Government contracting

I think I had seen that someone(or some people) had spent some time over seas doing government contracts. I got accepted to do a warehouse job in Afghanistan with one of the companies on Wednesday. I only know friends of friends that have gone and was curious of anything I need to know or what you suggest bringing with me. I spend 5 years in the Marine Corps as an airwinger and have done mock wars so I am familiar with the military side of what I need but not the civilian. I would greatly appreciate any advice from anyone that could give it.

Man, I really have some off the wall threads I start.

from a friend of mine who did it.. take the top bunk. Keeps you away from the drafts and critters

Baby wipes. You seriously won't believe how useful they are, its like wiping with 80 grit single ply otherwise that is provided that there is TP.
Hand sanitizer. Get used to using port o johns that are rarely fully serviced
Clorox wipes. The B huts or Alaska tents are dirty places.
Leatherman. This thing has saved my ass more times than you know.
Mechanix gloves. Getting your hands torn up overseas sucks.

Otherwise pack like you're going camping because that's really what it amounts to. Good knife, flashlight, bring enough clothes for at least 2 weeks. Laundry turn around is close to 3 days at good places. While I'm on that subject some of those 3 in One Tide things are good. Provided they actually use soap (I'm not so sure they do), my clothes always come back a little funky, or with a foot print on it in one instance.

Toiletry wise you can get most stuff at the PX provided there isn't some sort of incident and the resupply can get in, it gets pretty thin sometimes.

Large external HDD and a laptop. You'll need some entertainment for your downtime and most who have been over before have a good selection of stuff to watch.

Decide if you can live in a sleeping bag for months on end. I can't do it personally so I pack a couple sets of sheets, those 3 piece bed in a sack ones from target, and a blanket. Also get yourself a good pillow, those are really hard to come by, then throw it out when you leave.

2" or more memory foam topper. The beds suck in most instances and you'll appreciate it.

Amazon account. You'll forget something and they actually can get stuff over in a decent amount of time.

If you have your shot record from a service branch bring it with you when you go to IRDO because they'll try to give you the smallpox, hep A, hep B, anthrax, chicken pox, and TDAP shots again. The small pox vaccination sucks to care for when you're somewhere as unsanitary as Afghanistan. Your shot record is on the Standard Form 700.

If I think of something else I'll add it.

In reply to The0retical:

I was planning on skipping the bedding stuff because they said they will issue a bunk set but I may have to rethink that. A pillow does sound like something to bring for sure.

The laundry was kinda what I expected, I have my old mesh laundry bag from the Marine Corps, I am assuming thats how they do the washing there right, by a mesh bags?

Did you pack most of your stuff in a seabag or two and check them on the plane? Did you bring your laptop as a carry on? Are seabags even a good idea as I have to fly in thru Kabul International Airport?

I understand its 12 on 12 off so thats why I am bringing my laptop. Were you at a FOB, Bagram Airbase, or Kandahar? I am curious how the internet situation is at these places for contractors.

Bring some weight lifting gloves if you have them. It's a great time to work out. There will probably be a company offering civilian Internet. Pack light and get people to mail the rest of your crap to you. You can buy bedding at the PX, if they have any available. Prepare to get stuck in PAX terminals for days waiting on a bird.

Anti-stance wrote: In reply to The0retical: I was planning on skipping the bedding stuff because they said they will issue a bunk set but I may have to rethink that. A pillow does sound like something to bring for sure.

I guess it depends on your company for the most part. IRDO will ask you if you want the sleeping bag and mat issued to you depending upon if you go to Camp Atterbury or Creech (Army for Atterbury, Airforce for Creech).

Personally I bring my own bedding because it really isn't that much extra to pack and I'm a big fan of being comfortable when I sleep. I skimped on the pillow my first trip and regretted it, the PX ones were pretty crappy and went flat after a couple days. I brought a cheapie Target memory foam one on this trip and I really don't regret it.

The laundry was kinda what I expected, I have my old mesh laundry bag from the Marine Corps, I am assuming thats how they do the washing there right, by a mesh bags?

It depends on the base but the mesh bags are pretty standard.

Did you pack most of your stuff in a seabag or two and check them on the plane? Did you bring your laptop as a carry on? Are seabags even a good idea as I have to fly in thru Kabul International Airport?

My company ships the majority of the stuff via a tough box and bring a roll along bag and a laptop bag as my carry on. I wouldn't exactly call the tough box tough but it has survived a couple full trips so far so either DHL is really careful with it, I've gotten lucky, or it's actually tougher than it looks.

This is the box I use. It'll fit 5 or 6 months worth of my stuff and weigh in at 100 odd pounds usually.

Some of our other guys use a big Pelican box but its 300 bucks at a minimum for it.

In the case of Camp Atterbury, you have to take their flight to Ali Al Salem then catch a mil flight from there to Bagram or Kandahar then off to whatever your destination is. It's a pain and they don't let you bring anything that isn't a duffle style luggage.

So to get around that I own one of these. I think I paid a bit over 130 for it at a Timberland outlet store, it's essentially a fancy Samsonite bag but it's survived a ton of airports now. Also pack a roll of duct tape to tape over the wheels if they give you any crap about them.

As far as the laptop bag goes I carry messenger style bags pretty much everywhere. So I also own a Timbuk2 bag. You can get them on sale sometimes for 60% off if you watch of it. Or some nice guy on their mailing list offers up the discount code (I'll watch for one, and they're on sale today actually...) The main advantage of that bag is the back laptop compartment unzips so you don't have to pull the laptop out at every security checkpoint. Saves a lot of hassle over a backpack.

Seabags are ok, though places like Kabul airport are... interesting. Dubai is the same way. It's illegal to bring anything related to a weapon into the country (you WILL get thrown in a UAE jail if caught) and they hassle you if you have your IBA and someone is having a bad day, though technically legal in country it's a pain. Basically in those places the seabag throws up a giant look at me sign. They're convenient and ok if you're traveling with someone but it's a bit uncomfortable to carry it when alone.

I understand its 12 on 12 off so thats why I am bringing my laptop. Were you at a FOB, Bagram Airbase, or Kandahar? I am curious how the internet situation is at these places for contractors.

12 on 12 off is pretty standard. I've been to a couple larger bases in country, no FOB's yet. The internet is usually ok, though you generally pay through the nose for it. Sniperhill provides access at most locations at the Bhuts or tents. I'd get a 3 day to test it out before you buy the 90 dollar package for the month because at one location it was pretty worthless. If there's a Green Bean they generally have public internet access as well and maintain it fairly well. My company provides an internet connection for us at work. Latency is pretty bad but it's fine for browsing websites, and if you have someone on your crew who is worth their salt at IT you can mostly block out or throttle down video streaming sites and bittorrent so one person doesn't bring the network to its knees (that'd be me here).

I'd say more about individual bases but due to the facet of aviation I work in I don't feel real comfortable putting it on display on a public board.

Hope this helps!

***Usual not mine disclaimer and I'm not affiliated with any of the companies whose websites I linked just showing what I use.

Forgot one thing for the list. If you read a lot you might want to look into getting an Ebook Reader or an Ipad. I burn through 6 or 7 books a month here because I can only go to the gym so much or read so many GRM posts.

If you go the tablet route (ie., Ipad, Nook Tablet, Kindle Fire), rather than a dedicated ebook reader like the Kindle or the Nook Touch, I'd suggest staying away from the Kindle Fire. Amazon is fine for the vast majority of things, and that Fire is a slick looking piece of hardware but it relies heavily on Amazon's Cloud service. Not having internet really puts a damper on trying to buy stuff, you can't stream anything, it's only 5 gigs and has no expandable media.

If you want to go the cheap route the Nook Tablet has expandable media, runs android and has a good developer community to put stock android on it. Plus as stock reads a large number of video files that the Fire will not. You can also go the (slightly more expensive) route of a 16 or 32 gig Ipad (pick up a cheap Ipad2 if you want to go the cheap capable tablet route) which will read books and give you the ability to do things like Skype which the Nook Tablet or Fire will not.

FWIW (if it's worth anything) I own a Nook Tablet. The browser is pretty good it just doesn't have a camera or a mic so I have to use my laptop for Skype. I use it pretty heavily and get upwards of 20 hours of reading with wifi off and browse the internet on a pretty regular basis with it. Just have B&N re partition it in the store for 2 gigs of their crap and 14 of yours rather than 15 of theirs and 1 of yours.

Oh, I totally understand about keeping general on a public board hence me not naming the company and dates and the such. I am not looking for any specifics just the basics of what to bring and how to bring it. Basically when I get to the pre-deployment facility, I want to have most of what I need so I don't have to do much shopping down there. You hit on just about everything I was looking for info wise. The only people I have talked to have friends over there, I didn't have anyone to talk to directly that has been there to ask these questions. I just don't want to get over there and go "DAMN, I should have brought that." I may get an external HD before I go, thats a damn good idea.

The instructions I have gotten so far had said that there was some sort of shipping job specific items in a box but may just have to see what is explained at orientation week.

Anti-stance wrote: In reply to The0retical: Seabags are ok, though places like Kabul airport are... interesting. Dubai is the same way. It's illegal to bring anything related to a weapon into the country (you WILL get thrown in a UAE jail if caught) and they hassle you if you have your IBA and someone is having a bad day, though technically legal in country it's a pain. Basically in those places the seabag throws up a giant look at me sign. They're convenient and ok if you're traveling with someone but it's a bit uncomfortable to carry it when alone.

Yeah, I was worried about the seabag idea for the drawing attention in Dubai and Kabul. I am sure they will cover that in orientation but I am gonna get my checked bag before going to Florida.

What kinda clothes do you wear there? Do you just wear coveralls/flight suit or "tactical" type boots 'n utes kinda stuff? I will be in a warehouse for reference.

Oh and Would this be too big of a bag ya think? Its a 36" duffel style

http://www.amazon.com/Ogio-Rig-9800-Gear-Stealth/dp/B0047GH4GG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1333579274&sr=8-6

Anti-stance wrote: What kinda clothes do you wear there? Do you just wear coveralls/flight suit or "tactical" type boots 'n utes kinda stuff? I will be in a warehouse for reference. Oh and Would this be too big of a bag ya think? Its a 36" duffel style http://www.amazon.com/Ogio-Rig-9800-Gear-Stealth/dp/B0047GH4GG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1333579274&sr=8-6

I wear jeans and a t-shirt pretty much everywhere. The wet season is ending right about now so I've ditched the safety toe boots for my running shoes on the flightline, different companies have different rules though.

A lot of contractors like the 5.11 tactical style stuff which is fine if you carry a bunch of stuff around like tools. Wearing anything with a camo pattern, or military style pattern I think is how they put it, is dissuaded since there's a number of legal problems should something happen.

I actually traveled with a couple guys that had either that exact or close to that exact same bag. It's great because it should be deep enough to fit your IBA in, as well as a weeks worth of clothes, and you don't draw a ton of attention in places like Dubai. Kandahar however you'll still stand out because I'm told Americans have a certain swagger.

I do not know the acronym for IBA.

You have been a GIGANTIC help, man! The information is only slowly coming in from the company as my orientation date gets closer. I just want the basics before I get to Florida and get my full briefing on what to expect. Then I will buy everything I need including the tough box and stuff to pack in that. I have gotten the shipment forms for "work related" items which I am assuming is my junk that I will be wearing and bedding stuff and the like. I am not needing tools that I am aware of since I am most likely not gonna be wrenching on the flight line or anything.

Oh, and I was aware of the no camo patterns. That is one of the few things I had been told by a friend of a friend that is currently contracting over there.

Once again, your sharing of knowledge is greatly appreciated. The only thing I have been worried about was the not being prepared thing more so than a safety thing. I have had to do mock wars while in the Marine Corps and basically forgot to bring E36 M3 which is the equivalent of getting caught with your pants down.

In reply to Anti-stance:

Sorry IBA is Interceptor Body Armor.

Couple other things I was thinking about while work cropped up.

If you have a credit card clear 3k or more off it for travel. If you have to go to SRP or IRDO you'll be spending a week in a hotel and all the expenses that go along with that. The full kit of IBA, gas mask, first aid, and plates that they issue at IRDO or SRP weighs in the neighborhood of 45 lbs. So you'll have an excess baggage fee at the airports. If you are taking DFS or Aerotek into country they charge 10 US dollar per Kg that you are over 65lbs. So be prepared to shell out 200 to 300 dollars, they will take a credit card.

The other advantage of the credit card is that you'll be able to prove the amounts that you paid for individual items when you do an expense report (provided that's an option for you.) If you happen to lose the receipt all you need to do is present the statement which is a gigantic help.

If your bank or credit union offers a foreign currency exchange it is often times cheaper to get Pounds British Sterling, Euros, or Dirham from them rather than get nailed by the 20% under market value plus a 15 dollar fee for exchanging currency at an airport. You'll need cash for taxi's in different countries. I generally carry 300 to 500 on me.

Advice doesn't cost me anything so it's no problem, plus I can do something useful around here other than troll. I had to learn a bunch of stuff on my own when I traveled overseas the first time and most forums I lurked in to find information were guys that were former military or gung-ho mentalities so I didn't get much out of it. It was quite the eye opening experience traveling for the first time and I like to save other people the hassle if possible. You have any questions feel free to ask or use my username (it's spelled with a zero) at gmail dot com.

Im gonna email you. Thanks brother.

Having been to Afghanistan in the summer, some long pants that are lightweight and breathable would be good. I feel for you if you have to go through Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait.

wlkelley3 wrote: Having been to Afghanistan in the summer, some long pants that are lightweight and breathable would be good. I feel for you if you have to go through Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait.

I spent Christmas in Ali in 2010. It sucked. I think the worse place I've ever been is a port-a-john in Kuwait in July.

wlkelley3 wrote: Having been to Afghanistan in the summer, some long pants that are lightweight and breathable would be good. I feel for you if you have to go through Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait.

Luckily I will be going thru Dubai.