BACKGROUND: This report provides Department of Defense (DoD) contractor personnel numbers for 4th quarter Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) and current status of efforts underway to improve management of contractors accompanying United States (U.S.) Forces. It includes data on DoD contractor personnel deployed in Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS); Iraq and Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR); and the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).
KEY POINTS: During 4th quarter FY20, USCENTCOM reported approximately 43,809 contractor personnel supporting DoD in the USCENTCOM AOR, a decrease of approximately 5,128 from the previous quarter.
o Contractor Posture: Approximately 22,562 DoD contractors supported operations in Afghanistan during 4th quarter FY20, a decrease of 12% from 3rd quarter FY20. Local Nationals comprise 22.5% of total contractor force; 17,495 US/TCN remain in Afghanistan. The decrease is attributed to continued troop reductions and base closures.
o A total of 1,813 Private Security Contractors (PSCs) personnel were supporting USCENTCOM operations in Afghanistan as of 4th quarter FY20. A detailed summary is provided in the following table.
The Defense Base Act is a federal workers’ compensation system. It provides protection to contractors and subcontractors working overseas on a United States military base or working under a United States government contract.
Who Is Covered Under the Defense Base Act?
The Defense Base Act does not discriminate based on nationality or job title. If the injured worker qualifies as a DBA contractor, then they are entitled to benefits. No matter where they are from. No matter what job they performed.
Contractors navigate complex maze of laws, policies for health care
What Types of Injuries Make Up Defense Base Act Claims?
The military recognizes that it could not conduct its operations without the use of contractors. The fact of the matter is that military contractors perform hard work in dangerous locales. No matter whether a contractor is working at a large military airfield or a small combat outpost or strongpoint, the contractor is at risk for suffering the same injuries as their military counterparts. Any number of injuries could result from DBA work, including:
Managed by the National Science Foundation, the USAP deploys roughly 3,000 people to Antarctica every year to conduct scientific research, or provide support to researchers through the operation and maintenance of the research stations and vessels.
Inquiring about opportunities depends on your area of interest.
Reality check 1 - There are far more people who want to work in Antarctica than there are jobs available
Reality check 2 - with some exceptions, Antarctic personnel are specialists in a particular field, enthusiastic generalists can get jobs in Antarctica, but the field of applicants is that much larger.
Reality check 3 - It is expensive to transport personnel to and from Antarctica, so while 3-6 months may suit you best, longer than this makes more sense for those who pay the bills. But then again, there are some positions for 3-6 months going as well as the longer contracts.
Jobs in Antarctica are almost exclusively on National Research Stations. These stations vary in size quite considerably, typically having 40 - 50 people in the summer months, from around November - March, and a much smaller winter crew of maybe 10 - 20 from March to November.
About 5,000 people visit Antarctic stations each year from about 27 different countries with around 1,000 of the remaining over the winter months. Winter means isolation when there is no transport in or out and contact is only by various electronic telecommunications.
Jobs fall into two categories - scientific and support (sometimes called trades)
Scientific Positions are in reality the job of the base, without them there would be little or no need for the base at all. Scientists are at a minimum of postgraduate level and often postdoctoral, though the more junior they are the more likely they will be able to spend a longer time period in Antarctica (over-wintering for example). Scientists usually take down a project to Antarctica with them and are fairly self-contained equipment-wise. Occasionally they may be able to "plug-into" an on-going project fulfilling a discrete sub-part of the whole. Scientists fall into many categories:
Glaciologists
Geologists
Chemists - studying snow, ice, freshwater etc.
Atmospheric physicists
Meteorologists
Oceanologists
Biologists - terrestrial or marine
Support positions or trades fall into a whole range of occupations that are involved with the tasks of keeping the base and its personnel in good repair and able to perform duties safely and efficiently. These positions usually require people who are experienced in their particular field almost always with relevant professional qualifications, including but not limited to the following:
Cook
Electrician
Carpenter
Boat handler
Mechanic
Plumber
Radio operator
Doctor
Diving officer
Firefighters
Your experience of Antarctica will depend very much on your job.
Scientific staff will generally have more interesting experiences as their jobs often take them away from the base more. There are exceptions though, an atmospheric scientist will have little reason to leave base for the purpose of doing the job, and a boat handler will spend large amounts of time off base. If your job involves transportation in any way, then you will see more of Antarctica than anyone.
On many bases there is the expectation and requirement that all staff will fulfill generalist roles such as unloading ships, washing-dishes, night-watch, cleaning the base, dealing with the trash etc. The smaller the base, the more varied of these housekeeping jobs you will be expected to do in addition to your own specialist tasks.
Personnel are screened carefully for their psychological and physical suitability to work in the demanding environment of Antarctica. They must be in very good physical shape as full medical facilities are far away in distance and also often in time.
Other jobs - you may have guessed by now that there are lots of jobs for which there is no requirement in Antarctica. So you might be the best car salesman, lawyer or basketball coach in your town, but you won't be getting a job in Antarctica doing those things. The number of non-required occupations is too long to list, if you want to work there you need to be a required specialist or take a non-specialist job.
As it's a case of supply and demand, and the supply of people ready to work in Antarctica is generally greater than the demand for personnel, the answer to this question is not the great fortune that is sometimes imagined.
In general, personnel in Antarctica on a National Antarctic Programme, supply ship, contract work etc. will be paid pretty much the same as they would for doing the same job back in their home country, often with a small extra bonus but forget any idea of 2x or 3x salary multiples.
It seems that you're paid more though because:
There's not a lot to spend your money on.
Taxation is often less than at home (varies by country).
The big expenses of accommodation, food, and much of your clothing, usually including all specialist clothing, are provided for you for free.
