Anyone here working in Afghanistan
 

Work has been slow for me here and I have been given the opportunity to work at a fwd. operating base in Afghanistan, 28 days in 28 days out. No off base work. The work is Helicopter Maintenance and the pay is good. Does Anyone here have experience working in this area?

Anyone here working in Afghanistan
 

No experience, but I think I'd jump on it with what's going with the economy and the experience.

Now if they just needed a licensed home builder, I would apply...

Just dropped my husband off at the airport for his trip to Afghanistan. It will be his first time (he's an electrician - will work on-base doing electrical).

The conditions are spartan, you'll stay on base, food should be decent. Cold and nasty in the winter, dry and "wind of a 120 days" in the summer. There will be no days that are comfortable in any way.

Do it for the money. The economy is terrible. Consult your tax person for specifics but ours confirmed that if Steve stayed out of country for 330 days, effectively the first 91,000 was tax free.

angela

Which FOB? The weather in the south and north are totally different, as are the risks.

Had a buddy do a year as a civ contractor in Iraq. As Angela says, staying a year gives you big tax advantages.

The work for me will only be 28 days in afghanistan and 28 day home so no tax breaks. Also I am Canadian so tax laws will differ. The work may be in FOB Fenty outside of Jalalabad.

Good point about the weather. The info they gave us is that north at the mountains and the base of the mountains is subarctic desert. When the rain does fall there is no vegetation and it flash floods pretty much every time. The south has the crazy thing they call "The Wind of 120 days" June to September. The wind blows 60 to 90 mph for four months.

Oh and then there's these Taliban dudes... :(

angela

Be friendly with the armorer.....a nice .45 ACP or a 9 mikemike would be a good acoutrement for the tool box.....good luck.

See where it is based. If its Bagram then thats not difficult but the smaller bases outside and in the boonies can be "sporty" so to speak.

Get some more detail and let us know back.

The Base is at the Jalalabad airport, FOB Fenty, large base over 1500 based there. I will get more details by the end of the week.

The base was attacked by the Taliban back in July and from what I understand it was more of a form of harrassment than anything else. Google the airport and Fenty so you'll have a better understanding of what you are considering. Send me a PM if you want me to contact a few of my buddies that are in country and I'll get the latest scuttlebutt.

So I took the job and will be leaving Dec 6th... wish me luck.

Talk tp reaper he spent a lot of time there

Good luck and be safe!

I would be if I could . . . one of my father's companies is hiring clerks for service over that way for $100K. I tried to nab a spot but I'm vastly over-qualified.

What's a clerk do? I'm available!

Let us know if there is anything we can do. I stopped flying overseas just over a year ago, so not in that area anymore but still have friends in the area.

Also you are really close to a lot of very nice places, like Thailand, Maladives and so on, so you should spend 1-2 of your time off periods exploring. A friend of mine from Montreal just moved to P h u k e t (censor blanked it out the first time!) Thailand and loves it there. He "commutes" to India where he does the same schedule you do.

Joe A

"J-Bad" is in RC East. [Regional Command east] . I have not been there - but have been to FOB Salerno [Kwhost], Gardez, Kandahar, Gazni, Bagram... It's close to the Pakistan border.. not way up in the mountains but elevation prob 4-5K MSL

J abd is a pretty "mature" FOB . Facilities will be OK. Not sure if they still have "B-huts" plywood buildings or they have improved conditions to "CHU" containerized housing units [like a trailer]...

Winter time - get some good polypro.

keep em flying > the guys need dependable aircraft.

The airport where I work at here in Phoenix just had six Dyncorp Hueys painted white head east for an eventual trip to Afghanistan. I was curious to ask them about qualifications and pay...

Good luck, stay safe!

Be sure to pick up a cool coat like this one! My former roommate deployed to FOB Gardez in Sept. He has been doing a little shopping with the locals... He can't decide if the coat is wolf, or stray dog.... He's the guy on the right.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1288836292.jpg