Driving in Iraq.

Got back from Iraq in April 06. For the newbies let me first say you have to have 3 years with haz and tank end. I made 8200 per month as a Convoy Comander for KBR. IT IS NOT TAX FREE!!! You must be out of the USA for 330 days and anything over 80000 is taxable! So your first 80k is not taxable........ As for the politics of the job. I LOVED the job and the rushes I got being out side the wire, but I hated all the back stabbing and jealously. It made it hard as a woman their because their were 20 men to every 1 girl. If you like the attention that is good, but I hated it. I did end up with the bestest friends you could ever ask for! But that may just go with the territory. Beware if you go make sure you put 50 percent of what you make in an account that ONLY YOU can access. I know numerous guys that went home to find wifes and etc had spent all money earned. And you will be fired if you are caught with anything other than a knife in your truck. That is what your armed escorts are for. I am personally glad KBR had the ban on guns. Thats a high stress enviroment and not everyone thats there would be a good canadate for a gun.

 

I need to check into this. I could use the money and want to be in the lands of my ancient relatives .

 

ABSOLUTELY crazy. Anyone doing it must have some sort of death wish.

Suzi

 

Please listen to these words and please adhere to what I have to say. My son is in Iraq, he has been there since Feb. 07. Money is just wonderful, $70.00 per hour, and yes he works 7 days a week, 14 hrs a day. He is also in the reserves. He is there for the government not the Army. Do not go. It is no worth it, he has seen things he will never be able to get off his mind, I too know about this as VietNam was not that long ago. You will not have a clue as to how to act when you get to Iraq, if your make it in alive, your on your own once your in country. My son made it in because of his being in the reserves. He is in the green zone now, and still is in terrible danger. His family, two sons and a daughter, wife, are back here, he does not talk to them but a few times per month. If you have no combat experience I suggest you join the service and then make your mind up. As for trucking, Road Master is good, but, they will not teach you all there is to know of being a trucker, they do not teach you how to back for one thing, oh you will back, but not how you need to in the real world. They will teach you only how to pass your tests to go on to a company that will hire you for cents on the dollar and will run you until your dead tired. The money is not there either, if you think you will get rich on $400.00 per week think again, you might as well plan on making about .28 cents per mile, and hope like heck you do get the miles. I wish you luck in your decision, and hope you will please, not go, and do go and find a trucker that has been on the road for several years, to take you with him or her, for a real taste of what it is all about to drive a truck. I too went to R. Masters, and was in the Corps for 9 years, I do know what I am talking about, so if you wish to drive, fine, do so..just do it in the good ole, U.S.A., you might live longer if you do so. Your family will thank you for making that smart decision. Take care, and good luck.
Semperfi, Just Bob

 

There was guys in my class at school talkin about doin in strait out of school...You will not be qualified for 1.If you have nothing but school under your belt you must be crazy to even think about it????You are better off joining the military if you wanna see Iraq.Just get the idea out of your head....

 

Might need special life insurance also. Most policies will be void in a war zone. I got the idea out of my head when I talked to a driver that had been there. He said he would never consider going back again. The look on his face said more than the words.

 

The last time I looked at Haliburton (May 09) there were 0 driving jobs and only a handful of others...I read somewhere that Indians and Pakistanis do most of the driving now for .03 on the dollar...combat would be fun again when you can see them but not for .03 ..

 

i was seriously considering doing it for a while, for KBR. one of my cousins who's now a reserve, was pretty excited about me trying it. he was apart of the 3rd armored division, and he was obviously a tanker. what made me change my mind was after speaking to one of his other army buddies. his friend pulled me aside, out of earshot, and began telling me all kinds of crazy crap. i checked out some videos online from those who are driving trucks over there. one guy's truck broke down and he was worried as hell if he'd wake up alive. if he did, will it have been at gunpoint? forget that crap. i also saw videos of the truck convoys that got shot up on their overnight run. i don't want to be stuck inside of a truck, broken down or not, unable to return fire, or even unable to carry a firearm without facing disciplinary action. the ONLY conceivable way i'd do it is by joining the army and going in as an 88M. at least i won't be a total, 100% sitting duck.

the money the contractors are offering isn't worth it to me. i'd rather drive through storms that produce tornadoes, or have the potential to.

 

Well if you are interested go to KBR jobs website now. They just posted a load of heavy truck driver jobs on there. 3 years OTR, hazmat, and tanker. Good luck.