Private Contracting

[Smxth94]

So, I'm getting closer to completing my 3-year contract in the Army as a infantrymen. I have not deployed, I got stationed at a Unit that was just standing up so we did a lot of training but no overseas action. I'm wondering if there is anyone that has the knowledge to tell me if I can or cannot get hired for private contracting with just 3 years of infantry experience but no deployment?
Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

It really depends on what you are trying to do, FORCPRO in Kuwait, sure, pay sucks and Kuwait sucks, and the job over there looks boring as shit.

If you are looking to get to a war zone as a security contractor and make good money, you need to put another 3 yrs in the Army, in a HSLD unit, get some schools under your belt and at least one deployment.

If you are getting out, join the National Guard, you can keep serving and go to school, and its pretty easy to get a deployment in the guard.

There is a big pool of talent, guys who have 10 times your experience, training, and knowledge and being looked over right now. However, I have a feeling things will be picking up over the next couple of years.

My$.02

 

[Smxth94]

It really depends on what you are trying to do, FORCPRO in Kuwait, sure, pay sucks and Kuwait sucks, and the job over there looks boring as shit.

If you are looking to get to a war zone as a security contractor and make good money, you need to put another 3 yrs in the Army, in a HSLD unit, get some schools under your belt and at least one deployment.

If you are getting out, join the National Guard, you can keep serving and go to school, and its pretty easy to get a deployment in the guard.

There is a big pool of talent, guys who have 10 times your experience, training, and knowledge and being looked over right now. However, I have a feeling things will be picking up over the next couple of years.

My$.02

Thanks for the reply,
Would doing multiple tours in Kuwait, or a place destitute of Kuwait, be looked at as equivelant or better when it comes down to applying for a more hazard duty job?

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

I doubt it, its basically a security guard job in one of the more secure and wealthy countries of the middle east.

If you are really wanting to look at contracting down the road, and want yo go see that white elephant, call the 75th Ranger Regiment recruiters and tell them you need to reenlist, etc. Those dudes are still deploying, they're held in high regard in the PMC world, and you will get all the training and deployment's you can handle.

 

[AWP]

Thanks for the reply,
Would doing multiple tours in Kuwait, or a place destitute of Kuwait, be looked at as equivelant or better when it comes down to applying for a more hazard duty job?

Networking.

Look, you pay your money and you take your chances. As @Diamondback 2/2 pointed out there are a ton of guys with many more years of experience. To add to that, contracts have dried up and while it might pick up a bit, there are no guarantees.

Take what you can get because this isn't 2008. Find the "good dudes" and stay with them. You find guys with inflated or faked resumes and all sorts of characters. Build your rep with the good dudes, stay out of the drama, and you just might make it to another contract. I won't lie, the odds are against you.

Good luck.
- Maintenance contractor since 2004

 

[DA SWO]

Thanks for the reply,
Would doing multiple tours in Kuwait, or a place destitute of Kuwait, be looked at as equivelant or better when it comes down to applying for a more hazard duty job?

Gets your foot in the door, and a resume started.

 

[TLDR20]

I wouldn't hire you.

 

[digrar]

Have mates with a decade plus up in Iraq, scratching for work. Making significantly less than they ever have before.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

I've had a few beers tonight, so I'm going to pop your bubble (please don't take it as a "go away" statement). I've got near as much time in Iraq as you have in the Army... Not to mention the specialty instructor level schools I've attended (SWAT, Hostage Rescue, Tac driving, etc, etc, etc). I couldn't be hired today, especially over guys who have years of actual doing what you want to do, who have the WPS certs, etc. So take my half twisted advice, go spend some time as a Ranger, get your bones, and than look to the private world.

FYI: I was the ops manager of a multi million dollar private security company, and I wouldn't hire you for a close protection detail state side that pays shit, much less a badlands gig...I wish you luck, but you have a pipe dream.

 

[Teufel]

Are you trolling us? Take one of the myriad SOF selection opportunities available to you and take advantage of the countless opportunities the Army has to offer you. Prove yourself in the Army and numerous doors will open for you when and if you decide to get out. I'm never done any contracting but I would imagine that three years of Army infantry experience won't even open a doggy door for you. Aren't most enlisted contracts 4 years of active duty and 4 years of IRR? Assume that nearly all applicants will have significantly more experience and qualifications than you do if you get out now.

To answer your other question, in my opinion 1 month in the 75th Ranger Regiment or an SF group is worth 20 years of experience doing force protection in Kuwait.

 

[Ranger Psych]

Are you trolling us? Take one of the myriad SOF selection opportunities available to you and take advantage of the countless opportunities the Army has to offer you. Prove yourself in the Army and numerous doors will open for you when and if you decide to get out. I'm never done any contracting but I would imagine that three years of Army infantry experience won't even open a doggy door for you. Aren't most enlisted contracts 4 years of active duty and 4 years of IRR? Assume that nearly all applicants will have significantly more experience and qualifications than you do if you get out now.

To answer your other question, in my opinion 1 month in the 75th Ranger Regiment or an SF group is worth 20 years of experience doing force protection in Kuwait.

The other aspect to look at, is the fact that there's "professional contractors" along the lines of people here, and elsewhere, who not only have 10-20 years of line duty in SOF of various types, but have been contracting straight since they got out of the military for their own individual reasons. These are the guys that will typically get hired first, as they're tested and proven not only in the military circles, but have a resume and experience to support contracting duties, which vary significantly from your normal military taskings at times.

3 year contract as a straight infantryman, no apparent schools of note, and zero combat time? You're better off applying for a police department or something.

 

[Gunz]

Read and heed all the above. These guys know what they're talking about. Don't get caught up in the "mercenary" thing. It sounds cool when you're young but it ain't all it's cracked up to be. Fifty or sixty years ago, you could probably have gotten a billet in a merc unit in Africa without any experience necessary except the ability to breathe and shoot. But nowadays professionals only need apply.

 

[Ranger Psych]

Of course, you can also end up like a friend of mine who was working for Blackwater and was in a helo shot down on April 21, 2005.

 

[AKkeith]

I'm at a PSS training course right now for a WPS contract. I'll tell you there's no way you'll make it here.
I'm the only one under 30. My roommate is twice my age and did a decade with Blackwater. Everyone here is very experienced in combat. Only way I made it in (even with combat experience) Was, I saw the need for EMTs in the business right now, and went and got my Advanced EMT and wrote up a badass resume. No one around here will look at you if you have under 1 year in combat.
You may qualify for a KBOSS contract like Kuwait but honestly those don't pay well.
Stick in the military and advance, or find something else.