Gravel footstep crush
Zippers, buckels, snoring, light
Ali Al Salem
Monday, February 28, 2011
Haiku
Yes, I wrote a Haiku. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a little nuts to begin with, but being trapped in Kuwait, waiting for a flight outta here is driving me even crazier. In my opinion, 1 day spent here is one day too much - and I'm now on day 9. I've been as close as #41 on "the list", and since, have been 63, 98, 103, 141 - not necessarily in that order. Its been up & down and, ironically, am back to 41 again today. I need to get where I'm going, get unpacked, get organized & get to work! Anyone who's stayed in the lovely "Tent City" here in Kuwait can probably relate to my little Haiku, below:
Gravel footstep crush
Zippers, buckels, snoring, light
Ali Al Salem
Gravel footstep crush
Zippers, buckels, snoring, light
Ali Al Salem
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Villa
Just a quick post to provide a current status. Right now - I'm staying in what is called "The Villa" - a home in Kuwait City owned by my company. Its pretty nice - and large - and is providing accomodations for myself & 20+ fellow contractors that will be deployed out to various sites around Afghanistan & Iraq. Sure, we're all going to be sleeping in one room, and we still have bunk beds which have become the norm for my stays so far - but, we're off the transient base in Kuwait for a few days, have TV, some nice furniture to sit on, good food and free internet! Now, the internet is nice - when only one person is using it - but we all try to hop on at the same time & it grinds to a halt. SO, I'm continuing to hold off on pictures for now - its just not feasible. Plus, to be honest, most of what I've seen has been pretty boring. Nonetheless, I'll get some pics up when I find a semi-reliable internet connection with moderate speed. I'm thinking I'll make an album or two on Facebook to place all the pics I have up to the point I get to my actual base - and after that will post all future pics here on the blog. As usual, I'm beat tired - so I'm going to sign off for now, kick back & get some sleep.
PS: The weather here in Kuwait is great. Low to mid 70's during the day and mid to upper 50's at night. Yesterday it was hot in the morning, but cooled down quickly as the day wore on. Some hefty winds arrived which caused the blowing sand to mask the sun for the most part. We had light drizzles throughout the day - and even a decent rain shower in the early morning hours. Today was beautiful - but most of it was spent doing training & processing by "the company".
PS: The weather here in Kuwait is great. Low to mid 70's during the day and mid to upper 50's at night. Yesterday it was hot in the morning, but cooled down quickly as the day wore on. Some hefty winds arrived which caused the blowing sand to mask the sun for the most part. We had light drizzles throughout the day - and even a decent rain shower in the early morning hours. Today was beautiful - but most of it was spent doing training & processing by "the company".
Sunday, February 20, 2011
CRC
Alright - finally a little time where I can actually sit at a table, have (spotty) internet access and have the energy to write. I just arrived in Kuwait - awaiting confirmation of where in A'stand I'll be headed to and getting the final processing from my company. For now, I'll describe the "CRC" phase of the whole civilian I.T. contractor experience.
CRC stands for Conus (meaning Continental US) Replacement Center. The way I understand it - it is the process that the following groups must go through prior to shipping out to their respective overseas combat zone units: Active Duty Army personnel meeting stragglers, DoD civilians (federal employees), Civilian contractors (me), Interpreters.
It reminded me much of my training days (A & C schools) after Navy boot camp. You're not completely treated like a child - but there are moments. I won't get into the details of everything (you can google "CRC ft benning to find some decent write-ups), but just highlight a few things. I'll also focus only on the contractor experience & skip other three groups. While there were some evolutions we did as a single unit - most of the time, units were processed with their respective units only.
Most of the folks who I met in the contractors group are former miliary. Some were even retirees as recent as the first of the month after 22 years of service! But most of us had done our 4 and got out - and felt this was something we both wanted to handle & could handle. There were only a handful of folks who had never served - and its these folks that the training aspect of CRC is mostly geared towards.
Which leads me to what all goes down in CRC. The first day starts on Saturday - and the last day is the following Friday - where, if you have successfully passed each evolution, you will fly out & head to wherever you're being assigned to. Each day is broken down into different events. There is a medical & dental day, where your physical, shot records, & other pertinent info are screened for completeness & to ensure you don't have any disqualifying factors. Some people do in fact receive "no-go" status if things aren't in order.
There is a day of IED & combat first aid training. They DO go hand in hand after all. And they are a stark reminder that you are definitely heading to a war zone. Good info is provided - and while it is not in depth training, I feel comfortable in my awareness - and my ability to act should the shit hit the fan. Oh - and this day was described in our itinerary as "death by powerpoint day" - but it really wasn't that bad. We had a great group of instructors and they did a great job keeping you on your toes. Powerpoints were actually not present in every class either.
Another day is spent receiving your government ID card (CAC card as it's called), and military provided gear (TA-50 gear). Our time spent getting gear was quick & easy; the active duty folks had just the opposite experience. Our ID card issue on the other hand, felt like one of slowest days of my life. About the gear - civilian contractors will receive the bare necessity (as of this writing) to include: protective vest, helmet, first aid pouch (minus a decent kit to put in it!), a sleeping bag (if heading to Afghanistan or a cold weather climate), a gas mask & two standard green duffle bags. We're told ahead of time that this bag is full - so don't plan on using it. And, for the most part - they're right. I was able to fit only a small handful of items into my TA-50 gear bag.
Those are the evolutions worth mentioning. There are several other formations that take place, where you'll meet your company liason, or go over this or that paperwork, etc. Nothing exciting takes place for the whole week to be honest. If you attend CRC, plan on a screwy sleep schedule, lots of down time & waiting and pretty good food.
The last day - without getting into too much detail is your departure day. Items of note: your carry on bag must meet certain requirements in size. To make things "easy", CRC provides a couple of boxes for you to test fit your bag into. The rule is, if it doesn't fit - you won't be able to bring it. You will be able to remove your laptop from the bag before testing - so this will save you an inch or so - but that's not much. You will have to prove your bag can fit into the box twice on departure day - once at the morning's formation, and again just prior to boarding your aircraft. I will say this: I stressed about my bag - a standard size bag pack filled to the gills. I passed each time & was waived past the actual inserting of my bag into the box when it was my turn to drop it in to test it. If your bag is obviously too large to be a carry on - you may get stopped & have to deal with it. So try to pack as light as possible & only bring "mission essential" gear.
I think I'll wrap up this post. There are more items I could get into & information I could provide, but to be honest, I'm pretty tired, and CRC really was such a boring process, I don't want to relive another minute of it. Feel free to ask questions though & I'll do my best to answer them. Also - I'm pretty sure future posts will be both tiny & include more pictures as my time & internet access become more limited. I think I'll go dust off my rack & lay down for a few!
CRC stands for Conus (meaning Continental US) Replacement Center. The way I understand it - it is the process that the following groups must go through prior to shipping out to their respective overseas combat zone units: Active Duty Army personnel meeting stragglers, DoD civilians (federal employees), Civilian contractors (me), Interpreters.
It reminded me much of my training days (A & C schools) after Navy boot camp. You're not completely treated like a child - but there are moments. I won't get into the details of everything (you can google "CRC ft benning to find some decent write-ups), but just highlight a few things. I'll also focus only on the contractor experience & skip other three groups. While there were some evolutions we did as a single unit - most of the time, units were processed with their respective units only.
Most of the folks who I met in the contractors group are former miliary. Some were even retirees as recent as the first of the month after 22 years of service! But most of us had done our 4 and got out - and felt this was something we both wanted to handle & could handle. There were only a handful of folks who had never served - and its these folks that the training aspect of CRC is mostly geared towards.
Which leads me to what all goes down in CRC. The first day starts on Saturday - and the last day is the following Friday - where, if you have successfully passed each evolution, you will fly out & head to wherever you're being assigned to. Each day is broken down into different events. There is a medical & dental day, where your physical, shot records, & other pertinent info are screened for completeness & to ensure you don't have any disqualifying factors. Some people do in fact receive "no-go" status if things aren't in order.
There is a day of IED & combat first aid training. They DO go hand in hand after all. And they are a stark reminder that you are definitely heading to a war zone. Good info is provided - and while it is not in depth training, I feel comfortable in my awareness - and my ability to act should the shit hit the fan. Oh - and this day was described in our itinerary as "death by powerpoint day" - but it really wasn't that bad. We had a great group of instructors and they did a great job keeping you on your toes. Powerpoints were actually not present in every class either.
Another day is spent receiving your government ID card (CAC card as it's called), and military provided gear (TA-50 gear). Our time spent getting gear was quick & easy; the active duty folks had just the opposite experience. Our ID card issue on the other hand, felt like one of slowest days of my life. About the gear - civilian contractors will receive the bare necessity (as of this writing) to include: protective vest, helmet, first aid pouch (minus a decent kit to put in it!), a sleeping bag (if heading to Afghanistan or a cold weather climate), a gas mask & two standard green duffle bags. We're told ahead of time that this bag is full - so don't plan on using it. And, for the most part - they're right. I was able to fit only a small handful of items into my TA-50 gear bag.
Those are the evolutions worth mentioning. There are several other formations that take place, where you'll meet your company liason, or go over this or that paperwork, etc. Nothing exciting takes place for the whole week to be honest. If you attend CRC, plan on a screwy sleep schedule, lots of down time & waiting and pretty good food.
The last day - without getting into too much detail is your departure day. Items of note: your carry on bag must meet certain requirements in size. To make things "easy", CRC provides a couple of boxes for you to test fit your bag into. The rule is, if it doesn't fit - you won't be able to bring it. You will be able to remove your laptop from the bag before testing - so this will save you an inch or so - but that's not much. You will have to prove your bag can fit into the box twice on departure day - once at the morning's formation, and again just prior to boarding your aircraft. I will say this: I stressed about my bag - a standard size bag pack filled to the gills. I passed each time & was waived past the actual inserting of my bag into the box when it was my turn to drop it in to test it. If your bag is obviously too large to be a carry on - you may get stopped & have to deal with it. So try to pack as light as possible & only bring "mission essential" gear.
I think I'll wrap up this post. There are more items I could get into & information I could provide, but to be honest, I'm pretty tired, and CRC really was such a boring process, I don't want to relive another minute of it. Feel free to ask questions though & I'll do my best to answer them. Also - I'm pretty sure future posts will be both tiny & include more pictures as my time & internet access become more limited. I think I'll go dust off my rack & lay down for a few!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Home Sweet Home
For the next week at least. I swear, it's like the Hilton inside!
- Posted from my iPhone
- Posted from my iPhone
The Hiring Process - Part II
So I'm now at CRC & waiting for my first "formation" - where I'll meet up with my company's liaison & find what to expect the rest of the week. Figure since I've got an hour to kill, I may as well get this last part of the process outlined for those of you wanting to know what to expect.
Once you accept your company's offer - you'll be provided a list of items that must be done and done quickly. If you accomplish all of it within X number of days, you may even be entitled to a bonus.
First & foremost - if you don't already have it, you will need to get a security related certification, per DoD regulations for all I.T. personnel. Depending on what level your job position is, it may be as "simple" as the CompTIA Security+ test, or, it could be the CISSP if you're an engineer or senior level position. I suggest getting your test scheduled ASAP for 1 - 1 1/2 weeks out. The reason being, testing centers may be limited to both your location, and open seats. Be sure to begin studying/cramming immediately. In the event you should fail, you will still have a week or so to retake before you meet the "deadline" to get all of your prereq's completed.
You will need to complete a thorough employment application, as well as provide extensive employment history information. In addition, there will be several forms that state you're giving your hiring company permission to access any & all records that pertain to your job: medical, employment, credit, etc.
The next thing required is scheduling a physical. Your company will put you in touch with a local occupational health clinic who schedule you to come in for about an hour, hour and a half to get checked over. Pretty basic stuff: consult with a doc, get all of your measurements, perform a hearing test & drug test. You will need to provide any immunization records that you may have as well, so they can review and schedule you at a later date to get brought up to speed. I failed to provide one of my inoculations from a prior employer at that time and have to get it a second time for this opportunity. Sort of a "waste", but "the company" needs to cover their butts, so I have to get it again. As I'm not a fan of needles (or possible side effects from immunizations), I will be sure to not make this mistake again.
If you don't have a passport or your birth certificate original - you'll need both of those. Your county should be able to provide you with an "original" copy of your birth certificate for a moderate fee in the range of $20 (may be reimbursable by your company - so save your receipts! Worse case, save the receipts for tax time to make a write off). I mention the birth certificate first because you will need that for your passport. Your company will likely have a "passport expediter" that they utilize to get your passport in a hurry (roughly 7 days from the time you submit it to them). In a nutshell, you will take a couple of passport photo's (that you can get at any CVS, Walgreen's, etc for $12), the form that you fill online (2 copies of it!) with the government passport website (being sure to choose the "expedite" option) and about $125 to your local passport office. In Ohio, I was able to go to a local title bureau. They fill out their end of the paperwork, and instead of processing it themselves, they will return it to you in a sealed envelope. You will then overnight this envelope to the expediting company who will walk it through in D.C. for you. A week later, it will be overnighted back to you. Sign it - and make a color copy for your company.
At some point, you should be asked to fill out an "eQIP" - which is the security clearance questionnaire if you don't already have an active security clearance. This was one of the last items in the process for me. Be truthful. And keep in mind, most of it only goes back 7 - 10 years, so anything you may have done that wasn't favorable in your youth is irrelevant. Eh-hehm! Prior to my "departure" - I also had an hour long personal interview with someone from OPM. They'll more or less just review what you submitted on the form, taking notes the entire time and looking for you to elaborate on some items.
And finally, you'll get the call back to get your shots up to date. I required 6 in one sitting. And I had to make a nice long drive to get to a facility that carried all of the shots in their office. Even though a couple local places had a few of the shots - I was not permitted to visit both and get what I needed from each. I had to go to one place, far away to get poked all at once. And about 2 hours after getting them - I was sicker than a dog. Fever, chills, stuff coming out of my eyes. I was miserable. But it passed within 24 hours - and was normal according to the different fact sheets I read for all of the shots I received.
The above items WILL take about 14 days. Fortunately, that was within the 18 day period that made me eligible for a small bonus - yay! Once you have passed everything successfully (with the exception of your security clearance - they will likely issue you an interim - and in the event you do NOT pass it 30/60/90 days down the road, you'll get fired & sent back home), you will be provided your date to attend CRC (Conus Replacement Center) for 1 week to get some orientation, verification of records/prereqs, and issuance of necessary military gear before shipping out to your theatre of operations. Which is where I am now. And I'll continue to update this process as I experience it. Oh - and I will eventually have a post about the gear I packed. For now, I want to see if all that I brought is enough & necessary or if I over or under packed. We shall see.
Once you accept your company's offer - you'll be provided a list of items that must be done and done quickly. If you accomplish all of it within X number of days, you may even be entitled to a bonus.
First & foremost - if you don't already have it, you will need to get a security related certification, per DoD regulations for all I.T. personnel. Depending on what level your job position is, it may be as "simple" as the CompTIA Security+ test, or, it could be the CISSP if you're an engineer or senior level position. I suggest getting your test scheduled ASAP for 1 - 1 1/2 weeks out. The reason being, testing centers may be limited to both your location, and open seats. Be sure to begin studying/cramming immediately. In the event you should fail, you will still have a week or so to retake before you meet the "deadline" to get all of your prereq's completed.
You will need to complete a thorough employment application, as well as provide extensive employment history information. In addition, there will be several forms that state you're giving your hiring company permission to access any & all records that pertain to your job: medical, employment, credit, etc.
The next thing required is scheduling a physical. Your company will put you in touch with a local occupational health clinic who schedule you to come in for about an hour, hour and a half to get checked over. Pretty basic stuff: consult with a doc, get all of your measurements, perform a hearing test & drug test. You will need to provide any immunization records that you may have as well, so they can review and schedule you at a later date to get brought up to speed. I failed to provide one of my inoculations from a prior employer at that time and have to get it a second time for this opportunity. Sort of a "waste", but "the company" needs to cover their butts, so I have to get it again. As I'm not a fan of needles (or possible side effects from immunizations), I will be sure to not make this mistake again.
If you don't have a passport or your birth certificate original - you'll need both of those. Your county should be able to provide you with an "original" copy of your birth certificate for a moderate fee in the range of $20 (may be reimbursable by your company - so save your receipts! Worse case, save the receipts for tax time to make a write off). I mention the birth certificate first because you will need that for your passport. Your company will likely have a "passport expediter" that they utilize to get your passport in a hurry (roughly 7 days from the time you submit it to them). In a nutshell, you will take a couple of passport photo's (that you can get at any CVS, Walgreen's, etc for $12), the form that you fill online (2 copies of it!) with the government passport website (being sure to choose the "expedite" option) and about $125 to your local passport office. In Ohio, I was able to go to a local title bureau. They fill out their end of the paperwork, and instead of processing it themselves, they will return it to you in a sealed envelope. You will then overnight this envelope to the expediting company who will walk it through in D.C. for you. A week later, it will be overnighted back to you. Sign it - and make a color copy for your company.
At some point, you should be asked to fill out an "eQIP" - which is the security clearance questionnaire if you don't already have an active security clearance. This was one of the last items in the process for me. Be truthful. And keep in mind, most of it only goes back 7 - 10 years, so anything you may have done that wasn't favorable in your youth is irrelevant. Eh-hehm! Prior to my "departure" - I also had an hour long personal interview with someone from OPM. They'll more or less just review what you submitted on the form, taking notes the entire time and looking for you to elaborate on some items.
And finally, you'll get the call back to get your shots up to date. I required 6 in one sitting. And I had to make a nice long drive to get to a facility that carried all of the shots in their office. Even though a couple local places had a few of the shots - I was not permitted to visit both and get what I needed from each. I had to go to one place, far away to get poked all at once. And about 2 hours after getting them - I was sicker than a dog. Fever, chills, stuff coming out of my eyes. I was miserable. But it passed within 24 hours - and was normal according to the different fact sheets I read for all of the shots I received.
The above items WILL take about 14 days. Fortunately, that was within the 18 day period that made me eligible for a small bonus - yay! Once you have passed everything successfully (with the exception of your security clearance - they will likely issue you an interim - and in the event you do NOT pass it 30/60/90 days down the road, you'll get fired & sent back home), you will be provided your date to attend CRC (Conus Replacement Center) for 1 week to get some orientation, verification of records/prereqs, and issuance of necessary military gear before shipping out to your theatre of operations. Which is where I am now. And I'll continue to update this process as I experience it. Oh - and I will eventually have a post about the gear I packed. For now, I want to see if all that I brought is enough & necessary or if I over or under packed. We shall see.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Unpacked at CRC
Well - I'm in my room - actually in my bed - at CRC. All my gear made it safely and is now unpacked in a locker. Sharing a room with two American born Afghani Linguists. Couple of kids really. The one guy is afraid to sleep on his top bunk so he put his mattress on the floor. Lovely. I'm braving MY top bunk. Maybe he'll be encouraged to follow suite tomorrow. My other roommate is former Air Force that handles VOIP. He's been to Iraq as a civ contractor before & is a wealth of knowledge for me right now. He's heading to A'stan like me this time around. The rumor mill is flying with speculation about a bajillion different things. Best to just let it go in one ear & out the other & take each day as it comes. Alright, time to try to get some sleep. The "fun" begins tomorrow at 1000.
- Posted from my iPhone
- Posted from my iPhone
I'm Off
I know I still have to get into the actual screening/prerequisite process, but figure I should provide little updates along the way.
So today, I finally left the Cleveland area headed to Fort Benning, Georgia where I'll go through the "CRC" process: verification of my medical prereq's, etc, get some orientation on what I'm getting into, meet the hiring company liaison's and be issued my military gear (helmet, chest rig, medical kit, etc). This process begins on Saturday (tomorrow) and runs until my flight to Kuwait - where I "should" learn exactly where I'n going & what I'll be doing.
So flying into Atlanta, I met up with 4 other guys headed to the same place as me - with the same company, and some, hired on for the same position. It was eerily reminiscent of my initial arrival to San Diego in 1989 for Navy boot camp. One of my new coworkers reminded me that "...this should be MUCH easier though." We're now all packed on a van, on an hour and a half drive to the base. My butt hurts, I'm cramped, and hungry. Whatever.
So far, I learned the following rumors:
1. The CRC buildings may be full - so instead of sharing a room with 3 guys, I could "luck out" and get a hotel room
2. The likely final destination may very well be Kandahar Air Base.
3. If it is Kandahar, living conditions will likely be tents, as it is severely overcrowded.
We shall see what we shall see. I better get back to "sightseeing" along the Georgia highways...
- Posted from my iPhone
So today, I finally left the Cleveland area headed to Fort Benning, Georgia where I'll go through the "CRC" process: verification of my medical prereq's, etc, get some orientation on what I'm getting into, meet the hiring company liaison's and be issued my military gear (helmet, chest rig, medical kit, etc). This process begins on Saturday (tomorrow) and runs until my flight to Kuwait - where I "should" learn exactly where I'n going & what I'll be doing.
So flying into Atlanta, I met up with 4 other guys headed to the same place as me - with the same company, and some, hired on for the same position. It was eerily reminiscent of my initial arrival to San Diego in 1989 for Navy boot camp. One of my new coworkers reminded me that "...this should be MUCH easier though." We're now all packed on a van, on an hour and a half drive to the base. My butt hurts, I'm cramped, and hungry. Whatever.
So far, I learned the following rumors:
1. The CRC buildings may be full - so instead of sharing a room with 3 guys, I could "luck out" and get a hotel room
2. The likely final destination may very well be Kandahar Air Base.
3. If it is Kandahar, living conditions will likely be tents, as it is severely overcrowded.
We shall see what we shall see. I better get back to "sightseeing" along the Georgia highways...
- Posted from my iPhone
Location:Somewhere In Georgia
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Hiring Process - Part I
This is a follow-up to my first post about becoming an I.T. contractor headed to Afghanistan. For me, it started with having received an unsolicited email from the company I just signed up with (who shall remain nameless). I read it - and it included a generic job description for a Network or System Administrator as well as a brief listing of the potential pay & benefits available - as well as mentioning that the positions were for either Iraq or Afghanistan. Didn't think much of it at the time, and promptly deleted it.
Then I received a second email stating the exact same things a few days later. This time, I stopped - re-read it several times - and thought about where I was at in life right now. And it started to sound like a really good idea, and full of opportunities, as well as being a good stepping stone to reach certain goals I currently have. So I followed the directions, went to the company's website, "applied" and then provided the sender of the email my resume. I received a response back the same day thanking me for my interest and to stay tuned.
The next day, I received an email notice saying I was scheduled for a technical phone interview the next morning for a position in Afghanistan. I didn't give it much thought & put it on my calendar. The next morning, at the scheduled interview time, I saw a call come in from a foreign number. It was the interviewer calling from Kuwait. He was friendly, and we chatted briefly & then he began quizzing me on a number of technical items ranging from Active Directory, to Exchange administration, to DNS and more. The whole interview took about 20 minutes, and I felt pretty miserable once it was over. While the things he was asking me about were in fact, pretty basic - they were things I hadn't touched in well over 2 years. I was familiar with everything quizzed on - but I couldn't remember the specifics. I tried to explain - apparently successfully - that I had been focused the past two years on SMS/SCCM administration - and that I tend to focus on what I actively work with - often becoming somewhat of an expert in the subject matter. I went on to say that, as my resume stated - I have worked with a number of systems in previous jobs & felt I wouldn't have any problems jumping right into those systems again - even though at the moment - I was drawing blanks during the interview. The interviewer said he understood completely - and ended by saying I should hear something back soon (whatever that meant).
Low & behold, the very next day, I received a rather lengthy offer letter in an email. It outlined the pay & benefits, as well as the steps I would be required to complete as part of the screening/hiring process if I chose to accept the position. And, I had only 3 days to accept the position. They don't mess around apparently. So, being the skilled researcher that I am - I scoured the 'net trying to find out more about the job, conditions, the offer I received and the company I'd be working for. I'll be honest - there wasn't a whole lot - and what I did find, gave me mixed feelings. I know I encountered some rather negative reviews of the company on a website called glassdoor.com. In the reviews, people said the company was full of good old boy networks, was racist against white workers, and that it was a cluster F in Afghanistan.
I then tossed up a post on Facebook to see if any of my friends knew anyone working as an I.T. contractor in Iraq or Afghanistan. I was put in touch with 2 folks - both in Iraq: one a firefighter & the other a security guy (a Black Water type). I asked about the offer I received & their experience. They both gave pretty much the same answers. The offer was typical - not bad - but not great - and that once I had my foot in the door and got in-country, I would learn of additional opportunities. Regarding the negative things I read about the company, they said they had neither seen nor heard anything like that - and that it was like anywhere: you always have some sour apples that aren't happy. Overall, their experiences were good.
The last, and most important question to me - was regarding my offer. I was given 3 days. Could I counter? From what I had read - it was a take it or leave it offer. They couldn't help me much on that - and said in their opinion, it was probably a take it or leave it. If I didn't readily accept the offer, then surely they could find someone else who would.
Then I hit YouTube - and checked out what all was posted about in Afghanistan. I'll be honest, I didn't spend too much time there. A lot was typical of what I expect (and know) of military life - but there was also plenty of sober reminders that I was in fact considering working in a full fledge war zone. If I accepted this job, even though I'd be doing average computer geek work, I don't know where I'll be doing it. Would I go to a big base like Bagram that get's attacked by mortars, indirect fire & suicide bombers infrequently, or would I go to a smaller base that got hit daily. Or worse - will I be supporing a number of FOB's and have to travel regularly?
Look - life is "ok" - but right now, for me - it's been somewhat "bland". Besides the career opportunity's I would receive by accepting this position, I'd also have the opportunity to really change my life up a bit - and, actively support what our country is doing in Afghanistan (or Iraq if that's what I was offered). I made up my mind - the benefits of this position far outweight the risks for me. Last New Year to this New Year flew by. Surely I can sacrifice 1 year of bland normalcy, right?
So on day 3, I called up my assigned recruiter - and cautiously stated that I felt my compensation should be a little better - and asked if there was any wiggle room. She stated there was, heard me out & my explenations for requesting a higher compensation package, and said she would contact the hiring manager. And then I hung up & waited. I feared I may have just blown my opportunity since I had heard this was likely a "take it or leave it" position, but, about 3 hours later, I received an updated offer that met in the middle of what I had asked for. Great! I accepted it immediately & then received the specifics as to what all I needed to accomplish ASAP before I would be given an actual hire & departure date.
And that sounds like a good place to leave off for today. See, the process to get where I am today was pretty heavy: lots to do in as short amount of time as possible. And that's just as far as my hiring company is concerned. Let's add in all of the things one must do when deciding to up and leave a home in the U.S. to move overseas. And then let's accomplish all of that in 2 - 3 weeks. And keep in mind that for the first 2 weeks or so - a lot of things have to be "tenatively" planned - until you finally get the "green light" from the recruiter that says "Ok - you've done X, Y, & Z - everything looks good - you will be flying out of your hometown on this date - congratulations!". Only then can you "let the cat out of the bag" and get moving with packing up your belongings, purchasing & packing gear you should take with you, working with your current employer for a graceful exit, figuring out what to do with all of your accounts, vehicle, home, etc. As you'll see in my next post, there are a number of requirements that have to be met that anyone can either fail to pass, or simply not accomplish; things which would cause the job offer to be null & void - and leave you right where you where before you received that first email about the job opportunity. Fortunately, I met all the requirements & in the time frames required.
Then I received a second email stating the exact same things a few days later. This time, I stopped - re-read it several times - and thought about where I was at in life right now. And it started to sound like a really good idea, and full of opportunities, as well as being a good stepping stone to reach certain goals I currently have. So I followed the directions, went to the company's website, "applied" and then provided the sender of the email my resume. I received a response back the same day thanking me for my interest and to stay tuned.
The next day, I received an email notice saying I was scheduled for a technical phone interview the next morning for a position in Afghanistan. I didn't give it much thought & put it on my calendar. The next morning, at the scheduled interview time, I saw a call come in from a foreign number. It was the interviewer calling from Kuwait. He was friendly, and we chatted briefly & then he began quizzing me on a number of technical items ranging from Active Directory, to Exchange administration, to DNS and more. The whole interview took about 20 minutes, and I felt pretty miserable once it was over. While the things he was asking me about were in fact, pretty basic - they were things I hadn't touched in well over 2 years. I was familiar with everything quizzed on - but I couldn't remember the specifics. I tried to explain - apparently successfully - that I had been focused the past two years on SMS/SCCM administration - and that I tend to focus on what I actively work with - often becoming somewhat of an expert in the subject matter. I went on to say that, as my resume stated - I have worked with a number of systems in previous jobs & felt I wouldn't have any problems jumping right into those systems again - even though at the moment - I was drawing blanks during the interview. The interviewer said he understood completely - and ended by saying I should hear something back soon (whatever that meant).
Low & behold, the very next day, I received a rather lengthy offer letter in an email. It outlined the pay & benefits, as well as the steps I would be required to complete as part of the screening/hiring process if I chose to accept the position. And, I had only 3 days to accept the position. They don't mess around apparently. So, being the skilled researcher that I am - I scoured the 'net trying to find out more about the job, conditions, the offer I received and the company I'd be working for. I'll be honest - there wasn't a whole lot - and what I did find, gave me mixed feelings. I know I encountered some rather negative reviews of the company on a website called glassdoor.com. In the reviews, people said the company was full of good old boy networks, was racist against white workers, and that it was a cluster F in Afghanistan.
I then tossed up a post on Facebook to see if any of my friends knew anyone working as an I.T. contractor in Iraq or Afghanistan. I was put in touch with 2 folks - both in Iraq: one a firefighter & the other a security guy (a Black Water type). I asked about the offer I received & their experience. They both gave pretty much the same answers. The offer was typical - not bad - but not great - and that once I had my foot in the door and got in-country, I would learn of additional opportunities. Regarding the negative things I read about the company, they said they had neither seen nor heard anything like that - and that it was like anywhere: you always have some sour apples that aren't happy. Overall, their experiences were good.
The last, and most important question to me - was regarding my offer. I was given 3 days. Could I counter? From what I had read - it was a take it or leave it offer. They couldn't help me much on that - and said in their opinion, it was probably a take it or leave it. If I didn't readily accept the offer, then surely they could find someone else who would.
Then I hit YouTube - and checked out what all was posted about in Afghanistan. I'll be honest, I didn't spend too much time there. A lot was typical of what I expect (and know) of military life - but there was also plenty of sober reminders that I was in fact considering working in a full fledge war zone. If I accepted this job, even though I'd be doing average computer geek work, I don't know where I'll be doing it. Would I go to a big base like Bagram that get's attacked by mortars, indirect fire & suicide bombers infrequently, or would I go to a smaller base that got hit daily. Or worse - will I be supporing a number of FOB's and have to travel regularly?
Look - life is "ok" - but right now, for me - it's been somewhat "bland". Besides the career opportunity's I would receive by accepting this position, I'd also have the opportunity to really change my life up a bit - and, actively support what our country is doing in Afghanistan (or Iraq if that's what I was offered). I made up my mind - the benefits of this position far outweight the risks for me. Last New Year to this New Year flew by. Surely I can sacrifice 1 year of bland normalcy, right?
So on day 3, I called up my assigned recruiter - and cautiously stated that I felt my compensation should be a little better - and asked if there was any wiggle room. She stated there was, heard me out & my explenations for requesting a higher compensation package, and said she would contact the hiring manager. And then I hung up & waited. I feared I may have just blown my opportunity since I had heard this was likely a "take it or leave it" position, but, about 3 hours later, I received an updated offer that met in the middle of what I had asked for. Great! I accepted it immediately & then received the specifics as to what all I needed to accomplish ASAP before I would be given an actual hire & departure date.
And that sounds like a good place to leave off for today. See, the process to get where I am today was pretty heavy: lots to do in as short amount of time as possible. And that's just as far as my hiring company is concerned. Let's add in all of the things one must do when deciding to up and leave a home in the U.S. to move overseas. And then let's accomplish all of that in 2 - 3 weeks. And keep in mind that for the first 2 weeks or so - a lot of things have to be "tenatively" planned - until you finally get the "green light" from the recruiter that says "Ok - you've done X, Y, & Z - everything looks good - you will be flying out of your hometown on this date - congratulations!". Only then can you "let the cat out of the bag" and get moving with packing up your belongings, purchasing & packing gear you should take with you, working with your current employer for a graceful exit, figuring out what to do with all of your accounts, vehicle, home, etc. As you'll see in my next post, there are a number of requirements that have to be met that anyone can either fail to pass, or simply not accomplish; things which would cause the job offer to be null & void - and leave you right where you where before you received that first email about the job opportunity. Fortunately, I met all the requirements & in the time frames required.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Jailbreak Time
So last night was my last night out "stateside", as far as I know; at least in the Cleveland area. Had a great time with family & friends - from what I remember. I'm severly hung over, but, there's work to do. The latest jailbreak for Windows was released last night - so, for those of you who are already jailbroken on a previous version, here are the steps I took to "upgrade" my jailbreak:
1. Purchase & download pkgbackup from cydia
2. Run pkgbackup being sure it backs up all packages
3. Sync/backup with iTunes
4. Download & install newest version of iphone firmware (ie, 4.2.1)
5. Sync with itunes & make sure all looks good (minus jailbroken items of course)
6. Run greenp0ison - wait it out & run "loader" when it becomes available & install Cydia
7. Remove loader app once you've run Cydia (be sure to launch it, perform any upgrades/reboots)
8. Download pkgbackup
9. Run pkgbackup & restore; note - you may have to run the restore more than once to get everything back.
Be patient. There is plenty of waiting & rebooting involved. It should all go without a hitch if you just give it a few minutes to finish whatever it is doing.
1. Purchase & download pkgbackup from cydia
2. Run pkgbackup being sure it backs up all packages
3. Sync/backup with iTunes
4. Download & install newest version of iphone firmware (ie, 4.2.1)
5. Sync with itunes & make sure all looks good (minus jailbroken items of course)
6. Run greenp0ison - wait it out & run "loader" when it becomes available & install Cydia
7. Remove loader app once you've run Cydia (be sure to launch it, perform any upgrades/reboots)
8. Download pkgbackup
9. Run pkgbackup & restore; note - you may have to run the restore more than once to get everything back.
Be patient. There is plenty of waiting & rebooting involved. It should all go without a hitch if you just give it a few minutes to finish whatever it is doing.
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