permison Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 Anyone over in Iraq as a civilian (or military) living in the green zone willing to give some hints of what life is like? I am looking at taking a civilian aviator position and want to know what I am getting into. Specifically I am looking at what it is like in the zone as a civilian, what people do when not working, what the living conditions are like and the food, etc....Permison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goromadgo Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I don't know too much about conditions about the Green Zone, but the few times I stopped through it was pretty cush living. They do get rocket/mortared pretty regularily, but that was when I was there almost a year ago. Could be different now. Living accomidations are nice there, generally speaking, but vary by location. At most of the built up locations the food is pretty good, but the menu is the same every week and tends to get old (repetitive) after being there for a few months. When you aren't working there are usually limited amount of things to do (no clubs downtown of course!) Hit the gym, go to the shops (if there are some at your location), go to the MWR for pool/ping-pong/etc. All depends on location a lot over there. A lot of the bigger places even offer internet service in your room for a fee. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linc Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 They have pools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
permison Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 They have pools? Olympic sized even Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goromadgo Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 We had a pool (indoors) at our FOB in Baghdad, until the building took damage from incoming fire. I was talking about pool tables; though, as they are more common... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin DBC Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 As stated above, there isn't much of a night life unless you like the MWR (ping pong, pool, air hockey if you're lucky...). That being said, the pay you get as a civilian contractor is great and you don't need to be in uniform 24-7. As far as the living conditions go... Not sure how it was for the contractors, but even for an enlisted infantryman it was great at a less coushy base than the green zone. It gets boring, but just use the time to get insanely ripped so you can come home and impress the Mrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captkirkyota Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Is there ANY entry level type jobs over there? Heli-pilot or otherwise. Maybe a turn over there to get some cash to help pay down these loans for a while until the CFI market picks back up is in order. Anyone know of anything? I've got a CDL...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
permison Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Is there ANY entry level type jobs over there? Heli-pilot or otherwise. Maybe a turn over there to get some cash to help pay down these loans for a while until the CFI market picks back up is in order. Anyone know of anything? I've got a CDL...... Yes, try the UAS/UAV companies. Operators (What UAV pilots are called) are in serious demand and since you have flight experance you are highly competitive. The FAA is working on (Pilot?) certifications for UAV operators so it could lead to a career here in the states as well. Companies I talked with are paying well over 6 figures during the time you are deployed (but you have to deploy to combat zones). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
permison Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 I've been getting a lot of PMs about this so I am just going to post here. The following is a list of UAV companies. All of these operate unarmed recon UAVs. Each team consists of pilots, system operators (ie camera guys) and engineers (mechanics/launch crew). Base pay BEGINS at $50,000/year (or more, based on experience and qualifications). 3 month training period at full pay. Keep in mind that you will PROBABLY be sent overseas for at least one 6-month tour. If you cant handle that at all, dont apply. If you can, the pay while you are deployed will be nearly THREE TIMES your base pay. Also...zero expenses, and safety is as assured as they can make it. Clients include military, police, border patrol, NOAA, National Weaher Service, and NASA. They are now being used as hurricane hunters in Florida - one survived 7 hours inside a Cat 3 hurricane. In 10 years, I bet they will be delivering pizza with them, no joke.Best of luck, and let me know if you need anything else. Try these companies.www.aaicorp.com www.battlespace.comwww.navmar.comwww.uavpro.comwww.compass-sys-inc.comsitu.comwww.ga-asi.com Permison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin DBC Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Is there ANY entry level type jobs over there? Heli-pilot or otherwise. Maybe a turn over there to get some cash to help pay down these loans for a while until the CFI market picks back up is in order. Anyone know of anything? I've got a CDL...... I didn't know civilians were operating UAVs over there... I need to look into that. Anyways, If you have a CDL and for some reason the UAV thing doesn't work out, there is plenty of work for truck drivers through KBR and a whole slew of other contractors. The problem is that the high paying jobs involve long convoys that are a magnet for scumbags. I've heard things have calmed down since I was there (05-06), but when we would see a civilian truck convoy we would do all we could to avoid it because they are almost certain to get ambushed. If you don't mind the danger though, there is some good money to be made in it. For a bit less pay, you can also use the CDL to drive a shuttle bus around on the bases. J- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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