AVIANO Air Force Base must be in big trouble?!

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Here's an interesting situation.....make of it what you will.

My brother is 23 years old and has 1.5 years experience (not much huh) with maintaining WindowsNT networks. Yesterday on Wed. Nov. 24, he applied for a job on DICE.COM. He was throwing out resumes everywhere at 9:00 in the morning and included an application for a position in Italy just for the hell of it, to see what would happen. At 2:00 that afternoon he got a call and by 2:30 he was having a phone interview. They called back at 4:30 and offered him a job, but he had to be willing to leave for Italy on Tuesday (in 6 days). He informed them that he didn't have a passport and they said not to worry, "we'll have one for you when you stop over in Washington D.C. on Tuesday". They will pay all expenses; flight, room and board, etc. On top of that he will get $60 per hour for a 2 month contract. Why would a company do this for a mildly experienced NT admin. who only recently received his A.S. degree? The "company" is the US Air Force and he informed me that they were very scant with details. However, he got from the conversation that some people are VERY concerned about the computer systems at AVIANO Air Force base in Italy. Seems this is a "little" desperate a "little" late.

Anyone else have family or friends offered this UNIQUE opportunity? I'm sure they are grabbing whoever they can for bases all over the world.

Jeff

-- Jeff Jacobs (JJacobs@usa.net), November 26, 1999

Answers

---haven't heard anything directly. Last year, though, was some net rumor about contingency plans for instituting a civilian draft of computer people. Have a bro who's retired air force, did higher tech stuff with puters, and he's told me that he's been contacted about maybe something like this as a contingency plan, good ole boy network.

-- zog (zzoggy@yahoo.com), November 26, 1999.

I thought Italy was "under control"? Or, was it that they "loved chaos"? Or, were they gonna be "crucified"?

Not a bad gig for your brother, provided Nick Cromwell is available. Anyone spotted Nick recently?

-- Steve (hartsman@ticon.net), November 26, 1999.


Does this job offer include spending the rollover in Italy? If so... Would you? For me, there's not enough money (or gold coins)in the world.

-- happy new year (pass@the.pasta), November 26, 1999.

Boy, all these reports coming in -- these make this Forum great! Wouldn't go to Italy now for any amount of $$. Good luck to your brother, Jeff.

Needed by a US military base: may be safer in that situation.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 26, 1999.


Shoooobee dooooobie....woodn't touch that uffer for nuttin....gonna be one mix'm up Mat Hatter part-y-ing in Italy....zounds like sum'm late for a very important date....ya'll git yurselves down dat rabbit hol, right quick now....get otta da whey.

-- Queen of Hearts (alice@wonder.land), November 26, 1999.


Tell him if he is bent on going that he should ask for double that and have an evacuation clause, and 10 million dollar life insurance policy in his contract in case of a break out in hostilities. Y2k poses a serious life safety risk. He should relize that he may not be coming back and ask him if he is seriously prepared to pay that cost. Y2k will take away Nato's technology advantage. Does he trust the Serbs,russians or Iraqies not to want to seek revenge. You have to ask him Do Ya feel lucky ,do ya. If y2k is bad you can take it to the bank someone or a lot of someones will want to seek payback on Nato and her allies in the form of war. This is just how I see it. If you care about him tell him strongly to pass on this one.

-- y2k aware mike (y2k aware mike @ conservation . com), November 26, 1999.

Okay, here's the deal. $60/hour is good money. Read the flight, room and board as BOQ (or similar civilian digs)....not the Ritz Carlton. You would be in the Northern section of Italy, where things work more like Europe....for what that's worth...not where I am in middle Italy and south where things don't work as a rule.

You will be there during rollover. As part of the base personnel, you will have essentially the same safeguards as the civilians attached there. In an emergency you would be evacuated, if they were.

Aviano played an active role in Kosovo air bombings....as such, they were subject to picketing, and bomb threats by the locals here. I was there (nearby Vicenza)during such a picketing....really not a big deal....But the bomb threats (which come often) scared me.

It's a very big base and closely guarded...You could feel safe there. How would Y2K affect it? Given a choice, I wouldn't go right now.

It is difficult to get folks to go overseas...they have been hiring in this way for "hard to fill" jobs for many years now. Programmers are pretty much in demand everywhere.

We get incentives to live overseas....all civilians do. It is no different here. His package is his incentive. It is not a full time job, but only for two months...how many folks would quit their jobs (that would be the "experienced" guys) to do this? None. That is why they are "grabbing" him....short term job..

Any questions? Write again...I live here.

Ynott

-- Ynott (Ynott@incorruptible.com), November 26, 1999.


I've heard Hoffy is between SAP assignments and looking for work.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), November 26, 1999.

I know - lets get Decker and Truth @the Ready to volunteer to save that corner of the world!!!! They are Sooooooo much smarter and Soooooo much more capable that "regular" people!!! I would be willing to give them up for the benefit of Northern Italy!!!!

-- catfish joe (joe6pack@bottomdweller.net), November 26, 1999.

If you like your brother, tell him to stay home. Italy missed the boat AND gets about 30% of thier gas from Russia which I expect to evaporate for a while.

Best of luck. PS I ditto everything y2k aware mike said above.

-- Gordon (g_gecko_69@hotmail.com), November 26, 1999.



Big Dog. LOL.

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), November 26, 1999.

In light of this, read this:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001rCD

-- (fhjfh@jfdsk.com), November 26, 1999.


Your brother is one lucky sumbitch? Contrary to what most people are saying on this site, an air force base is extremely secure. Your brother has the opportunity of a life time. He was in the right place at the right time. Also, the airforce acquiring a passport like that is quite a feat. A certified birth certificate is always required. He'll probably make more in two months because of long days, than he would in a year at his current job and only 23 years old. I AM EXTREMELY JEALOUS. Finally, that is a strange indicator of sorts, wanting a barely experienced individual so desperately.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), November 26, 1999.

From personal exprience, Y2K or not, Aviano needs lots of help on its best days. Given that since the start of Klintoon's psuedo wars in the Balkans, Aviano is operating at perhaps triple its intended capacity then things must be going to Hell in a hurry there. And with three or more times the users clamoring for computer system access thy must be screaming for network support to help expand their system.

Not that Y2K is no part of their problems. But when every aircraft parking spot needs a network outlet so the crew chief can plug in a laptop PC to access the documentation and tech pubs, well a two hundred percent increase in users is a big enough problem.

Yep, the high-tech Air Force has gotten away from paper copies of the maintenance manuals and trouble logs just in time for any computer failure to render the new system unusable. Except at Aviano, where there are probably three users waiting in line for each terminal and the crush of systems overload has rendered their base-wide network unusable already.

Please pass my congratulations and condolences to your brother. I didn't like Aviano when I was part of a visiting squadron at a mostly empty base. No way, never, ever again with planes and people jammed in there the way things are now.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), November 26, 1999.


Actually this makes perfect sense, read this:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001rRq

In light of this article your brother should have asked for way more money and bennies

Jack

-- Jack (mercer@usa.net), November 26, 1999.



If your brother isn't allready gone you might want to suggest he think about goin there. I too was stationed at Aviano and loved it there, but wouldn't want to be stranded there if the comercial transportation system fails. Alone in a forign country on one of the biggest targets in Europe is not exactly where I would want to be if every thing goes to hell in a hand basket.

Moe

-- Mr moeski (moeski@aol.com), November 29, 1999.


Is Aviano near where that US military plane cut through the cables on that cable car which didn't make the Italians too fond of the US?

-- johan (reisch@c-zone.net), November 29, 1999.

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