Anyone ever deal with overseas jobs with the company Vectrus?

LordQarlyn

WhiteMilk said:

LordQarlyn said:

I hate to be the downer here, but the current administration is set on pulling out most if not all US troops, to the point they were negotiating with an adversary who was obviously to everyone else not negotiating in good faith and couldn't refrain themselves from killing our soldiers during the "peace talks". Despite this derailment, the administration's plan is still to pull completely out or nearly completely out of Afghanistan. What this means is not only will Vectrus jobs be going away, virtually all DoD contract jobs including LOGCAP will go away. There will still be other agencies with contracts in Afghanistan, DoS, DEA, DoJ, but without the presence of US and NATO soldiers, I wouldn't feel safe there. My current boss fled Afghanistan in 2016 from a very nice DoJ contract because the draw down that already happened left his area vulnerable and his compound was constantly attacked by nearby VBIEDs.

What I am trying to say, be careful when taking a job in Afghanistan on a DoD contract, as longevity may not be there. Of course the withdrawal may not happen for another ten years or it could happen before the end of next year. If you do take a job in Afghanistan on a DoD contract, have an exit strategy and maximize your experience there; gain as much hands on experience and for the next level up if possible. Cert up where applicable and relevant to your field. BTW this applies to other Middle East DoD contractor jobs; with the possible exception of Kuwait, the US military is there as guests of the host countries, and these countries have the sovereign right ask the US forces to leave (Saudi Arabia did so in the past) which of course takes the contractor jobs with them. Even in Iraq, this time around, the US military was asked to come in by the government of Iraq to assist in the battle against ISIS, they can ask us to leave at anytime. This is not likely to happen even though some in the Iraqi parliament have demanded the US military be kicked out, but it remains a possibility. Again this would not affect contractor jobs with other agencies, or Foreign Military Sales contracts.

You sound like a true Politician, with baseless facts amigo. 

What President went into Afghanistan and said, yeah we are going to stay here for a while. They have been talking about drawdowns since the start of the war. 

We pulled out of Iraq and came back. We've been in Afghan for how long?

Go copy and paste that on a political forum somewhere or Reddit!

Yeah I know you have a big major stake in the situation in Afghanistan to get your recruitment bonuses for filling slots. That's why you scream out "BASELESS!!" when in fact you know better.

What President initiated "peace talks" the Taliban? This one. What President made it a major campaign promise to end the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan? This one. The delegations in Doha were on the brink of announcing a deal that would require the US to pull out in exchange for "promises" from the Taliban, including a promise to fight terrorism(!). Had the Taliban been able to just control themselves and not kill some of our soldiers while promising peace during peace talks, we would been beginning the withdrawal this year. Even after the latest attacks, the DoS is still been directed to work on an exit strategy and a deal with the Taliban. The President himself announced 4000 troops will be withdrawn now and he intends to complete the withdrawal of all troops by November 2020 (election month, not so coincidentally lol) - this is not baseless, look at the bloody news lol. Whether this actually ends up happening remains to be seen but this administration is dead set on ending the war in Afghanistan.

There are many moneyed interests wanting an eternal presence in Afghanistan, including all of us who like work in deployed zones, but the consensus is that after 18 years, with little to show for it, the Taliban back to controlling the majority of the country outside the major cities, little improvement in Afghanistan as a fragile if not outright failed state, many think it's time to cut our losses and call it quits, including many American voters. Furthermore the findings in the "Afghanistan Papers" revealed not only US officials but even our allies have been lying to the public for years about progress in the Afghanistan, as I said earlier, Afghanistan is a borderline failed state, at the very least even Iraq has been upgraded to fragile state. This is the only war in US history where a baby born at the beginning of the war would be old enough to fight in it. 

But you can chill, even if you tell a candidate the war will go on forever and three months into the job he has to leave because of an agreement that requires troop withdrawal, you are covered, both the company and you as an individual cannot be sued on any basis. Who knows, perhaps you are right. As I said, there are powerful interested highly vested in dragging the war on and even creating new wars, so maybe nothing will change. Maybe we will invade several more countries and new deployment opportunities will open up. Personally I would love a deployed job in Iran.

Xepher said:

It's going to be a while, US troops leave, contractors come. 1 Solider leaves, 5 Triple canopy show up. (numbers aren't accurate).

Because that's exactly what happened in Syria. Oh, wait, no it wasn't. But it did happen after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, right, right? Not quite, yeah there were some private PSD companies brought in, around 5000 or so armed contractors, far less that the 2011 troop totals just before the pull out began. And the vast majority of them are from SOC not Triple Canopy. Further, their IT departments are staffed mostly by foreign or local nationals, with Americans and/or westerners in leadership roles. Okay by me since I am a senior manager already, but doesn't help most of the people looking to Vectrus for overseas or deployed assignments. Finally, even if they want to military with armed civilian PSD contractors, somebody still has to pay for them, whom often cost more per person than military. Who's going to pay for them, not Afghanistan, they still rely on foreign aid to finance their government. The US taxpayers? That defeats the entire purpose of pulling out then lol. Any PSD companies in Afghanistan will serve the same purpose as they do in Iraq, diplomatic protection, not just the US embassy, but those of other nations.

Speghetty

LordQarlyn said:

WhiteMilk said:

LordQarlyn said:

I hate to be the downer here, but the current administration is set on pulling out most if not all US troops, to the point they were negotiating with an adversary who was obviously to everyone else not negotiating in good faith and couldn't refrain themselves from killing our soldiers during the "peace talks". Despite this derailment, the administration's plan is still to pull completely out or nearly completely out of Afghanistan. What this means is not only will Vectrus jobs be going away, virtually all DoD contract jobs including LOGCAP will go away. There will still be other agencies with contracts in Afghanistan, DoS, DEA, DoJ, but without the presence of US and NATO soldiers, I wouldn't feel safe there. My current boss fled Afghanistan in 2016 from a very nice DoJ contract because the draw down that already happened left his area vulnerable and his compound was constantly attacked by nearby VBIEDs.

What I am trying to say, be careful when taking a job in Afghanistan on a DoD contract, as longevity may not be there. Of course the withdrawal may not happen for another ten years or it could happen before the end of next year. If you do take a job in Afghanistan on a DoD contract, have an exit strategy and maximize your experience there; gain as much hands on experience and for the next level up if possible. Cert up where applicable and relevant to your field. BTW this applies to other Middle East DoD contractor jobs; with the possible exception of Kuwait, the US military is there as guests of the host countries, and these countries have the sovereign right ask the US forces to leave (Saudi Arabia did so in the past) which of course takes the contractor jobs with them. Even in Iraq, this time around, the US military was asked to come in by the government of Iraq to assist in the battle against ISIS, they can ask us to leave at anytime. This is not likely to happen even though some in the Iraqi parliament have demanded the US military be kicked out, but it remains a possibility. Again this would not affect contractor jobs with other agencies, or Foreign Military Sales contracts.

You sound like a true Politician, with baseless facts amigo. 

What President went into Afghanistan and said, yeah we are going to stay here for a while. They have been talking about drawdowns since the start of the war. 

We pulled out of Iraq and came back. We've been in Afghan for how long?

Go copy and paste that on a political forum somewhere or Reddit!

Yeah I know you have a big major stake in the situation in Afghanistan to get your recruitment bonuses for filling slots. That's why you scream out "BASELESS!!" when in fact you know better.

What President initiated "peace talks" the Taliban? This one. What President made it a major campaign promise to end the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan? This one. The delegations in Doha were on the brink of announcing a deal that would require the US to pull out in exchange for "promises" from the Taliban, including a promise to fight terrorism(!). Had the Taliban been able to just control themselves and not kill some of our soldiers while promising peace during peace talks, we would been beginning the withdrawal this year. Even after the latest attacks, the DoS is still been directed to work on an exit strategy and a deal with the Taliban. The President himself announced 4000 troops will be withdrawn now and he intends to complete the withdrawal of all troops by November 2020 (election month, not so coincidentally lol) - this is not baseless, look at the bloody news lol. Whether this actually ends up happening remains to be seen but this administration is dead set on ending the war in Afghanistan.

There are many moneyed interests wanting an eternal presence in Afghanistan, including all of us who like work in deployed zones, but the consensus is that after 18 years, with little to show for it, the Taliban back to controlling the majority of the country outside the major cities, little improvement in Afghanistan as a fragile if not outright failed state, many think it's time to cut our losses and call it quits, including many American voters. Furthermore the findings in the "Afghanistan Papers" revealed not only US officials but even our allies have been lying to the public for years about progress in the Afghanistan, as I said earlier, Afghanistan is a borderline failed state, at the very least even Iraq has been upgraded to fragile state. This is the only war in US history where a baby born at the beginning of the war would be old enough to fight in it. 

But you can chill, even if you tell a candidate the war will go on forever and three months into the job he has to leave because of an agreement that requires troop withdrawal, you are covered, both the company and you as an individual cannot be sued on any basis. Who knows, perhaps you are right. As I said, there are powerful interested highly vested in dragging the war on and even creating new wars, so maybe nothing will change. Maybe we will invade several more countries and new deployment opportunities will open up. Personally I would love a deployed job in Iran.

Xepher said:

It's going to be a while, US troops leave, contractors come. 1 Solider leaves, 5 Triple canopy show up. (numbers aren't accurate).

Because that's exactly what happened in Syria. Oh, wait, no it wasn't. But it did happen after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, right, right? Not quite, yeah there were some private PSD companies brought in, around 5000 or so armed contractors, far less that the 2011 troop totals just before the pull out began. And the vast majority of them are from SOC not Triple Canopy. Further, their IT departments are staffed mostly by foreign or local nationals, with Americans and/or westerners in leadership roles. Okay by me since I am a senior manager already, but doesn't help most of the people looking to Vectrus for overseas or deployed assignments. Finally, even if they want to military with armed civilian PSD contractors, somebody still has to pay for them, whom often cost more per person than military. Who's going to pay for them, not Afghanistan, they still rely on foreign aid to finance their government. The US taxpayers? That defeats the entire purpose of pulling out then lol. Any PSD companies in Afghanistan will serve the same purpose as they do in Iraq, diplomatic protection, not just the US embassy, but those of other nations.

You do realize that Vectrus has IT staffing in Iraq right now...

LordQarlyn

Speghetty said:

You do realize that Vectrus has IT staffing in Iraq right now...

Where have I ever said they didn't? I work with their local management on a regular basis. I know the Vectrus country manager as well as the local site manager personally.

Speghetty

LordQarlyn said:

Speghetty said:

You do realize that Vectrus has IT staffing in Iraq right now...

Where have I ever said they didn't? I work with their local management on a regular basis. I know the Vectrus country manager as well as the local site manager personally.

Congratulations! 

Xepher

LordQarlyn said:

WhiteMilk said:

LordQarlyn said:

I hate to be the downer here, but the current administration is set on pulling out most if not all US troops, to the point they were negotiating with an adversary who was obviously to everyone else not negotiating in good faith and couldn't refrain themselves from killing our soldiers during the "peace talks". Despite this derailment, the administration's plan is still to pull completely out or nearly completely out of Afghanistan. What this means is not only will Vectrus jobs be going away, virtually all DoD contract jobs including LOGCAP will go away. There will still be other agencies with contracts in Afghanistan, DoS, DEA, DoJ, but without the presence of US and NATO soldiers, I wouldn't feel safe there. My current boss fled Afghanistan in 2016 from a very nice DoJ contract because the draw down that already happened left his area vulnerable and his compound was constantly attacked by nearby VBIEDs.

What I am trying to say, be careful when taking a job in Afghanistan on a DoD contract, as longevity may not be there. Of course the withdrawal may not happen for another ten years or it could happen before the end of next year. If you do take a job in Afghanistan on a DoD contract, have an exit strategy and maximize your experience there; gain as much hands on experience and for the next level up if possible. Cert up where applicable and relevant to your field. BTW this applies to other Middle East DoD contractor jobs; with the possible exception of Kuwait, the US military is there as guests of the host countries, and these countries have the sovereign right ask the US forces to leave (Saudi Arabia did so in the past) which of course takes the contractor jobs with them. Even in Iraq, this time around, the US military was asked to come in by the government of Iraq to assist in the battle against ISIS, they can ask us to leave at anytime. This is not likely to happen even though some in the Iraqi parliament have demanded the US military be kicked out, but it remains a possibility. Again this would not affect contractor jobs with other agencies, or Foreign Military Sales contracts.

You sound like a true Politician, with baseless facts amigo. 

What President went into Afghanistan and said, yeah we are going to stay here for a while. They have been talking about drawdowns since the start of the war. 

We pulled out of Iraq and came back. We've been in Afghan for how long?

Go copy and paste that on a political forum somewhere or Reddit!

Yeah I know you have a big major stake in the situation in Afghanistan to get your recruitment bonuses for filling slots. That's why you scream out "BASELESS!!" when in fact you know better.

What President initiated "peace talks" the Taliban? This one. What President made it a major campaign promise to end the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan? This one. The delegations in Doha were on the brink of announcing a deal that would require the US to pull out in exchange for "promises" from the Taliban, including a promise to fight terrorism(!). Had the Taliban been able to just control themselves and not kill some of our soldiers while promising peace during peace talks, we would been beginning the withdrawal this year. Even after the latest attacks, the DoS is still been directed to work on an exit strategy and a deal with the Taliban. The President himself announced 4000 troops will be withdrawn now and he intends to complete the withdrawal of all troops by November 2020 (election month, not so coincidentally lol) - this is not baseless, look at the bloody news lol. Whether this actually ends up happening remains to be seen but this administration is dead set on ending the war in Afghanistan.

There are many moneyed interests wanting an eternal presence in Afghanistan, including all of us who like work in deployed zones, but the consensus is that after 18 years, with little to show for it, the Taliban back to controlling the majority of the country outside the major cities, little improvement in Afghanistan as a fragile if not outright failed state, many think it's time to cut our losses and call it quits, including many American voters. Furthermore the findings in the "Afghanistan Papers" revealed not only US officials but even our allies have been lying to the public for years about progress in the Afghanistan, as I said earlier, Afghanistan is a borderline failed state, at the very least even Iraq has been upgraded to fragile state. This is the only war in US history where a baby born at the beginning of the war would be old enough to fight in it. 

But you can chill, even if you tell a candidate the war will go on forever and three months into the job he has to leave because of an agreement that requires troop withdrawal, you are covered, both the company and you as an individual cannot be sued on any basis. Who knows, perhaps you are right. As I said, there are powerful interested highly vested in dragging the war on and even creating new wars, so maybe nothing will change. Maybe we will invade several more countries and new deployment opportunities will open up. Personally I would love a deployed job in Iran.

Xepher said:

It's going to be a while, US troops leave, contractors come. 1 Solider leaves, 5 Triple canopy show up. (numbers aren't accurate).

Because that's exactly what happened in Syria. Oh, wait, no it wasn't. But it did happen after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, right, right? Not quite, yeah there were some private PSD companies brought in, around 5000 or so armed contractors, far less that the 2011 troop totals just before the pull out began. And the vast majority of them are from SOC not Triple Canopy. Further, their IT departments are staffed mostly by foreign or local nationals, with Americans and/or westerners in leadership roles. Okay by me since I am a senior manager already, but doesn't help most of the people looking to Vectrus for overseas or deployed assignments. Finally, even if they want to military with armed civilian PSD contractors, somebody still has to pay for them, whom often cost more per person than military. Who's going to pay for them, not Afghanistan, they still rely on foreign aid to finance their government. The US taxpayers? That defeats the entire purpose of pulling out then lol. Any PSD companies in Afghanistan will serve the same purpose as they do in Iraq, diplomatic protection, not just the US embassy, but those of other nations.

Well there are alot of things that happen above us, i just named a random company, I wasn't identifying anything as factual. Also we still have a presence in Syria, as a fact my colleague is contracting over there now?  Contractors cost much less then the military. Everything is said is hypothetical at best. Unless you're tracking what's going on in CENTCOM I don't think any of us actually know what's going on, it's all speculation. Feel free to show us a comparison contract of a DOD contractor compared to a solider. 

MrsWilliams

Speghetty said:

LordQarlyn said:

Speghetty said:

You do realize that Vectrus has IT staffing in Iraq right now...

Where have I ever said they didn't? I work with their local management on a regular basis. I know the Vectrus country manager as well as the local site manager personally.

Congratulations! 

  

MHardesty619

LordQarlyn said:

Speghetty said:

You do realize that Vectrus has IT staffing in Iraq right now...

Where have I ever said they didn't? I work with their local management on a regular basis. I know the Vectrus country manager as well as the local site manager personally.

Oh most noble and and wise LordQarlyn, I humbly thank you for gracing us with you majesty. Thank you so much for brining us the wise teaching of FoxNews and the words of Saint Hannity. For nearly 5 years we have withered in the winter of its absence. Now the warm glow of the orange god himself brings light into our souls. Alas, we here are not worthy of your time and efforts. However, I have heard tale of other communities in great need of your service!

Thoust-Right-True-And-Mature denizens of 4Chan and the wise scholars of r/TheDonald suffer gravely in your absence. Go! Go now and save them! Lead them towards the promised land of Lady Ingram and socially acceptable **** memorabilia! And LordQarlyn, before you depart and leave us with only your fond memory, do please, fornicate yourself most virilely!

All the best 😘

MrsWilliams

LordQarlyn said:

Speghetty said:

You do realize that Vectrus has IT staffing in Iraq right now...

Where have I ever said they didn't? I work with their local management on a regular basis. I know the Vectrus country manager as well as the local site manager personally.

@LordQarlyn

You have undoubtedly caused this thread to go elsewhere. Your contribution, if we are going to call it that isn't beneficial for those seeking advice on this Vectrus forum. People are looking at the hiring process, hiring timeline, clearance questions, and job positions/locations.

You are not contributing to the positive career progression of those attempting to get on with Vectrus. We are here talking about IT Jobs and Degress, specifically jobs with Vectrus. Some of us actually work/worked for Vectrus. 

What you have wrote, is negative in a way to discourage those who might be considering deploying. In addition to that, anything that goes on with regards to deployments, deployment numbers, contract negotiations, etc can easily be found online. Nobody is here telling us any "factual information" that you have to be a member of the secret society to find out about. 

You have unequivocally brought negativity and thread derailment, which is starting to be the norm around here....

Merry Christmas! Have a good day

LordQarlyn

MrsWilliams said:

@LordQarlyn

You have undoubtedly caused this thread to go elsewhere. Your contribution, if we are going to call it that isn't beneficial for those seeking advice on this Vectrus forum. People are looking at the hiring process, hiring timeline, clearance questions, and job positions/locations.

You are not contributing to the positive career progression of those attempting to get on with Vectrus. We are here talking about IT Jobs and Degress, specifically jobs with Vectrus. Some of us actually work/worked for Vectrus. 

What you have wrote, is negative in a way to discourage those who might be considering deploying. In addition to that, anything that goes on with regards to deployments, deployment numbers, contract negotiations, etc can easily be found online. Nobody is here telling us any "factual information" that you have to be a member of the secret society to find out about. 

You have unequivocally brought negativity and thread derailment, which is starting to be the norm around here....

Merry Christmas! Have a good day

LOL, wow, I never said anything against Vectrus. I just brought attention to the very real possibility the gravy train in Afghanistan will wind down soon. That has nothing to do with Vectrus or other DoD contracting companies. Part of being informed about working on particular contracts is knowing contract longevity and the risks there. I didn't tell anyone not to take a job with Vectrus in Afghanistan, I advised merely to be prepared and avail yourself as much as possible if the worst happens. I sure didn't say anything against working for Vectrus in other countries. Actually, my sources comes from the Stars and Stripe, a military newspaper published at US military installations worldwide and a few other specialty websites that discuss geopolitical issues and foreign policies of various countries. I rarely bother with mainstream media. Fortunately I collaborate with lot of Vectrus personnel to know your attitude does not reflect on actual Vectrus employees who exhibit professionalism and willingness to entertain thoughts outside their own worldviews.

Xepher said:

Well there are alot of things that happen above us, i just named a random company, I wasn't identifying anything as factual. Also we still have a presence in Syria, as a fact my colleague is contracting over there now?  Contractors cost much less then the military. Everything is said is hypothetical at best. Unless you're tracking what's going on in CENTCOM I don't think any of us actually know what's going on, it's all speculation. Feel free to show us a comparison contract of a DOD contractor compared to a solider. 

Yes, a presence that's 10% of the original troop levels. And you have a colleague in Syria, so? You didn't specify which agency or even which government issued the contract. There are contract jobs in Somalia, so what. I could get you a contract job in IT in Mali with a French defense contractor, so what. This doesn't disprove my point that US military levels in Syria have dwindled. I ran into two GDIT contractors and one SAIC contractor that were on DoD contracts in Syria until recently, because of the President's order of withdrawal, fortunately both GDIT and SAIC are really good at finding new positions for employees who lose their slots due to government cuts so they ended up on jobs here. Yes it's hypothetical I said as much, just because something is hypothetical does not mean it has no chance or a low chance of happening. Here's a little civics lesson for you. CENTCOM does not determine foreign policy, the President does, with input from his cabinet, mostly the DoS but other departments too. CENTCOM's mission is to carry out foreign policy decisions by the President in a mostly military capacity. It doesn't matter if you are tracking with CENTCOM, the decision regarding troop levels and troop presence doesn't come from them.

I can only speak anecdotally mostly but on my previous job with GDIT we were pulling in just over 200k, more than a general but our work levels were more inline with an E-7 or maybe a warrant officer. I mean one GDIT contractor for one E-7/warrant officer, not one GDIT contractor doing the work of 2 or more soldiers. Keep in mind that the same logistics costs to feed everyone on the bases apply to contractors and military. Don't see the savings there. Okay, let's look at my current job, no uplifts but a high base salary, I am still pulling in just over a brigadier general's pay, but if you go by the total personnel I manage, it's maybe a captain's level of work, or maybe a senior warrant officer that was in charge of a communications center. Again, one me for one captain, not for five captains. Again, same logistics support required for both. Not seeing the savings. I can speak for my American team members who are getting major or lieutenant colonel level of pay for doing what E-4s would be doing. I'm familiar with Vectrus salaries, starting with the helpdesk. Well Vectrus unlike my company pays uplifts, so a help desk technician can pull in easy a lieutenant colonel's pay, for an MOS 25B E-4 level of work. Where's the savings? I'll tell you, it's only on LOGCAP or LOGCAP type contracts and the force protection contracts that use foreign labor. Most my foreign staff make less than privates but do E-4 level of IT work. The IT Supervisor from Kenya makes about as much as an E-5, and does about the same equivalent level of supervision work. There are other foreign national contractors making only $1000 a month and for them, that's a lot of money. That's where contractors save money. The force protection, same thing, they hire African and Latin American mercenaries for a fraction of the salary an American or western combat vet would demand, especially if they are expected to work in active hot zones, only the senior leadership are Americans. Obviously most DoD contracts can't hire foreign nationals and need to entice cleared Americans to work in austere and sometimes dangerous conditions so compensation and therefore costs are much higher. Of course defense contractors invest heavily in lobbying and who knows they may success in keeping the military presence in Afghanistan going so long that the grandchildren of both Afghan veterans and contractors will still be deploying in Afghanistan. Meanwhile take as much advantage of it as you can, because it could end sooner than we like.

Bropez

Holy **** imagine spending christmas making posts like this lol log off dudes

MHardesty619

Bropez said:

Holy **** imagine spending christmas making posts like this lol log off dudes

I’m just mad I didn’t get quoted in their rant lol.

Speghetty

MHardesty619 said:

Bropez said:

Holy **** imagine spending christmas making posts like this lol log off dudes

I’m just mad I didn’t get quoted in their rant lol.

LOL same he is to "busy" managing all his IT team.

MHardesty619

Speghetty said:

MHardesty619 said:

Bropez said:

Holy **** imagine spending christmas making posts like this lol log off dudes

I’m just mad I didn’t get quoted in their rant lol.

LOL same he is to "busy" managing all his IT team.

And name dropping how much he made 😂. I’m sorry for not addressing you by your salary rank, Brigadier General Quan.

Speghetty

MHardesty619 said:

Speghetty said:

MHardesty619 said:

Bropez said:

Holy **** imagine spending christmas making posts like this lol log off dudes

I’m just mad I didn’t get quoted in their rant lol.

LOL same he is to "busy" managing all his IT team.

And name dropping how much he made 😂. I’m sorry for not addressing you by your salary rank, Brigadier General Quan.

The way he sounds he might as well be POTUS.

MHardesty619

Speghetty said:

MHardesty619 said:

Speghetty said:

MHardesty619 said:

Bropez said:

Holy **** imagine spending christmas making posts like this lol log off dudes

I’m just mad I didn’t get quoted in their rant lol.

LOL same he is to "busy" managing all his IT team.

And name dropping how much he made 😂. I’m sorry for not addressing you by your salary rank, Brigadier General Quan.

The way he sounds he might as well be POTUS.

POTUS has the decency to be entertaining in his insane ranting. Not intentionally, but at least funny lol

Xepher

Well there are alot of things that happen above us, i just named a random company, I wasn't identifying anything as factual. Also we still have a presence in Syria, as a fact my colleague is contracting over there now?  Contractors cost much less then the military. Everything is said is hypothetical at best. Unless you're tracking what's going on in CENTCOM I don't think any of us actually know what's going on, it's all speculation. Feel free to show us a comparison contract of a DOD contractor compared to a solider. 

Yes, a presence that's 10% of the original troop levels. And you have a colleague in Syria, so? You didn't specify which agency or even which government issued the contract. There are contract jobs in Somalia, so what. I could get you a contract job in IT in Mali with a French defense contractor, so what. This doesn't disprove my point that US military levels in Syria have dwindled. I ran into two GDIT contractors and one SAIC contractor that were on DoD contracts in Syria until recently, because of the President's order of withdrawal, fortunately both GDIT and SAIC are really good at finding new positions for employees who lose their slots due to government cuts so they ended up on jobs here. Yes it's hypothetical I said as much, just because something is hypothetical does not mean it has no chance or a low chance of happening. Here's a little civics lesson for you. CENTCOM does not determine foreign policy, the President does, with input from his cabinet, mostly the DoS but other departments too. CENTCOM's mission is to carry out foreign policy decisions by the President in a mostly military capacity. It doesn't matter if you are tracking with CENTCOM, the decision regarding troop levels and troop presence doesn't come from them.

I can only speak anecdotally mostly but on my previous job with GDIT we were pulling in just over 200k, more than a general but our work levels were more inline with an E-7 or maybe a warrant officer. I mean one GDIT contractor for one E-7/warrant officer, not one GDIT contractor doing the work of 2 or more soldiers. Keep in mind that the same logistics costs to feed everyone on the bases apply to contractors and military. Don't see the savings there. Okay, let's look at my current job, no uplifts but a high base salary, I am still pulling in just over a brigadier general's pay, but if you go by the total personnel I manage, it's maybe a captain's level of work, or maybe a senior warrant officer that was in charge of a communications center. Again, one me for one captain, not for five captains. Again, same logistics support required for both. Not seeing the savings. I can speak for my American team members who are getting major or lieutenant colonel level of pay for doing what E-4s would be doing. I'm familiar with Vectrus salaries, starting with the helpdesk. Well Vectrus unlike my company pays uplifts, so a help desk technician can pull in easy a lieutenant colonel's pay, for an MOS 25B E-4 level of work. Where's the savings? I'll tell you, it's only on LOGCAP or LOGCAP type contracts and the force protection contracts that use foreign labor. Most my foreign staff make less than privates but do E-4 level of IT work. The IT Supervisor from Kenya makes about as much as an E-5, and does about the same equivalent level of supervision work. There are other foreign national contractors making only $1000 a month and for them, that's a lot of money. That's where contractors save money. The force protection, same thing, they hire African and Latin American mercenaries for a fraction of the salary an American or western combat vet would demand, especially if they are expected to work in active hot zones, only the senior leadership are Americans. Obviously most DoD contracts can't hire foreign nationals and need to entice cleared Americans to work in austere and sometimes dangerous conditions so compensation and therefore costs are much higher. Of course defense contractors invest heavily in lobbying and who knows they may success in keeping the military presence in Afghanistan going so long that the grandchildren of both Afghan veterans and contractors will still be deploying in Afghanistan. Meanwhile take as much advantage of it as you can, because it could end sooner than we like.

I honestly didn't read any of this, but feel free to send me an expense report to verify your claims. bebopusa123@gmail.com

brambis

So much chippy-ness in here lol. @LordQarlyn you're not the first person to bring up the Afghanistan withdrawal. I brought it up here as it was being announced months ago. We're tracking on that.

But I don't think there's much cause for concern as far as contractors and job security goes. Congress/Trump just signed a NDAA that is $21b dollars more than the last massive one. Military spending is increasing not decreasing, despite all the talks of drawdowns. People will be fine.

202

This occumed stuff takes a hell of a lot longer than I thought 😫.

on a separate note, has anybody required an asthma waiver before getting cleared on deployment? 

WhiteMilk

202 said:

This occumed stuff takes a hell of a lot longer than I thought 😫.

on a separate note, has anybody required an asthma waiver before getting cleared on deployment? 

Well.

Technically the OccuMED only takes 2 days. 

Day 1 Medical
Day 2 Dental
Day 3 PPD Read. Takes 6 seconds

If YOU make it take longer than that and someone fills your spot.....

It has been people who had a spot, then didn't have a spot in the span of a few weeks. So, I encourage you to complete it as fast as possible. But, some people work jobs that don't allow for coming in late, leaving late, or/and taking off work. So, some people are in a tougher situation than others. 

Your recruiter would be the one to ask. Trust me, they've been doing this for a while and have seen it all. Maybe, someone here might be of assistance. 

mikey88

I can confirm the rates went up significantly. Now whether that's because of a contract extension and how long it will last, I don't know.

Jr1984

From this I'm seeing everyone process moves slight different hopefully mines doesn't take long accepted offer Jan 2020

202

Yea it took me a long time for this occumed stuff because the docs found some problems. Few thousand dollars later...the gears are turning once again. I need these people to deploy me ASAP so I can start making back the money I just spent lol

It looks like the game is changing to be more fruitful as it supposedly was 3+ years ago. Vectrus appears to be hiring lots of people and pushing them through the process relatively quickly, interim clearances are deployable again, and the salary numbers are back up again. My NA1 offer is for somewhere around $155K. From what I understand they were offering $120kish not too long ago.

@mikey88 I agree these changes probably have to do with the contract extension seeing as how these things all happened right after the extension

202

Also, i figured it would be beneficial to others in the future for me to mention, per DOD requirements anybody who has ANY history of asthma must submit a lung test results to prove that you no longer have asthma that could cause issues while deployed. It may or may not be a good idea to "forget" to add asthma to your medical history on the medical paperwork.

I failed my first lung test really really bad and thought I would need a waiver, turns out I was just blowing wrong. Went the doc a few days later and got a decent score on the exam the 2nd time round.

Excerpt from the MOD14 deployment standards:

" Individuals with the following conditions and/or therapeutic interventions will not deploy without an approved waiver:

Asthma or other respiratory conditions that have a Forced Expiratory Volume-1 < 50% of predicted, that have required hospitalization or emergency room visit in the past 12 months, or that require daily systemic (not inhaled) steroids. Mild intermittent asthma does not require waiver."

Jr1984

202 said:

Xepher said:

Note, they are accepting people with interim clearances right now. IF you have an interim, you'll get stuck in Kuwait for a while or get reassigned to Bagram.

I can confirm.. just got my interim the other day and I asked my recruiter today he said as soon as I finish my medical stuff I’m ready to deploy.

How long did it take you to get your interim ? 

202

Jr1984 said:

202 said:

Xepher said:

Note, they are accepting people with interim clearances right now. IF you have an interim, you'll get stuck in Kuwait for a while or get reassigned to Bagram.

I can confirm.. just got my interim the other day and I asked my recruiter today he said as soon as I finish my medical stuff I’m ready to deploy.

How long did it take you to get your interim ? 

A little over 3 weeks. If you get denied interim, The current average processing time for a full secret clearance is only about 3 months.

Jr1984

202 said:

Jr1984 said:

202 said:

Xepher said:

Note, they are accepting people with interim clearances right now. IF you have an interim, you'll get stuck in Kuwait for a while or get reassigned to Bagram.

I can confirm.. just got my interim the other day and I asked my recruiter today he said as soon as I finish my medical stuff I’m ready to deploy.

How long did it take you to get your interim ? 

A little over 3 weeks. If you get denied interim, The current average processing time for a full secret clearance is only about 3 months.

Thank I'm currently in Kuwait but not working I'm was going to wait out my process here going back to the states to wait out my process just incase it takes longe . I appreciate the respons  have a bless day 🙏🏽

202

@Jr1984 not a problem. It was about 60 days from submitting eqip to a CRC date for me, but again I had medical issues to fix before I was cleared. 

Assuming you don’t have any med issues, you could have yourself a CRC date within 30-45 days, i think 

Jr1984

202 said:

@Jr1984 not a problem. It was about 60 days from submitting eqip to a CRC date for me, but again I had medical issues to fix before I was cleared. 

Assuming you don’t have any med issues, you could have yourself a CRC date within 30-45 days, i think 

Remaining positive is the key and have alot patience it's been a journey for me 

teardrop92

Do anyone have any idea or can provide some slight insight on if they are sending out people to start working overseas yet? Since all that has been going on ? 

202

teardrop92 said:

Do anyone have any idea or can provide some slight insight on if they are sending out people to start working overseas yet? Since all that has been going on ? 

Yes they are still deploying people. I’m getting sent overseas next month