Rat Pack International, the FIRST and ONLY Overseas Workers Forum http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/ Powered by Over Seas Workers FOR Over Seas Workers en Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:19:22 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/images/misc/rss.jpg Rat Pack International, the FIRST and ONLY Overseas Workers Forum http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/ 2 Engineers Needed http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5372&goto=newpost Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:46:26 GMT *_Engineers Needed for Afghanistan_* A member...
Engineers Needed for Afghanistan

A member has posted up inside www.RatPackInternational.com the need for an Electrical and a Mechanical Engineer. They've got the direct hire email address listed as well.

All Interested Click here:
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]]> News HeadRat http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5372 Electrician http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5371&goto=newpost Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:38:55 GMT Hello everyone. I've been a electrician for 10 years. I'm currantly working in South Africa but, this job is coming to a end. Anyone have any leads? ]]> Welcome to Rat Pack International Coony http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5371 Another One Bites The Dust http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5370&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:51:29 GMT Well, they ran off a plumber here in Romania. The... Well, they ran off a plumber here in Romania. The guy was in over his head, and wouldn't listen to anyone. He had no clue as to the size of pipe relative to the metric system. His work was terrible; we are having to remove 90% of what he put in. Doesn't matter if you throw in 200 feet of pipe a day if you have to tear out 180 feet of it the next.
He never once used a level, and was absolutely 45 degree elbow crazy.
I hope he goes back to piping up house trailers, since he can never convince me that he had ever worked on a commercial job.
On a brighter note, I have a young guy working with me who I am teaching my trade to. Sharp kid, willing to learn, hard worker, is young and if he pays attention, he'll have a good base to work on after I'm done with him. ]]> Open Discusion haroldpavelka http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5370 Construction Jobless Rate Improves Slightly in August http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5368&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:36:56 GMT Construction Jobless Rate Improves Slightly in... Construction Jobless Rate Improves Slightly in August

09/03/2010
By Tom Ichniowski
ENR

Construction's unemployment rate moved down slightly in August but remains highest among all industries.

Construction's unemployment rate edged downward in August, to 17.3%, from 17% in July, but it was slightly worse than the August 2009 level, reports the U.S. Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

BLS's latest monthly look at the nation's employment picture, released on Sept. 3, says that construction added 19,000 jobs in August, but noted that 10,000 of the jobs gained were workers who returned after a strike in July.

Although BLS doesn't say so, it's likely that some or most of those workers were involved in a major Chicago strike earlier this summer.

The August figure represents the second straight monthly improvement in construction's jobless rate and is down significantly from the February peak of 27.1%.

But the industry rates are not adjusted for seasonal swings and construction's employment picture tends to improve in the summer months, when the volume of building rises.

So far, the industry's 2010 jobless rates have been worse than 2009's in every month except July. The August, 2010 level of 17.3% represents an increase from August, 2009's 16.5%.

Construction's rate also remains the highest among industry sectors. It is significantly worse than the mining/quarrying/oil and gas, which was second-highest among industries, posting a 10.9% rate in August and leisure/hospitality, which ranked third, at 10.8%.

More broadly, BLS reported that the overall national jobless rate rose to 9.6% in August, from 9.5% in the previous month as total non-farm employment declined by 54,000.

The government sector lost 121,000 jobs in the month, including 114,000 temporary workers hired for the census. Those losses were partly offset by the private sector, which added 67,000 jobs in August.
]]> Open Discusion Justus http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5368 End of combat operations in Iraq http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5366&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:13:44 GMT Was talkin' to the son-in-law stationed on FOB Warrior Iraq. We were both chuckling about how the LAST of the combat troops are now out of Iraq even though he's in a Heavy COMBAT Brigade with the 3 ID. I mentioned to him that he should check his pay stubs for next 6 weeks he's there and see if they cut his "combat pay". He just about crapped and said "They fuckin' better not, that'd be bullshit". Which brings me to the question of Contractor pay in Iraq.

Anybody have any knowledge if the uplift or pay will go down now that our Dear Leader has declared Iraq as a non-combat zone? Justus? Anyone?

Just curious. :cheers ]]> Open Discusion Hartranch http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5366 <![CDATA[Hang them some more, they are still twitchin']]> http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5365&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:12:46 GMT China is perhaps our most troublesome adversary.... China is perhaps our most troublesome adversary. We let them dump their worthless junk in our markets, our factories are dead now because the 100 billion Chinese workers can pirate and duplicate our trademarked good, and can make it cheaper, faster. We ship our raw materials from the US shores, they process it, make the product, and send it back cheaper than we can. Who cares? I do, and Walmart does not...nothing is made here anymore. Aside from that, they are the largest open source information collection and espionage agency in the world. Do you wonder why the State Dept. was worried about the Beijing job?

Anyhow, this was interesting

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ag=component.0 ]]> Voice It The Wild Rover http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5365 <![CDATA[Auditors' Report: U.S. Wasted Billions in Rebuilding Iraq]]> http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5364&goto=newpost Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:02:21 GMT I was in Iraq for almost 3 years and yes there... I was in Iraq for almost 3 years and yes there was waste, no doubt. As I read the article below, it really pisses me off how much the fucking Iraqis are bitching about the US GIVING them all these projects.

I turned over a $5M rehab on a 6 story building in north Baghdad to the IA and less than a month later...it was in worse condition than before we did the rehab. The stinkin Iraqis are the most incompetent, unfriendly, thieving, and unthankful people I've ever been around and the best thing we could do is to arm both the Shia and Sunni and let them wipe themselves out. And good riddance!

Auditors' Report: U.S. Wasted Billions in Rebuilding Iraq

08/29/2010
Associated Press/AP Online
By KIM GAMEL

KHAN BANI SAAD, Iraq - A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children's hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets

As the U.S. draws down in Iraq, it is leaving behind hundreds of abandoned or incomplete projects. More than $5 billion in American taxpayer funds has been wasted - more than 10 percent of the some $50 billion the U.S. has spent on reconstruction in Iraq, according to audits from a U.S. watchdog agency.

That amount is likely an underestimate, based on an analysis of more than 300 reports by auditors with the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. And it does not take into account security costs, which have run almost 17 percent for some projects.

There are success stories. Hundreds of police stations, border forts and government buildings have been built, Iraqi security forces have improved after years of training, and a deep water port at the southern oil hub of Umm Qasr has been restored.

Even completed projects for the most part fell far short of original goals, according to an Associated Press review of hundreds of audits and investigations and visits to several sites. And the verdict is still out on whether the program reached its goal of generating Iraqi good will toward the United States instead of the insurgents.

Col. Jon Christensen, who took over as commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District this summer, said the federal agency has completed more than 4,800 projects and is rushing to finish 233 more. Some 595 projects have been terminated, mostly for security reasons.

Christensen acknowledged that mistakes have been made. But he said steps have been taken to fix them, and the success of the program will depend ultimately on the Iraqis - who have complained that they were not consulted on projects to start with.

"There's only so much we could do," Christensen said. "A lot of it comes down to them taking ownership of it."

The reconstruction program in Iraq has been troubled since its birth shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The U.S. was forced to scale back many projects even as they spiked in cost, sometimes to more than double or triple initial projections.

As part of the so-called surge strategy, the military in 2007 shifted its focus to protecting Iraqis and winning their trust. American soldiers found themselves hiring contractors to paint schools, refurbish pools and oversee neighborhood water distribution centers. The $3.6 billion Commander's Emergency Response Program provided military units with ready cash for projects, and paid for Sunni fighters who agreed to turn against al-Qaida in Iraq for a monthly salary.

But sometimes civilian and military reconstruction efforts were poorly coordinated and overlapped.

Iraqis can see one of the most egregious examples of waste as they drive north from Baghdad to Khan Bani Saad. A prison rises from the desert, complete with more than two dozen guard towers and surrounded by high concrete walls. But the only signs of life during a recent visit were a guard shack on the entry road and two farmers tending a nearby field.

In March 2004, the Corps of Engineers awarded a $40 million contract to global construction and engineering firm Parsons Corp. to design and build a prison for 3,600 inmates, along with educational and vocational facilities. Work was set to finish in November 2005.

But violence was escalating in the area, home to a volatile mix of Sunni and Shiite extremists. The project started six months late and continued to fall behind schedule, according to a report by the inspector general.

The U.S. government pulled the plug on Parsons in June 2006, citing "continued schedule slips and ... massive cost overruns," but later awarded three more contracts to other companies. Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons said it did its best under difficult and violent circumstances.

Citing security concerns, the U.S. finally abandoned the project in June 2007 and handed over the unfinished facility to Iraq's Justice Ministry. The ministry refused to "complete, occupy or provide security" for it, according to the report. More than $1.2 million in unused construction material also was abandoned due to fears of violence.

The inspector general recommended another use be found for the partially finished buildings inside the dusty compound. But three years later, piles of bricks and barbed wire lie around, and tumbleweed is growing in the caked sand.

"It will never hold a single Iraqi prisoner," said inspector general Stuart Bowen, who has overseen the reconstruction effort since it started. "Forty million dollars wasted in the desert."

Another problem was coordination with the Iraqis, who have complained they weren't consulted and often ended up paying to complete unfinished facilities they didn't want in the first place.

"Initially when we came in ... we didn't collaborate as much as we should have with the correct people and figure out what their needs were," Christensen said. He stressed that Iraqis are now closely involved in all projects.

One clinic was handed over to local authorities without a staircase, said Shaymaa Mohammed Amin, the head of the Diyala provincial reconstruction and development committee.

"We were almost forced to take them," she said during an interview at the heavily fortified local government building in the provincial capital of Baqouba. "Generally speaking, they were below our expectations. Huge funds were wasted and they would not have been wasted if plans had been clear from the beginning."

As an example, she cited a date honey factory that was started despite a more pressing need for schools and vital infrastructure. She said some schools were left without paint or chalkboards, and needed renovations.

"We ended up paying twice," she said.

In some cases, Iraqi ministries have refused to take on the responsibility for U.S.-funded programs, forcing the Americans to leave abandoned buildings littering the landscape.

"The area of waste I'm most concerned about in the entire program is the waste that might occur after completed projects are handed over to the Iraqis," Bowen said.

The U.S. military pinned great hopes on a $5.7 million convention center inside the tightly secured Baghdad International Airport compound, as part of a commercial hub aimed at attracting foreign investors. A few events were held at the sprawling complex, including a three-day energy conference that drew oil executives from as far away as Russia and Japan in 2008, which the U.S. military claimed generated $1 million in revenues.

But the contracts awarded for the halls did not include requirements to connect them to the main power supply. The convention center, still requiring significant work, was transferred to the Iraqi government "as is" on Jan. 20, according to an audit by the inspector general's office.

The buildings have since fallen into disrepair, and dozens of boxes of fluorescent lightbulbs and other equipment disappeared from the site. Light poles outside have toppled over and the glass facade is missing from large sections of the abandoned buildings.

Waste also came from trying to run projects while literally under fire.

The Americans committed to rebuilding the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah after it was destroyed in major offensives in 2004. The U.S. awarded an initial contract for a new waste water treatment system to FluorAMEC of Greenville, S.C. - just three months after four American private security contractors were savagely attacked. The charred and mutilated remains of two of them were strung from a bridge in the city.

An audit concluded that it was unrealistic for the U.S. "to believe FluorAMEC could even begin construction, let alone complete the project, while fierce fighting occurred daily." The report also pointed out repeated redesigns of the project, and financial and contracting problems.

The Fallujah waste water treatment system is nearly complete - four years past the deadline, at a cost of more than three times the original $32.5 million estimate. It has been scaled back to serve just a third of the population, and Iraqi officials said it still lacks connections to houses and a pipe to join neighborhood tanks up with the treatment plant.

Desperate residents, meanwhile, have begun dumping their sewage in the tanks, causing foul odors and running the risk of seepage, according to the head of Fallujah's municipal council, Sheik Hameed Ahmed Hashim.

"It isn't appropriate for the Americans to give the city these services without completing these minor details," Hashim said. "We were able to wipe out part of the memories of the Fallujah battles through this and other projects. ... If they leave the project as it is, I think their reputation will be damaged." ]]> Open Discusion Justus http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5364 Jobs, where are they http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5363&goto=newpost Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:21:21 GMT I've been getting a lot of feelers on jobs, I think many are just resume collectors.

The project I work on is under the DOD and we all know what Robert Gates Sec of Defense has done, says he is cutting JFCOM (6000 jobs), eliminating contractors and turning them in to GS positions, I heard that jobs in Ramstein have converted over to GS.

The project I work on is going through a RFP(request for proposal), it ws set to end September 2010 but has been extended for six months while bids come in, job most likely will stay, but we are understanding there could be cuts, jobs, benefits and wages.

I know some guys have taken jobs in Bahrain and Afganistan (telecom) in the past few weeks and we have brought on a couple of more here although we lost a couple too (went home).

I think this is going to be a tough time, with the military cutting back and being in the end of the fiscal year.

:cheers ]]> Open Discusion Gabriele http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5363 Hang all traitors!!! http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5357&goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:40:32 GMT From CNN News... WASHINGTON – The Obama... From CNN News...

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Friday accused an analyst who worked at the State Department of leaking top secret information about North Korea to a reporter. He is pleading innocent. It was the latest move in an aggressive campaign to crack down on leaks, even as the administration has supported proposed legislation that would shield reporters from having to identify their sources.

Steven Kim, who worked at State as an employee of a contractor, was named in a federal indictment unsealed Friday. He was charged with illegally disclosing national defense information, which carries a top penalty of 10 years in prison, and with making false statements to the FBI, which has a maximum five-year sentence.

The Justice Department said in June 2009 Kim knowingly passed information about U.S. intelligence concerning a foreign country to a national news organization and in September of that year falsely denied to the FBI having had recent contacts with a reporter from that news organization. The material was classified top secret/sensitive compartmented information because it concerned the military capability of the foreign country and related to U.S. intelligence sources and methods.

An individual briefed on the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters not included in the filing, said the country was North Korea and the news organization was Fox News.

"The willful disclosure of classified information to those not entitled to it is a serious crime," said Assistant Attorney General David Kris in a written statement. "Today's indictment should serve as a warning to anyone who is entrusted with sensitive national security information and would consider compromising it."

Kim arrived at court accompanied by his lawyers. He appeared before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in an hour-long closed-door hearing.

Afterward, Abbe D. Lowell, one of Kim's attorneys, said his client pleaded not guilty behind closed doors and was released without bail.

In a written statement, Lowell and co-defense counsel Ruth Wedgwood said Kim was pleading not guilty because the news report that led to the charges "contains completely unremarkable observations about what a country would do if it was sanctioned for its poor behavior. These kinds of observations were well known to anyone paying attention to public sources and ought not be the basis for making someone a federal felon."

"In its obsession to clamp down on perfectly appropriate conversations between government employees and the press, the Obama administration has forgotten that wise foreign policy must be founded on a two-way conversation between government and the public," Lowell and Wedgwood wrote. "The Justice Department has chosen to stretch the espionage laws to cover ordinary and normal conversations between government officials and the press and, in doing so, destroy the career of a loyal civil servant and brilliant foreign policy analyst."

The administration recently arrested an Army official for leaking classified documents to the website WikiLeaks, charged a former National Security Agency official with leaking information about NSA mismanagement to The Baltimore Sun, and renewed an investigation into who leaked classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen for one of his books. ]]> Voice It The Wild Rover http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5357 I do BAS Controls http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5354&goto=newpost Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:27:36 GMT Interested in a postion as a BAS installation... Interested in a postion as a BAS installation supervisor. I have worked on five NEC Projects and one Army Corp of Engineers project doing HVAC Start Up and Commissioning. Resume available upon request.

Bryan ]]> Welcome to Rat Pack International ChvarakB http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5354 hello http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5353&goto=newpost Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:19:38 GMT new and glade to be here!:cheers new and glade to be here!:cheers ]]> Welcome to Rat Pack International PAYTON http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5353 2 Telecom ASAP (FREEBIE) http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5352&goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:15:25 GMT *_2 Telecom ASAP (FREEBIE)_* A member inside...
2 Telecom ASAP (FREEBIE)

A member inside www.RatPackInternational.com has posted up the need for 2 telecom guys ASAP. This is a FREEBIE post that ANYONE can go to just so none subscribers can get an idea of what your missing.

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]]> News HeadRat http://www.ratpackinternational.com/packchat/showthread.php?t=5352