[Hal Romberg]

Hi from camp Slayer, located in sunny Baghdad. It took long enough, but I'm finally here. It's friggin surreal, Pallaces, beautiful sunsets over fish filled lakes, surrounded by date palms and Mulberry bushes, and always glancing at your watch to see if the thing that went boom was an EOD blast or someone getting shelled. :D Other than that, it's like being back in the army again, only with lots better pay. Thank Bush for having KBR pull out all the stops with the air conditioning. I've got a feeling we're going to need it.

Hal

BTW, this is the first chance I've had to log in for a long time. Sorry about not answering some of those PMs in my inbox.

[Fly Navy]

Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself. Stay safe.

[sitkablacktail]

Ah Baghdad in the spring, thanks for doing your part for us back home. Keep yourself safe.

[PATH]

Keep yourself safe and duck at all the appropriate times. Summer is mighty warm there. Enjoy!;)

[4570Rick]

Have fun...But watch your 6.:uhoh: :)

[Leatherneck]

Hey Hal, be careful. Seems like it's open season on American contractors recently. Keep us posted!

TC
TFL Survivor

[Hal Romberg]

Hopefully that's just contractors who run around Falujah unescorted. Dunno.... Anyway, my a$$ is stayin in the rear with the gear. (if there IS a rear that is....)
:D
Not being hired as a gunslinger, I'm planning to stay pretty much in secure areas. Of course there's always the added benefit that those areas tend to be the nicest real estate too.

[sturmruger]

Good Luck and stay safe. If you haven't posted this yet I would interested to hear some of the story behind how you got accepted to go over there. What the aplication process was like and how long it took.

thanks

[Atticus]

Good to hear from you. Stay safe and keep us posted.

[cameroneod]

always glancing at your watch to see if the thing that went boom was an EOD blast


:D :D :D

I'll be there shortly. ;) Glad its going OK for you.

[Bravo11]

What do you do over there Hal? Job?

[Jim March]

Dude, you may not be PAID to be a gunslinger, but I hope you're at least doing so personally :uhoh:.

[Wedge]

So what are you carrying over there?

One of the guys from work got called up, so if you see a pi$$ed off air force truck driver be nice to him.

[OEF_VET]

Stay safe.

[BigG]

Hal: Watch six. Come back safe! :cool:

[Hal Romberg]

CENTCOM doesn't want contractors carrying right now unless it's part of their job. I'm a paper pusher, so what I "carry" is a camp full of rather pissed off, heavily armed troops. I'm hoping that changes soon, because even being shot at indirectly gets wierd if you don't have the option of shooting back. I thought about bringing one on my own, but it wouldn't have made it through customs on the way over. Who knows, maybe somebody will send me a 9mm care package. Anyway, I wouldn't want some of the jokers around here carrying. Maybe it's a failing of cultural relevance on my part, but I'm just not comfy around armed locals. I don't trust their idea of gun safety. The whole concept of celebratory gunfire escapes me. :D :D

Due to opsec concerns, it's probably not wise to tell the whole net too much about anybody's job over here. More importantly, paper pushing isn't very impressive. Basically, I'm logistics and admin support to the troops. It's rewarding, but only because of theoverall mission, the folks I'm working with and the er....reward at the end of the pay period.

Selection process:
Folks all over the spectrum are contracting out jobs that traditionally have been done by soldiers, because the sustained optempo required to do this job right is more than our forces are designed to provide. Lots of the gigs over here need a security clearance, and if you have one and are willing to deploy you're probably going to get hired by someone. Since most of the deployable clearances are either deployed already or not willing to go, the price is getting pretty high for those of us who can afford to drop everything and go live in a war zone for a while. (good for the pocket book) I got a cold call based on a resume I had on line. I talked for a few minutes on the phone and they made an offer. Much haggling, a trip to Benning, many shots, and lots of paperwork later, here I am, doing much what I did before, only now in prettier if more dangerous surroundings.

[The_Antibubba]

See if one of the troops can locate a liberated Mak. They're abuse-proof and very dependable.

[Hal Romberg]

Not a bad idea. Finding ammo might be a PITA, but that's just the kind of thing wish I had as an OH $HIT option.

[0007]

Jordanian friend of mine told me that before the war you could buy a "klashnikov or Browning HP ther for $5.00. After the war the price went to $1000.00. Whatever, I'd sure keep in mind that centcom would much rather do the paper work to cover your being killed by a bad guy then the paperwork to cover your accidentally shooting yourself or someone else with a personal firearm... They REALLY DON'T have your best interests at heart. Drop me a line if there is anything(legal) I can send over to you from here.

[VaughnT]

Good to hear that your safe, Hal. I was wondering what became of you and am glad that your happy in your position.

I'm definitely jealous, though. Hopefully, I'll be in Qatar by the end of the year. Tax free? Gotta love that pay scale!

Watch your back and come home soon.

[Hal Romberg]

You'll be fully tax free if you're a soldier, but only the first 80K is exempt if you're a contractor like me. You have to be here a whole year to get the exemption too. The 80K deduction helps a lot, but I'll still be paying a boatload of taxes. Guess I'll need to buy my new boat sooner rather than later, so I can have a residential deduction sooner. Woe is me ;)

[Tom Bri]

What are they paying English teachers? ;)