031711 What do firefighters do best??? ....hump hose.

031711  What do firefighters do best??? ....hump hose.

 

Many but not all jobs in Iraq are 'contracted out'.  For example, the US Army does the Army stuff like fighting battles, running convoys and monitoring Intel.  But for non-Army stuff like food preparation, base cleanliness and computer support is generally done by contractors.  Of course there are always exceptions and it can certainly differ from base to base. Commanders are given a 'budget' to accomplish their task and to some degree there is a bit of freedom as to how they spend their budget.  I've also discovered that if the US Army needs something from the State Department, they have to 'pay' for it out of their budget.  In short, nothing is free and if you only get more money if you spend all your money and if you don't spend your money you get your budget reduced.  Needless to say, there are some odd incentives that arise because of rules like this.

The firefighting mission is a good example of the above.  On certain bases (like JBB) the firefighting mission is done by the US Air Force.  At VBC (Victory Base Complex) the job is subcontracted to KBR who then subcontracts the job to Wackenhut.  There are lots of stories about what it's like to be contractor firefighter overseas and here are a few links.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-news/289138-firefighters-find-opportunity-in-iraq/

http://firelink.monster.com/topics/1779-iraq-fire-fighters/posts

http://lincolntribune.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=639

http://omgili.com/contract-firefighting-iraq

The job certainly isn't for everyone.  I've met some of the contractor firefighters and a few were real dicks while a few were really cool guys.  Anyway, they do seem to have the 'chip on the shoulder' regardless of whether they are contractor or military firefighters.  Attached are the pics from the JBB firefighting (Air Force) newsletter.  This is sent out regularly and there is some valuable information in it (such as don't plug a 110 volt device into a 220 volt circuit.)  But the 'chip on the shoulder' attitude still comes through and of course the (sexual entendre) quote 'What do fire fighters do best? ...hump hose.

R/Chris