My good friend was offered a big $$ job in Iraq

He is a carpenter and he was offered $20,000 a month to work in Iraq. he makes about 25$ an hour here. How many Iraqi carpenters can you hire for that kind of money? At least 20. All that money were pouring into Iraq is going right into the pockets of americans. Why arent Iraqis doing the work? Bye the way, he turned it down. When I asked him why he said, "Karma".

I would be sorely tempted to take it, just because I'm that broke. I could live on 20K for about a year and a half. Sigh.

you would have trouble dealing with it. Principles and all that. They get in the way of blind self interest.

I was offered a position in Iraq, also, and was sore tempted ... but decided it was just too slimy. Glad I turned it down.

I'm an EMT basic, and if I could go over there and do medical care for a month and come home with enough money to live on for 18 months, I would be sorely tempted to do it.

But "tempted" isn't doing it. I couldn't. Not even for my own sake -- if I die, I die, and people get shot and killed every day right here in the US -- but because it would be tacit support for a war I oppose with every fiber of my being.

and agree, even tho your position there at least would be humanitarian in nature, and mine would definitely not have been so.

That's very bad mojo. Thank him for me, FWIW.

and there are many companies hiring for work over there. so many little no-name companies created by former military members. amazing reallocation of our treasury. no more social services, no more pension funds, no more relief for elderly. just defense defense defense.

and you have to have/get clearance to work on so many. my cynicism sees one big screening process for who gets a piece or our treasury. disgusting. IMO this is panning out too well financially to be a product of bad luck and incompetence on the neo-cons/bush admin's part.

He has a 3 year old girl and a wife in school. But given the nature of the whole thing......from dead civilians to the lies that got us there in the first place, he just couldnt do it. Karma = Consience. Something many of our friends on the right ignore for profits.

I think Iraqi's make 40-60 per month or so in the "high paying good jobs"...

Halliburton. A teacher friend of mine - her husband has been hired by the evil empire as an EMT in Iraq. $150,000 a year - on four months, off two weeks, etc. He now only has to pass the psychological test before he is shipped off.

My former registrar at my work (who just got a promotion) suddenly resigned and starts at Halliburton in Carrollton, Tx. next Monday. When I asked her why she would work for the evil empire, she replied, "Wouldn't you take the job if you doubled your salary?"

Throwing out enough of OUR money to people until they crack and reach for the dough. Sad, but somewhat understandable. EMT's and those in the education profession, registrars included, don't make jack shit in this country. When somebody comes along and throws more money at them than they'll see in five years, a lot of people will put aside their morals and go for it.

If I'm faced with that choice, I know I will choose wisely and stay home. Too much bad karma wrapped up in that ball of insanity, not to mention it could be detrimintal to your health. I hope your friends come back from there safe and sound, and that they will be able to live with themselves and their decision once they are home. I know I certainly couldn't, but that's just how I'm put together, money isn't everything, in fact when you get right down to it, it is one of the lesser priorities to me:shrug:

And she couldn't turn down the money. My teacher friend (who is a hell of a teacher) is so burned out (easy in our profession) and will quit the moment her husband starts for Halliburton. She has all of her and her husband's debt paid off after 8 months. She hates to see him go, but he wasn't making anything as an emt here in the metroplex and they can't make ends meet.

It is heartbreaking. I am losing two friends to the evil empire.

On edit - my writing sucks. At home with strep.

what level of testing fits the scenario?

<He now only has to pass the psychological test before he is shipped off.>

I know. When my friend mentioned this, I thought "How ironic!"

On edit - changed punctuation. Not in my right mind. Maybe I need the psyc. eval.

tomorrow.

Go to www.dallaspeacecenter.org for details

12:00 noon to 2:00pm

We even have a local area band named "Halliburton" that will be there. I here they are quite good.

Come join us and help to spread the word.

Just to get to know who these guys are. Maybe some poor souls were duped into working for them, didn't realize what they were getting into. Needed the money, what segment of US population needs financial aid more than senior citizens, are they expected to sign up to so they can pay their medical bills?

"I too spent time in Iraq with Custer Battles. They are a frauduently company. Trust me, they are worried about $$ first and the employee/ bodies last. They will breach anyones contract, then screw them all the way home. Also don't trust there K9 division, there dogs are suppose to be BOMB dogs, I won't bet my life on the dogs finding anything. Also is a liar." (January 8, 2004)
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Custer_Battles

A new monster has emerged from the depths of private security firms
operating in IRaq. Custer Battles LLC, the new company that took over
security at the Baghdad Airport. The on-site management team is made up of
a bunch of former "army ranger" types that must have a real "treat" to work
for in the military. They could care less about the health or safety of
thier own staff never mind that of the innocent civilians working in and
around the airport. They promote a type of security that well crosses the
borders of decent treatment and humanitarian treatment. Constantly yelling
at thier own staff to "take no shit" , point weapons at innocent/unarmed
civilians, and "suck it up" when they have a complaint... they present as no
company that is certainly going to help with the problem of how Americans
are percieved in the area. Pointing weapons and threatening thier own staff
with being "escorted" to the propertly line and forceing those that wish to
quite or be fired to make thier take an "unarmed" ride without
communications through the country to get out.

They have hired 50 or so Ghurkas from Nepal to support the operation... but
pay them less than 1/4 of what most of the other staff gets. Forced to eat
Iraqi food without proper cooking and storing has made many of them sick...
and the management could care less. When faced with questions, they simply
place you in truck and send you unarmed and without communications to
Amman... where you have to find your own way home basically.

They have purchases thier own plane (the management) but still do not
properly equip thier own staff. They are forced to patrol the area in
sub-standard vehicles that creat yet another dangerous situation. These
vehicles are not robust enough to withstand a blowout never mind any other
attacks. With the 4 cylinder P/Us, the officers are not able to get out of
thier own way, never mind escape an attack or dangerous situation.

I encourage you to look into this type of activity and wast of our money in
Iraq.

http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/a-list/2003w33/msg00065.htm

Topic Page: 1 2 of 2
Kevwhite


USA
2 Posts
Posted - 09/22/2003 : 12:36:42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a warning to anyone considering a contract with Custer Battles LLC, of Fairfax,VA, the company currently awarded the contract to provide security at Baghdad International Airport. I was with them for the first month. The company repeatedly demonstrated signs of serious cash flow problems that effected their ability meet payrolls, both within country and also for all the Americans expecting direct deposits back home. We were all shorted on our first pay, at the end of July, and the promise to make up the difference by Aug 5 was not met. At that time the excuse was that it was easier to pay us the back wages along with our normal pay at the end of Aug. However, at least in my case, the Aug pay was also substantially light. As I had returned to the states due to a death in my family, and being owed nearly $2000, I opted to not return. There are also a number of issues, such as health and welfare concerns and generally poor management, that contributed to my decision. A number of other well qualified professionals have also left them. If you are a true professional you will not like working for them and you will not want your name associated with them.

tthrasher


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 11/13/2003 : 19:40:09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Could you email me with more info? I was planning on sending them my resume.


togeoff


United Kingdom
46 Posts
Posted - 11/17/2003 : 11:32:24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Kevwhite

Just a warning ..with them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I wouldn't mind more information myself - I too was looking at what they were offering.

Geoff H


RangerinIraq


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 11/25/2003 : 07:27:24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been with Custer Battles since they started here in Iraq in July. After my time in the Army, this has been the most rewarding experience I've had. Custer Battles has been good to me, and while they have definitely experienced growing pains, they take care of their people more than any company I know. The owners spend most of their time here, and they handle issues fairly and honorably.

I also know the guy who posted this note. He left the company after they paid $3000 up front to fly him home for a family emergency and he repays them by posting crap like this.

All I know is that I enjoy what I do and I'd recommend Custer Battles to anyone. They're definitely hiring and expanding; send em your resume.




t


1 Posts
Posted - 12/22/2003 : 17:34:46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.


alan_w


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 12/26/2003 : 09:42:55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More info please. Been offered a contract.


divdoc


USA
3 Posts
Posted - 12/28/2003 : 01:14:18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Kevwhite

Just a warning to anyone considering a contract with Custer Battles LLC, of Fairfax,VA, the company currently awarded the contract to provide security at Baghdad International Airport. I was with them for the first month. The company repeatedly demonstrated signs of serious cash flow problems that effected their ability meet payrolls, both within country and also for all the Americans expecting direct deposits back home. We were all shorted on our first pay, at the end of July, and the promise to make up the difference by Aug 5 was not met. At that time the excuse was that it was easier to pay us the back wages along with our normal pay at the end of Aug. However, at least in my case, the Aug pay was also substantially light. As I had returned to the states due to a death in my family, and being owed nearly $2000, I opted to not return. There are also a number of issues, such as health and welfare concerns and generally poor management, that contributed to my decision. A number of other well qualified professionals have also left them. If you are a true professional you will not like working for them and you will not want your name associated with them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks for the heads-up. I work for ITT/Group4 in Bosnia. The same advice and avoidance should be applied.


custerbattlesisajoke


2 Posts
Posted - 01/08/2004 : 19:43:10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I too spent time in Iraq with Custer Battles. They are a frauduently company. Trust me, they are worried about $$ first and the employee/ bodies last. They will breach anyones contract, then screw them all the way home.

Also don't trust there K9 division, there dogs are suppose to be BOMB dogs, I won't bet my life on the dogs finding anything. Also Jerry Johnson is a liar.




lawdoggs86


USA
3 Posts
Posted - 02/06/2004 : 00:56:00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you work for a Defense Contractor in Iraq or elswhere?

Have you been mistreated, abused, injured on the job?

Send your e-mail, (names are not necessary) and a short description of your situation to: lawdoggs86@yahoo.com

We are preparing lists of personnel to mount mass torts, (class action lawsuits) against the various contracting organizations that have abused, mistreated and otherwise maligned security and other contracting professionals in this, our nation's time of crisis.

While our soldiers die in Iraq everyday, these companies only talk about greed, greed, greed.

Information will be sent to you about the various attournies and other legal organizations you can contact to put a stop to these insidious abuses.

lawdoggs86@yahoo.com


csdickey


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 02/09/2004 : 04:36:43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by t

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Enzo


Germany
5 Posts
Posted - 02/10/2004 : 08:09:53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by csdickey


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by t

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Has someone any adresses from serious companies,maybe UXO-related,in the area?
Thank´s,Enzo

SL


lawdoggs86


USA
3 Posts
Posted - 02/12/2004 : 13:05:15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you work for a Defense Contractor in Iraq or elswhere?

Have you been mistreated, abused, injured on the job?

Send your e-mail, (names are not necessary) and a short description of your situation to: lawdoggs86@yahoo.com

Also, if you know of other message boards, send that information as well. We will band together a network to stop these people from their sick and disgusting practices which are ruining our lives and costing our noble troops their's.

Whether you work for: Brown & Root/Haliburton

DynCorp

Custer Battles

ITT

or other corrupt contracting organization, you need to take a stand.

Don't be fooled. These people have strong lobbies in Washington and deep pockets filled, not only with tax payers fraudulently acquired dollars, but politicians and high ranking military officials as well.

This is not a joke. If we don't start standing up to these filthy thieves, nobody will.

I did not serve my country to let that happen. Nor, I believe, did you.

start here: http://www.alexanderlaw.com /

all information is strictly confidential.

We are preparing lists of personnel to mount mass torts, (class action lawsuits) against the various contracting organizations that have abused, mistreated and otherwise maligned security and other contracting professionals in this, our nation's time of crisis.

While our soldiers die in Iraq everyday, these companies only talk about greed, greed, greed.

Information will be sent to you about the various attornies and other legal organizations you can contact to put a stop to these insidious abuses.

lawdoggs86@yahoo.com


custerbattlesisajoke


2 Posts
Posted - 02/13/2004 : 16:59:42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At least we weren't the only ones with out body armour. Guns with 2 or 3 bullets. Custer Battles, needs to be investigated for Fraud! At least I am home, I have heard othe horror stories of the way they treat there people.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by csdickey


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by t

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Duke


1 Posts
Posted - 03/05/2004 : 18:48:48
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like some additional info too - like tthrasher, I am/was considering some work for them...would like to hear more about what they are not doing well...

Thanks

D


ScottK


USA
4 Posts
Posted - 03/13/2004 : 13:44:33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any updates on this company? Email me if you don't want to post.


susanskate


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 03/23/2004 : 14:07:09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,
I am a foreign correspondent for a major U.S. newspaper working on stories about problems with subcontractors in Iraq - if you have specific examples of any problems, or have worked for a subcontractor I would like to hear from you!




Posted - 04/09/2004 : 20:01:12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a journalist for a UK paper reporting a story about a Custer Battles employee killed this week in an ambush near Hit.
Would any Custer employees with relevant information please email me asap.


Temps From Texas
Half a world away, another group of unemployed workers can be found at recruiting sessions in Houston. The company has been posting flyers at truck stops and posting advertisements on the internet. Four out of five of the recruits who are invited to training sessions who worked at a now defunct JC Penny store will be sent to Iraq. Halliburton sends an average of 500 recruits a week.

These men are not skilled. "They are unemployed and underemployed workers with few jobs in a U.S. economy that isn't producing many jobs," writes Russell Gold, a Wall Street Journal reporter. Gold interviewed men lining up for the training sessions, citing the example of one typical applicant whose previous job was transporting chickens for $12 an hour.

But when they arrive in Iraq, their navy blue American passports earn them a tidy sum of money: between $7,000 and $8,000 a month, generous sums, even by American standards. CorpWatch asked company spokesperson Norcross why there is such a huge disparity based on nationality in the wages Halliburton pays in Iraq.

"We will not discuss our specific wage structures. Our compensation packages and the compensation packages provided by our subcontractors are based on a wage scale that was recommended by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and are competitive in terms of the local market," she wrote back.

When I posed the same question to Army spokesperson Dowling, we got a more revealing answer.

"These workers consider themselves fortunate to have jobs even if it means them traveling somewhere else. There is an army of companies that move from conflict to conflict with experience in setting up chow halls from an empty field to a 1,000 army camp in a matter of days. It's not an easy job and these guys are good at it. They bring their own people with them - people with experience in other military locations," Dowling explained.

"The (salary) decision is not based on the value of his life but on the cost of training and equipping the workforce. Nor would it be right for the US Army to enforce US based salaries where no one else could match it. Life sometimes isn't fair," he concluded.

I'm sure Al Rasheed waiters Muzaffar, Shahnawaz and Ali would agree.

http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=9928

Get to know Halliburton


During 2002 the Securities and Exchange Commission undertook an investigation of Halliburton's accounting practices, relating to events in 1998, which has not been completed.

Halliburton's "current contract in Kuwait began in September 2002 when Joyce Taylor of the U.S. Army Materiel Command's Program Management Office, arrived to supervise approximately 1,800 Brown and Root employees to set up tent cities that would provide accommodation for tens of thousands of soldiers and officials."<8>

The Center for Cooperative Research says "Manipulating U.S. foreign policy isn¹t the only strategy in Halliburton¹s repertoire of means to securing profits. Another method that has apparently proven extremely successful is doing business with the government and bidding on contracts financed by U.S. dominated bilateral and multilateral aid agencies. Although Dick Cheney had once lashed out at Joseph I. Lieberman saying that his success at Halliburton 'had absolutely nothing to do with' the government, the real facts have shown otherwise." Cooperative Research calls this practice corporate welfare. The organization gives a detailed listing of Halliburton's business dealings in this regard.


http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Halliburton

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-fifth session
Item 5 of the provisional agenda




THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION AND ITS
APPLICATION TO PEOPLES UNDER COLONIAL OR ALIEN
DOMINATION OR FOREIGN OCCUPATION


Report on the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of
violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the
right of peoples to self-determination, submitted by
Mr. Enrique Bernales Ballesteros (Peru), Special Rapporteur
pursuant to Commission resolution 1998/6


http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/%28Symbol%29/E.CN.4.1999.1...


REGULATING THE NEW PRIVATEERS: PRIVATE MILITARY SERVICE CONTRACTING AND THE MODERN MARQUE AND REPRISAL CLAUSE
Matt Gaul
http://faculty.lls.edu/~manheimk/ns/gaul2.htm

INTERNATIONAL -- INT'L COVER STORY

Outsourcing War
An inside look at Brown & Root, the kingpin of America's new military-industrial complex

Early on the morning of Aug. 5, a U.S. mail convoy pulled out of the airport in Baghdad and headed north. A U.S. Army Humvee bristling with weaponry led the way, followed by three heavily loaded trucks, each driven by a civilian employee of Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR). A second military Humvee brought up the rear. Near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, a bomb detonated under one of the trucks. The military police pried its driver, Fred Bryant Jr., from the wreckage and raced him to a military field hospital. Bryant, 39, died en route, the first KBR combat casualty since the Texas contractor was founded in 1919.

Bryant's death underscores the U.S. military's heavy reliance on private military companies, or PMCs, to wage war in Iraq. By most estimates, civilian contractors are handling as much as 20% to 30% of essential military support services in Iraq. Scores of PMCs are active all across the country, but KBR in particular has become indispensable to the global projection of American military might in this unsettled age. "It is no exaggeration to say that wherever the U.S. military goes, so goes Brown & Root," says P.W. Singer, a Brookings Institution fellow and author of Corporate Warriors. Widely known as Brown & Root, KBR is a unit of oil-services giant Halliburton Co. (HAL ) -- Dick Cheney's old company.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_37/b3849012.htm



In one moment in time, our Service members will be feeding and clothing displaced refugees - providing humamitarian assistance. In the next moment, they will be holding two warring tribes apart - comducting peacekeeping operations. Finally, they will be fighting a highly lethal mid-intensity battle. All in the same day, all within three city blocks. It will be what we call the three block war.

General Charles C. Krulak, 31st Commandant, USMC Halliburton

He knew what he was getting into

Especially for folks like this, they are selling their moral logic and understanding for money which is usually not smart in the long run.

"People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply; by the lives they lead. -James Baldwin"

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche"

"By means of shrewd lies, unremittingly repeated, it is possible to make people believe that heaven is hell -- and hell heaven. The greater the lie, the more readily it will be believed. -Adolf Hitler"

http://www.miniluv.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=471

some sort of IT work in Baghdad. It would've totalled $1.5 million. He was tempted, but he turned it down on principle (and probably a sense of self-preservation, which isn't bad either). The job market here sucks- especially for people in his field, so it must've been a very tough decision.

*edit* corrected numbers- checked the email. lol

and they turned it down? Something about wanting to stay alive, I believe.

Was this a private contractor, or was it the Gov.?

My brother and I have discussed this before. I am an engineer, and I am reluctant to work for certain companies (their names come up often around here). Is is morally acceptable to take a job with a higher salary doing something you do not agree with, if you contribute a significant chunk of that salary to organizations that ofset the harm done by the company that employs you?

Could your friend work in Iraq if he gave half of that money to, for example, Red Crescent?

I am interested to hear replies.