PoliceLink

hello, i am a full time deputy sheriff and i am exploring signing on with dyncorp as a police trainor advisor for one year, has anyone here served in this capacity that i couls ask some questions? thank you, Bill

I was a flight away from a mission with DynCorp. I didn't end up going because my agency would not let me take a Leave of Absence and said I would have to quit. When I returned I would have to get in line again, submit an application, etc ad nauseum.

On the other hand a local Lt. did retire from his agency and signed on with DynCorp. He did a year, returned, re-upped and went back over. He said the duty was ok. He took the initiative and made sure he was aligned closely with local U.S. military personnel.

I am not exactly sure what your question is. However i have worked with alot of these guys downrange and lived with them. In Iraq of course we have IPLOS which have the same function. Training the locals in law enforcement. All these guys were civillian law enforcement bubbas. Most had taken a year or so time off to come over. The gentleman that was with us was a cop in texas. Good guy made alot of money so he says and went back home. Not sure how much help i was but i have his email so if you got any questions i can do a three way email..lol

Dyncorp was granted a new contract last month for CIVPOL in Iraq and Afghanistan. The contract is for several more years. I just trained with several former and retired police officers headed for Afghanistan and my group headed for Iraq. Dyncorp is like any other employer. I will say that in the training it was clearly discussed and several examples were given about the assignements. Afhganistan requires that the DynCorp employee travels in Dyncorp PSD in high intensity areas. Your job is to train, it is not to duplicate law enforcement as it is in the US. Local laws and customs are in place. The Dyncorp employee has no arrest powers etc. You are as much as an observer as you are a trainer. The training is the BASIC training not much in the advanced training arena. It is not like sitting in a training room with airconditioning or riding around in a clean and cool police car.  This is a combat zone. You have a gun and so do they. The Afghan citizen and the insurgents do not have rules of engagement. You have the right to protect yourself, but you don not arrest people, get in gun fights with the locals etc. You don't do "Police Work".

Serving as a CIVPOL is a good opportunity to build on you skills and also gain a first hand understanding of the country culture.  As with all employers in the these countries things change. Dyncorp cannot control the work environment, because you work for the DOD and the State Department they can change things anytime they want. If you have the skills to do the job and train well before you go and when you get there it should work out. 

Take Care.

 I have some questions too.  I am scheduled to go to PAST in July.  Does anyone have any info about what to expect from PAST?  Dyncorp is really ramping up the Afghan mission.  Does anyone have any recent info about what is expected?  Any info would help.

Thanks

Hey all! I stumbled onto this and thought I should leave a reply. I served 18 months in Afghanistan and came back in February. I started in Lashkar Gah, Helmand. This is indian country and I was only there three months because you can put in for a transfer/promotion after 90 days. I stayed on the British base there and was reasonably comfortable. I then went to the RTC (Regional Training Center) in Kandahar for the remainder of the year. I reupped for six months to go to Kabul and work at the MOI and Camp Eggers. Probably a mistake getting too close to the flag pole but I did get to experience the Afghan government, or lack of it, at all levels.

I never stayed at a FOB (Forward operation base? maybe observation.....there was some confusion) but Lashkar Gah was a pretty crappy PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team). I only trained for the first three months, the rest of the time I was a mentor in finance and rank reform. The newest living facility in Kabul, Camp Gibson, is very nice. 52 inch LCD tvs in the MWR, great gym, PX, massage parlor, volleyball court, private rooms with shower. You still have to drive through Kabul though and that, to me, is probably scarier than driving anywhere in the south and I was everywhere. The reason I say that is because of the confinement and traffic. If you get hit in Kabul it's a lot harder to "get off the X".

It was a good mission overall and I extended for a second six months but the DOS and DOD were fighting and they pulled a bunch of us out of the MOI and Camp Eggers because of a contract technicality and we were all facing reassignment so I turned in my two weeks. I was tired anyway. Remember, when Mom (DOS) and Dad (DOD) fight it's the kids (advisors) that suffer.

Hope you enjoy it there and be sure to ship home a few Enfields!

The background time frame...is really up to your recruiter once you submitted all your paperwork (medical,dental...)

P.A.S.T. is 15 days...

Dave

Just my two bits, but nearly the first 2yrs of my almost 5yrs working overseas contracts was with DynCorp before CPI won the contract. CPI (as most any of the other officers who were there for the transition will tell you) is a 1000% better outfit than Dyn, and several guys figured out that Dyn had been short-changing all of us by $1000 to $1200 per month EACH (Do the math, times 555 officers in mission at that time, times 5 yrs+ they held the contract...that's A LOT of $$$ they siphoned off.)  Of course, there's no WONDER they've been investigated for misuse of government contract funds in Iraq, after seeing how they handled the Kosovo contract.

And several close buddies of mine who have worked for Dyn in Iraq and Afghanistan have had nothing nice to say about Dyn's lack of logistical support and living conditions for their personnel out on the FOB's. Not to mention the horror stories I have heard from some IPLO's being left in Bahgdad to fend their own ways back to Kuwaiti border when they wanted to end contract early there and leave.  No wonder 85% of us saw through the recruiters' BS when Dyn had lost Kosovo and were on the way out there, and set up "pep rallies" to get people to jump ship from CPI to continue on w/ Dyn in Iraq, with promises of 6 day shifts, one "down day" when you get to eat shrimp, lobster, steak, etc, etc (blah, blah, blah) before retiring to your A/C climate-controlled container you get to share with only one other person - complete with AFN tv, internet connection, and military sat-phone connection. THEN guys jumped ship and went over there, to find out the truth...getting stuck in canvas tents out in the middle of a FOB, in swealtering 120-degree heat. Of course, at that time Iraq was only paying $75k and was UNARMED mission. (Dyn saw how long THAT lasted without hardly any sign-on's, and had to push the pay up multiple times and change the armed status before they could meet the contract numbers required.)  

At least CPI has been awarded a contract in Iraq and are set to getting one in Afghanistan. For anyone considering, if you have the choice, going for CPI in lieu of Dyn would be a no-brainer...they are stricter in standards but take care of their people FAR better. Of course, if you're pressed for $$, sometimes you have to go with the one who gives you the green light and just suck it up...either way, stay safe over there.

(...Again, just my two bits..)

SNOW2418 says ...

 I have some questions too.  I am scheduled to go to PAST in July.  Does anyone have any info about what to expect from PAST?  Dyncorp is really ramping up the Afghan mission.  Does anyone have any recent info about what is expected?  Any info would help.

Thanks

PASST program contract is for 3-4 months. That's the one?.

Oh yeah - I forgot to mention, I've been back Stateside since end of April last year, back to my old deputy job here since July.  But those nearly 5yrs in contracts really helped knock out the bills, fo sho..

can the LA's from Kosovo join an Iraq mission??

Most of the locals who got jobs were dealing only with English-speaking NGO's in office positions, as not too many Kosovars speak Arabic or Farsi...so they did not go to be Language Assistants in the other countries (forgot to mention.) 

did you were with  JP I am sure he was one of the few that you mentioned he his a great person and i miss him so much

work with him he is one of ht e most honest people  I know

when he left he was over team mike and I believe a Russian was over the team Dimatri (sp) he misses them but not Kosovo