KBR Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits.

Hello Everyone, Can someone tell me during R & R when they leave to come home for 10 days, do they have to pack everything up and take it with them, or will they be able to leave it and pick up where they were before they left. Just a wondering. :)

Sup people! I'm suppose to fly to Dubai tomorrow!

mustang02 in Phoenix, Arizona said: Hello everyone; new to this post with a few questions. What are the current hiring trends at KBR? Are they hiring more individuals for skilled trades than the other catagories listed on their website? How do prospective candidates contact recruiters? Your comments and advise are appreciated.

Just apply and pray they call you...

I have a question.....does anyone knows what happens if you fail a chest xray because of possible pnemonia......but know it is a cold. He is on his way to the hospital to have forms filled out saying it is just a common cold but has anyone went through that yet?

You leave your stuff at camp locked in a foot locker. It will be fine and the others in your hooch will watch over it.

Mixer Mike in St. Petersburg, Florida said: Sup people! I'm suppose to fly to Dubai tomorrow!

Good luck, where are you headed?
Is that 12 days to process or did anyone fly out before you?

lostwithouthim in piedmont, North Carolina said: I have a question.....does anyone knows what happens if you fail a chest xray because of possible pnemonia......but know it is a cold. He is on his way to the hospital to have forms filled out saying it is just a common cold but has anyone went through that yet?

I'm concerned about the same thing because I have a chest cold and I'm trying desperately to get rid of it before they say something stupid like that.

*Mixer Mike*, congrats to you buddy! Get back on another time and tell us how long you were able to stay in Dubai and were you able to see any of that beautiful city before heading to your final destination. Also, did you get your job/location changed like we spoke about on e-mail?

So correct *Switch*...it will be worth it in the end $$$$$ the only reason I'm still going because that does sound like the cattle scenario. Makes me wonder how many are cut before the week's end.

I can't imagine they have enough stuff to do for an entire 2 weeks for an Admin Assoc. like me. LOL I'm paper pushing...but I'll do as I always do, keep it all to myself and do my complaining to my best friend and Mom on the phone. LOL I hate inturrupting anything being taught to other people.

Still waiting on these travel arrangements...I'll email my recruiter by the end of the day today so can be on her task tomorrow morning. LOL

Whew...lots to say this morning! LOL

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: I'm concerned about the same thing because I have a chest cold and I'm trying desperately to get rid of it before they say something stupid like that.

*Mixer Mike*, congrats to you buddy! Get back on another time and tell us how long you were able to stay in Dubai and were you able to see any of that beautiful city before heading to your final destination. Also, did you get your job/location changed like we spoke about on e-mail?

So correct *Switch*...it will be worth it in the end $$$$$ the only reason I'm still going because that does sound like the cattle scenario. Makes me wonder how many are cut before the week's end.

I can't imagine they have enough stuff to do for an entire 2 weeks for an Admin Assoc. like me. LOL I'm paper pushing...but I'll do as I always do, keep it all to myself and do my complaining to my best friend and Mom on the phone. LOL I hate inturrupting anything being taught to other people.

Still waiting on these travel arrangements...I'll email my recruiter by the end of the day today so can be on her task tomorrow morning. LOL

Whew...lots to say this morning! LOL

I think you all do the same training. He said food service did a bit extra and it took longer for them to get out. I asked how many people left after medical and he didnt noticed a whole lot. Hes too busy to count ! They have started to move people to the Hilton now as people start flying out. He is still at his hotel. He is still tired , i think he doesnt sleep well because he is so scared he is gonna be late or miss the bus in the morning ! Makes for a stressful situation..

switch in Austin, Texas said: I think you all do the same training. He said food service did a bit extra and it took longer for them to get out. I asked how many people left after medical and he didnt noticed a whole lot. Hes too busy to count ! They have started to move people to the Hilton now as people start flying out. He is still at his hotel. He is still tired , i think he doesnt sleep well because he is so scared he is gonna be late or miss the bus in the morning ! Makes for a stressful situation..

Oh yeah, that doesn't seem very good for sleeping conditions. I'm sure he hopes he just stays settled in the one hotel till time to go. I'm sure having a roommate doesn't help with the sleeping process for him either. Everyone has different habits and at our ages, are not interested in sharing spaces that close. LOL Thanks for all the updates Switch. I've never blogged before this one (Fyre says "who knew blogging could be so entertaining). LOL

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: Oh yeah, that doesn't seem very good for sleeping conditions. I'm sure he hopes he just stays settled in the one hotel till time to go. I'm sure having a roommate doesn't help with the sleeping process for him either. Everyone has different habits and at our ages, are not interested in sharing spaces that close. LOL Thanks for all the updates Switch. I've never blogged before this one (Fyre says "who knew blogging could be so entertaining). LOL

He doesnt have a roommate right now. He has his own kingsize bed and a sleeper sofa. But that could change, he could go to the Hilton and share or if its a large crowd that come in on sunday he could have a roommate. Everyone has to get used to it because when arriving in Iraq you could be in a tent with up to 30 other guys! Are you going to Iraq? I think i remember Camp Victory right? Thats where my hubby was going, when he got to Houston his badge says Liberty. Come to find out Victory North has changed its name to Liberty. This is a great site for info. Ive learnt so much...

Hi All, just to let you all know, I am going to Houston on the 30th Nov. and supposedly going to Kirkuk. I just wanted to let you know that I have a friend over there and she has been immensely helpful. This is her fourth year over there and is not with KBR but if you need a question answered about being in country let me know and I will email her and post the answer here.

Thank you all for the information. I am leaving with KBR very soon. Just a couple of questions: What about satellite radio? Is there Internet available? wireless? Can you purchase a laptop in country? Thank you in advance. I just want to stay in contact with ones at home

switch in Austin, Texas said: He doesnt have a roommate right now. He has his own kingsize bed and a sleeper sofa. But that could change, he could go to the Hilton and share or if its a large crowd that come in on sunday he could have a roommate. Everyone has to get used to it because when arriving in Iraq you could be in a tent with up to 30 other guys! Are you going to Iraq? I think i remember Camp Victory right? Thats where my hubby was going, when he got to Houston his badge says Liberty. Come to find out Victory North has changed its name to Liberty. This is a great site for info. Ive learnt so much...

Correct. Camp Victory. I hope that's not the case. I have a friend that is in mngmnt in Iraq and he said a large req was just approved to get more of the trailors out there and I hope to be in one of those. Sharing wasn't my strong spot in Kindergarden. LOL (I'll have to learn I think though) This site has been VERY helpful to me as well. I'll be sure to try to answer questions for a little while even after I leave to see if there is a way to contribute.

Do you know what the deal is with camp victory and liberty. Camp liberty is victory north right? he was schedueled camp vitory but his badge says liberty?

Hey everyone!

Welp spent the last couple of days looking over these threads... WOW... great bunch people and info here!
THX to all that have donated!
Also spent the last couple of days looking over HEO jobs and contracts overseas that KBR and others have. Looks like some good work going on!

Spent this morning doing a resume, never did that before, it's hard to remember where, who, what I've did with past companies.

I'm an Operating Engineer (Heavy Equipment Operator) with 13 years experience on various machines; excavators, backhoes, asphalt paver's, underground utility machines... etc, etc.
Prior service, Army Infantry, but that was 22 years ago.... mid 80's, things have changed fersur!
Married for 19 years, two boys 12 & 14.

I'm thinking of joining up with KBR because work around here is slowing down in my area for what looks like the next year or two. The cash KBR offers seems pretty good too! Also a bit of a traveler, Europe SEVERAL times plus the two years in Southern Germany during my duration as a "Cold War Warrior" < aka; chase blonde's, drink beer and see the sights. Hehe
If I do take a position with KBR I won't be returning to the States for Holiday, instead I'll meet up with my wife in Spain, Italy or my most favorite place in the World Switzerland!

I had wanted to go to work with KBR a couple years back but my family was totally against it because of the high casuality rate. It seems to be mellowing a bit now.

Passport is in hand, so thats one less step in Huston.
Also all dental has been taken care of this Spring, I'll just need an updated pass from them I guess.
Have to take the WABI test too I guess.
No medical conditions present except for graying hair.... at age 43 thats to be expected, so I've been told! HA

.... con't below

Away, I guess my questions are directed more towards those peeps who are currently or who have been with KBR.

What types of equipment do they have, new stuff or old junk that they expect you to preform miracles with?
(I broke my Magic Wand, also seriously depleted my bag of Pixie Dust with the last company I worked for! Boy did they have some JUNK!)

....
I understand the uplifts are different depending on where you're stationed, but what are the basic hourly wages for a Heavy Equipment Operator?

So, I've been out of the Army for over 20 years, I do not need a DD214 do I? I've read that you only the DD214 if you've gotten out of the service in the past 7 years, correct?

THX!

Fyre - Could you possibly email me at mustang527; I have questions regarding the admin position. Thank you for your time.

Fyre - Could you possibly email me at mustang527@cox.net; I have questions regarding the admin position. Thank you for your time.

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: Correct. Camp Victory. I hope that's not the case. I have a friend that is in mngmnt in Iraq and he said a large req was just approved to get more of the trailors out there and I hope to be in one of those. Sharing wasn't my strong spot in Kindergarden. LOL (I'll have to learn I think though) This site has been VERY helpful to me as well. I'll be sure to try to answer questions for a little while even after I leave to see if there is a way to contribute.

Hi Fyre. Could you please email me at mizgp@msn.com? I have a few questions. Thanks in advance.

Hey Switch & Crystal...
It finally came this evening (itenerary)! :D

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: Hey Switch & Crystal...
It finally came this evening (itenerary)! :D

Yeah congratulations !!!
My husband signed his contract yesterday. They gave him today off, then saturday he has to do NBC training and CPR, then he is ready for wheels up hopefully soon. He heard that the next group in is a big one .

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: Hey Switch & Crystal...
It finally came this evening (itenerary)! :D

Fyre,
So when do you start processing? Next week or on the 10th? I am supposed to process on the 10th, haven't received an itinerary yet...but maybe it is too early. I am also supposed to go to Camp Victory...I am in Logistics.

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: Hey Switch & Crystal...
It finally came this evening (itenerary)! :D

Good for you!

Good luck with processing. My husband said it was a long week, but atleast he wasn't bored at a hotel!

redbuddafly in Houston, Texas said: Fyre,
So when do you start processing? Next week or on the 10th? I am supposed to process on the 10th, haven't received an itinerary yet...but maybe it is too early. I am also supposed to go to Camp Victory...I am in Logistics.

He is leaving this sunday. You receive travel arrangements a few days before you fly.

switch in Austin, Texas said: He is leaving this sunday. You receive travel arrangements a few days before you fly.

Thanks Switch...so I guess I should get them in the middle of next week. Has anyone heard of PSM academy? I am supposed to attend that, just wondering how long does it take?

redbuddafly in Houston, Texas said: Fyre,
So when do you start processing? Next week or on the 10th? I am supposed to process on the 10th, haven't received an itinerary yet...but maybe it is too early. I am also supposed to go to Camp Victory...I am in Logistics.

No I start next week the 3rd. It's too early yes. I leave this Sunday and I didn't receive it till late yesterday aso the hardest thing to do is the best thing to do. Looking at the itenerary, they processed mine on Monday and were just slow to get it to me until Thursday...how about that?

I'm supposed to be at Camp Victory as well and in Admin so that's cool. Seems to be a good place to get to know a few people. Can't believe I stumbled across this place. :D

Thanks Switch. You seem to be really smart and quick about learning...any reason you never thought of trying to get in with KBR. You'd be ready and armed with all the information needed.

Thanks Crystal. I'm happy I won't be bored but I'm so busy trying to get everything in line now, I probably won't notice the difference. LOL I'll still run to Boarders to grab a book or two to keep me occupied in lines and on 2hr - 15 hour flights. LOL Never can be too prepared. I broke my Zune and I'm mad about it because I'm a music buff but I'll buy an ipod at some point I guess.

I wonder if the classes are like the whole "class participation" "I need a volunteer to do it in front of the class" type of thing? Hate that. LOL
Pass/Fail type of courses as well?

Crystal or Switch, did your husbands tell you anything about that?

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: I wonder if the classes are like the whole "class participation" "I need a volunteer to do it in front of the class" type of thing? Hate that. LOL
Pass/Fail type of courses as well?

Crystal or Switch, did your husbands tell you anything about that?

No he didnt mention it, but ill ask him later. He went to get his CAC card today. Noone told him or the other people that they had appointments for their cards. One of the electricians had to call the hotel and tell them,he went up for breakfast at the center and happened to look at the list.My husband had the day off today so how would he of found out he had a one oclock appointment? Anyway it all turned out good. If you miss it you have to wait another 72 hours. About the KBR job, im actually jealous, it sounds like quite an adventure. So FYRE, if you wanna trade and watch my 3 adorable children lets do it !!!!!!!!

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: I wonder if the classes are like the whole "class participation" "I need a volunteer to do it in front of the class" type of thing? Hate that. LOL
Pass/Fail type of courses as well?

Crystal or Switch, did your husbands tell you anything about that?

I dont think there are any pass and fail except medical. Its just a lot of information.Going over camps and locations, medical, filling out papers.Harrassment issues.Dress code ,work conditions.

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said:

Thanks Crystal. I'm happy I won't be bored but I'm so busy trying to get everything in line now, I probably won't notice the difference. LOL I'll still run to Boarders to grab a book or two to keep me occupied in lines and on 2hr - 15 hour flights. LOL Never can be too prepared. I broke my Zune and I'm mad about it because I'm a music buff but I'll buy an ipod at some point I guess.

There's a lot to get ready and in order, I remember scrambling a lot that last week with my husband!

Some unsolicited advice on packing, get a big soft sided duffel bag. If you get a hard sided suitcase you lose so much weight to on the luggage. My husbands duffel bag was 43.5 lbs. so we were just under. My husband wanted to take some books too but he didn't have the available weight left in his luggage.

A duffel bag with wheels on is even better !!

You know they do sell books in Iraq at the PX. You can also order about any book in the world in 7-10 days from Amazon.com. :) Don't worry about shipping stuff with an APO address you are still part of the US mail system. Even if the weight limits were over 44lbs I wouldn't want to take more then that while traveling. You can ship a grand piano to yourself after you get settled. :)And when you head back home and you still want everything, ship it back.

Thanks for the advice, I am freaking out about the 44lbs, I guess as a woman I have a tendency to over pack, thinking I might need this or that. Really teaches you to minimize.

redbuddafly in Houston, Texas said: Thanks for the advice, I am freaking out about the 44lbs, I guess as a woman I have a tendency to over pack, thinking I might need this or that. Really teaches you to minimize.

Well I'm not a woman but I have to admit that I can overpack like one. LOL

All of this good advise from everyone (Switch, Crystal, D427) is just awesome. I have a luggage set and trying to minimize my spending but I hope you'd be proud of the luggage on wheels that I have Crystal. I'm going to save time by putting it on the scale I have here at home and see what happens. LOL They do allow writing pens on the plane right? It's in my laptop bag and I'd hate to throw away or even hold up the line.

D427, don't they give you a bonus or something just as you leave for Dubai or when you get there or something? Can you clarify as I'm assuming you are over there already. So glad you mentioned www.amazon.com because I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars I've spent on there. It's ebay but WAYYY better. Love that site I tell ya! Hope they don't lose my mail coming to the APO and that they are trustworthy. Does anyone go through your mail in route to you?

Switch, as much as I'd like you to experience this, as good as I am with kids, I'm sure your children need you more than me. So we'll stick with the plan. LOL

So just a duffel bag Crystal? Not the actual luggage or are we thinking the same but saying it different? How big was it? I hope this weighing at home works. :D

P.S. I really want to wear the steel toe boots but thinking of comfort, not sure I can. How difficult, right?

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: P.S. I really want to wear the steel toe boots but thinking of comfort, not sure I can. How difficult, right?

dude i bought some steel toes and once i got over here i found thati didnt even need them unless your gonna be doing a lot of heavy lifting then dont worry about them

switch in Austin, Texas said: Great to hear from you Spawn. We were wondering what happened to you!! It sure did take a long time to get there. How is the camp?
Glad you can get access to a computer. Keep us posted and take care.

hey switch yeah it took quite a while to get here but now that im here im settling in nicely. this base im at is called sharana and it is on top of a mountain about 7500 ft above sea level its dusty and getting cold but i get to be in my office most of the day also i got a computer issued to me so i have access to the net at all times also i just now noticed the email u sent me 3 weeks ago sorry about that. my flight out of houston layed over in heathrow airport (london) and then it was off to dubai for two days then i went to kandahar for a few days and then to bagram for about 12 hours and then finally here on a military c-130 cargo plane it was an exhausting trip so all of you who are going over be sure to get plenty of rest whenever its possible travel really takes it out of you. anyway if you guys need any thing else just hit me up at spawnevolution@yahoo.com take care

O.K. i just got word that it is wheels up for my husband on monday !! That was really quick, 8 days. I think that is just for electricians though, he said there were quite a few left. I am leaving tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with him. FYRE if you get sent to la quinta, look out for me, or on monday if you see a distraught female with 3 kids saying goodbye to her husband come over and say Hi. Fyre i hope it all works out for you and try to keep us posted. As wifes we worry about our husbands a lot but we also think of all the other people out there and especially the ones that have shared on this site. Good luck, take care and stay safe.

Hey Spawn,
Welcome back! My goodness 2 days in Dubai ? and a layover in Heathrow? Is that the norm ? Im gald to hear that you are doing good, i bet the scenery is beautiful, lots of snow in the winter.
How are the accomadations? I heard that a lot of people go in tents for a while. Thats a relatively new camp, so no burger king right? I hope they do your laundry there, i worried about you in Houston when you said you hadnt done it !! LOL
Im going to Houston tomorrow to do my hubbys laundry before he leaves on monday. Lucky him eh?
Ill be really interested to see this processing place that gets talked about all the time. Wish me luck. Take care and good to see back here.

spawn in Katy, Texas said: dude i bought some steel toes and once i got over here i found thati didnt even need them unless your gonna be doing a lot of heavy lifting then dont worry about them

That's what I thought the case was. Do I need them for Houston? All they are going to do is waste my money and lbs of shoes. Did you use them at all for processing? How long ago did you get to Iraq?

switch in Austin, Texas said: O.K. i just got word that it is wheels up for my husband on monday !! That was really quick, 8 days. I think that is just for electricians though, he said there were quite a few left. I am leaving tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with him. FYRE if you get sent to la quinta, look out for me, or on monday if you see a distraught female with 3 kids saying goodbye to her husband come over and say Hi. Fyre i hope it all works out for you and try to keep us posted. As wifes we worry about our husbands a lot but we also think of all the other people out there and especially the ones that have shared on this site. Good luck, take care and stay safe.

Thanks so much Switch. I hope you have a great time. I'm sure you won't read this until you get back. Sounds like you're as excited to get there as I am. :D Haha! I will most definitely stay in touch with you guys and gals and try to contribute back to you all what you contributed to me. I'll be so busy today/Saturday and then it's wheels up for me to houston Sunday and I'll be really focused. I'll be in touch as much as possible though. Take care everyone.

spawn in Sharana, Afghanistan said: hey switch yeah it took quite a while to get here but now that im here im settling in nicely. this base im at is called sharana and it is on top of a mountain about 7500 ft above sea level its dusty and getting cold but i get to be in my office most of the day also i got a computer issued to me so i have access to the net at all times also i just now noticed the email u sent me 3 weeks ago sorry about that. my flight out of houston layed over in heathrow airport (london) and then it was off to dubai for two days then i went to kandahar for a few days and then to bagram for about 12 hours and then finally here on a military c-130 cargo plane it was an exhausting trip so all of you who are going over be sure to get plenty of rest whenever its possible travel really takes it out of you. anyway if you guys need any thing else just hit me up at spawnevolution@yahoo.com take care

Spawn,
Glad to see you made it ok. Keep us updated, really been missing your posts. Take care, and bundle up.

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said:

So just a duffel bag Crystal? Not the actual luggage or are we thinking the same but saying it different? How big was it? I hope this weighing at home works. :D

Fyre, that's just what my husband and I did. We weighed and re-weighed, at home, until we had it around 43 lbs. leaving a bit of room for error. Our first suitcase (an actual piece of luggage) weighed almost 10 lbs. all on it's own. That quickly got put aside. We opted for the large sized duffel bag from L.L.Bean. They now have them on wheels, like Switch mentioned, but that's not what we used. Just a regular ole duffel!

The packet that we got suggested a piece of lockable luggage so we just bought a padlock that fit through the zipper loop on the duffel. While in Houston we saw one guy who had a miltiary type duffel (with the opening on the small end instead of accross the long side, if that makes sense) and he said he had gotten it at Wal-Mart for about $10.00. That would be another good alternative.

Fyre in Atlanta, Georgia said: Well I'm not a woman but I have to admit that I can overpack like one. LOL

All of this good advise from everyone (Switch, Crystal, D427) is just awesome. I have a luggage set and trying to minimize my spending but I hope you'd be proud of the luggage on wheels that I have Crystal. I'm going to save time by putting it on the scale I have here at home and see what happens. LOL They do allow writing pens on the plane right? It's in my laptop bag and I'd hate to throw away or even hold up the line.

OOoops...I missed that. I'm pretty sure that pens are fine. I had a couple of pens in my purse and it passed through security and x-ray just fine.

Kind of a funny story about pens on a plane though...when I was young, 21, and going on my first flight, I was one of the lucky ones who they decided to pull aside and look through their stuff.

The young-ish female security at the airport was scrutinizing my pen and I thought it was hilarious. I, being the wise @$$ that I am, said "ooops! You found my super spy gun pen!"

(This was pre-911). She asked me to repeat it and I knew I was in trouble, but repeated myself. She then took apart my pen, spring, tip, push button top and all! She had a total fit and told me that she was going to be nice and not pull me out back for a strip and full body cavity search (ouch!).

I left red faced, majorly embarassed and with just enough time for me to run and make my connection.

Moral of the story, bring a pen on the plane but not a super spy gun pen! ;)

Hey im here in Houston visiting hubby.Word is we are moving to Hilton tonight Yeah!!! Got to meet Oluwakemi that was on this site. I was the only one in processing with 3 girls so she said are you switch? It was nice to put a face to her and she said she was going to the same camp as Tina who was also on this site. My hubby is all done and flying out on monday. Its sad and exciting all at the same time.To those of you coming in tomorrow. Good Luck and get a good nights sleep tonight. It was early days here.

Crystal I am over here laughing so hard! LOL That's something I would have said because my mouth is like that "super gun spy pen". Yes all the way!
That didn't sound like a bad idea, and wish I'd thought to go look for something like that at Wal-Mart. (yeah I'm switching topics).

About SWITCH:
Does anyone but me adore how committed to this blog she is? She stopped online for all of probably 5 minutes from her husband to give us updates and share good news? I find it totally adorable and it makes me check back regularly. I hope to see you Switch when I get there tomorrow. Don't be mad that I'm still up this time of morning, I just got in from a party that was partially in my honor of going away.

I'll tell you, I sure hope nothing embarrassing comes back to bite me that I don't make it out of country. :(...ok, positive thoughts only! :D

Well, I MUST hit the sack now that I'm super duper late for sleep and have to be up in about 5-6hours...but to be honest, this was the plan so that I'd fall asleep on the plane. LOL

Night everyone and I'll chat to ya soon!

It not totally about being commited, its a stressful situation. Its a love and hate thing going on. I had to take 5 minutes to talk to people that might be going through the same thing. Plus my hubby was getting on my nerves. I am in Houston with 3 children that want as much time with their daddy as possible. So we are 4 people trying to catch every second with him before he leaves. Are we doing the right thing? I have to believe that we are and that things will get better for us. I speak to other wives and they say it gets easier as time goes on. For the people left over here it is definately no cakewalk. worry ,worry. I look back on the posts and Sparky says we have to support them and stop worrying. Easier said than done. I think it will be better when he gets settled over there and i know where he will end up. There is a great deal of uncertainty at the beginning, a walk into the unknown. My husband is in good spirits and just glad to get processing over with.Everyone is sleeping and my brain is tick,tick ticking.Didnt make it to the Hilton, the papers didnt show up. Dont know if we will move for the last night or not. Kinda hope not, its last minute but have heard that it happens.I guess for now we have to keep the faith and trust their adventure will be an exciting one !!

switch in Austin, Texas said: It not totally about being commited, its a stressful situation. Its a love and hate thing going on. I had to take 5 minutes to talk to people that might be going through the same thing. Plus my hubby was getting on my nerves. I am in Houston with 3 children that want as much time with their daddy as possible. So we are 4 people trying to catch every second with him before he leaves. Are we doing the right thing? I have to believe that we are and that things will get better for us. I speak to other wives and they say it gets easier as time goes on. For the people left over here it is definately no cakewalk. worry ,worry. I look back on the posts and Sparky says we have to support them and stop worrying. Easier said than done. I think it will be better when he gets settled over there and i know where he will end up. There is a great deal of uncertainty at the beginning, a walk into the unknown. My husband is in good spirits and just glad to get processing over with.Everyone is sleeping and my brain is tick,tick ticking.Didnt make it to the Hilton, the papers didnt show up. Dont know if we will move for the last night or not. Kinda hope not, its last minute but have heard that it happens.I guess for now we have to keep the faith and trust their adventure will be an exciting one !!

Hi Switch! I agree with Fyre, either way your posts are great! I really appreciated that you were the only person to respond to my "Dubai" post and refer me to the other thread/forum.

I'm glad you made it down to your husband and hope you guys are all enjoying this last bit of time you have with him. Bittersweet, I'm sure.

Have fun and I'll ttys!

switch in Austin, Texas said: Hey Spawn,
Welcome back! My goodness 2 days in Dubai ? and a layover in Heathrow? Is that the norm ? Im gald to hear that you are doing good, i bet the scenery is beautiful, lots of snow in the winter.
How are the accomadations? I heard that a lot of people go in tents for a while. Thats a relatively new camp, so no burger king right? I hope they do your laundry there, i worried about you in Houston when you said you hadnt done it !! LOL
Im going to Houston tomorrow to do my hubbys laundry before he leaves on monday. Lucky him eh?
Ill be really interested to see this processing place that gets talked about all the time. Wish me luck. Take care and good to see back here.

when it comes to travel i dont think there is a "norm" its just what the schedule allows for flights and such. this camp is pretty new and no there are no burger kings but we will be getting a pizza hut soon the conex bldg is here already but i dont know when it will be hooked up and running the laundry is kinda do it yourself but you can get a local to do it if you give em a small tip but i just do it myself (at least that way i know its getting done right) i have come to realize that this base is kinda desolute and limited on amenities but its really not that bad, all the folks i have met thus far have been helpful and friendly or at least tolerant of us new hires. the food is actually pretty decent but ive only been here for a week now so it will probably get old after a while. electricians are in demand all over the theatre so thats probably why your hubby was rushed through. well im gonna go now you take care and dont worry bout your hubby too much he'll be alright they take care of us over here. i'll talk to ya later
peace out
MG

Yes, it was an indeed a pleasure to meet Switch and Tina both. It sure makes this whole process feel more comfortable when make the acquaintance of others. In my opinion, overall this entire process has not been half as bad as I thought it would be given the initial feedback I received when I found first this site. Yeah, the medical and the Nuclear Biological Chemical warfare training was a bit trying, but overall the process isn't as bad. Perhaps it had a bit to do with their not being as many individuals in this group for processing as there normally is.

I'm scheduled to get my id cards on Monday, and rumor is I may fly by Tuesday or Wednesday. Good luck to all of you here in Houston who are still going through the process, and best of luck to those of you awaiting a call from a KBR recruiter to get the process underway.

Switch continue to take good care of yourself, I'll stay in touch once I get to Iraq.

--Kemi