NewsBling - Your Iraq News Source

Oswald J. Eppers asked:


“LOGCAP” is an acronym for “Logistics Civil Augmentation Program.” Under the LOGCAP program, the contractor is responsible for providing a “full spectrum” of services to U.S. troops in the field, including dining facilities, living quarters, base camp operations and maintenance, facilities management, transportation and distribution of supplies, water and ice, laundry and bath, airfield operations, detainee camp construction, and firefighting [1].

Now, the LOGCAP program enters in phase IV and The Army awarded a contract worth up to $150 billion to feed, house and provide other services to U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, spreading among three companies work that recently had been linked to a single, controversial contractor: Halliburton.

According to an article published in the Washington Post [2], Fluor Intercontinental of Greenville, S.C., DynCorp International of Fort Worth and KBR of Houston were chosen from among a half-dozen competitors. Each company’s part of the contract is worth up to $5 billion a year and can be extended for up to nine more years. The contract award was a particular victory for KBR, Halliburton’s former contracting arm, after the firm was accused of misdeeds under the past contract, one contracting expert said.

“This is potentially the biggest battlefield services contract that any company is going to win for the remainder of this decade,” Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, a defense research organization in Arlington.

Background of the LOGCAP Program

The U.S. Army continually seeks to increase its combat potential within programmed resource allocations. This occasionally requires pursuit of external sources to provide adequate logistics support for the force [1].

LOGCAP is a U.S. Army initiative for peacetime planning for the use of civilian contractors in wartime and other contingencies. These contractors will perform selected services to support U.S. forces in support of Department of Defense (DoD) missions. Use of contractors in a theater of operations allows the release of military units for other missions or to fill support shortfalls. This program provides the Army with additional means to adequately support the current and programmed forces.

According to the Army Material Command [1], LOGCAP is primarily designed for use in areas where no bilateral or multilateral agreements exist. However, LOGCAP may provide additional support in areas with formal Host Nation Support (HNS) agreements, where other contractors are involved, or where peacetime support contracts exist. LOGCAP is also available during Continental United States (CONUS) mobilizations to assist the CONUS support base and help units get ready for war.

LOGCAP is a Department of the Army Program which includes all pre-planned logistics and engineering/construction oriented contingency contracts actually awarded and peacetime contracts which include contingency clauses that:

• Leverage civilian corporate resources as logistics services support and engineering/construction support multipliers (Civilian Resources)

• Provide a rapid and responsive contract capability which augments US Forces capability by meeting logistics and engineering/construction requirements (Rapid and Responsive Contract Capability).

• Focus on prioritized peacetime contingency planning for augmentation logistics and engineering/construction services as determined by the customer (Prioritized Peacetime Contingency Planning).

Working in Iraq

There is still a lot of interest to work in Iraq, despite the danger. Salaries are much higher than in the US and the opportunity to make a little fortune in one or two years of service is hard to resist. An experienced worker easily makes $80.000 to $100.000 a year and for experts in one of the required technical-administrative fields, amounts of $25.000 a month (!) are no exception. In most cases, housing and meals are free and if you work more than 330 days overseas, income is excluded from United States taxes [3].

Job seekers can apply online for Iraq employment. The 2ajobguide for instance is supporting the U.S. Armed Forces by providing staff for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) in Iraq [4]. The work primarily involves vehicle and other equipment maintenance, as well as some logistical work. If you want to check out your chances to get such a challenging job, take a proactive approach and send your resume and a brief cover letter to this hiring agency by e-mail. You can be sure that your documents will be reviewed very carefully in order to find the best fit according to your experience and background.

Job listings for countries like Iraq, Afghanistan or Kuwait can be found also by typing the country name in an “all-in-one” human resources bank like Indeed [5]. Current listings include Iraq defense contractor, intelligence, communications, and administrative openings.

Literature

[1] Introduction to the LOGCAP program, United States Army brochure, Army Material Command, 2007

[2] Washington Post, Army Splits Award Among 3 Firms. Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, June 28, 2007; Page A08

[3] IRS Guidelines, Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad

[4] Staffing in Iraq - Top paid job opportunities

[5] All-in-one Job Search in the USA



Alma

Kaylin H asked:


I’m quite aware that 9-11 was one of them. And my friends father who is in the air force says that Iraq had a nuclear weapon. But I think it’s just a stupid war, you know? What’s the difference between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War? George W. Bush had a plan to get out of the Vietnam War. To me this war is worth nothing. We’re getting nothing out of it except dead sons, brothers,mothers,fathers, and friends. “They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason”.-Ernest Hemmingway. What do you think about this War and Bush’s actions?

Clarence

Bin Yang asked:


It has been reported that injured Iraq war veterans are underserved. In fact, rehab can be done in a cost-effective way with a rewarding outcome to , society, businesses insurance companies and the injured.

People disabled, such as the injured Iraq war veterans, workers, accident victims and others, are usually under tremendous stress. The deepest pain with disability is that the freedom of the person is taken away internally, making it seem hopeless. In addition, they have to face many sudden changes, both physical and psychological. The tremendous stress can affect their thinking, and prevent them from properly viewing their future recoveries and taking care of their physical bodies. Dr. Benson at Harvard has proven with years of studies that they may have other cognitive, psychological and physical symptoms negatively affecting them from stress as well.

In addition, not every doctor tries hard enough, as indicated below, and some attorneys focus more on financial outcomes. These two “authority figures” in their lives can put their recoveries into a cage of deeper depression and lower motivation.

My family has been there, too. After a tragic accident, my mother was placed on a ventilator. After five weeks of intensive care, the ICU physicians concluded that my mother would be ventilator-dependent for the rest of her life. My mother refused to live on a machine. I had to hold my tears to do my own assessment. I found my mother did not breathe efficiently, so I taught her a new way to breathe and practiced with her. Within three days, my mother was taken off the ventilator successfully. Had I not questioned ICU doctors, as well as my own physicians at that time, my mother would have chosen to die.

Later during rehabilitation, various experts gave us similar “usual” predictions. Again, we did our way–we tried many kinds of relaxation methods, and worked with nine other specialists, including herbs and acupuncture. Now my mother has been able to shop, cook, talk and laugh rather independently again. There are many turnaround stories like my mother’s in rehabilitation and other recovery. Having been there, I know the pain deeply. Every injured person deserves the best recovery and to have his or her life back. There is an effective method during rehabilitation process.

A big part of rehabilitation is thorough stress management as well as some human software updating (mind) and some health maintenance. The injured people need a customized stress & recovery program. Our thinking system is like software running inside of us — we can learn, relearn and update. Several rehabilitation programs, including Mayo’s and Harvard’s, have also noticed the importance of stress management in rehabilitation.

This group of people can have many other types of external and internal stressors, such as financial and social support, their own beliefs and views, their stress coping style, poor health maintenance, and, ultimately, poor recoveries. Injured people need to build up their own relaxation hierarchy, so they can think clearly, participate in their recoveries efficiently, including seeking help as needed. There are 16 kinds of relaxation with many variations of each kind; deep breathing and meditation are two kinds. In addition to staying healthy, the injured can learn from successful recovery stories, have their related human software updated, and revitalize their internal power. Preventing tomorrow’s stress is particularly important to this group, due to their low reserves.

Under this custom program, the injured will learn how to maintain a clear mind, efficient software and good health; they will learn not to follow “authority figures” blindly, but trust themselves more, try harder and smarter, and recover better and faster, like my family. Some of them may need more and stronger assistance, such as antidepressants, to pass their most difficult times.

The quicker this group can recover, the more confident they can be, and the harder they will try. The faster they can stand up, the more productive and happy they will be, our society and businesses will be, and the more medical and legal costs businesses, insurance companies and government can save in the long run. Many individuals have a good chance to stand up if they are able to utilize their full potential and all resources.

Are you or your people utilizing yours and their full potential and all resources to recover and stand up?



Joan

asked:


The war in Iraq has been a major source of tension for the Bush administration, mostly because the American people do not understand exactly why this war is being fought. The rationale for the war in Iraq has shifted so many times that many question why troops are giving up their lives. In the aftermath of September 11, America was left shaken and looking for answers. In the months leading up to the war, and since the war has begun, there have been several different reasons for the war in Iraq. Read on to learn how to know the rationale behind the Iraq wire.

Bobby