiences thus far with potential and existing colleagues…
Welcome aboard and to address your questions;
1. I’m sure you won’t need to bring much of your personally acquired equipment– as Exelis has more than likely provided all you’ll need to and for your site. But to contradict and counter my suggestion, all depends on what site (base) you will be assigned to and how remote it is. If you ABSOLUTELY need something to perform your duties that your department doesn’t already have, you can order what you need online — typical priority shipping time to APO addresses take between 5-14 days to get to you and write it off later.
2. You will either be living in a tent or a B-Hut (building made of wood sectioned off by more wood to provide privacy) if you are to be in Afghanistan. If in Kuwait, you will live in a villa.
3. You most certainly WILL be eligle for inter and inner departmental promotions!! Exelis re-imburses you for certifications you snag while out here up to $1500.00. With that being said, anything that polishes your professional appeal comes highly recommended as you will definitely later require certain certs and experience under your belt to move on and up on the Exelis / contracting ladder!!
Hope this helps, good luck out there! :`)
Hello TDmello,
Thank you for taking the time out to respond to my questions in a timely manner. I really appreciate it.
Stay safe!!
Ed
I take my medical/shots on Wednesday, I have been told that there is still a couple of things I have to do. My main concern is getting over and then bringing my family over. Do the Mgt. team help you if your spouse wants to come and work in Kuwait too. How long does it take to get them over and how much do ITT give to help suppose rent/car.
I have another question. I just wanted to know what type of luggage do you recommend. That would be really helpful for me.
Thanks again
Ed,
I recommend you bring (1) backpack / carry-on which should have things you’ll require immediate access to and (1) medium sized duffel or equivalent type of bag with your additional clothing, etc. Keep in mind that you will be issued an extra bag at CRC that will have your kevlar equipment and gas mask. That bag will be full. Try to keep things as light as possible, as you WILL have future opportunities to acquire other needed or desired items once you settle down.
Is anyone reading have any insight on HelpDesk Administrator work being done over there?
Hi Jeremy,
As Helpdesk personnel, you can expect to take various phone calls and visits from people on base to resolve software issues, some of which you can walk them through over the phone and others you’ll need to visit their office to provide your services. The aspect of Helpdesk work that is uncertain is the workload which is directly proportional to the needs of your site (more people – more work).
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, I’ll answer as best as my knowledge allows.
Hi Jeremy. I’ll be interviewing for a Desktop Support position with Exelis in Afghanistan soon, and I was wondering if you had any insight to the type of questions that will be asked in the phone interview… Appreciate you……..
Could you say what it is like to work as a Voip technician . That is my assignment but I am still waiting for a security clearance. Thanks for your prompt response.
Ed
Ed,
Voip Techs depending on the site have a pretty laid back job dealing primarily with the maintenance of all that are our phones. I believe our Voip guy works in the same area as our network guys and is dispatched if need be from there.
As I’m sure you know, some days are more hectic than others with every job!
What is the uniform over there. I am assuming appropriate civilian, but then the CRC mentioned something about issuing ACUS’s?
Pretty casual…collared shirt, long pants, closed-toed shoes except if you work in a department that requires you to get a little messy i.e. OSP (Outside Plant) where you run cable, etc.
Can you tell me a little bit about OSP? That is where I wil be assigned.
Gary,
OSP:
– Run CAT5/6
– Repair damaged lines
– Oversee compound digging and certain construction operations to ensure lines aren’t damaged in the process
– Perform all duties pertaining to the implementation and maintenance of FOB-wide CAT5/6 cables.
Note: At the site I’m at, OSP personnel are allowed to wear t-shirts vice collared shirts as they do a lot of running around and messy work some days.
Different experience. I went through CRC in Indiana and it was just as described above. I was deployed to Gardez FOB in Afghanistan. I began the process in January and was granted an interim clearance. I didn’t go to CRC until March 24th. After being in Kuwait, Bagram and Salerno and then finally making it to Gardez, I am being told that my clearance didn’t go through and I need to go home. WTF! I quit my job only after being told I was clear to deploy. Now ITT personnell is treating me like I have the plague. No one is telling me what I need to do or where I need to go. This is some bull crap. I have things that were mailed to me but haven’t arrived yet. My site manager pretty much said, oh well. I am so disappointed and pissed. Hopefully I can get my old job back or find something new whenever I get back. Make sure you have a full lcearance and not interim.
That sucks bad. How long were you out of the country when you clearance was denied?
Thank you for your write up. It is most helpful since it so hard to find out good information about what to expect. For myself, I expect to be off to Atterbury soon and on to Afghanistan. I do have several questions; maybe you can answer some of them?
1. Can you bring your own personal laptop computer and other electronic gizmos IT geeks love?
2. Do I need to bring any sort of AC adapters for my electronics?
3. What is the dress code? Can you were casual clothes, sneakers, and jeans?
4. What do your recommend in the way of clothing to bring in the 1 duffel you can fill?
5. What color or camouflage duffel? Dessert, green, or plain? Don’t want to look out of place.
6. How do you feel about safety there from the Afgans and from your fellow workers/soldiers?
7. What personal toiletry items should you bring and how much of a supply?
8. Is there a store on base to buy things you need?
9. What do you wish you had taken with you but didn’t when you were deployed?
10. Are you allowed IPhones/MP3s to wear and play music on during work/walking around?
11. Are new people treated with respect, or just left to see who survives the first weeks?
I look forward to your reply. Thanks.
Hi Bill!
1. You may bring your own laptop and whatever other IT gizmos your heart desires! As long as you don’t compromise the network’s integrity or your commitment to the job on hand.
2. You more than likely won’t need to bring any adapters, as your site will have 110v outlets or voltage converters readily available.
3. The enforced or behooved dress code is collared shirt, long pants (jeans are permitted), closed-toe shoes (including sneakers). Very relaxed out here.
4. Clothing for your duffel should include approximately 5 shirts, a week’s worth of undergarments, a few pairs of pants and a couple pairs of shoes to include a pair of weather appropriate boots and or hiking/trail shoes. You’ll have access to a laundry for most of your transition time so the less, the better.
5. I recommend you get yourself a khaki/sand-colored or camouflage backpack as you will be tossing and dragging it around during your transition especially in sand laden areas. (I had to learn the hard way with my black backpack)
6. Safety isn’t a huge concern in regards to interacting with the Afghan soldiers. Me being prior military, I observe the ANA (Afghan National Army) soldiers to come off as a tad bit off their rockers and undisciplined, but they won’t cause you any harm — unless you feel the need to spontaneously combust from their rampant stares: ) ANA are allowed to walk about the entire compound, but are restricted from using certain facilities such as the DFAC (Dining Facility), gym, PX (Post Exchange) and laundry.
7. Bring wipes, small towel, sunglasses, travel-sized cosmetic containers (for the various commutes from Atterbury to Afghanistan, shower shoes.
8. There will be a PX on site for you to acquire most if not all of the things you will need.
9. Being that I deployed in the winter, I wish I had taken insulated boots with me because a small group of us had to wait outside in the cold for several hours at a time for four days on the Stallion Ramp to get on a flight to our FOB from Kandahar Air Field (KAF)! My feet were numb many a times waiting out there.
10.You are encouraged to bring your iPhone/MP3, etc. with you to preserve your sanity out here, as things can be VERY monotonous (think of a daunting case of Groundhog’s Day!)
11.New people are very much welcomed and accommodated, as those already situated understand what it’s like to get acclimated to these conditions. If you are apprehensive about anything, or just confused — grab someone and ask your questions!
Hope this helps!
Regards :*)
Yes, that helps a lot. Thank you so much for your reply, it was insightful. I am sure I may have a few more questions pop up soon. Thanks!
Thanks for all this useful and important information. I have a couple of questions, for Kuwait positions with ITT Exelis are all the military bases safe to work in? Which base would be the safest to work at? I heard Arifjan is the best, not sure if that is true.
One more thing, you said that in Kuwait contractors sleep in Villas, Is transportation provided to get from the Villas to work site and vice-versa? How many people would ITT have living in these Villas?
Thanks!
You’re very welcome.
Most bases are ‘safe’ to work on relatively. There are quite a few guys here that’ve worked on Arifjan and had a blast there.
Yes, they live out of villas, but the companies pay for the villas. In contrast, between places like Afghanistan and Qutar and Kuwait, more will come out of pocket in those place compared to Afghan, etc., but all depends on what you’re interested in. Things get VERY monotonous out here in Afghanistan!!
Wow… I just have to say this has been one of the most informative report for myself, a civilian interested in coming on board with ITT, that I’ve ran into for the past couple of years. I have tried to research everywhere since LOGCAP III on additional information on IT jobs and what to expect during processing. I also appreciate you responding to everyones questions and comments as most of the time, we as readers are only left with the blog/article, then off to another website to find additional information. I’m currently in the pre-interview process for a Systems Administrator position with ITT Exilis and just wanting to continue to prepare as much as I can on what to expect.
Thanks again for all the insight into everything…
RGonzales,
Thanks for the positive feedback! I understand what it’s like to be left in the dark during processes such as these so I do my very best to help those in similar situations.
I am a very candid person so I will say this in regards to your potential ITT employment; make sure you look around at ALL contracting prospects!! From an income standpoint — you want to make sure you’re getting the most handsome reward for being out here.
I won’t delve any deeper into that subject, as there would be a conflict of interest, but I hope that you get where I’m coming from ;*)
All the best to you!
Yes, I understand where you’re coming from as well. The hard part is, actually getting to that point of having the option to choose. I’ve tried on and off for the past 4-5yrs to land a position with a company out there and it’s always been about who you know on the inside to actually get your resume in front of a recruiter. Luckily, I found another ITT Exilis associate from another board who was willing to help me out and get my resume on their desk and finally, I’m at this point of the process. I’ve run into numerous colleagues here in the corporate IT world who have been overseas, pulling in the $30K+ a month job, but who also no longer have contacts to help get myself in. So, comparing rewards from different contracting prospects is difficult when you only have one come your way for the past few years. I’ve been calculating and have a number in mind on which I would seriously consider leaving for, but I guess I just saw it as, first step was to get out there. Next steps were to guage the market and possibly find another smaller, specialized company after completing my initial contract to move for higher pay. But, any further insite on how I should approach this endevour would be greatly appreciated. rpgonzales at gmail dot com
Thanks again for all the info.
Are you able to work for ITT Systems in Kuwait if your 20 years old I’ve looked every where and have not found anything about the topic of age restrictions any information would be a great help
The position would be Help Desk
Over 18 would be the minimum. They are usually looking for over 21 but they do hire folks under 21. I checked on that today with HR. The HR rep. told me if the person was qualified and they wanted to hire them, they could usually work something out about the age and place them in one of the 4 countries under the TAC-SWACAA current contract.
tdmello, hey again sir. So quick question… How long does it usually take to hear from or receive the Offer for Employment email w/ salary/benefit information from the hiring manager? I had my technical interview last Friday and was told I was put in for recommendation for hire, which they stated pretty much means i’m hired. So, I was just curious as to how long I should wait until I contact my recruiter back. Or is there still a chance I won’t hear back from them at all.
Thanks again for all the help to all of us interested parties.
You usually will hear back very quickly; just a few days. I would expect you would get something today, or tomorrow. If not by then, then contract your recruiter.
Thank you Bill for the quick response. Will sit on it for a couple of days and see what comes through. Thanks again!
thanks for the fast reply bill
Fantastic Blog man, GREATLY appreciate all of the information. I had a quick couple of questions for you.
1) How long does it usually take to get a security clearance? All my paperwork is in, I’ve been cleared by occu-med and per my recruiter. We’re just waiting for the clearance to be granted and off I go. I submitted the clearance paper work about 2 weeks ago. A few days later the gov’t wanted me to update a few addresses. And that was the last update I’ve had in the process. Could you ball park a range of time before you’d think I’d get cleared?
2) I worked on the LOGCAP project in iraq for 3 years so from what I understand Kuwait will be a BIG improvement in living arrangement and conditions. I understand I’ll be in a shared villa. As far as you know, what are these villas like? Will there be alot of us living there? Hell, I lived in a tent for a year so anything is an improvement! Just curious!
Thanks for all of your information man! Big help!
– D
how can you find out if you got cleared by occu-med im also curious about the answers to the questions posted by Falcon77
Hey Seth,
Once I finished with all of the testing and follow up with occu-med? I spoke with one of they’re technicians and asked him if I was medically cleared to continue. He stated that I was, clear and good to go. When I repeated this to my recruiter, she verified that I was cleared by them and now we’re just waiting on the clearance. Looks like we’ll have to get the tires kicked again when we’re in IN but as far as occu-med is concerned. This is how it worked out for me.
I hope that helps some
Hey Seth, it is just like Falcon77 says it is. Your rep. from Occumed can tell you if you are cleared. That usually happens within 3 days of completing your physical with them. You can verify with your HR person. If you are not cleared but considered “fixable”, they will send you a letter telling you what you have to do to be cleared. Be sure and ask for extensions from Occumed if you have to clear something up with your own personal physician, (at your expense).
It does seem like overkill on the physical, shots, and all, but it is worth it. MANY companies send their new hires to camp without getting this all cleared up first, and bad things happen there when you don’t have you ducks in a row. From getting kicked out completely and sent home, to being held over for a week to try and reconcile things with the medical staff there. You don’t want that. Out of my class of 10 from ITT that went to Atterbury, none of us had issues, but were were clearly the exception to the process.
Falcon77:
1) I was cleared in 2 days. I know if takes longer for others. If they asked for extra information, then, I guess they are evaluating that. I would be sure and follow up with the security rep. from ITT that has your file for your clearance every other day. I don’t think they can do much; the DOD has their own process I guess that is on their time frame. The good news is it was not a flat “no”, so your file is still in the works.
2) From the villas I have seen here in Kuwait, you will be just fine. I don’t know why they call them villas. They are just like a city condo. Typically they have about 1200 sq feet and 2 bedrooms, shared living space and kitchen. You would have a roommate, share internet and maid service at your expense. They are plenty nice enough. Most come furnished with furniture and basic kitchen necessities. You may have a larger one with 3 or 4 bedrooms; hence 2 or 3 roommates then. There are many westerners here. Kuwaitis only make up 10% of the population and import all of the labor from elsewhere in the world. Most villas are located in mid and high rise buildings; and the whole building is usually English speaking westerners. Usually the building will have a pool and a work out room as well. Additionally, you will be able to find most western goods as well as plenty of western restaurants like Friday’s, Ruby Tuesdays, McDonald’s, Johnny Rockets, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Pappa Johns, Popeye’s, and etc.
Thank you for all the information this place is hands down the best place for information regarding contracting in the middle east i want to personally thank all who have contributed and as far as occu-med i will call my recruiter tomorrow and find out once again thank you all
-seth
Thanks for the fast replies and in-depth answers Bill. Greatly appreciated man! I emailed with my security rep and she said that the gov’t didn’t grant me the ‘interim status’ but instead they are going for a ‘final status’. She basically didn’t want to give me a ‘ball park’ figure in terms of how long this process can take to complete. I’ve looked around online and I’ve seen some insane amounts of time to gain clearances. As in 3-6 month kind of waits. From what you’ve seen in your time over there? How long have you seen/heard about it taking? Is this a realistic period of time I’m going to have to wait? Just trying to realistically adjust my level of expectation here.
Fantastic insight as to the living conditions as well good sir, thank you. Much better than the near random stream of consciousness I received from my recruiter when asked the same questions. 🙂
Quick question, regarding the mail. Is there an APO address we can receive mail to or can it be sent directly to the villa? Also are there any restrictions as in where we can order from i.e. : amazon.com, tiger direct, eastbay, etc?
Again, I thank all of you guys that contribute to this blog! Its very VERY informative and has helped answer alot of questions before we could even ask them! Cheers
The full clearance time frame can be quite long. I believe, like you were told, up to several months. You might want to inquire with Exelis why they are going this route and not bringing you over with an interim clearance. I don’t know if this is a new policy, or if there is a specific reason in your case?
Most places you end up will offer APO service. Certainly in Kuwait and Qatar, that would be the case. In Kuwait, you would live in the city, but most likely work on one of the bases; where you can pick up your APO shipments.
You should be able to receive shipments from any e-tailer that would allow shipment to an APO. If not I would recommend it ships to someone in the States, then they re-ship to the APO site. Not sure if you can direct ship something to a villa. Seems like you should be able too, but I have not seen any service that looks like the USPS or UPS that delivers to a villa building. Not sure on that question. And of course, there is a long list of forbidden things to ship such as alcohol, and explicit material into Islamic countries.
Hey Falcon,
Any word on your clearance yet?
How long does it usually take?
From what my Security Specialist told me, after you submit, it will be reviewed and processed and you should know if you have an “interim” clearance within a week or two. If “interim” is granted, then you’re good to go for now while they perform the full background clearance check as you’re working which would take up to 6 months. If they decide to do a “full” clearance check, then you’d be waiting months before you’re able to leave.
tdmello,,,your thoughts man? Where you been?
Bill,
LOL, I’ve been outta the loop, but I’m still here!!
As I told RGonzales, I’m going to put another blog together to hit on a few more processing points. Keep the feedback coming!
Thanks,
Td Mello
Tdmello,
After you got your shots what was your next process? Cause right now I don’t know. I went over with another company and I knew my next step before they came up and its kind of like what in the world is going on?
Good idea, a FAQ section would be a good addition.
I take my medical/shots on Wednesday, I have been told that there is still a couple of things I have to do. My main concern is getting over and then bringing my family over. Do the Mgt. team help you if your spouse wants to come and work in Kuwait too. How long does it take to get them over and how much do ITT give to help suppose rent/car.
Why do you need to bring your family to Kuwait…..
Like I stated before, great and very informative blog fellas. I guess I was just curious if you will be creating a new blog on some other topic that may be just as informative and beneficial to all of us?
Though alot of the questions have been answered from people asking and other members contributing, but as I analyze the responses and other blogs/journals, most of the questions that would come along would be regarding medical processes, timelines, checkups, etc… and/or background clearance and possible disqualifiers. Just wondering if you might consider publishing a new, even more thorough, detailed blog documenting your experience. I know alot of the experiences may differ from person to person, position to position, but it seems most of us are interested in the events leading up to us finally being on the ground at our assigned locations.
Thanks again for everything…
RGonzales,
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll definitely get something going that can and will tie in with this blog to address recurring questions and topics such as those you’ve mentioned. However I can help, I will.
Take care,
Td Mello
Hey TD… Thanks for the response. I was actually thinking of starting to document my process as well as I’m keeping records of timelines and the such. My recruiter was replaced, so there was a bit of a delay, but now it’s moving along eventually. I know everyones experience is a bit different and alot of the questions about the CRC, travel, medical/dental is answered in all of our documentation, but maybe a FAQ page might be a more efficient route.
FAQ sounds good to me RGonzales! Funny you mention you keeping a timeline, as I did the same.
Thanks again!
Yes, I have to. I’m a ery precise and detailed person and everything that is sent to me electronically, I have a print out copy with datestamps and timelines. I figured, once I get to Camp Antebury, I won’t have instant access to a computer, let alone a printer, to provide documentation that may be missing. Same goes for after I leave the CRC and get on ground to Kuwait, then to Afghanistan. Trying to avoid any delays as much as possible as I’ve read too many times and too many red flags stating the obvious in delays and the such. Now I have a big folder, categorized between Offer, Communications, CRC, Occu-Med, Clearance, etc… just to keep track of everything.
Thanks for all the great information guys, I just got accepted or recieved an offer letter from ITT for the OSP (Outside Plant Technician). So far looks like everything is going good. If there is anyone out there that has the same position, can you tell me what the work is like and better describe the pay? My base hourly rate is 23.48, Can anyone tell me about how much that is while working on the FOB? Thanks alot everyone and any further info on the OSP position would help me out great.
So I am waiting on occu-med paperwork. I already have a clearance. I am filling a Systems Administrator position. Any idea what that will be like?
Crispy,
Good stuff! Our Sys Admin guys typically create and manage our computer images, create and manage objects within our OU, server back-ups, automated system reboots, system patches, etc.
Be advised your positional role and duties are all relative to where you’ll be and the tasks delegated to your department. There are things that SA’s do here that aren’t fathomable in other locations and many of our SA’s here feel that compared to things done here in contrast to other locations aren’t even scratching the surface of true System Administrator work.
If you’ve been given any in country point of contacts, I suggest you shoot them an e-mail to scrounge up a bit more info.
Hope this helps!
Td Mello
Sounds like pretty typical SA work. Thanks for the quick reply. This blog seems to have answered all my other questions but I will make sure to post here if I think of any others.
Just thought of one haha. You mentioned certifications are reimbursed. Does each FOB have access to a testing facility?
LOL Crispy,
If you’re headed to one of the more remote FOBs, then you will most likely have to take a trip to one of the nearest, more ‘developed’ or populated facilities such as Bagram Airfield, Kandahar Airfield or Kabul. Just got one setup on my FOB through the Education Center.
I heard the same as well from other colleagues who have been out there previously. The position listed, from my understanding is usually not categorized at the same level most of us would consider a position back here in the states. Like it was explained to me to think of it as a Sys Admin was your highest level of desktop support back here in the states or at least at an entry level systems administrator.
Like my situation. I’m going in as a ADPE Technician as I didn’t have the certifications to qualify me, even though I have 14yrs of corporate IT experience and in my current position, I am the Lead Security Analyst for the largest healthcare organization in the largest medical center in the world. Protecting and securing your patient health, financial, and personel data through encryption systems, data loss prevention measures, and encrypted SSL remote access. But in Afghanistan, I’m going in as a desktop tech… lol
At RGonzalez they put me in a Help Desk position lol. I am A+, Network+, Security+, MCDST, MCITP-EA, MCSA, ITIL V3 and MCTS certified.
Are you still waiting on your clearance?
Right now, my clearance had just begun processing as they wanted additional information from me before fully submiting the SF86. I should hear something back within a week or two and hopefully be granted “interim” access so I can start alrady.
After I get my shots, what is my next step? Because my recruiter has yet to tell me?
Daniel,
While I was medically processing, getting my shots was the last step in the Occu-Med clearing process before being sent to IN. Results in this process are reported back to your recruiter. If you aren’t comfortable with the frequency in with they contact you, feel free to contact them! I received an e-mail from Occu-Med notifying me of whether or not I was medically cleared and my recruiter was awesome about keeping in touch with me.
A note to the wise: keep copies of EVERYTHING you’ve had done through Occu-Med because sooo many people had issues in Camp Atterbury with documents not being forward by their recruiters, etc and having to repeat things that they’d already done.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Td Mello
I to am awaiting occu-med paperwork I have a clearance and ill be filling a helpdesk administrator position any idea as to what that will be like
Tdmello,
That info was very helpful. And yes I have been keeping all of my documents. I have not yet gotten a leave date, but soon after you got your clearing from Occ-Med how long was it before you were leaving to go to IN, my training is in South Carolina.
Daniel,
If I rememeber correctly, I was gone within a week of being cleared! My recruiter pretty much called me and asked if I was ready to leave within two days of being medically cleared as there was space available amongst the ITT group to allow this. Hopefully South Carolina does better with processing you all :*)
My recruiter just emailed me and asked me when I was ready to depart to MDC. So happy right now. My only question is where is MDC and have you ever heard of it before?
Tdmello,
When did you finally hear from Kuwait, for you residency. Did you get that before you left the states. I was told it may take 2-8 weeks to get the okay.
You can also email Occu-Med and ask them to email you a copy of everything they have on file.
After the last round of shots, you will get booked ASAP into the CRC in IN, or into their large facility in SC, depending upon your job title. Most will go to IN. At the CRC you can use your laptop and pay for wireless access while in the barracks. You will NOT have access to a printer; you will have access to a copier. Make plenty of copies of your medical records. Like TDmello said, a LOT of people do not come prepared with everything done. People are consistently sent home for not meeting or having medical issues/records. Most of the CRC is a weeding out of those who do not medically qualify. Many companies send people there and just hope for the best. With ITT, if you recruiter did things right, it will be smooth sailing and they will have all of your paperwork on file and you will breeze through the 2 days of medical.
Some things to note about CRC in Indiana:
When you arrive in IN, sign in at USO at baggage claim and wait at door 6 outside for the 1950s school bus to transport you to Atterbury.
If you arrive on Saturday after the mess hall closes, (around 6-7pm), there is nowhere to eat. Except a bar on base and a Subway; both close at 9PM on Saturday night. Mess Hall, DFAC, is open very little time while you are there. At the break of day for an hour, and 1.5 hours for dinner. Not open for lunch, you are given something equivalent of an MRE for lunch each day. Domino’s does deliver to base. I was at Subway a lot.
There is a PX on site, decent, across from the Subway. Everything there is far apart, be prepared to walk a lot.
First day there, company rep, will meet you with your LOA. Make 12 copies of this and 10 of your passport; everyone will ask for a copy of these. You will then fill out a w-4 for and tax and payroll information. This somehow will not make it to ITT in the middle east. Be sure and do this AGAIN when you get to Kuwait as they will not have it and not have your tax exemption if you choose that option. Or better, make a copy and be sure and give to finance in Kuwait upon arrival at transient housing Mahboula, Kuwait.
Have all of your “next of kin” information handy; children, spouse, sig. other, SSNs, addresses, phone numbers, etc of all that you want connected to our file.
Make sure your dentist SIGNED your form with the signature and license number on their clearance sheet that you have with you.
Buy 2 medium storage locks for your locker in IN and elsewhere. Buy TSA locks for your checked baggage for the charter flight out of the US. Most likely a 747 which will leave at 7PM Friday night, stop for 2 hours in Germany, then arrive around 5PM in Kuwait city Saturday afternoon.
In spite of what you read, wheeled luggage is allowed IF IT IS MILITARY APPROVED luggage. This is just like regular wheeled luggage except more heavy duty wheels. You are allowed ONE carry on, one bag for armor which you will pack in IN, one or two bags for your personal stuff. All of which, you must be able to carry at one time. So, if you can, buy something with wheels that is approved. (Which I would have known that).
You will have to spend hours on common computers completing T-Sirts. (On-Line training on various military topics). This is a real pain to compete because everyone is trying to do this on about 24 desktop computers on a loud and cold/hot place. Get an early start on this and print out your certificate when complete. Some of this you will have to skirt by on as all courses do not work properly on each computer and through the AKO website. On the bulletin board in this common room use the odd looking URL to access courses. I found that easier than going through AKO or trying to use what was loaded on the common computers. This is required and this will have to be done for you to make it through the process. Some of you can complete these before you get there, and I HIGHLY encourage that.
Weather in this part of IN is quite fickle. (June-August) Be prepared for mornings in the summer that are as cold as 45 degrees. Then in the afternoon it might be 90.
You will file an expense report upon arrival at the transient housing on day 2 of orientation. That is when you will need your receipts and request reimbursement of expenses and any training/certifications you paid for out of pocket. Make copies. This will paid out on the 2nd paycheck you receive. You will make insurance choices at this time as well.
You will have free wireless internet access in Manboula even though it will be very very slow. You will get the corporate briefings from leadership, finance, HR, and ombudsman during orientation. There is a large pool and gym there if you care to enjoy on floor 2 of the building.
That is all of my ramblings for now. Hope this helps you guys out!!
The duffle bag issue was something I had been wondering about. I sent my recruiter a link to the ones I was interested in purchasing/using, but he did not suggest it as it had wheels.
5.11 SOMS 2.0
http://www.511tactical.com/All-Products/Bags-Backpacks/Rolling-Duffels/SOMS-2-0.html
5.11 Mission Ready 2.0
http://www.511tactical.com/All-Products/Bags-Backpacks/Rolling-Duffels/Mission-Ready-2-0.html
Also, as far as you metioned of trying to complete our certification courses from the AKO website before we arrive, I’m assuming we can only proceed with getting those completed after we receive an AKO login? Also, how should I go about trying to track down those URL’s after receiving an AKO login so I can complete those certifications before even leaving for the CRC since I always have access to a computer/internet/printer at home?
Thanks again for all the info. That last post was VERY VERY informative. Awesome as usual and thanks for all the heads up.
Wow very informative thank you
My recruiter said that the company has done away with dental, and I was wondering if anybody else knew how true this was.
Dental: Unless it has changed in the last month, there is still a very basic dental plan when you choose to have health care coverage. it is limited to 2 cleanings per year and pays about 50% on services but limited to $1200 per year. Something like that. So, not very good, but there is a plan.
401K: No one has asked about this but there is a 401K plan. But, not a good one. There is NO company match whatsoever. A big disappointment for a multi-billion dollar company. You can participate in the traditional 401K or a Roth 401 with deductions in your paycheck and it is managed by Prudential. However, you are limited to choosing to invest your money into funds that are of course, managed by Prudential, and the choices are limited to like 20 or so mutual fund accounts.
@ RGonzales: Those rolling duffels look just fine to me. I was amazed at what they did let on the plane. There were clearly some non-military luggage. The 511 gear is what they sell in the PX stores, so that is an indication they are military ready. I did see some with 3 wheels instead of just 2 on the bottom. If possible, find those, something with large wheels that will roll in the endless sand you will encounter. Don’t know if you can see this link, but something like this with 3 wheels:
http://www.wayfair.com/Mercury-Luggage-Mini-Monster-Stowable-Locker-9133xx-MYL1193.html?refid=FR49-MYL1193_7302569&PiID=7302569
Also, bring IDs for your luggage that clearly mark your luggage and other gear from the others. All green duffels look the same, especially in the dark. TDMello has mentioned this weeks ago. So, the more obnoxious you can make your bags, the better. Remember 1 of these bags will be carrying your armor, and those all look the same hence bring something with you that you can attach to that bag during travel.
@ RGonzles: Yes, you need an AKO account to get some of those done ahead of time. However, even with that, the web site will probably not cooperate with you to get those done. People who seemed to have them done already were DOD employees with DOD IDs already. ITT will send you info on doing this; getting the AKO account and doing the training, but I doubt they will work for you. They did not for me. I ended up taking a course I did not need. I completed them all at Atturbury, but it was a pain.
Thanks Bill for the quick response and good deal on the luggage. I’ve heard about the pains of traveling by foot on that terrain once you’re on the ground, especially having to carry your own duffle bag along with the additional bag they issue you. I figured, worse case scenario, I can use my wheeled bag and have an extra duffle bag in my gear in case I have to ditch the wheeled luggage for some reason.
As far as the AKO access, I figured it was a long shot, but I had to ask. Guess I have to make sure and confirm my itenirary/schedule and be one of the first on the computers early in the morning.
Thanks again for all the insight!
I’m coming up on the 30 day mark waiting on my security clearance. Once I obtain it, I’ve already been cleared medically with occu-med. Will there be any other steps in the process? Or will I be given my orders to ship out the within a week or so?
Thanks for the input guys, you all have been fantastic!
@ Falcon77: You should be ready to go then except for a few more shots. After Occu-med clears you and you get that verified by your HR recuriter, you will probably will get one more round of shots before leaving. Those will be scheduled quickly if you don’t already have them. Those would be the flu, measles mumps rubella, tetanus diphtheria pertussis, typhoid, polio, and hep A & B. That is only if you don’t have these already, so that is 4 to 6 more shots to take typically. At Atterbury you will get the real nice smallpox live virus and Anthrax shots; if you don’t already have them. Other than that, it would seem that you are just waiting on your clearance. ITT travel office will schedule you a one way flight to Atturbury or SC from your home of record, that takes a day or so once everything is in place. Once that flight is scheduled, you know you ARE GOING on that travel day for sure to CRC.
Bill,
Man thanks again for getting back to me so quickly! About a week and a half ago I took that second batch of shots. Reading all the steps and stages from this blog it would appear most if not all of my pre CRC paperwork and requirements are complete. I guess I’m stuck on ‘Pause” until they hurry up and grant my clearance.
One other quick question for you. I’m coming over as a Helpdesk Admin. Do you have any idea as to what kinds of hours/shifts they have? I’d assume being the newbie I’d get the graveyard shift initially. Just curious as to if they’re a 24hour operation in Kuwait or if they have less hours than that!
Thanks a million again!!
Im also going in as a help desk admin i second that question ill be leaving for ndc on 14 of july is there a specific subject that i should study being as im new to this aswell
How are the work hours in Kuwait and work days? I know what my offer letter states but how true is it.
@ Daniel:
Your offer letter will be accurate. If it says 60 hours, and most likely does for Kuwait, it will be 60 hours. Depends on the position but most likely will be five 12 hour days and this does not include your commute to/from the work site. After your first 40, it varies on overtime pay. For example: Kuwait does pay overtime after 40 hours, I believe 1.25 times your hourly rate. Iraq and Afgan do NOT pay over time but pay 35% + 35% more on top of your base pay of FIRST 40 hours for war zone pay and hardship pay. Offer letters are different depending on job and country, but it will be accurate pertaining to ultimate hours worked on the job site.
Bill
Do you know of anyone who has brought family over, and did they say how it is going? Is it worth bringing your spouse and children over. How long does it take to get them over?
I do not personally know anyone that has brought over their family to Kuwait. Since housing is part of your compensation, I would ask ITT how that would work. You certainly could do that if you wanted. There are are state schools here, but everyone sends their children to private themed western schools at a cost. So school for children is not an issue. Remember though, this is a male dominated culture. Certainly there are women here of all varieties and professions; from the most conservative Arab type to western liberal; in dress and attitude. Your wife could probably find work is she wanted to in Kuwait if that was a concern/goal. There are plenty of western comforts here in regards to restaurants and shopping for everyone and family. The 2 most popular malls are the “360” and “The Avenues” See links below. Both of these are about a 30 minute drive out of Kuwait City.
http://www.the-avenues.com/
http://360mall.com/
@ Falcon77:
Hours vary by site. Some are 24 hour operations, some not. Usually, you will have that 5 twelve hour day thing with 2 days off. Now those 2 days off could be any days; a Saturday and Sunday, or a Tuesday/Wednesday. Just depends on how big your location is and how your site manager handles things. A lot rests on your work site manager and what they deem works best for that site.
Roger that! Thanks Bill, great info as always man! Much obliged!!
@ Sethwatte
Only thing you need to study would be getting those TSirts done inside of AKO. That is if you can, most cannot access the right area before Atterbury. TDMello might have a suggestion.
@ All
Don’t worry too much about working that many hours as there is not much to do during free time. That goes for a war zone site or Kuwait. Lots of sand, heat, and eat. Work is entertainment here for most of us.
I have finished all the TSIRT’s i can, there is a few I have to do at a DOD computer is there a way to finish them before Camp Atterbury ? I’m going to Kuwait, is there cultural awareness training for that region?
New question for ya’ll… What kind of work/sleep/day attire should we bring with us and how many pairs? Should we just bring normal clothing or tactical rugged gear such as 5.11 Tactical/Oakley/Under Armour to withstand the conditions out there? I’ve been looking at just getting 5.11 gear, but I don’t want to stand out where I’m trying to look more of a security contractor rather than just an IT contractor. Not trying to look or be like anything I’m not and would rather just mesh and blend in with the rest of my fellow IT members.
I am interested in this as well.
I’m also interested in this question but what i have so far is 7 pairs of Columbia silver ridge pants 2 pairs of shoes 1 pair of Brooks adrenaline athletic shoes and 1 pair of Columbia Omnitech Northbend hiking style shoes and 5 Columbia Silver ridge short sleeve button down shirts and 3 Columbia Silver ridge long sleeve button down shirts a good pair of Oakley sunglasses and a plain hat is there anything else i should bring besides personal electronics looking forward to any reply’s
Clothing depends on your position, indoors or outdoors. ITT hires for both, so prepare accordingly. I think most of you are probably indoor people, so you won’t be working outside. Your site manager will dictate how casual you will be and it also depends on your customers; i.e., whether they are field personal mainly or office types. Don’t be too concerned about how you look versus what you want to wear. Wear and bring those clothes that you feel comfortable with have or purchased for this tour. You won’t stick out in the crowd for being too prepared, envied maybe! Everyone has their own style and it is varied. Maybe TDMello can weigh in. Sorry I had not respond sooner as I have been traveling a lot.
I am going to Afghanistan with my roommate as a Help Desk Admin, who determines which base you will end up at? Which bases are most of you’ll going to? How many different bases are there?
Can we choose which base to go to?
Cell/internet/data service. Which phone company do you suggest? What type of phone do you suggest we purchase? How many sim cards? How do we add minutes?
Does ITT really issue Interim’s? I received an email from my security recruiter that said they will know if i qualify for an Interim within a week.
What gets done at CRC? Do they do a whole another medical check? What does CRC do for dental? Do they do a whole another dental check?
Has anyone ever got denied for dental or medical?
I was thinking of purchasing a slim PS3, so I can keep sane over there. Does each room when you get there have a TV? Can you purchase TV’s?
I schedule vacation July 21-30, I haven’t received my CRC dates yet, I’m assuming I would get them once I am clearable with an Interim or once I get my clearance?
How long have most people waiting after they have been cleared by Occu-Med? What were you’ll waiting on the clearance?
My dates so far: June 13th contacted by recruiter, I’m done with all paper work, how much longer do you think I’m going to have to wait?
Thanks.
Does anyone know how long they have this contract for?
I think till September 2012
September 30th, 2012 is correct and that is true with many contracting companies right now. The accounting year with the Federal Government always starts on October 1st of each year. ITT has been told, but not officially given, a one year extension of this contract. Which is also common practice.
September 2012 is correct, what if the contract ends and we do not hit our 1yr mark? Do we not get our bonuses?
I know my friends company is competing for this contract also.
I assume you mean your end of contract bonus? If the contract expires during your one your commitment, your bonus would be pro-rated based on the number of months you did complete in the contract. However, that is subject to change at any time per each contract so you will need to have ITT verify that information to you.
Sept 2013
Bill or TDMello… Have ya’ll heard any new news about the contract renewal? I just keep thinking that I’ll finally get out there just in time for the ITT contract with the TAC-SWACAA to end and be offered to another company. I don’t want to get out there, work a month, then not have a position anymore since the DoD contract is no longer being offered through ITT.
I am going to Afghanistan with my roommate as a Help Desk Admin, who determines which base you will end up at? Which bases are most of you’ll going to? How many different bases are there?
Can we choose which base to go to?
Cell/internet/data service. Which phone company do you suggest? What type of phone do you suggest we purchase? How many sim cards? How do we add minutes?
Does ITT really issue Interim’s? I received an email from my security recruiter that said they will know if i qualify for an Interim within a week.
What gets done at CRC? Do they do a whole another medical check? What does CRC do for dental? Do they do a whole another dental check?
Has anyone ever got denied for dental or medical?
I was thinking of purchasing a slim PS3, so I can keep sane over there. Does each room when you get there have a TV? Can you purchase TV’s?
I schedule vacation July 21-30, I haven’t received my CRC dates yet, I’m assuming I would get them once I am clearable with an Interim or once I get my clearance?
How long have most people waiting after they have been cleared by Occu-Med? What were you’ll waiting on the clearance?
My dates so far: June 13th contacted by recruiter, I’m done with all paper work, how much longer do you think I’m going to have to wait?
Thanks.
Current openings/need by site determines where one is assigned. I would assume the area/regional manager is in that decision making process.
I don’t believe at any point in the process are you asked where you would like to go. Don’t plan on being involved in the decision making process for location.
ROSHAN or AWCC for cell providers (Afghan providers). As for phones, something with the ability to use international SIMM. Really, the type of phone is up to how much you want to spend. You can add minutes via the provider that you decide to use web site.
Don’t know about interim security clearances…. And not sure if you get CRC with an interim or full clearance. That would be a question for your recruiter.
Go to the camp atterbury website, it will give you a rundown on the daily happenings. Also, TDMELLO’s synopsis of what happens from the time you arrive at CRC to the time you get in country is pretty much spot on….
ITT uses OCCU-Med… OCCU-Med is very good at what they do. When you get to CRC you shouldn’t have to do any extra medical stuff except maybe a shot or two. They will review your medical stuff, but OCCU-MED is pretty thorough. ITT folks seem to have the least amount of problems (if any) when going through. They won’t do anything for dental but review your dental form. As long as your dentist gave you a green light your ok… it needs to be signed, dated (within 90 days I think), with dentists address and dental license.
I know people do get held back for medical and dental, however, if you have something that may hold you back, there are agencies off post that are geared for taking care of most medical issues (IE: shots dental, etc..) which can usually be taken care of before someone becomes a holdover.
Rooms and what are in them very from site to site (you may be living in an open tent, tent with walls, small shack, or hard building). I would expect the worse (nothing but a bunk). I would also wait to make any purchases until you know what the actual living conditions will be like. As far as purchasing TVs, that is also site depended. TVs can be ordered and delivered via AMAZON, which BTW will be where you do most of your purchases.
“How long have most people waiting after they have been cleared by Occu-Med? My dates so far: June 13th contacted by recruiter, I’m done with all paper work, how much longer do you think I’m going to have to wait?”
Hard to answer because I’m not sure about the interim clearance. However, if you have a clearance or if the interim is good enough for a CRC date, then I would say once OCCU-MED clears you, then you can expect a CRC date within the next couple weeks. (Only a guess because there are so many variables that decide a CRC date.
I was in the same boat if you have a clean police record i would say within a week you will get a crc or ndc date
A lot of these questions can be answered with the previous information that has been posted.
ITT determines the base based on need. There are many bases in the region.
No one has cell service except in Kuwait. There aren’t cell towers dotting the Afgan landscape, not to mention this is cost prohibitive. Internet; you pay for at your site, it is expensive and slow.
Yes, the DOD issues an interim. ITT can only be a sponsor, not an issuer. Getting the interim is the first step.
CRC goes over your medical records and you are tested for some things in your medical report. No dental exam but you must have the signed off form from you dentist.
Yes, many candidates are sent home for medical and a few for dental reasons. Very common.
TVs vary by site as well as service. I wouldn’t count on it. Everything is on the 240v system, so you will need a transformer and adapters for American appliances except your laptop computer.
Once you have clearance and the medical okay, you will get a scheduled date for the CRC. Occumed time frame varies depending on your health or exceptions. Quickest process since an offer date would be 4 weeks but could go into 12 weeks to get into the CRC in IN or SC.
Bill, if you’re speaking of personal cell phone services, on the contrary there are a few options i.e. I use AWCC and MTN on my parent FOB (southern Afghanistan). Other areas of Afghanistan use networks such as Roshan, Etisalat and also incorporate AWCC usage as well. I also have internet data services (GPRS) on my cell phone using either of these companies’ services. It’s not the greatest, but for IM chatting and non-network intensive tasks, it gets the job done! Chances are that wherever a person’s FOB is, there is a tower to connect to. **BUY AN UNLOCKED CELL PHONE OR UNLOCK YOUR CURRENT STATE-SIDE CELL PHONE BY CALLING YOUR PROVIDER AND PROVIDING THEM WITH YOUR PHONE’S IMEI NUMBER (UNDER THE BATTERY) TO OBTAIN THE PIN UNLOCK KEY (PUK). THIS WILL THEN ALLOW YOU TO USE ANY AND ALL SIM CARDS**
I opted for internet in my tent and I terminated the $120.00 monthly bill after 2 months because I wasn’t satisfied with paying that much for sub-par performance — just didn’t seem worth it to me, when I could just as well do most of what I needed to on work computers. Bandwidth will vary by FOB/base equipment, but all in all, the better the bandwidth, the more insane the bill out here in lovely Afghanistan :*)
There are some sites with 110V outlets vice the standard 230V, employees just need to inquire prior to powering up unless they possess dual voltage appliances.
I found a lot of useful information! I was thinking about taking a contract position in Kuwait. I heard that you can eventually bring your family over to Kuwait with you. Is this true?
Are we allowed to bring our own armor? What type of armor does ITT issue?
I suppose if the you have the government issued armor from being prior military or another contractor position. I don’t know of anyone that has done that. You are issued the same armor as active Army personnel complete with a gas mask and duffel to put it in. You do not pay for this.
You should all avoid this company like the plague. Future employers will look at this company on your resume and it will be a negative attribute. Ever ask yourself why the turnover rate is so high or why transferring is so easy? Tyrannical management and cliques judging your every step by which one wrong move will deem you a pariah. Competent employees see their skills fade away because the Army doesn’t allow you to have access to your job function.
Google “TAC-SWACAA ITT” and look at the first 10 results. Notice anything?
First off, I’d like to thank mello for putting up this site. My first time heading overseas (I have a friend with Dyncorp over in Afghan for a year) but the amount of detailed shared of the initial on-boarding process helps tremendously. I (and i’m sure others following behind me) have tons of questions regarding getting over there and how things are going to be and this calms the nerves a bit as we know what to expect. This and probably one other site (i think called honeymooning afghanistan or something like that ) were the only two sites i came across that provided useful information. Just got the job offer to head to kuwait. I’ll be doing my medical stuff next tuesday. I’m not anticipating too much of a hold up on my security as I’m prior air force contractor with a secret. From what I can gather, internet service can be a toss up in kuwait. I’m going to bring my laptop and figure out how the internet goes and post back for anyone that will be there in the future. I just got back from a trip to europe and I did not want to take my smartphone as I only needed a phone for people to get a hold of me/me call them. I bought a cell phone cheap (plain old cell phone) from Amazon for $35:
When I got to Germany, i went to a local cell phone store and bought a prepaid sim card, popped it in the phone, and I was good to go…had a local german number and could easily make calls to family and they could easily get a hold of me. Same procedure when I went to Italy. The phone worked flawlessly.
I don’t plan on using a smartphone to surf the net/check email/etc. while I’m over there (that’s what I have the laptop for) so I only need a cellphone for exactly that, a phone so my wife can contact me. I feel it’s the most economical way to go. Some sites I found on local SIMS but I’ll post back with what’s actually over there when I settle in.
http://www.travellerspoint.com/sim-cards-country.cfm?country=Kuwait
http://www.bootsonground.com/kuwait-sim-cards.htm
Again, I’d like to thank tdmello, RGonzales and Bill for providing so much detail in the process that it answers a lot of our questions. I know the info on the CRC and what to expect when you get there will ease my concerns. Keep it up guys and don’t forget to “pass the torch” for others when you arrive/before you leave.
anything to share around US general elections voting process while overseas?
I applied June 14th, got my Interim granted July 16th. Waiting for my clearance investigation to start so I can get my departure date to CRC.
Thank you all for the information. I am currently unemployed (downsized) and if I understand right, the process can take so long that by the time you get through all prerequisites, if you are not working you are unable to wait.
The ITT recruiter is calling me tomorrow for an IT position, and now I am wondering if it’s a good choice or not. With the US economy still in the ditch, coupled with 1000’s applying for the same position here, this seemed like a way to get a head and pay off some bills.
Could anyone speak to this?
A few other questions:
1) How do you get medical attention while on site for basic needs such as prescription refills etc.?
2) What happens if you get at the CRC, or on site and something goes South. Paperwork does not pan out, don’t make it through some hurdle or whatever. How do you get home?
3) If you stay the year and then decide to come back. Is it true the US employers look down on your experience ?
Thanks in advance,
KM
1. The Army used to provide doctor’s visits at no charge on base, but that changed. They now charge you a lot, like $200 to see a doctor. For prescriptions, you must pack a 6 month supply to carry with you on assignment. You will see this later on in ITT paperwork if you proceed.
2. You should be okay at the CRC. ITT has their act together on this better than any other company you will encounter there. If something does not work out, you can be held over for a week or 2 until you resolve it. If that does not work, you will be sent home at ITT’s expense.
3. I have never ever heard of this. All contracting companies in this type of work have good and bad stories about them. And yes, you can see some of this on Google. It depends a lot on your site manager and how good, or not good they are. As a upper management professional previously in another career, I would be impressed to see you went out of the country to explore a job opportunity rather than not working at all. You also will have adequate time to work on additional certifications while in country if you want to do that and ITT pays up to $1500 per year to pay for certification tests. The hardest part about this is not the job, it is the location, danger, monotony, and your life will seems on hold even though you are working.
That is my 2 cents. TDMello, your comments?
Thanks for the great site & the manner you respond to questions so quickly; it’s one of the very few I’ve found that has real information.
– If I’m reading things correctly; there will be time during the day to study and work on technical certifications (Cisco). True?
– I’m looking at the breakout for a typical day (Kuwait): 12 hour work day; ~ 1 hour to / from base; 8 hours of sleep (hopefully): 22 hours; how realistic is it to be able to get in an hour or so at a gym?
Again, Appreciate your postings !!!
Bill, I’m in complete concurrence with your answers!
NineW,
More than likely you’ll have time at work to study if you absolutely have NO time afterwards or in between to study — I’m confident your supervisor(s) won’t have a problem with you working on endeavors such as :*)
What a great resource for all my questions….thanks everyone for spending the time to fill in your experiences! I didn’t see anyone ask about the position I’m being hired to do in Afghanistan and I was wondering if anybody could give me an idea of what my job will be like, my position is Information Assurance Analyst. I’m getting my medical and dental exam done tomorrow and I already have a clearance so will probably be going soon from what everyone said on here. Thanks again 🙂
Any comments about this position would be interesting to me as well. I originally applied for this but was missing a cert.
Sorry Jeff and Crispy, I don’t know anyone who has this job title. If it was for Kuwait or Qatar, it should be somewhat normal. If for any other place, a lot of other things apply that have been mentioned; hardship and danger pay are part of compensation for a reason.
Just passed my security+ after four days of studying and now with my CISSP already done a couple years ago I’m good with my certs and am now ready to go. I’m heading to CRC on next Saturday and so will be off to Kuwait and then Afghanistan very soon so I’ll be able to tell you about the IA Analyst position first hand pretty soon. I’ve been very surprised how quickly this all happened as I have only received my offer letter between two and three weeks ago and now I’m off!!!
So… after this entire process, which took nearly two months from start to finish, with minimal delays, I’ve been cleared for my interim clearance and completed all my medical/dental/vaccinations, yet now, I hear that there are no positions left available. Is this usually the case when applying? I was told I’d be placed in “available” status until something opens up for the position I accepted, since I already have all my requirements completed. I just don’t want my medical and clearance to expire while I wait, then have to go through the entire process again. Wow… This is just frustrating now…
I know they usually slot 3-4 people per open position when they begin hiring, basing the process on some may not make it through, and usually, the first to complete the process successfully lands the position, but now I’m just curious as to how often positions become available? I know it’s on a need per position per base location, but I’m guessing positions don’t become available too often. I just don’t want to be waiting on something that may never come, assuming that there may be a few more candidates in front of me, also waiting on openings. This is in regards to the ADPE Technician position for reference. Thanks in advance for the replies.
I don’t have an exact answer for your question, but I think you have a shot. ITT employees quite a few people with this job title in theater. There is always someone whose contract is ending when someone’s contract is beginning. So there is constant rotation in and out of the whichever country for that position. In addition, there are internal promotions that open up ADPE positions quite regularly. I have no idea how long you might have to wait, but there is hope you could get the green light within a few weeks to a few months. Sorry I just can’t be more specific, just depends on how many people renew their contract or not. Good luck!
Thanks Bill. Yea, I just have to stay positive and patient. I guess the good thing is at least I’m done with the hard part of gaining and being sponsored for clearance and medical. I began looking at other companies as well just in case, which I’d rather stay with ITT, but have to keep my options open. How about the promotions in country? Is moving from an ADPE to a Sys Admin similar or it’s pretty much, if they feel you’re competent enough and you have the required certs, you should be good to go? Is it fairly easy to move and get promoted and is there a minimum time you have to stay in a position before moving?
Hey Gonzales. They did the same thing to my roommate and I yesterday about a position.
If you find another company let them know you have been cleared medical and dental. Let them know about your interim.
It depends on your site lead a great deal. You can move from ADPE to sys. admin or net admin, that is typical within a site if you want to. You will also be given the opportunity to mock interview with an off site person to see if you are ready. In this way, you can kind of “sit on the bench” waiting for one of those positions to open up. As far as I know there is no minimum you must stay in a position. I would assume there is something, but I don’t know what that time frame is. I have seen ADPEs that want to move to another position do it within 3 months if they wanted to, their site lead was behind them, the position was open, and they had the required certifications. Transferring between sites and or countries is more involved of course, but it can be done.
Thanks again Bill for the insight.
Hey Carnage, if you hear any new news regarding yourself and your roommate, please post up here and pass along. I’m waiting on an ADPE position to open up and will do the same if something changes. I’m so ready to put my resignation in and leave already. lol
I was issued my clearance with ITT within 30 days, how I have no idea. Even though my position was full.
Your FSO will most likely not tell you that they have granted you a clearance, imo they won’t tell you because they don’t want you to look for another position with another company. I know for a fact that I now have an active secret clearance.
If you know someone or if you apply for a position that requires a clearance have them check for you. Anyone that has access to JPAS can check your clearance status. Keep your options open and apply with other companies IMHO.
I figured that I would chime in here. I have a travel date for CRC and I passed my recruiters information a long to a former co-worker, they seem to still be recruiting for sys admin positions.
Good for you to continue to help others out there. Just be aware, as some positions you begin and complete the process, but once you’re fully cleared and complete, the position has already been filled and alot of us now are just waiting “on the sidelines” for a position to open up. Good luck with everything and hopefully will see you out in the field soon.
My recruiters were: Juliet and Tammy. Tammy gave me the news about not having any spots open at the moment.
Yea, my recruiter is Keith and I know my colleague who was going for a sys admin position, his recruiter was Tommy. I believe each recruiter is assigned their specialized positions.
Also, some advise for us new guys trying to land our first contract out there, and I’m sure TDMello and Bill can chime in on this. Was talking to someone who had been out there on multiple contracts for a couple of years and his biggest advise to me was to “not chase rainbows”. To go after the $300K-$400K contracts during my first year out there. He highly recommended that I stick with my first contract for a way to “pay my dues” and show that I can actually complete a contract with one company and not be labeled by other possible companies out there as someone who jumps from company to company, considering on how much money each company will be investing in their candidates. After your first contract is complete though, then that’s when you have the ability to bargain and either stay with the same company at a higher rate, or jump to another since you’re already out there and cleared to work.
This is some very sound advice and echos what I have read and heard from others. As far as leaving a contract early in concerned, pay attention to your offer letter. It likely has a large sum of your pay tied up in a bonus that you will forfeit if you fail to complete your contract.
Hey Crispy, could you shoot me an email. I just had some questions on how things went as far as resigning from your current position and timelines as far as leaving for CRC.
Thanks… rpgonzales @ gmail . com
Totally confused and looking for insight here. I received offer letter in November 2011 for Transportation Specialist Lead and quickly completed all of the required paperwork and SF85. This position does not require a security clearance. Anyways, I have stayed in contact with my recruiter (2x a month) since then. For a while the common response was that I have been approved, passed security, CAC eligible and awaiting medicals but that there has been very little movement in this position. The latest message from my recruiter states the same thing with the addition that “This position has been placed on hold from the field and re-scoping is in progress. When the position opens I will be contacted in order of offer acceptance to schedule medicals.” I have been contracting with LOGCAP since 2005 and never experienced this type of delay, over 9 months now, can anyone provide a little insight into what is going on and what I might expect? Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.
rbrac82 at yahoo dot com
Hi, I have received an offer from ITT for a position in kuwait. The recruiter is telling me that they pay the first 40 hours you will receive an additional 10% of your base rate and for the first 48 hours you will get overtime at 1.25.
I called to clarify and asked so, the first 48 hours I work, is paid at the ot rate of 1.25xwage. Additionally, the first 40 hours you get a 10% spiff, and then the remaining 12 hours of the 60 hour week is paid at straight time. To which the recruiter said yes. I don’t know sounds kind of funny that they say they are following kuwait labor laws, yet the FIRST 48 hours you work is paid at the OT rate.
Is this correct? Or they full of crap?
Bobs – How long did it take to get your offer? I interviewed and was given the green flag, and now I’m waiting to hear back. A friend of mines that just left relayed to me that she didn’t receive her offer letter until 3 months later. Did you wait that long?
Thanks!
(sorry for the double post.. the ‘reply’ button snuck up on me after I hit ‘post comment’) 🙂
Do they drug test, if so, what kind? I’m allowed medical marijuana and have the id card to prove it.
Yes they test,,,They test for everything,
The jobs require a security clearance that is granted by the federal government despite the fact your state may not view that particular drug use as a criminal offense, the federal goverment still does. You would not be eligible for a security clearance based on that.
Hi,
My husband works there and he’s translating a lot of the stuff in Afghanistan with ITT Exelis. He won’t give me his APO address to send him stuff does anyone know the APO address for Bagram? or to give to the ITT Exelis folks?
Are there any positions for people who have the cultural background… not so strong with the native languages? or is it mostly IT jobs if u dont know the language? I was trying to get in. But I doubt I will if I have Type II Diabetes
Bobs – How long did it take to get your offer? I interviewed and was given the green flag, and now I’m waiting to hear back. A friend of mines that just left relayed to me that she didn’t receive her offer letter until 3 months later. Did you wait that long?
Thanks!
I got my offer a little more than 24 hours after my interview
I got my offer letter the next day.
Congrats you two!
ITT Exelis interviewed me Monday the 13th and I got my offer letter on Thursday the 16th. I was offered the Network Administrator position. I am really excited. The first time I was a contractor was in 2007 to 2008. I knew someone who recommended me. But this time it was all me. I’m feeling pretty good that I scored a Network Admin position.
One thing that I find strange was that I had submitted for the Active Directory Admin job. They interviewed me for the Active Directory Engineer job. Then after the interview I was told I would be recommended for a Systems Administrator job. And my offer letter is for the Network Admin job. You know, I can do any one of those jobs no problem. I’m looking forward to this tour.
Congrats, now you will need to do your dental, medical, immunization shots, start your clearance paperwork, get fingerprinted, mail them proof that your a citizen.
Then after you do all that, they might tell you that your position has been filled. But the good thing is that you will have an active clearance.
Both my recruiters are ignoring me and won’t respond to any of my emails. My position was also filled so I’m on the waiting list. I had to find out through connections that I have an active clearance since my recruiters won’t get back to me with an answer.
IMO they don’t want to tell you, you have an active clearance because they don’t want you to look for other jobs.
Good luck and hopefully you get your job out there.
I have my CompTIA: A+, Network+, Security + compliant with both IAT Level I and II, have my MCITP-EA, MCSA, MCDST, MCTS and ITIL V3 and they gave me a Help desk position.
I already maintain a current secret. I’ve done this rodeo once before.
Congrats to you!
I found out yesterday from my recruiter that I’m on a waiting list for a position to open, although I saw positions open on their websites. -.- | oh well…
Greetings,
First of all, I want to give thanks to the persons behind this blog, it’s fueled up with tremendous amount of information regarding ITT Exelis Middle Easter Contractors in the recruiting phases.
My question is regarding my security clearance, but first a little background.
I come from the Air National Guard with a TS/SCI, but it was expired in Nov 2011 while I was still in the service. After having a few issues with the e-QIP login, I was finally able to finish my SF86 in Apr 2012 for the same ANG position requiring the TS/SCI. JCAVS says that my investigation still open, even though my personalized interview for the SBCRI was conducted in late June. My investigator told me that it usually takes about 45 days for the TS/SCI to be granted after the personalized interview… As of today, JCAVS stil says Investigation still open.
I received an Offer Letter for a TCF Tech with ITT. That TCF Tech position only requires a Secret clearance. The ITT Corp Security Manager told me that because my TS/SCI clearance had expired in Nov 2011, they had to start from scratch with the SF86 for the ITT Secret clearance, for which I completed in Aug 10, and now I have two investigations open, both from OPM, I believe.
My Question is: How long do you think it will take for my Secret for ITT to be granted?
And, in case my TS/SCI gets granted first, will I be able to use that TS/SCI to leave earlier, or do I have to wait until the investigation for ITT’s Secret clearance completes?
I have completed all medical/dental requirements, the only thing missing is my passport renewal (for visa purposes) which should be coming in this week.
Thanks all for sharing your experiences.
My secret took 15 day to get. After 2 months I was told my position wa filled. My recruiters wont tell me that I have an active clearance. If you know someone who has access to JPAS they can check your clearance status. Who is your recruiter?
Ever since they’ve told me my position has been filled communication with my recruiters is almost none existent.
Thanks for the input Carnage. I prefer not to disclose the name of my recruiter, but can say that he has been really diligent with my process, always giving me updates and hurrying me up to turn my stuff in a timely manner (I finished all requirements within 3-4 days including Occu-Med). He also mentioned that these positions are on a “first come first serve” basis.
I had an offer in June , took all of the immunizations, dental, etc. and SP85 clearance. Received clearance through Occumed, and was always being told to wait for my iterim which should take a week. I have no record of any kind. Emailed security and they continued to tell me they haven’t heard anything back. However, I applied to another company for a SP86 and received clearance within a week. I think ITT is stringing people along, and it’s a total disgrace. I have been to the iddle East before, and had a CAC card, so they need to STOP putting people on hold, as they are giving themselves a BAD name. a company you apply with, can look up and see they have you in a “HOLD” status. Go to another company to apply , and they will be glad to have you, these people are running into a lot of problems.
Lisa,
If you’ve been to the Middle East before, I’m surprised you must wait for an Intrim. You should already be cleared I would think. Unless of course your Clearance expired.
So after discussing this in depth with my wife we decided that the earliest I can leave would be January. ITT-Exelis wants me to go sooner. Sadly I had to decline their offer. They said to contact them again in December as it would be 30 days before i can leave. Hopefully they need a Network Admin CCNA type then like they do now. But family ALWAYS comes first.
If it’ll make you feel any better, They are ALWAYS looking for NetAdmins. As well as SysAdmins and Help Desk. So you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You will have to go through all the paperwork, Medical and Dental stuff all over again tho.
So, today I emailed my ITT Security Manager and asked him about my clearance status. He said I’m good to go, that he already moved it all forward to my recruiter. This is great news, that took less than 10 days. I guess I should be receiving the CRC reservation date here soon!
I just thought I’d post up and say good luck to everyone on here receiving their offer letters, clearances, etc… Just as a FYI, from what I’ve experienced, the position you initial apply for and are offered will most likely be filled by the time you complete the pre-req process. At least that’s how it has been for me and a few others I’ve talked to. But the good part is, that you have everything you need to be assigned a seat at CRC when another position opens up. So, stay positive and keep your head up. That’s all I’m doing right now as I sit and wait for a position to open up.
So I have been following this for a couple weeks as I have been in the process with ITT. I recently got an offer letter for a Sysadmin job. I spoke to my recruiter and asked her if there was an active slot open. She stated that there is an active slot and that as soon as you pass through CRC you are on their payroll(first I have heard of anything like this). The offer letter does state that this is a first come offer first best fit offer. I did raise a concern to her that one of the items that they want you to fill out is an employment verification form. I explained that this was an issue since I did not want my currently employer to know that I was looking at other jobs yet. This job pays a lot less than some of the other options out there and I was able to get them to increase their offer some but I am not sure if it will be enough.
I have received an offer letter for a Network Admin job in Afghanistan. I am currently deployed, with the National Guard, to Afghanistan. I will be home within the month. I have sent my recruiter all of the reuqested paper work. Additionally, I have completed the application online and received my welcome to ITT Exelis email. I already have a current TS/SCI clearance. How likely is it my position will be available once I return stateside? I am looking to come back as early as mid October. However, I want to have everything completed sooner. Please advise.
JT, my two cents on your question will be: It might depend on how many people apply for the same Net Admin position that you applied, and on how many opens possitions they have at that time. Are you Air Guard?
ReadyToGo, thank you. I am Army Guard.
I recieved an offer round mid june, just finished with occu med ally cleared, how long before we proced to the next step and am i supposed to contact my recruiter or will they contact me.
ML, they will contact you (at least from my experience), but you can always ask for an update in your application status. If you don’t mind me asking, why did it took you son long to get the Occu Med scheduled? From what I’ve seen, they usually want you to complete the pre-requieremnts within 18 days, including Occu-Med.
once the offer was giving i was contacted by occu med maybe 2weeks after that, that kinda put me at the begining of july and after a complete physical and dental screening i had to get my cholesterol down and dental work so i had to get an extension, so i had to see my dr and scheldule my appt. thru him and then relay the results to occu med. Friday occu med called said i was cleared and monday i go to get my immunization shots.
I was offered an OSP position, my buddy told me it took him about 2months before he went crc for the same position, after i take this immunization impretty much done of what was asked of me
I have a question. I’ve been offered a position and ITT wanted me to take it within 45 days which I cannot. The told me to call back once I finish the course that I am currently in and would get me something. I applied for a Network Admin position in Kuwait but was quoted Afghanistan over the phone (currently 2nd on the wait list for Kuwait).
What is the best way to get Kuwait?
What steps can I take prior to starting initial paperwork to negotiate salary?
If I accept Afghanistan to I have an option on location?
What is the current initial salary for a Network Admin with ITT?
I am currently in the reserves, will I be able to continue my mday(drill status) at my location, and which location will provide me that option.
Security clearance question here folks…..
I received the following response from one of the security specialists in regards to the status of my applications. He states:
“They closed your investigation on 8/15/12. So, that is a good thing. They SHOULD be updating your clearance in the next couple of weeks. The investigator is finalizing their findings and recommendation and then JPAS will be updated and you will be complete”
Of those of you that have gotten your clearance, at this stage of things will it take a few weeks for the FINAL approval? Or will it take another few months? Just trying to gauge how much longer this process will be.
Any help or suggestions would be great!
Thanks everyone
From my expierance it took only 1 to 2 days from the time I got that type of email to the time they scheduled my CRC Date. The fact that your post says 8/15/12 and you posted this on 8/29/12 would kind of worry me a little. I would make a call to your recruiter to check on this. But that’s just me.
Hi Falcon77…Once the investigation closes, if I can remember correctly, on my previous clearance…once they did my interview, it took a month or two for the clearance to be finalized. That’s just one part of the process albiet probably the most time consuming part. My advice is to touch base with your recruiter and see where you are at in relation to getting a departure date…any documents/approvals that are still pending…depending on the position you are applying for. Good luck.
Just wanted to post an update. Just got my immunizations and my fly date to Kuwait is 14 Sep. I will post some info for everyone as soon as I get situated over there.
Congrats gqstyle! A question for you, I received the 2nd Welcome email from ITT on Tuesday, finished the online employment documents and e-igned all the forms in their website. How long did it took for you to get the deployment date from the day you had the same email?
Thanks
Not sure what the exact “second welcome email” is but basically, I initially received a copy of the offer letter and all the requirements prior to getting your CRC date. Once I met all those requirements, I received another email from my recruiter stating I was good to go and we established a fly date. I received an email to fill out the new employee information NHIP) on the ITT portal (Setup your direct deposit, Read all the company notices, etc). That all happened the same week. If you are talking about you have e-signed all the forms on the ITT intranet portal (NHIP), then I actually got my date prior to me getting the info for e-signing. Hope that answers your question.
Thanks gqstyle. I’ve done everything (pre-requierements, Occu-Med, clearance, and the NHIP) I just haven’t got a departure date yet. The Security Specialist told me I was good to go on, and was passed to my recriter on 8/15/12. Two weeks after that I received the “Welcome email” with the NHIP instructions from my recruiter… finished all that the same night, but that’s about it since 8/22/12.
I’m pretty sure you should be getting your date soon…I would just follow up with your recruiter. If you’ve gone through all that, it’s pretty much done deal. At that point, ITT has committed spending money on paying for your medical/dental/security clearance so, imo, it wouldn’t be smart financially to put you on a wait list if that’s what it seems like. What are you gonna be doing over there?
Plus you’ve already filled/signed the NHIP which in all my years working with various companies, that’s one step short of showing up to your first day of work. Some companies..that is the first day of work. Good luck and hopefully see you over there.
Thanks. I was thinking the same “financially makes sense”, even though I came with a TS/SCI from the service, I believe they olny did an SBC on me. I’ll check with my recruiter, but you know, I’m all anxiety here! hehe. I’ll be forwarded to Qatar as a TCF Tech. Don’t know yet if I’ll be at the Deid or Camp As Sayliyah. Once again Thanks! Enjoy the journey! Keep posting as you go further with ITT.
Oh yeah, was wondering that is either at Kuwait or has already done a tour there have any recommendations on what to bring? I’ve been reading a lot of blogs but they are mainly for afghanistan/iraq and are base oriented. I know the ITT guys are in villas so just curious what I should pack for that is not listed in the briefing docs.
I’ve done all what you’ve mentioned and received my clearance as of 8/1/2012 I’m on the wait list as of then. IMO I would also apply with DRS, Mantech and Dynacorp I know DRS is bidding on the same contract as well.
Hi all I have just sent all the documents to the recruiter last week Thursday. I am wondering when I should hear back from them? I know it could be a while since I do not have a current clearance. I have not got a call or anything for the medical stuff. Just trying to hear something about a time frame. Thanks
Don’t be shy about contacting your recruiter! All will work out fine ;*)
Hello ALL,
I am a female looking to work overseas. I am mainly wanting to get in with the MWR (OCN), Any suggestions on who to speak to (recruiter) wise? I currently run an IT Certification company and work with individuals that are transitioning out of the military that need certs to work for any government agency. Any info is greatly appreciated.
p.s. Is it hard to get selected to go overseas as a female?
Thank You!
Hi okuhlmann!
It isn’t difficult to get picked up as a female into the contracting world. I’m a woman, and I’m HERE lol.
Also, I’ve asked some MWR personnel here on my FOB for information so that I may pass on to you. As soon as I have anything, I’ll forward on. Is your listed Hotmail account ok to send to?
Td Mello
Hi Guys,
I was originally offered an ADPE Tech position in Kuwait but they asked if I wanted Afghanistan for more money. So I agreed. Now I am going to Afghan, not sure what to expect tbh.
Can anyone shine some light on Afghan and maybe what I have to look forward to?
Thanks.
Hey Collin,
No personal experience here but I have a friend that is with Dyncorp out there and he just renewed his second year. He’s been back here (AZ) for his leave and we talked. He said that he is completely isolated to the base (bear in mind that there are multiple bases out there). He basically is in a make shift housing similar to a mobile home. He has his own room but there is not much in it. He said that him and a bunch of other people go to a central lounge where they play xbox and such to kill time. He said he gets really bored but on the flipside, he is making a lot of money and is paying off his student loan/buying a house. So be prepared to find ways to pass the time and when you get bored/want to come home, just remember the amount of money you will be making 🙂 Hope that helps and good luck.
Thank you gq 🙂 I appreciate your reply.
Did he say theres a lot of attacks out there right now? Or does he stay pretty safe?
Hi did mention there were sometimes insurgents occassionally that would unsuccessfully try and mortar them but didn’t seem like a real big deal to him. If it was that bad, I don’t think he would have extended another year.
I know myself and 5-6 others have receive CRC dates, I was suppose to go on 10/13/12 but there were no more vacancies. I am now schedule to go 10/27/12. We’ll see what happens.
I will be leaving to CRC on the 29th of this Month instead of October. I received the confirmation email and hoping on receiving the Flight Itinerary to fly into Indiana.
One question that I keep on asking everyone is what type of duffel bag should I get? I noticed on the letters that the recruiters send out they do not want you to bring duffel bags with wheels.
But some of the guys that are already over there have brought duffel bags with wheels.
What are your opinions on duffel bags?
What about boots? Any good places to get boots? Would you go with a 6in or 8in boot?
I have tattoos on my arms, do I need to buy long sleeve collared shirts?
Thanks,
Hey there. Is your final destination Afghan or Kuwait? As for duffels, I actually just borrowed and Air Force friend his C-Bag (Those big army green bags that are notorious) so I don’t think I will have problems but I would look for something similar. I personally wouldn’t chance it with wheels because the last thing you want is getting somewhere along your trip and for someone to say that it’s not allowed regardless of others who may have been able to get by. I was looking at the following bags on amazon:
Because wheels were not an option, obviously, transporting the bag long distances was a concern so I made sure the bags i was looking at, had shoulder straps to double as a backpack so I could carry it on my back rather then holding it like a bag.
As for boots, I did some research and narrowed it down to the following:
Then I thought about it and figured I will not be in any mountainous areas nor need to worry about having full length boots so I ended up buying:
I just received them this week after doing research/reviews and I have to say they are hella comfortable. I’m sure you won’t go wrong with any of those choices, just depends on your preference/needs.
As for the ink, it’s basically a judgement call. I would double check with HR as to their policy. Some places are more flexible than others. My friend in Afghan said he just buys cargo pants and wears collared polos. I’ve seen pics of him in T-Shirts as well. Here is a pic of the outside of the housing as well of a shot of his room
Outside: http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/74514_129307327123447_964462_n.jpg
Room: http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/33473_130164203704426_6186640_n.jpg
Hope that helps
Ill be heading to FOB Shank, I think we will be sleeping in tents. My duffel bag with wheels I will modify it so I can remove the wheels on the fly in case it is a problem.
What base were those pictures from?
Anymore pics. I have a blog I am started up also.
Where are you at? Feel free to email me at whyareyoucurious@gmail.com
Awesome pics and info, thank you.
Pics are from Camp Dwyer
@whyareyoucurious I guess I’ll be seeing you at CRC on the 30th! Got the same date, fliying out on the 29th.
Wow…I hope some of you DON’T have a CLEARANCE. As you can’t hold water. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO is reading these sights, and the information that someone posts (GQ) must definitely be new……Think about people at those sites before you go showing pictures and naming sites !!!!
That’s a sure DUMB move……THINK !!!!!!!
Really? Tell me…what is sensitive about those pictures? I can post tons of websites that have pictures of former soldiers that were stationed in iraq/afghanistan that had pictures of where they were and the living space where they were at. You can’t reference any location just by looking at the front of doors/air conditioners. If you want to be bitter, you should go after the news media following our troops around during the war reporting on activity. Of course I know this is a public site and I know anyone can access it…. Naming sites? Just like anyone can access this site, anyone can view names of camps. Tell me, if you do a search, can you give me names of sites overseas? I’m reposting things that have already been posted.
Since you are in the mood to flame people, why don’t you shoot an email to Colonel Wenger and have him reprimand his troops for sending over these pics that YOU NEVER KNOW WHO might be accessing that site: http://suitcase4soldiers.blogspot.com/2011/11/pictures-from-camp-eggers.html
You’re funny Lisa…thanks for trolling.
Any body on here in Kuwait? I am curious about the riots going on right now? I would like to know how things are going in this area since I will be living on the economy. Please update thanks!!!
I should be there shortly Viper. I’ll report back on how things are as soon as I get situated. Are you heading out there?
for anyone whos is wondering im here in kuwait and there is little to no difference with the people since the whole embassy
thing
Yes I am headed there soon hopefully.. I got the interim security clearance done and I am just waiting on occu-med. Thanks for the heads up and yeah let me know how it is there. I have been to Kuwait before in the Army. I have never lived out side the base…
I’m new to this site and I must say its very very informational!!! I just applied for some jobs on ITT Exelis and I was wondering how long it actually took to hear back for an interview and how long it took to actually land a job overseas. I applied for Jobs in afghanistan and was told not many apply for jobs in combat zones so it may be easy for me but I won’t believe it until I see something in the works. I’m currently AD Air Force, so being overseas will just be like another deployment to me, and I will be voluntarily separating in November and trying to be proactive with looking for my next journey in life lol! Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
So, it sounds like a few of us have received our CRC date and are flying out on the 29th to start CRC on the 30th… My question is, anyone else’s Medical expires while out at CRC??
Good question rpgonzal. From the IRDO website: “All labs need to be within 90 days”. I’m asuming that it covers all that was done at Occu-med.
Where will you be deploying to? I’m also leaving on the 29th for CRC.
Readytogo email me. I leave on the 29th also. Whyareyoucurious@gmail.com
Hey everybody, I found this site to be very very helpful and I hope some of you will be able to help me out with some information. I am AD Air Force and will be voluntarily separating in November and I just applied for a few contracting jobs in Afghanistan with ITT Exelis. Do you know how long from the time you applied for the job to the time you heard something back if you got the job or not or starting the process for interview, etc? I applied for some jobs on other companies as well a few days ago, but was just wondering so I’m not sitting ducks waiting for a response from the companies. Also, have a lot of you been successful with a first time applying for contr jobs going overseas or did it take a while to get a job and land a job overseas? I was told by some that it may be easier with military experience and not many people are willing to move to a combat zone to work, I’m hoping this is true but not going to hold my breath until I see something in the works! Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!
Send me an email to: whyareyoucurious@gmail.com
I applied in June leaving in 2 weeks to CRC. It takes a while. Easiest way to get in is with a recruiter.
What Whyareyoucurious said. Unless a recruiter has contacted you, I wouldn’t hold your breath and would keep applying. I was actually approached by a recruiter after updating my resume while looking to make a career change. Some people have had quicker results than others but don’t give up. The more you apply/follow up, the more likely your chances are of getting hired. I think military experience helps as does already having your clearance but it’s not a guarantee. I think skill set is more of a determining factor. Don’t give up and good luck.
Just came across this and it’s actually a great resource given all the recent activity. Make sure you sign up:
U.S. citizens residing and traveling abroad should review the Department’s Worldwide Caution and other travel information when making decisions concerning their travel plans and activities while abroad. U.S. citizens are encouraged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). U.S. citizens without internet access may enroll directly at the nearest U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate. By enrolling, U.S. citizens make it easier for the embassy/consulates to contact them in case of emergency.
Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
Stay up to date by bookmarking our Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which contains the current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts as well as the Worldwide Caution. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs page on Facebook as well.
So, anyone have any information on TCF Ma’sum Ghar… Still trying to figure out what TCF officially stands for, but from what I’ve gathered, it’s considered small compared to bases such as Bagram or Kandhahar, Camps and FOB’s such as Shank and Nathan Smith… Keeping with OPSEC, just curious if anyone can provide any insight on TCF Ma’Sum Ghar…
Thanks…
Masum Ghar was a Canadian post that was past on to the US in Summer 2011. Since USA took over it has overcome a major overhaul in its infrastructure. From what I’ve hear from army troops, it is not bad.
TCF stands for Tech Control Facility. It’s basically responsible for major long haul communications. Major component is the Promina multiplexer.
Is that were you’re going? And as a TCF tech?
Thanks for the info RTG… I’m going over as an ADPE, but wanted to research as much as I could regarding conditions on what to prepare and expect.
When will you be leaving? The only reason I know all this about Ma’sum Ghar is because of the extensive research I’ve been doing since they told that I was going there! lol
And guess what, I’ll be one of the TCFs on site. I’m scheduled to leave on the 29th, but still no flight reservations yet.
On the 29th as well… Shoot me an email and we can discuss offline… rpgonzales at gmail
So is anyone else in Kuwait? How is the safety there for a family? I am nervous about coming over there while all the problems are going on….
You will be fine. We have been over here before, and recently came back. My husband is working a lot, but it keeps family together. We stay on the compounds or this time now, we ‘re staying in a Westernized flat. I can’t speak for having children, As we do, but they are grown ,and don’t come here. Don’t be nervous, as many of the Kuwaiti’s are friendly, but always stand guard, not here but anywhere. Having family here believe me is better than them being thousands of miles away.
Hi, my CRC date was given today as October 6 for IA position. I am wondering how the situation is in Afghanistan and if its not a good time to go there with all those attacks going on there?
Can someone from Afghanistan give an insight?
Anyone else leaving for CRC soon?
Please email at Onekanchi AT g-mail dot com
Thanks for the in site I am still wanting on a CRC date. I have done the security and medical. They have to put me in for a wavier for my back and knee problems. Hopefully I will get a CRC date this week….. my wife will follow new there after about a month. We have only dogs no kids. How is t with dogs over there? Anyone know ? Thanks.
I just finished my immunizations does anyone know about how long after that younget a date for CRC? I ave not heard about my clearance yet either but I know I have an active clearance.
OMW to Indiana in a few hours. Got my own car and hotel. Message me for any questions.
This has been so insightful, thanks!! I report to greensville SC on Oct 1. I’m leaving the job I have with Dyncorp working in Kandahar so I hope I made the right choice crossing over….lol.
Hey Kim! I have been inquiring on trying to get overseas and I know from many others that I’ve heard it is not easy and it takes a while, but I have found some jobs on Dyncorp and I have applied for some of those jobs in hopes that I will get picked up. How was it working for them, oh and most of them were in Kandahar also! What do you do out there and was it hard for you? I’m currently AD AF so I’m sure it won’t be too hard but just trying to see how others experiences are working out there as a contractor, especially as a female! Thanks!
I am so frustrated with ITT Excelis they put me through all this crap to do the Health stuff and the Security stuff. And now they say they do not have an opening for me… Seems like bull crap they make me think everything is going to change soon and my wife and I start trying to make simple plans and now nothing…. They told me that they are wanting on Management to tell me there is a spot then they will book travel. Is this normal? Do they just put you on a waiting status until a spot opens? How long is the Medical and Security stuff good?
Thanks
I’m on the same waiting list lol.
I was on the waiting list for awhile as well.
I deploy out Oct 6
Everyone needs to make sure your Medical and Dental have not expired. If your medical and dental are getting ready to expire talk to your recruiter. My medical and dental have expired and I have been put on the waiting list once again.
Is this normal? How long did you have to wait? How long is the Medical and Dental good for?
I’m back and they have rescheduled my deployment date. I’ll be at CRC on the 6th.
Viper- Medical and Dental is good for 90 days.
Thanks.
Nice me too curious, what are you going for again? What position?
They got me doing a help desk admin gig
How long we’re you on a wait list. I can never get a hold of my recruiter he never answers my calls it goes to voice mail and he never responds to my email. I finished my medical and dental and don’t know what’s next cause he won’t Contact me this is frustrating
@MJ with ITT it takes time and patience, if you really want to go there send them an email every day. Email is the key to getting in touch with them.
Have your Medical and Dental are done you will be notified upon your CRC date when there is a spot available.
I applied back in June and I am heading to CRC this week finally.
Same I applied back in June as well and I am leaving for CRC tomorrow.
Maybe we will cross paths curious 🙂
I am a Networking Engineer, I am probably going to decline a depart date if they give me one. The money they are offering is good but not that great considering I have to put my life on hold for it. I have been to Kuwait in the Military and I hate the Middle East. Plus I am tired of waiting and getting jerked around. So not really worried about Excelis emailing me anymore. 🙂
Let me rephrase that I hate the Weather in the Middle East 🙂
I would like to know how many do I need long sleeve shirts or short sleeve shirts in Afganistan? Winter is coming up, and I have mostly short sleeve shirts. If I need both, how many short sleeve shirts, and how many long sleeve shirts should I bring? Also, should I bring “long-john” thermal underwear for the winter? And will I be able to purchase additional clothing, such as long sleeve shirts and thermals once I arrive, if I don’t bring them with me???
Thanks.
gqstyle was flying over to Kuwait in mid-September. Several others where going to CRC on Sept 29th. Has anyone heard anything from any of them?
I hear from them everyday pretty much. I was in their CRC. Going good over here for being a war zone and all. Can’t go into much details on the “action” because of OpSec. Besides that what questions do you have MrTony?
Yea Gqstyle is in Kuwait and loving it…His wife will be joining him soon for a few months. He said that workload isn’t to bad, the living is pretty good….I was trying to get to Kuwait myself, offered a position in Qatar, then I guess it was filled while I was getting all my stuff done so only thing left was IRAQ….So looks like I’m heading to Iraq soon 😦
Hi everyone, Can anyone tell me about the security over there? As far as the crap going on with Iran. also what are the evacuation options? I am worried since I would be leaving of base. On base would not bother me. Please let me know, Also are you allowed to be armed over there? Probably a dumb question. Thanks
Very good site all. I have a few questions if someone can answer. I have to do the medical and dental. But I got the acceptance letter as a Sys admin.
1. I have been diagnosed with “sleep apnea.” Anyone know the chances of me getting approved by Occu Med and CRC?
2. Do they do another medical physical at CRC? Weigh in, all the electrodes and crap, BMI calculation. Or do they just look at your Occu Med records? I’m a fatty and wondering if I have to worry about BMI a 2nd time.
3. Anyone know the hierarchy to ITT’s positions for pay? To me it looks like
ADPE Tech
Help Desk
Sys/Net Admin
??
Just trying to bank the most the quickest to know what I can apply for.
4. Are you allowed to hook up your personal laptop the network while at work? Thinking of getting my masters from an online school. Or working on a 2nd bachelors.
5. Anyone have an idea about jobs in the US? I’ve applied to a bunch of ITT jobs and get no movement.
I previously had a contract with them Dec 2011/Jan 2012. I was wait listed after getting all the stuff I needed to done. The pay was $1.50 more an hour than this new one is. Any idea why the drop in pay? That $1.50 turns out to be 5-8K depending on how their pay cycle is (2x a month, bi weekly).
Can anyone tell me anything about Fenty as for housing, px, etc…..thanks.
Finally received my offer letter email today after applying back in August. I must say reading these comments are discouraging. The wait sounds horrible… yikes! Oh well, we shall see what happens next. 🙂
If I may ask, how long did it take for you to get the offer letter after your interview? It’s been about 2 weeks since my technical interview for me. I’m hoping I can get a response back.
I am flying to CRC this Saturday. Email me if you someone else is also going to be there at onekanchi at gmail
Just received my offer letter. Wanting to know how long I have to accept this offer and if the salary is negotiable.
I received my offer letter today and being a person who has never worked for a government contract company before i find it pretty interesting the one thing i am having a problem with understanding is the hardship pay is that extra money or what? i am a firm believer in there is no stupid question and seeing as everyone on here seems to be cool i though i would ask, Also if i get selected to go I will be going to Qatar any words of advise
I have a CRC date: 24th November. Anyone at FOB Shank that could provide a few words on what it’s like. Thanks.
I received my offer letter last week and sent a counter offer. I will be in Kuwait. I just retired so I was able to complete all the IT/Admin training.
My medical should be good considering I just had my retirement physical in June.
Anyone else going to Kuwait? I have been there several times with my last job on active duty.
What is the typical turn around time after having a phone interview with a recruiter to get a offer lettter?
I have an offer for a Network Administrator in Afghanistan. Just received interim clearance.All I have left to do is Security+. Can someone tell me do you have to have the full clearance before leaving for CRC? I was told I wouldn’t know where I would be located until I got to CRC. Does that sound right? I would like to know where I will be before I leave as I have never gone overseas before. I have a pretty good job here in the states on a medium-sized network but want to get experience working on an enterprise network and have been unable to land a job since I don’t have the experience even though I am CCIE. Any advice is appreciated
I too came from 14 years corporate experience in medium to large enterprise networks and I had this idea that I would be exposed to greater and larger technologies to support and advance my own career out here. But the truth is, you definitely will not. If you have a secured position paying well back home, it’s not worth your time out here, trust me. I was a Lead Security Analyst, $115K/yr, back home before I left, and had the same thoughts and realized now, you can only advance back home in the private corporate sector for less pay so much more so than in the government overseas sector. Now, if you just want an easy mind numbing job that pays well, that allows you to travel, yet, you’ll be away from family, friends, home for periods of time as the trade off, then out here is a good option.
I will be doing System Administrator work and flying in to CRC for training on December 16th. Email me if you will be there for training also timothyharpjr at Gmail dot com
I will be leaving for CRC training December 16th. Will be stationed at FOB in Kabul ISAF. If you are stationed please share a few words. Thanks.
Please pray that a recruiter contacts my husband! He has applied for several jobs in Kuwait and we are being very patient, as it has already been over a week! He has 8 years prior service and has applied for a few jobs that fall right under what his MOS were! Does it normally take so long to hear back? Thanks all!
Amanda, just so you know, there have been plenty of us who waited nearly 3 months before we even received our CRC dates, but once you have that CRC date confirmed, you’re golden. Especially right now, everything is slowly dieing down out here and they are still slowly sending new people out, but Kuwait is a very sought after location because of the living conditions compared to out here in Afghan, so it may take a little longer. I’m not trying to bring your hopes down, but don’t expect to hear anything right away, even weeks from now, until an actual position opens up and you receive that confirmed date for CRC, and even then, not until he receives his purchased and confirmed flight itenerary.
Well darn! It’s okay. By that time I think he will be back in the service since he had to wait 90 days. He signed a declination after my son was born to stay here and not go to Korea.
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Welcome (for the fourth time) Brandi 🙂
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Something I was wondering, I worked with ITT when it was ITT Systems and I was at NKC in AFGH as Help Desk Admin, my Security clearance was good, I moved on to another company after a year working in quite a bit higher security than before but still only needed Secret, I am now thinking about going back with ITT Excelis will be setting up the interview soon for Network Admin, question is: Will my clearance still be in effect or will I have to go through the whole process once again? I had thought the clearance was good for 10 years as Secret and 5 years for Top Secret.
Hey there, I just recently took a position in Iraq for Help Desk Admin…
Anybody know how the workload or living conditions are in IRAQ?
….I was told I could wait around for Kuwait/Qatar but I don’t know if it will be weeks or months before a position opens up? I was in Afghanistan for the last 2.5 years and just had enough of the environment and plus Dyncorps contract with Logcap IV will be ending soon and everybody will be jumping ship. All my medical/security/dental/shots are cleared for deployment.
I dont know how much longer those guys are going to be in Iraq. I got a handful of friends still up there that say the living is decent, safe, wet chu’s, decent food. I would guess you will stay up there till they send everyone home, then they either end-of-contract you and pro-rate your bonus, or send you here to Kuwait, or over to Afghan or Djbouti for the remainder of your contract.
One thing everyone complains about there now is getting in and out of the country which is a HUGE pain in the a**. A good buddy of mine who is there right now, spent almost 2 weeks on my couch waiting for visa paperwork.
i just got an interview for an ADPE position, i was given the green light as a recommendation for hire, now am wondering if anyone know what is the salary scale and if i can negotiate my salary contract or monthly salary in Afganistan or Kuwait.
Im currently in Kuwait in the RNOSC, just starting my 3rd year on contract. I really don’t think there is too much wiggle room on negotiation for pay. The hourly for both places is going to be the same, the big difference is going to be the uplift.
Uplift pay in Afghan is 50%, so that’s 40 hours at Hourly+50% of hourly, then 20 hours at standard hourly rate. The pay down here in Kuwait is a little more complicated to explain.Kuwait uplift is only at 10% the first 40, then time and a half on hours over 48 due to Kuwait labor laws. After 2 years I still cant fill out my time card here without looking at the example sheet lol.
Generally speaking, you will make a lot more in Afghanistan for a few reasons, the obvious one being the uplift. The other big reason is the cost of living in Kuwait. While housing/utilities are paid for, thats about it. Chow hall, water, internet, etc are all out of pocket. Theres also waaay less to spend money on in Afghan (though some guys still manage to). I did a year in Iraq, and I made (and saved) substantially more. Work, gym, sleep, eat.
If you are out here to make as much as possible, and don’t mind roughing it a bit, Afghan is the place. If you don’t mind making a little less in exchange for better living and accommodations, restaurants, cable, etc, then Kuwait is the place.
If its any sort of baseline, I started in Systems, which is one tier above ADPE in 2010 making around 29-30 an hour. Hope this helps
My offer said uplift pay in Afghan was 70%
Last Monday (January 14) I had an interview with ITT Exelis for the position of Network Administrator. On Wednesday (January 16), I had an offer. It is for Afghanistan, with base pay of $29.34/hr. $49.88/hr for the first 40 hours, and $29.34/hr for the 20 hrs after 40. With all the bonuses, it is around 155k for the year.
All this has happened faster than I expected!!
It looks like you and I may be working together. I received my offer (same package, same job), last Monday. I will probably accept tomorrow!
I felt the same way.. all of the sudden it was there in my face staring me down!
Clearly neither of you two read your offer letter. Those things are confidential so you stating your pay would technically void your contract.
Hello all (again). I was accepted for a position last year but had some things come up that stopped me from deploying. Anyone have a recruiters contact information that they could provide me? It appears the one that I was working with has left. My email is lowteckcomps at aol dot com.
Thanks in advance.
I doubt anybody can help you with this. Your going to have to re-apply online. My recruiter always told me for anybody looking to get on have them apply online.
First I would like to echo the sentiment that this blog is an excellent source of information regarding the topic.
I have received an offer for a Net Admin position in Afghanistan and I’m at the point in the process where I accept and head off to Occu-med, with an approximate CRC date of 4-weeks from Feb. 4th. I have just a few questions that I haven’t seen answered yet.
1. At what point in the process will I find out where I am going in Afghanistan?
2. If I decline in the hopes of picking up a spot somewhere else later on, will the fact that I turned down a position hurt my chances of getting my desired location?
3. Lastly, I am having a hard time gauging the level of danger to my life and limbs should I accept a position in Afghanistan.
Please advise.
1. You find out where in Afghan your going about the third day your at CRC
2. If you accept a positoin then decline you have to start the rehire proess again.
The only exception is if you accept a job and they fill it, then you can wait for another place.
3. I was in Afghan for 2.2 years, the living conditions are horrendous as is the weather but other than that your life is pretty safe.
I was originally offered an ADPE position in Kuwait. However they said to me they have Afghan available. At first I said to them I’ll wait until Kuwait pops up but it’s been way too long so I am considering (reluctantly) going to Afghan to get my foot in the door and they said once my 120 days pass, I can apply for another location? Has anyone on here experienced in what I’d just mentioned? More importantly, how is Afghan now with all the action that is still going on? As for compensation, do ITT pay overtime? Will I be sleeping in a tent, again lol ? Do we get Rn R and if so how long are we allowed to be gone for? I need some advise hell some assistance. Please advise, thanks!
Andrew
ITT put me through the ringer with medical, then when I cleared they didn’t even return my calls. I eventually went with another company & I’m glad I did. I’m in Southern AFG and ITT is regarded as the scourge of contracting companies here.
My own experience is that my pay is higher, better benefits ($167/Month for medical/dental/vision. Total of 7 weeks vacation & the company pays for 1 vacation flight & 2 R&R flights), and I knew where I was going off the bat. None of this “we’ll tell you when you get to CRC” crap. ITT/Occu-Med made the medicals much more difficult than they had to be.
What really irked me was that after I accepted the position with another company, ITT emailed me & said “did you ever get your medical straight? We have a position we’d like to talk to you about.” I wasn’t impressed. Occu-Med & I both emailed them my medical clearance the day after it was given. I emailed back telling them that & they never responded to me again.
What was the other company you went with?
I am interviewing for a AFG position, like you not sure where in country. I am not sure what the pay rate are for positions and wanted to see if you have a resource for me. I kinda understand the jump in pay once in country. How long does it normally take from the time you accept to getting everything finished and heading to AFG?
For me, it is going to take about 2 months from acceptance to actually sitting down and working (I’m actually still in process @ CRC). The process relatively varies on how quickly you go through your medical, if you get approved for an interim of a specified clearance, and how far out you get scheduled for your CRC date. I’ve seen it take much longer for others. Also, depending on how long it takes for the medical process at home, if it’s long enough, they may tell you that the position was filled, and that you’re being placed in a waitlist. Bear in mind, that the process is lengthy and a lot of paperwork from the time you accept, until the day you start working.
Very Interesting. Happy to have found this Blog.
First off I would like to say wonderful blog!
I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to
writing. I have had a tough time clearing my mind in getting my ideas out there.
I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are
usually lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin.
Any suggestions or tips? Thank you!
To be honest, the blog’s success wasn’t expected as I organized and implemented the material. My objective was to help those in similar situations as myself and I guess the cards just fell as fate would have them.
Thank you VERY much for not just taking the time to read my blog, but for deciding to voice your perceptions as well. Trust me, it’s a wonderful thing to read that what I set out to do is actually a reality.
To answer your questions; I love the process and consequences of writing, but like yourself, my ideas and agendas tend to get lost beneath self-doubt in addition to the mind’s racket. To complete this blog, I sat down and literally wrote down what I wanted to deliver to readers and interested parties in outline format. The way my brain works, it was IMPERATIVE that I jotted things down in a similar fashion.
In essence, what works for my is:
– unearthing my intent
– facilitating my desired delivery style
– channeling the motivation towards every fiber of the writing process
– all in all, do what your gut demands of you 🙂
I hope this helps!!
All the best
Normally I do not learn article on blogs, but I wish to say that this
write-up very compelled me to take a look at and do it! Your writing taste has been
amazed me. Thanks, very great post.
I’m gone to convey my little brother, that he should also visit this webpage on regular basis to obtain updated from most recent gossip.
My case,
In the beginning, ITT/OCCU-MED kept calling. I have an active security clearance; also I did all my medical exams and was cleared within a couple weeks of accepting the offer letter. Then they tell me that that the position was filled, and I was placed in a waitlist, I did not even get a call back for days. It’s about to be three months, now they are telling me in order to be on the waiting list, I will have to do all the medical exams again. Can anybody reading this provide me with any feedback, I would really appreciate it, thank you.
Vic,
I was given the go ahead on March 29th. Clearance, medical, dental, immunization and all. I just had to redo my medical and dental w/ Ocumed since it was getting close to 90 days. Like you, I’m still waiting for the email/ phone call. I have a friend in Afghanistan and he said that they are closing bases and filing vacant spots with those people first. Then the people on the wait list (you and I) will be selected. So the wait may be a while.
Also, it is slowing down over there a bit. So the process is going to be a little slower than normal. I’ve learned to be patient or you will go crazy waiting to be contacted. Luckily, I have a pretty good job to hold me over until I get the call.
Hope this helps a little!!
Thanks for the reply @U_nix, and I did not know if this process was going to be this long, but I’m being patient. If I get to go: GREAT, if not I guess, it is what is it. I sill have my job, got promoted a couple months ago, also studying for more certs. Again, thank you for your reply.
Just offered an IA position, anyone has knowledge to new contract?
Does anyone know about the specifics for a secret security clearance? I had a few brush in with the law in my early 20’s. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve been arrested. They were all misdemeanors but I’m concerned about quitting my current employer just to find out mid-process I am ineligible.
@LaSeeno: Never quit your current employer until you have a valid CRC date.
As for your clearance possibilities…. were any of the “misdemeanors” drug-related? Have you ever served “time behind bars”? Have you ever been arrested for domestic violence? Were any of your charges weapons-related?
If you could answer “yes” to any of these, then the possibility of a quick clearance is not realistic. It is doubtful that you could even qualify for a SECRET clearance if these were your “situation”. They are denying clearances for bankruptcies and excessive traffic tickets, so more than one misdemeanor is usually a no-go.
Thank you tdmello for your great blog. I just discovered ITT Exelis about a month ago through an acquaintance. I have a couple of questions for you as well… A couple of these are recruiter questions about just getting a job.
1. I am 50 years old. (Very healthy, so that is no problem), But Is the age a problem??
2. I am more of a software developer than a sys admin, but I have done the sys admin type work without the title for years. Is it a problem that I haven’t had the sys admin title? (even though it would seem by reading the posts, I can certainly do what is required of a sys admin)
3. Can you tell me what the other us based contracting companies names are that have a presence in the middle east? Dyncorp is one. Are there others? (Google seems to send me to 3rd party head hunters or middle men or other generic job boards)
Thanks. Any of you can send direct email to me at worldwidematt at cox dot net. Or simply respond in the blog. Thanks again.
@Matt: The “fat jobs” in the SWA/CentCom arena are drying up pretty quickly, Since Obama gave Dec 2014 as the closure date for Afghanistan, many of the better jobs are disappearing. Age does not matter as much experience, certifications, general health, and security clearance.
DynaCorp lost many of the contracts they used to have in CentCom and is not really currently a major player. They were NEVER one of the higher paying companies anyway.
Some companies to look at for IT jobs are: DRS, CSC, CACI, and Raytheon.
so i got my technical interview about 4 days ago, my recruiter told me it will take about 2 weeks if i dont hear from them, then i should call. but from what im reading people are getting offer letters in a matter of a few days. should i begin to get my medical/dental clearance now or wait for them to contact me.. this is really driving me crazy im checking my email every hour because i really want this position. and how long until i have to get my security cert? i tried to get it soon too after about 4 days of studying.. which ended up costing me 200 bucks because i failed. however i am ready know….
@Steve: Do NOT pay for any medical/dental processing yourself. ITT will send you an email and put you in contact with Occu-Med if and when you get an offer/accept it. THEY will schedule and pay for the processing.
If you do not hear from the recruiters within 5 days from your technical interview- it may NOT have gone as well as YOU think it did. Usually, if they like you- you hear back within 3 days. If YOU have to go and chase THEM… then you may not be getting an offer.
If you do not have an ACTIVE security clearance (most jobs require a SECRET clearance), this will take anywhere from 1-4 months to run it’s course. Some come back QUICK (1-2 weeks after completing the questionnaire), but most take some time.
If you are applying for a position that REQUIRES an A+, SEC+, CISSP, or NET+ cert… and do not have these certs yet… they will look for people that ALREADY have them and put YOU on the backburner. Best to get your certs in order BEFORE applying for the job.
My friend who has accepted an offer with ITT said it took about 10 days after his interview with the recruiter to get an offer from HR.
I’ve spoken with recruiters twice now (last time was today). Definitley a vastly different interview process than what I’m used to. Now, I wait to hear from HR.
hello, i did not even apply for the job i think they found my resume themselves from some website such as monster because i put my resume out there. the recruiter did mention however that they were slow because they were pipelining a lot of people through right now and can take up to 2 weeks.
im pretty sure the interview went good, every question they asked i knew the exact answer to except maybe two of them. and i do have my certs, i have CCNA and CCNP and am days away from trying my sec+
i am hoping maybe the recruiter was right when he said it will take up to 2 weeks.
thanks laseeno, when you speak to your recruiter is it through the phone and do they use magic jack??? i called him today and it went straight to the voice mail saying the magic jack user is not available. and which position did your friend apply as??
also can anyone please tell me how far along the hiring process they will require me to submit my certs??
So much for 1-2 weeks. I got an offer letter today. Which is the day after I had my technical interview. For whatever reason they could not call me, I had to call them. Magic Jack was giving them errors and I couldn’t call one of their numbers either. Fortunately one of the recruiters I was working with was able to hand me off to the technical guy for the interview.
When you get your offer letter there is a checklist asking for your certs. It says immediately so have them ready.
wow congrats!! did you have all of your certs before the technical interview??
also where are you going??
I’ve had my CISSP for 2 years now as well as a handful of other certs.
I’m not sure when I depart. I am waiting to hear back about a few questions before signing the offer letter. And even then, I have to go through medical and background. I’ve learned my lesson in the past about counting your chickens before they’ve hatched. I will keep checking this blog for questions though.
thanks for the responses, i hope im not overwhelming you with questions but i was wondering because i cant get a hold of my recruiter, their magic jack number seems to be not working and i dont have his direct email, is their a HR number i can call to get in contact with him?
and did you have all the required certs??
hey everyone, so im reading about the network admin positions and people are saying they have 2 technical interviews… is that true??
i got a call from a recruiter who asked me questions about certs and experience.. n then the next day i got a call which was the technical interview, they asked me basic cisco questions.. should i expect another phone interview??????
Ok I applied for a job ding ADPE 1 in Kuwait on the website but the funny thing is I have no idea when I will hear back from anyone about the position. This is like the third job I applied for on the website and it keeps saying Im over qualified, it don’t make sense to me to tell the truth but who am I to say. I wish I could get a hold of a recruiter and they can put me in the right direction to get the ADPE job cause that is what I been doing at every base that I been to in my career. Any help getting a recruiter to contact me would be great help thanks.
any luck?
No contact at all from them except I’m over qualified and this is for Adpe 1 and desktop support to man this is getting so frustrating
I had my phone interview last Saturday 10/19/2013 and waiting for the offer letter. Like it was previously stated, I was told it will take up to 2wks to hear something after being recommend for a position.
hang in there, i heard it could take up to 6 months for them to give you an offer letter. but once your on their list its just a matter of when they have an opening. I agree it can get really frustrating
The first time I was given an offer letter from ITT (about 10 months ago), it was 3 full months after an interview.
Found Out yesterday that I am recommended to go as a System Admin but there are no positions currently over there and that’s why I haven’t received an offer letter. Once a position opens up then they will send the offer letter………..Basically the same issue as some have already went through
Yep
Received a “pleased to extend you an offer to become employed with Exelis Systems Corporation (“Exelis”) for the position of Network Administrator I on OMDAC-SWACA in Kuwait.” This letter arrived via email only 3 days after my technical interview. There were several other forms there too, typical VISA and BG stuff. This just seems suspiciously fast, especially compared to what i have read here. Does this sound right guys? I did a LOGCAP run for several years with Fluor, the process of even getting this type of letter took 2 months. I don’t have my clearance anymore, dont have a Security+ or Cisco cert, but answered all 10 cisco questions in the technical call 100%. I work on a large total Cisco corporate network at the moment, but have no certs besides fiber optics and an BS in Management.
I am hoping this is a legitimate offer, the terms are fair for Kuwait, not close to Afghan pay FYI. The letter states I have 3 days to sign this offer… pretty much to start the employment process? Fluor did things much differently administratively than Exelis (unprofessional). Could someone shed some light on this for me? Anyone worked in Kuwait?
Cheers
Joseph
(thanks in advance)
I’ve been reading through a lot of these post and apparently something is wrong with my contract situation. I recently got out the army so I’ve had a secret clearance as well as all my shots n basic things needed to get a contract, my recruiter send me my itinerary yesterday saying I leave to WA DC. On dec 14th but the same day fly out to Kuwait. Does anyone have any idea why I’m not going VA or SC first? Any answer would be good and thanks in advance
I been offered an It admin with ITT job in Kuwait passed medical and clearance in no time It took them so long to get things in order however I finally got the letter to travel to indiana
can anyone share their experience with us about it admins working in camp arfigan Kuwait ?
I too have been contacted by a recruiter to work on this project and had some additional questions – How soon after starting work can you take vacation? I’m talking in terms of months 3,4? How is vacation earned – hrs p/mo? Do you still get perks when taking vacations – paid flights, Etc.? One source told me that in Kuwait you get Kuwaiti holidays, if true how many? When are you paid,2x p/mo-every two weeks, once a month? Are any taxes taken out when paid? How much is Med/dental/vision? How many sick days p/yr ? How long of a commute is it to the work site? Can any of you state your hourly wage when hired? What kind of work schedule do you have – 5/12 or 6/10? When do you get bonuses and how much do they pay? Appreciate any feedback.
Ive tried filtering through all the comments posted here but am unable to find anything on a pulmonary function test. I am scheduled for the OccuMed physical tomorrow, will this test be included? TIA
I did not have to do a pulmonary function test. I had my Occumed a few days ago. It consisted of 2 vials of blood being drawn for blood work, urine taken for drug screen and sugar levels, audiotory test, doctors complete examination and a TB test, which you have to go back for it to be read. I was there about 3 hours. It wasnt too bad, ive had DOT physicals every 2 years for the past 10.
Joseph
Thanks for the reply. My physical was the same…except my blood pressure was a little elevated due to nerves. Just had to complete a series of BP tests over a period of a week to ensure I dont have high blood pressure. Just faxed in my completed paperwork earlier today. Have you been contacted by occu med since your physical? What is the next step assuming you pass?
Thanks again!
Kyle, Hey man, answering your reply below. (didnt see a reply button) I had an elevated Liver Function Test come back from my medical, was contacted by Occumed, had my General Physician redo the blood panel, along with a Hepatitis test. Blood came back normal, hep was negative. Occumed called today saying they received everything and I was good to go on Medical. My Dental exam is on January, 24. Ill be sure to post about that once it happens. Im being recruited for Network Administrator for the OMDAC-SWACA contract in Kuwait.
Just got an email from OccuMed today. Informed me I passed pre-deployment medical and that I need to schedule an appointment for immunizations. They passed you before clearing dental?
I have my dental exam end of this week. I am cleared for the medical portion though, and have all of the security clearance forms in their hands. A fellow poster below mentioned some alarming shots we may have to have. Kyle, did you hear anything about an Anthrax shot? I didnt, and i sent them all of my immunizations with really no response.
What position are you being recruited for?
No Anthrax shot for me. See my comment at the bottom of this forum that lists the shots. I was recruited for Service Desk Administrator I in Afghan.
I did my technical interview approximately 17 days ago, and I still haven’t received an offer nor via email nor mail. Does this means that I won’t get selected to work for ITT in Kuwait? How long does it usually takes before they send out an offer for a job?? Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
I got my offer letter, along with many other forms i.e Fair Credit, Work History, Kuwaiti Police Visa form etc., 3 days after my technical interview. I wouldnt assume anything about where you are headed at this point. Im sure with the holidays everything is a little backed up.
Joseph
Can any one share their experience working at arfijan kuwait as IT admin in TAC SWAA team ?
I am currently working in Afghan with another company. I did my annual in theater physical which included, a medical, dental and all the other required test. I got offered a position in Kuwait but I was told that I have to go all the way back to Indiana and re-deploy through CRC. This will include going through the medical, dental process again. Has anyone else encountered a similar situation or know if this sounds accurate.
Can I waive the Anthrax and Smallpox shots? The threat of these being used in theater is minimal, and the side-effects can be life-long. Anthrax especially has been known to cause severe arthritis.
Whoa!!! We have to get anthrax and small pox shots? I went through medical and sent off my immunizations and heard nothing of the sorts. That would be a total deal breaker for me. Ive heard the same thing about the anthrax shot.
At this point in my journey my medical is finished. I have dental coming up soon. Sent off all of my clearance stuff, waiting for that. Honestly, if they make me take an Anthrax shot I will not be going to Kuwait. I am at a high risk for arthritis, runs in my family, wouldn’t want to accelerate it any.
Could someone else shed some light on the two shots BJ mentioned?
Was supposed to be heading to Afghanistan but was not granted an interim clearance. Is it possible that I could still be granted an interim at some point during the investigation? Or do I now have to wait until the clearance process is 100% complete to be determined ready to deploy? And has anyone actually been hired months later after interim was denied?
Any feedback would be nice.
Immunizations I received were Tdap, Hep, Typhoid, Polio, MMR, and Flu.
Thanks.
I was offered a network Admin I position for Kuwait with ITT in December 2013. I have gone through this site and i am kind of confuse on the pay. I believe i was offered 29.34/hr.
I have already been granted interim clearance. Completed dental. Still undergoing medical clearance process. Should be done pretty soon.
Someone said total compensation for Afghanistan comes to about 155k for Network Admin I. For all of those working as Network Admin I in Kuwait, can someone break down how much you actually make in total working in Kuwait for the one year, and how much you actually make a month when you get over there. Also there was a strange clause saying i will receive about 75% of my actual pay for the first 45 days, and after that i will get my total hourly rate. Did anyone get that kind of offer ? Just trying to make sure, they didn’t play me. I have a good job here and don’t really want to be taken advantage of.
Also i have multiple Cisco certs, including at professional level, and a couple of Comptia and Microsoft certs. How easy is it to say switch to a WAN Engineer position with ITT once on the ground in Kuwait. I just need the CISSP to meet the baseline requirement for this, and right now i am working on my CISSP cert. Also how much do they pay for WAN Engineers hourly if anyone knows.
Thanks
Rock
No they didn’t play you. I had the same clause in my offer letter. However my question is. I accepted an offer bk in November 2013. Passed all the medical requirements, obtain the technical certs needed, and I already had a clearance, now I’m just sitting waiting on an open slot. I’m a nervous waiting wreck! Is anyone else waiting on the green light? I’ve been told I’m now on a waiting list. How long could I potentially be waiting? Im actually open to going to Qatar, Kuwait or Afgan, however since the war is ending I’m not expecting to be placed in afgan. Anyone have any input?
Kay
Thanks hikahana. They emailed me that everything is complete and i have been placed on the ready to deploy list. I am open to going to Qatar or Bahrain, or Kuwait which was my initial choice. I got the interim clearance last month, had my interview with the clearance officer about two weeks ago. I have passed the medical, and dental, and believe that i probably have the final clearance now. I got an email from the recruiter today that i have been placed on a ready to deploy status now. My question is does anyone know how one can get the final status of my clearance ? Second can anyone suggest other companies that one can contact about clearance jobs here in the US or as a contractor abroad. I am mostly interested in a Network Engineering position.
Rock-
Actually I received an updated offer letter from Exelis this past Friday. Due to that I am hoping to get an actual leave date in the coming days! *fingers crossed* I am due to be deployed to Qatar. Have you heard anything from Exelis? I am so sick of waiting and so ready to go!! I suggest you speak to your recruiter about the status of your final clearance, it can take some time if you have moved around a lot.
Anyone leaving soon? I have a date for May 11th.
Hikahana,
I received an updated letter too last Friday. I have to redo my medical and dental exams next week, and hoping to get a date to deploy too. My choices are either Bahrain or Kuwait. I spoke to the recruiter and she told me that they were anticipating to have openings in either April or May. The new letter had a reduced offer, and they took away the sign on bonus too.
Are you guys deployed or got a CRC date yet?
Has anyone heard of Five River Services?
I was wondering about them. I recently applie
Subcontractor for Exelis, you will likely be working side-by-side with Exelis guys at the same sites, and usually making more money.
Just got all four wisdom teeth removed and I was cleared and I have my Deployment date. I only needed to have one removed to be cleared but I decided to get it over with and have them all removed. The procedure went extremely fast and I am literally not in any pain and I don’t have any swelling.:-)
does anyone know if I should bring an alarm clock? how cold does it get at night? expecting to deploy soon, thanks all.
Most people use phones or the like for an alarm clock, but you could certainly bring one if you like. You will also have the oppertunity to buy one at the PX at CRC, Kuwait, and your end destination, but if you already have one you like, there is no reason not to bring it.
Thanks Trowa, think I’ll bring my own.