Mini Military security contracting data sheet
I been contracting a few years and since I know there are military veterans on this forum I thought Id give back some information since this forum served me well.. I wrote a data sheet drunk one time about Dominican Republic to stay away from las terrenas I barely gave any information about the place because I hated it that much. But the beach was awesome. Anyways here is a guide to making it into contracting for military veterans and former police.
Why should you contract:
These jobs pay anywhere from 200 a day up until 800 a day some cases even higher which is rare. The great benefit about contracting is the tax free status you will have. The first 101k (for 2015) you make is not subject to federal taxes and as a single male that's clearing 120k this year I saved 25k in abiding by the tax free status.
The way you stay in the tax free status is to file a 673 tax form with your company. You have to stay out of your home country for 330 days a year. Have proof on you that you abided by this because the IRS could set a red flag and make sure you are not lying.
On these contracts food, housing, work clothes should be provided for you which means you have to spend very little. For example a typical close protection contract is 105 days on and 35 days vacation. If you are making 400 a day you will clear 35k (in the bank) in 105 days with a 673 form as a single male.
Looking for security contracts:
When looking for contracts there are two things you should use which are websites that advertise contracting jobs which I will give a few examples and also your network you already have IE your military friends who know contractors or already contractors.
Websites to use:
Shooterjobs.com
Indeed.com
http://paladin-jobs.com/
http://internationalsecurityjobs.blogspot.com/
http://www.closeprotectionpsdjobs.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/34728033489/ Security contractor/PSD/BG networking
United nations website
Linkedin. This is a great resource if you already been contracting because it will connect you with recruiters of other companies if your profile is legit.
International blog spot should have a list of all the security companies such as Triple canopy, mantech, dyncorp etc. What I recommend is make a list of all the security companies and start going on their main websites to see their advertisements for jobs.
Getting on military contracts is either straight up luck or you use your connections you have. My first contract my buddy was scanning on contracting sites and saw an advertisement for security gig in Afghanistan. The pay was ok 85k for the year. I was kind of on the fence about it because at the time the current job I had was paying me a similar amount but the main reasons why i said fuck it and went with it was because the amount of money I would save that year and also I knew there were better contracts to have and this is was the best way to learn the ways to obtaining contracts.
At the end of the first contract I went to DR for a few months and got drunk everyday being a waste of shit. Eventually I got my shit together and started talking to my network and scanning for jobs. The best thing I did was straight up call companies I knew that had contracts to my qualifications that were hiring. It's not often an applicant will call up these companies inquiring about a job because usually the applications are always sent to HR where they use an automatic program scanning keywords in your resume similar to federal jobs.
With the rise of ISIS and other terrorist organizations new contracts will be coming up for 2016 and most of the current ones are in process for a rebid. Which is a great time to start doing your homework on who's going to win what contract. For instance Garda world just won a close protection contract in Kabul Afghanistan from Aegis.
Training:
You should have all your training from the military or police force. I do not recommend you pay for close protection certifications because its a waste of money that generally doesn't help you get on contracts. The only thing I do recommend is if you are interested in EMT is to get fully certified with some time under your belt. With this you can make more than 500 a day easily.
Physical fitness:
This is a no brainer but you would be surprised how many sacks of shit jump on a contract that shouldn't be there. It's a pain in the ass for these guys when physical tests come which are not hard but you do need to maintain.
I am no means an expert on obtaining contracts, I do have the experience. So if you are a military dog handler or a flight mechanic I can only give you so much advice. My experience revolves around static and close protection jobs.
Hot spots for security contracts: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Many parts of Africa and sometimes south america which is very rare and I been trying to get my dirty little fingers into this niche.
If you have any questions let me know.
I been contracting a few years and since I know there are military veterans on this forum I thought Id give back some information since this forum served me well.. I wrote a data sheet drunk one time about Dominican Republic to stay away from las terrenas I barely gave any information about the place because I hated it that much. But the beach was awesome. Anyways here is a guide to making it into contracting for military veterans and former police.
Why should you contract:
These jobs pay anywhere from 200 a day up until 800 a day some cases even higher which is rare. The great benefit about contracting is the tax free status you will have. The first 101k (for 2015) you make is not subject to federal taxes and as a single male that's clearing 120k this year I saved 25k in abiding by the tax free status.
The way you stay in the tax free status is to file a 673 tax form with your company. You have to stay out of your home country for 330 days a year. Have proof on you that you abided by this because the IRS could set a red flag and make sure you are not lying.
On these contracts food, housing, work clothes should be provided for you which means you have to spend very little. For example a typical close protection contract is 105 days on and 35 days vacation. If you are making 400 a day you will clear 35k (in the bank) in 105 days with a 673 form as a single male.
Looking for security contracts:
When looking for contracts there are two things you should use which are websites that advertise contracting jobs which I will give a few examples and also your network you already have IE your military friends who know contractors or already contractors.
Websites to use:
Shooterjobs.com
Indeed.com
http://paladin-jobs.com/
http://internationalsecurityjobs.blogspot.com/
http://www.closeprotectionpsdjobs.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/34728033489/ Security contractor/PSD/BG networking
United nations website
Linkedin. This is a great resource if you already been contracting because it will connect you with recruiters of other companies if your profile is legit.
International blog spot should have a list of all the security companies such as Triple canopy, mantech, dyncorp etc. What I recommend is make a list of all the security companies and start going on their main websites to see their advertisements for jobs.
Getting on military contracts is either straight up luck or you use your connections you have. My first contract my buddy was scanning on contracting sites and saw an advertisement for security gig in Afghanistan. The pay was ok 85k for the year. I was kind of on the fence about it because at the time the current job I had was paying me a similar amount but the main reasons why i said fuck it and went with it was because the amount of money I would save that year and also I knew there were better contracts to have and this is was the best way to learn the ways to obtaining contracts.
At the end of the first contract I went to DR for a few months and got drunk everyday being a waste of shit. Eventually I got my shit together and started talking to my network and scanning for jobs. The best thing I did was straight up call companies I knew that had contracts to my qualifications that were hiring. It's not often an applicant will call up these companies inquiring about a job because usually the applications are always sent to HR where they use an automatic program scanning keywords in your resume similar to federal jobs.
With the rise of ISIS and other terrorist organizations new contracts will be coming up for 2016 and most of the current ones are in process for a rebid. Which is a great time to start doing your homework on who's going to win what contract. For instance Garda world just won a close protection contract in Kabul Afghanistan from Aegis.
Training:
You should have all your training from the military or police force. I do not recommend you pay for close protection certifications because its a waste of money that generally doesn't help you get on contracts. The only thing I do recommend is if you are interested in EMT is to get fully certified with some time under your belt. With this you can make more than 500 a day easily.
Physical fitness:
This is a no brainer but you would be surprised how many sacks of shit jump on a contract that shouldn't be there. It's a pain in the ass for these guys when physical tests come which are not hard but you do need to maintain.
I am no means an expert on obtaining contracts, I do have the experience. So if you are a military dog handler or a flight mechanic I can only give you so much advice. My experience revolves around static and close protection jobs.
Hot spots for security contracts: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Many parts of Africa and sometimes south america which is very rare and I been trying to get my dirty little fingers into this niche.
If you have any questions let me know.