Now Ye're Talking - to a worker on a US Military Airbase

Boards.ie: Niamh

We have a new AMA for you today, today's volunteer lives and works on a US Military Airbase in Afghanistan.

There may be some questions asked that relate to classified information which he will be unable to answer. Please be respectful of this.

I'm sure I will have a few questions of my own to ask shortly! Let's be having some questions

livedadream

anything you want us to post over? a few packs of tayto? nutella? peanut butter oreos... my b/f used to love care packages...

recyclops

Hi there,

this is going to be an interesting topic my question would be.

do you think the drone operators who work in the states are often desensitized by their jobs and actions in the army as they are so far away from warzones?

Agent Smith

Did you fly threw Shannon?

jobless

What do most people do in their down time there?....

Boards.ie: Niamh

Some questions from me.

Are you allowed or expected to leave the base on days off and if so, is it safe to do so?

Would many people there be aware of or have any opinion on the case of Bowe Bergdahl? I only know about it from listening to a few episodes of Serial series two so not a huge amount. For those of you who have not heard about it, here's the description from Serial:

"In the middle of the night, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl grabs a notebook, snacks, water, some cash. Then he quietly slips off a remote U.S. Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan and into the dark, open desert. About 20 minutes later, it occurs to him: he’s in over his head." He was captured, handed over to the Taliban and held prisoner for five years. Because he left of his own accord the US Army court martialed him and he is due to be sentenced in February 2017. Some think he deserves to be punished, some think he's suffered enough.

What is the landscape like in Afghanistan?

Rubecula

I work on a UK airbase so I was curious if you would be able to tell me your role there?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

livedadream wrote: »

anything you want us to post over? a few packs of tayto? nutella? peanut butter oreos... my b/f used to love care packages...

I'm fond of the odd care package myself.
I usually get some decent chocolate sent over here because all they sell is American chocolate which has a distinct taste of vomit
And now I'm sitting here thinking about a crisp sambo thanks to you!

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

recyclops wrote: »

Hi there,

this is going to be an interesting topic my question would be.

do you think the drone operators who work in the states are often desensitized by their jobs and actions in the army as they are so far away from warzones?

I think so.
From talking to some of the guys stationed here there can also be a little bit of resentment towards them. The main reason I hear is because they get combat medals for their work even though they're thousands of miles away from the action. I think some of the guys here who see action first hand every day are a little bit pissed off about it.

One thing I learned about drones since being here is that each flight is actually controlled by people here and also by operators in the States.
People here on the base control the take off, then they hand over the controls to an operator Stateside, who then hands back over for the operator here to control the landing.

Big Nasty

Maverick or Iceman?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Agent Smith wrote: »

Did you fly threw Shannon?

Nope!
Dublin - Dubai - Afghanistan.

GLaDOS

I take it from the description as a "Worker on a US Military Airbase" that you're not actually military? Or am I wrong?

Either way, what does your job entail?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

jobless wrote: »

What do most people do in their down time there?....

Depends on what base you're on. Activities vary slightly from base to base.
On most, they have event nights to keep people busy. On a larger base like Bagram, they have R&B nights, karaoke nights, even a salsa night where people go to make fools of themselves salsa dancing!
Then they always have a barbecue or some sort of party around holidays like July 4th and Paddy's Day. (And yes I have had to explain to people that it's not fcuking Patty's day.)

Most people kind of fill their time by hanging out with friends or going to the gym or just chilling out in their rooms.
Alcohol is illegal on base so unfortunately there's no bar to hang around in.

Big Nasty

What's the male to female ratio on base?

Presuming it's very high in favour of male do women get a hard time?

I wonder do you get many lads catching teh ghey for a bit of relief?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Boards.ie: Niamh wrote: »

Some questions from me.

Are you allowed or expected to leave the base on days off and if so, is it safe to do so?

You cannot leave the base whatsoever. Once your in, you're in. The only way you leave is if you fly to another base.
The only people who would actually exit the gates here are the military or security forces.
If you did decide to walk out and somehow managed to get past the security gates, it wouldn't be very long before you'd be killed or captured.

Boards.ie: Niamh wrote: »

Would many people there be aware of or have any opinion on the case of Bowe Bergdahl? I only know about it from listening to a few episodes of Serial series two so not a huge amount. For those of you who have not heard about it, here's the description from Serial:

"In the middle of the night, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl grabs a notebook, snacks, water, some cash. Then he quietly slips off a remote U.S. Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan and into the dark, open desert. About 20 minutes later, it occurs to him: he’s in over his head." He was captured, handed over to the Taliban and held prisoner for five years. Because he left of his own accord the US Army court martialed him and he is due to be sentenced in February 2017. Some think he deserves to be punished, some think he's suffered enough.

Yeah everyone here knows who he is.
I'm a fan of Serial myself and I've mentioned his name to people a few times. From what I've personally seen, he's universally hated here.
The general opinion here is no matter what he says his intentions were, he put soldiers lives at risk by taking a walk off base. And for what it's worth, nobody I've talked to buys his side of the story. They either believe he's a traitor and wanted to switch sides, or that he wanted to be a hero and go off like a lone wolf to earn himself notoriety and a shiny medal. Either way, they all think he's not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Boards.ie: Niamh wrote: »

What is the landscape like in Afghanistan?

Beautiful. Seriously.
The mountains surrounding the bases are astonishingly beautiful. In the winter, they're topped with snow and in the summer when the snow melts they look like something straight off the cover of a National Geographic magazine.
I often say that if the country wasn't such a mess, it would be a fantastic place to visit.
I have some photographs of the mountains. I'll try dig them out and upload them here.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Rubecula wrote: »

I work on a UK airbase so I was curious if you would be able to tell me your role there?

GLaDOS wrote: »

I take it from the description as a "Worker on a US Military Airbase" that you're not actually military? Or am I wrong?

Either way, what does your job entail?

I'd rather not say what my exact job here is.
But I don't work directly for the military here. I'm a contractor. One of thousands of contractors here in Afghanistan. I'd love to say I get up to some Jason Bourne type stuff out here but I'm afraid not!

Todd Toddington III

Have you seen a tr3b?

Shannon757

Does your job involve much work with aircraft or do you work in a different industry?

Big Nasty

Todd Toddington III wrote: »

Have you seen a tr3b?

He's probably seen Biggins. In fact he might actually be Biggins!

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Big Nasty wrote: »

What's the male to female ratio on base?

Presuming it's very high in favour of male do women get a hard time?

I wonder do you get many lads catching teh ghey for a bit of relief?

I don't know the exact ratio of men to women but it's not as lopsided as you may think.
If I was to guess I'd say it's about 70% men 30% women. I could be way off with that figure but I think it's about right.
The women don't get a hard time from what I've seen. For the most part they're seen as equals and are pretty much "One of the guys" if they're military.
The US military are pretty big on their "SHARP" program here. That's their sexual harassment campaign that's constantly being trotted out. Sexual harassment is taken extremely seriously and will get you into serious trouble here.

I have heard stories of soldiers "catching the ghey" but I don't think it's all that common. I don't think they'd need to have a go off each other anyway because the female soldiers get around. A lot.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Shannon757 wrote: »

Does your job involve much work with aircraft or do you work in a different industry?

I don't work directly with the aircraft but I travel on different types quite a bit while I'm here. I've gotten up close and personal with some F16 jets recently which was an unreal experience.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Big Nasty wrote: »

He's probably seen Biggins. In fact he might actually be Biggins!

I'm pretty sure he's the general here

cml387

Are you the only Irish guy?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

cml387 wrote: »

Are you the only Irish guy?

There's a few Irish here. Not many though. Out of the thousands of people here I've met less than 15 Irish people. All guys too.
There were Irish soldiers based in Kabul a couple of years ago but they've all left now.

Vojera

Do military personnel have a strong sense of their own mortality or do you think that's something they have to blank out to a certain extent?

Do you sense a lot of patriotism among the US personnel or is that a media myth?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Vojera wrote: »

Do military personnel have a strong sense of their own mortality or do you think that's something they have to blank out to a certain extent?

Do you sense a lot of patriotism among the US personnel or is that a media myth?

I think a lot of them certainly try to block it out and not think about it.
It tends to hit home every now and then. For example, last week a US soldiers was killed here in an IED explosion and the mood on base was noticeably different for a few days. I think when something like that happens it makes them stop and think that it could very easily have been any one of them.

The sense of imminent danger is never too far from anyone's mind here, whether your military or not. We're constantly under attack from the Taliban and injuries and deaths do happen.
Whether you're military or not, if you get too complacent that's when people get hurt. I think it's good to know that you could be killed here at any moment. It keeps you on your toes.

As for the soldiers being patriotic....that depends on who you talk to. Some are just regular Joe's doing their job and that's it.
Some others are really all about 'Murica!
Most fall somewhere in between.
The impression I've gotten from them all is that every single one of them is willing to die to protect their fellow soldiers. People can say what they want about America, but when it comes to the people on the ground they're tremendously loyal and decent people for the most part.

6541

is there a black market for stuff, like drugs, booze contraband in general ?

muffler

If you were base commander what three things would you change on the base from a non operational point of view?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

6541 wrote: »

is there a black market for stuff, like drugs, booze contraband in general ?

Most definitely.
If you have the right contacts on base you can buy booze pretty easily. A 500ml water bottle refilled with vodka will cost you about $50.
The illegal booze sales is a pretty lucrative business here.
I'm not sure about the drugs side of things but I'm sure you could get your hands on some if you asked the right people.

Pornography is also contraband and they have all the major websites blocked here but of course there's ways around that.

Having sex on base is also a breach of General Order #1. Rumour has it there's a small prostitution ring operating on some bases too so that's been causing some headaches for command.

Some locals are allowed on base every day and they run little market stalls in certain areas of the base. You can buy everything there from fake Beats headphones, to fake aftershave and fake brand name clothes. They also sell trinkets and antique stuff too.
One thing to note about those guys is, it's generally understood that when you buy from them you are indirectly funding the war against yourself due to their links to Taliban.

Ericdravancrow

Where are the UFO's hidden?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

muffler wrote: »

If you were base commander what three things would you change on the base from a non operational point of view?

I'd allow a small amount of booze to be sold.
On some bases in other countries there are small bars where you can have 2 drinks maximum. It'd be nice to have a pint and unwind every now and then.

I'd install a swimming pool!
It's hot as fcuk out here and a pool would be nice!

I'm not sure about a 3rd thing but leave it with me and ill think of something.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Ericdravancrow wrote: »

Where are the UFO's hidden?

In plain sight.

seamus

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA wrote: »

One thing I learned about drones since being here is that each flight is actually controlled by people here and also by operators in the States.
People here on the base control the take off, then they hand over the controls to an operator Stateside, who then hands back over for the operator here to control the landing.

Interesting. Probably operation and jurisdictional; someone local will have closer to real-time control so will be better able to react if something goes wrong during takeoff/landing, whereas someone stateside will have a noticeable lag.
And also the local guy cannot be held legally responsible for the drone's actions while he's not in control of it.

_Tombstone_

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA wrote: »

One thing to note about those guys is, it's generally understood that when you buy from them you are indirectly funding the war against yourself due to their links to Taliban.

Who makes the Talibans weapons??

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

seamus wrote: »

Interesting. Probably operation and jurisdictional; someone local will have closer to real-time control so will be better able to react if something goes wrong during takeoff/landing, whereas someone stateside will have a noticeable lag.

That's exactly it.
There's a delay of a few seconds for the guys Stateside so it's safer to handle the take off and landing locally as they have real time control over the drones.

On a side note; I've watched the drones take off and land here quite a bit and they're actually much larger than I expected. I thought they'd be tiny but they're absolutely not. And they're loud too.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

Who makes the Talibans weapons??

No idea who they purchase them from.
I know they steal some when they push back coalition forces and weapons get left behind.
There's also weapons left behind from the Russians.
Apart from that I have no idea where they buy them from.
But they tax the locals who work on base which helps fund them.

1hnr79jr65

Did you volunteer for your role's location or were you assigned?

How do you feel about the "war" there, do you think its a just occupation of another countries territory?

johnnyskeleton

How do you feel, as an Irish person, being part of the US miltary industrial complex?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Sour Lemonz wrote: »

Did you volunteer for your role's location or were you assigned?

How do you feel about the "war" there, do you think its a just occupation of another countries territory?

I volunteered for the position. It gave me the opportunity to earn more money here than I could back home in Ireland.

I'm not sure how I feel about the war here tbh.
There are times when I look around and wonder what we're all actually doing here.
Then I remember that they can't just pull out of the country like they did with Iraq.
But let's call a spade a spade here. This country is a mess. The locals I've spoke to are kind of happy we're here. The Afghan forces are happy we're here too. If the coalition forces pulled out of Afghanistan tomorrow, the country would fall back into the hands of the Taliban and the locals are terrified of that. No matter what people read online, the Taliban are far from simple freedom fighters. They're animals.
I've seen firsthand, the fear on people's faces here when the Taliban is mentioned.

livedadream

some basics?

where do you sleep?
whats the daily schedule like if any?
food? good bad indifferent?
internet access?
whats wage difference between there and home?
do you pay irish or american taxes?
do you see/hear live fire?

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

How do you feel, as an Irish person, being part of the US miltary industrial complex?

It's just another job to me. And tbh I love this job.
I don't know how long I'll do it for as it's tough being away from my family for long periods but I still love it nonetheless.

If you're asking do I think a bit deeper about it from time to time, then yeah sometimes I do.
Sometimes I wonder what it's all about and what are the motives behind it all. But then I remember I'm a tiny tiny cog in the wheel and I just get on with my job.

I've been asked on occasion do I feel guilty about essentially profiting from war. And the answer to that is no. Not even slightly. Wars happen. They always have and always will.
I hope that doesn't make me a bad person but it's just how I look at the situation!

Tzardine

By reading the posts I think I know what you do. I did it myself in Iraq / Kuwait in 2008. So I have two questions.

1. How big is your pog collection.
2. Can you explain how this works ?

ted1

Do the Americans really think that they are serving and protecting their country?

How does fighting a war in the dessert protect their country other than building themselves up for the eventually retaliation on their own soil

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

livedadream wrote: »

some basics?

where do you sleep?
whats the daily schedule like if any?
food? good bad indifferent?
internet access?
whats wage difference between there and home?
do you pay irish or american taxes?
do you see/hear live fire?

Housing

The housing differs slightly from base to base but for the most part, we live in shipping containers that have been kitted out in a very basic fashion. Typically there's 2 to a room. There's lino on the floor, plywood on the walls and two beds. That's pretty much it.
All the rooms do have electricity and air conditioning too. If you want a TV you have to buy that yourself but that's pretty easy. Amazon ships here quite quickly.
If you're just going to be staying at a certain base for a few days and then moving on, you'll be housed in a transient building. This is a big concrete building similar to what you'd imagine army barracks are like. Big rooms with bunk beds and each room sleeps about 30 people.

Schedule

Most people here work 7 days a week and pretty long hours. It helps the time pass quickly.
Personally I work 7 days a week. 10 - 12 hours per day.

Food

The food is fairly decent actually.
The DFAC is open 24hrs. (DFAC = Dining Facility. The military loves acronyms)
You get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plus you can go in whenever you like during the day and get sandwiches, soup, fruit, salad or whatever you want.
Food changes from day to day.
There's different stations you go to so you can get whatever you want. All types of cereals, fruit, omelettes, etc for breakfast.
For lunch and dinner there's a big selection and can vary from burgers, to ribs, steak, veggies, pizza, wings, salads, noodles....the list goes on. Everyone is well fed.
Plus all meals are totally free.

On a large base like Bagram you also have Subway and Pizza Hut. You have to pay for these if you decide not to eat in the DFAC.

Then there's the main supermarket. It's called the PX. You can get everything in there that you can get in a local supermarket at home. Food, magazines, cigarettes, laptops, hygiene products etc.

Internet

The Internet is fairly bad but we get by.
There's one company you can go with so they charge ridiculous prices. The fastest plan they offer (4mb) will cost you $170 per month. And it's sketchy at best.

Wages

You can earn a lot of money out here if you have desirable skills.
I know some of the electricians here on base and they earn about $10k per month.
IT guys can earn about $20k per month from what I've heard.
Helicopter pilots who fly for the private companies here earn about $25k per month.

My job at home would earn me approx. 35k a year. Out here doing the same job earns a lot more. It depends on bonuses etc but I can earn between $70k to $150k in a year.

Taxes

I don't pay Irish or American taxes.
Because I'm out of Ireland a certain number of days per year I'm not eligible to pay tax in Ireland.
So the job is tax free. With free housing, free food, free gym etc etc. It's a pretty good deal.

Live Fire?

Yes.
We're constantly under attack from the Taliban.
They fire rockets into the base all the time. Sometimes multiple times in one day.
This is the hard part of the job. People get killed during attacks and it can happen at any time day or night. And it does. A lot.
We have massive guns on the base called C-RAM's. These are supposed to shoot down incoming rockets but they don't always work and buildings get hit, people get injured or killed.

When we have incoming fire, an alarm goes off and we all take cover. The alarm sounds like this......


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IpMu3xgio9o


The lights in the sky you see in that video are the C-RAM rounds trying to shoot the rocket down.

That alarm still makes my hair stand up.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

Tzardine wrote: »

By reading the posts I think I know what you do. I did it myself in Iraq / Kuwait in 2008. So I have two questions.

1. How big is your pog collection.
2. Can you explain how this works ?

If you do know what I do I'd appreciate it if you didn't "out" me

My pog collection is fcuking massive by the way.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

ted1 wrote: »

Do the Americans really think that they are serving and protecting their country?

How does fighting a war in the dessert protect their country other than building themselves up for the eventually retaliation on their own soil

Some do, some don't.
For a lot of them it's just a job.

As for the second part of your question, I don't know. And I'm not going to even try and justify or explain this whole situation.

Tzardine

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA wrote: »

If you do know what I do I'd appreciate it if you didn't "out" me

My pog collection is fcuking massive by the way.

No worry about that at all.

Stay safe

CINCLANTFLT

No questions from me - just a thank you for taking the time to answer questions and allow us to understand a little about what people are doing day to day out there...

justshane

Did your role require you to have a degree/trade? if so did it take long to achieve enough experience to go to Afghanistan? Stay safe.

I work on a US Military Airbase, AMA

justshane wrote: »

Did your role require you to have a degree/trade? if so did it take long to achieve enough experience to go to Afghanistan? Stay safe.

The role I'm in doesn't require a degree or trade. Just experience in the particular field. There's no minimum number of years experience needed. Just as long as you're good at what you do. As far as I know, the company I work for requires you to be at least 25 before being stationed in Afghanistan.

My advice to anyone would be, if you ever get an opportunity to go work in a place like this....take it.
If only just for the experience. If you're any way interested in the military you'll love it. It's by far the coolest job I've ever had.
I see all sorts of cool equipment, weapons, aircraft on a daily basis. As I type this there's an F16 roaring over my head.
I regularly get to fly in Black Hawk helicopters too. That can be scary when they open fire into a mountainside while you're flying though.
It's just such a cool place to be.

buggy beag

how big is the actual base?